Ranged weapons were already underpowered in 3rd edition D&D, and NWN unfortunately nerfed them further. Their range was reduced massively, armor doesn't reduce movement speed so lightly-armored archers can't kite heavily armored melee characters, flight wasn't implemented (for totally understandable reasons) which removed ranged weapon's niche both as an anti-flight counter-measure and method of abusing flight, and melee was buffed in that movement doesn't limit your ability to attack (in pen and paper you can't move and make all your attacks in the same turn). To make matters worse, the sum of all the tiny ruleset changes had a massive change on the metagame; pen and paper veers towards more offensive gameplay, and being able to hit first (such as with a ranged weapon) is a massive advantage. NWN has a much more defensive vibe, with high AC, more defenses, and lower damage so fights last longer. Getting a few extra attacks in while an opponent closes distance just doesn't matter as much when combat plays like that.

While this is obvious and may be true in Neverwinter Nights, it's not guaranteed to be the case in every game that tracks combat positions. In particular, the original Disgaea is a counterexample; the most powerful sword, in addition to having the highest attack power in the game, can hit targets up to 5 panels away. This is longer than the range of bows, and equal to the range of guns, yet the sword is also stronger. (Then again, it's also stronger than the strongest axe, while not having the accuracy penalty that axes get (in fact, it boosts the power of your axes).)\

Edit: I have also noticed an inversion of this in Dragon Wars. There is one particular ranged bow/quiver combo that does lots of damage, but only at 20 feet. meanwhile, there's a melee weapon that's stronger than all other ranged weapons, yet has 60 feet range. (Then again, most ranged attacks are pretty much too weak to be viable in Dragon Wars, and the need to deal with extremely limited ammo means you might as well just use magic instead.

@Peterscott, Darvin

I hear you- earlier I endorsed the Rogue for ranged attacking, and these issues where you get more of a numbers game going wheres PnP can accommodate more strategy, are some of the reasons why. To get access to your huge stack of d6 bonuses you need to flank the enemy somehow, but the game and your companions can make it quite feasible. Fun and killing power.

Meh.

I have tried the Rogue- Sneak attack Archer, and you have to be fairly close for it to work. It never felt that reliable to me. I prefer to drop out of stealth on a target with melee weapons, especially with dual wielding, you get more attacks and everything in first flurry counts as a sneak attack.

It doesn't help at all with sneak immunes like Undead which fill nearly every NWN module, and many have damage reduction. Welcome to hell. So I often build strength based Fighter/Rogues, so I can sneak, do sneak attack damage, but do decent damage to sneak immunes.

As a rogue and ranger, I've found that traps are your best friend, especially at lower levels.

1. Go into stealth, and just lay a trail of traps going up to the door.
2. Once you're done laying the traps, have your henchman wait at the end of your trap line.
3. Start the combat with a shot from your bow, and run through your hallway of death, while letting loose an arrow (or bolt), when you have an opportunity. The less people that follow you the better, but sometimes the baddies loose sight of you, and are good for picking off when you come back through.
4. Once you get to your henchman have him attack. Remember to keep that stone of recall handy if your henchman dies, unless you think you can finish off the fight of course.

Anyhow, this was how I got through the campaign the first time. I do believe I went through a couple of the other districts, and wandered around killing off a few of the wandering enemies just to pick up some extra XP.

Edit: Oh yeah, if you get stuck in melee, try getting to a doorway to keep just one enemy engaged if possible.