NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer Community Update #2

Neverwinter Nights 2 community manager Shane DeFreest stopped by the official forums to post a second community update for the game's upcoming Mask of the Betrayer expansion pack.
We are going to have some cool news coming later this week regarding the expansion and giving the community some more inside dirt in the very near future. But in the meantime here are Kevin's answers to your questions.

Enjoy!

-Shane


1) Which kinds of new content should we expect? (New voices? New tatooing subsystem? Hair styles or new system? Other Rashemen flavored character customization? New equipment? Spells? Weapons? Minature hamsters? Ice weasels?

Obsidian: We are adding some new Rashemi heads and hair styles, which will also be available for players to choose. We decided to not pursue any tattooing system for Mask of the Betrayer. You will get to wear masks, though. I'm not sure we've added much in the way of rodents.

2) I've read that the people of Rashemen are rather xenophobic. Will the PC fight with or against the local population?

Obsidian: You will indeed find the Rashemi to be xenophobic. Overall, they'll be fairly neutral toward the player, though some will be supportive and others may even be openly hostile.

3) What about these famous Spirits of Rashemen? I could envision some nice sidequests involving friendly and hostile spirits. Like I remember that BG encounter with a dryad, I helped her fend off some brutes hacking her tree. Will Rangers and Druids and perhaps Barbarians get some special priveleges in communicating/interacting with the Spirits?
They should, shouldn't they? (Besides, they're not among the most overpowered classes as it is, would be nice to get a good excuse to play Ranger or Druid.)

Obsidian: Spirits in general will play a prominent role in Mask of the Betrayer. We've implemented a lot of reactivity, but it's much more about the choices that you make while playing the game instead of your character creation decisions. Any content we make that singles out a certain class or race means that a lot of players won't experience it. So we've focused on types of reactivity that will entertain more people.

4) Will we possibly experience an onslaught from Thay during our stay in Rashemen? Or maybe get the chance to cross the border ourselves?

Obsidian: It's possible. Though even an epic level character would have a very hard time assaulting Thay.

5) Will Druids, Rangers and maybe Spirit Shamans have added possibilities for communicating with spirits?

12) Will Hornclaw the Grey be in? Or if not will Owlbears be included?

Obsidian: We thought about adding owlbears, but now owlbears in D&D are supposed to run around on four legs. The owlbears from our youth (like Keep on the Borderlands!) were bipeds, and we couldn't bring ourselves to make quadruped owlbears. So we went for other creatures instead.