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Obsidian Entertainment, 2007
Windows
Obsidian Entertainment, 2007
Windows
背叛者的面具（Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer）是《无冬之夜 2》的资料片，重心更多地放在了故事情节上——这并不意味着《面具》就是一部视觉小说，而是说它的种种改动都是为情节而服务的。
游戏加入了许多额外内容，比如可以直接用在其他模组中的职业与种族等等。但本质上，它还是一个单人游戏。《无冬之夜 2》讲述的是一群冒险者拯救世界的故事，而在《无冬之夜 2：背叛者的面具》里，你则要摆脱一个可能会吞噬你灵魂的诅咒。在这趟旅途中，会有人出于各自的目的，向你伸出援手。
这部资料片的剧情和原作基本没有关系，只有一两处有所提及，因此完全不需要提前通关《无冬之夜 2》——除非你需要新手教学，毕竟《背叛者的面具》的角色初始等级就是 20 级，最高则可以升至 30 级，这可能会难倒一片刚开始接触 D&D 规则的玩家。不过，这一设置也带来了多到离谱的角色创建选项，包括全新的传奇专长和法术。
与原作相似，《面具》同样分为三个章节。其中，第一章和第三章都非常短小，只是分别充当引入和结局部分；第二章则相当丰富，提供了许多可选内容，有很高的自由度。可惜的是，因为“传奇等级”（20 级以上）带来的能力，你可能在第一章结束后就已经强度爆表了。
Mask of the Betrayer is the story-focused expansion to NWN2. That's not to imply that it's a graphic novel, but rather that the changes introduced are all in service of the story.
It included extra content such as classes and races that can naturally be used in modules and such, but at its core it is a single-player product. While the original campaign was about a group of adventurers saving the world, MotB is about you escaping a curse that threatens to devour your soul with the help of people similarly driven by personal goals.
The expansion's story is mostly unrelated to the original's, and while you will miss a reference or two there is absolutely no requirement that you play NWN2 beforehand – unless you want a tutorial, as MotB begins at Level 20 and goes all the way to 30. This can overwhelm those new to D&D rules, but also provides a much wider variety of crazy character builds, including new epic feats and spells.
Much like the original campaign, this one is split into three acts. The first and last are fairly short, consisting only of the introduction and ending, whereas Act 2 is fairly large and open-ended, with plenty of optional content. Unfortunately, thanks to the inherent power of the “epic levels” (above Level 20), you'll likely be fairly overpowered after Act 1.
莱瑟曼（Rashemen）[1] 的土地上栖息着很多强大的灵魂。通常来说，你可以和它们交涉，但你也要摄取灵魂才能活下去。
Many powerful spirits inhabit the Rashamen lands. Diplomacy is often possible, but you’ll also need to feed to stay alive.
第一章过后，游戏就没有什么挑战性可言了，但也正是在这个时候，《无冬之夜：背叛者的面具》才真正开始展现出独特的光彩，因为灵魂能量槽（Spirit Meter）机制开启了。简单来说，灵魂能量值反映了你的角色还有多少精神力。由于诅咒的存在，这种精神力会不断流失，从而带来各种数值减值，最终导致人物死亡。
为了对抗灵魂能量的流失，你必须依靠意志压制自身的饥渴，或是摄取其他灵魂。还好，莱瑟曼这片战争频发的大地上并不缺灵魂，不过这里的住民可不喜欢你吃掉他们的灵魂朋友。
在《背叛者的面具》发售之时，媒体和玩家都对灵魂能量这一机制嗤之以鼻。人们抱怨最多的就是能量值掉得太快。不过，保持灵魂能量的难度实际上并没有那么夸张。如果你完全不理会身上的诅咒，角色确实会死亡，或者必须（以损失经验值的形式）牺牲一部分灵魂来苟活。然而，游戏中的设定、秘闻和许多人物都会劝告你认真对待这一诅咒，如果听取他们的建议，哪怕不能过得很滋润，你也一定能活下来。
即便不看《背叛者的面具》优秀的文笔，灵魂能量本身就让我们有理由铭记和研究这个游戏。通过这一机制，Obsidian 完成了甚少游戏开发者尝试过的壮举：将游戏的叙事与机制融合起来，而且做得合情合理、引人入胜。无论从剧情还是玩法来看，你都时刻受到诅咒的影响，随时可能向其屈服——这既让玩家有动力推进，也为游戏中的种种事件赋予了意义，因为你和你操纵的主角都在竭力应对同一个难题。
灵魂能量的不断流失同样也限制了角色的休息（resting），防止玩家每隔一会就以此回复生命值、刷新法术和能力（在 D&D 游戏中，这向来是个麻烦的问题）。然而，达到传奇等级的角色实在是太过强大，休息也就往往不重要了。
While the challenge suffers after Act 1, it's also when MotB begins to truly shine, for it is here that the Spirit Meter manifests. Put simply, it's a measure of how much spirit energy your character has – energy that's constantly being drained by a curse. As it drains you'll receive various stat penalties and eventually die.
To counteract this, you must suppress the hunger with your will, or by consuming spirits. Spirits are thankfully plentiful in the Rashamen lands where a lot of the campaign takes place, but its inhabitants do not take kindly to you eating their spirit friends.
Around the time of MotB's release, the Spirit Meter was the subject of much scorn from both press and players. The chief complaint was that managing the meter was very hard. This perceived difficulty is blown out of proportion however. If you treat your curse without due consideration, you will die or be forced to sacrifice parts of your soul (XP) to survive. But, treat it with the respect that the game's setting, lore and characters say you should, and you will survive, even if you do not thrive.
The Spirit Meter is reason enough for MotB to be remembered and studied (aside from its excellent writing). With it, Obsidian succeeded at something few game developers attempt: entwining the game's narrative and mechanics in a compelling way. In both the story and the gameplay you are under constant threat of succumbing to the curse, giving you ample reason to push forward. This lends meaning to the events of the game, as you feel yourself struggling with the same problems that your character deals with.
The constant drain also limits the player's resting, preventing the constant replenishing of hit points, spells and abilities – an issue that often plagues D&D games. Unfortunately, the epic levels allow for characters so powerful that resting rarely matters.
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1 译者注：在《被遗忘的国度》世界设定中，莱瑟曼是一个位于费伦（Faerun）大陆东北部的国家，由女巫在背后操纵其政治。在游戏中，它被译为“瑞什曼”。
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