NWN Neverwinter Nights (NWN & NWN2) Modules Thread

[Starwars]

It's been a while but I really enjoyed Almraiven (and its sequel, whatever it was called). It's not really a great roleplaying mod or anything, more like a... I dunno, adventure game almost. But it has a lovely atmosphere and I was really impressed with how the author presented the city it takes place in.

 

[Semper]

What site are you getting mods from now?

the old vault closed doors long ago. fortunately the whole content was transferred to the new vault.

 

[eXalted]

I have never played Wizard in NWN. Is a first-time wizard good for trying in Sworflight and Aielund Saga?

 

[Zurat-Yarkuch]

From what everyone here is saying the Swordflight modules sound amazing. I can't wait to try them out. But first I want to give Darkness over Daggerford a go since I always wanted to play it but never got around to it.

Now with Darkness over Daggerford it seems that there is a whole quest line for Wizards and Sorcerers that I want to try out.

The thing is I have never played as a mage in Neverwinter Nights before. In the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series I always used my mages to buff up my party, summon monsters as meat shields, debuff enemy mages, and let my warriors do the damage.

However, I don't know if that would work in Neverwinter Nights where you only have one Fighter henchmen with you.

Does anyone have any tips on playing a mage in Neverwinter Nights, specifically the Darkness over Daggerford module?

 

[Jack Of Owls]

When I played a wizard in DOD I found combat waaaay too easy. For example, I'd encounter a large group of ambushing orcs early in the game that the developers probably meant to be challenging, and 2 or 3 fireballs quickly put those bad boys in their place. The squeal of porcine screams filled the night air, the aroma of of roast pork filled my nostrils. Ahhh, delicious. It was the puzzles that got the best of me in this module. So this isn't so much a tip for you as a warning - it might be too much of a cakewalk with a mage, but maybe that was just my experience.

 

[Lacrymas]

Most of the modules in NWN are ridiculously easy. Swordflight isn't though, no matter which class you pick. I had trouble with druid + animal companion + summons + the bard, so it's definitely no pushover for any class. At least the bard pulls her own weight somewhat, but she still needs to be babysat half the time.

 

[Lilura]

From what everyone here is saying the Swordflight modules sound amazing. I can't wait to try them out. But first I want to give Darkness over Daggerford a go since I always wanted to play it but never got around to it.

Does anyone have any tips on playing a mage in Neverwinter Nights, specifically the Darkness over Daggerford module?

You're wasting your time, imo. Take that from someone who recently played as a wizard and treated their run in ridiculous detail, only to give up after five parts due to it being a faceroll.

Quote from my blog:

Overall, DoD is a doddle. It's not for those who are looking for a remotely challenging D&D campaign, but rather for casuals who like fluffy dialogue, obscene wealth, the illusion of choice; and who get off gawking at pretty area design as they plod around and absent-mindedly click on enemies to kill them and take their stuff. It's overrated by the NWN community and your time is better spent playing the vastly superior Swordflight Series, a campaign that not only pays homage to Baldur's Gate but also BEATS IT in many respects.

Rogueknight added checks for pretty much all skills, even appraise. I got to talk to animals! Chapter 2 is even better in this regard.

I liked how my pally was able to break necromantic wards using Turn Undead (to open doors, chests). I even turned a phylactery! That divine-specific dungeon was EPIC at low-teens level, and the reward could not have been more appropriate. I even had a choice as to how the awarded item was imbued, plus it can be enhanced later in the campaign. Also felt really SPESHUL when Hamad (fellow pally of Tyr) gifted me a Holy Rune, right off the bat. It seems every build is catered for and only by replaying can one fully appreciate the effort that has gone into its reactivity.

***

Another nice eyecandy thread on the BioWare forums:
http://forum.bioware.com/topic/198913-medieval-city/

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Most of the modules in NWN are ridiculously easy. Swordflight isn't though, no matter which class you pick. I had trouble with druid + animal companion + summons + the bard, so it's definitely no pushover for any class. At least the bard pulls her own weight somewhat, but she still needs to be babysat half the time.

Cool. Can't wait to play this. What are some other NWN modules with a decent difficulty that aren't too easy or, seeing that I'm my golden years of 55 years young, too hard? As someone else wrote on this forum recently, I don't want to break a hip playing an RPG that is just too gosh darn difficult. I heard the Blackguard trilogy has a brutal difficulty and that if you don't optimize your character build into an absolute, god-fearing, (and I mean god-fearing as in feared by God) power gaming, murder bulldozer/killdozer, you won't succeed. I've gimped myself too much over the years and actually rage quit SOZ because my character was too weak to vanquish the final boss. I wanted to play the Bastard of Kosigan series but I hear the english translations bug the game severely. In fact, it's one of the two or three modules I did attempt to play a few years ago when I became addicted to NWN modules that I couldn't finish. I forgot why I quit it but it was probably the bugs.

 

[V_K]

So I played through part 1 of Swordflight, and to be honest after all the praise I'm kinda underwhelmed. The ruins were great, but it was largely the only area that was fun to explore. Everything else was just too straightforward to my liking, barebones even, in the sense that you could remake, say, the bandit cave as a CYOA sequence, and nothing of value would be lost. It is pretty similar to AoD in that regards. The plentitude of alternative solutions is great, but the way they are implemented you are mostly railroaded into one of them by your build (also not unlike AoD). I'd prefer alternative solutions QfG/UUW-style, where build still matters, but you have to put thought into finding those solutions nevertheless.
Now let's see if part 2 improves on that. Given that it's supposed to be more open-ended, I have some hope left.

 

[Lacrymas]

We've only praised the ruins so far, so there's nothing to be "underwhelmed" by :p The inn was fun, but you have to complete all the quests there in order to proceed, that was kinda weird. The bandit cave and lizard-folk cave also weren't straightforward, you have a lot of optional areas to explore. I don't remember if you could skip the Arachne and Chieftain boss, but I think you could, so you can skip the entire culmination of that dungeon. You could skip almost all rooms in the bandit cave. They were mindblowingly awesome like the ruins, but they had merit. I don't really know what you mean by "straightforward" though.

 

[V_K]

By "straightforward" I mean that the questions "What should I do now?" or "What should I do with this?" never crossed my mind in those areas, the options were always fairly obvious (and rather limited).

 

[Lilura]

Cool. Can't wait to play this. What are some other NWN modules with a decent difficulty that aren't too easy or, seeing that I'm my golden years of 55 years young, too hard? As someone else wrote on this forum recently, I don't want to break a hip playing an RPG that is just too gosh darn difficult. I heard the Blackguard trilogy has a brutal difficulty and that if you don't optimize your character build into an absolute, god-fearing, (and I mean god-fearing as in feared by God) power gaming, murder bulldozer/killdozer, you won't succeed. I've gimped myself too much over the years and actually rage quit SOZ because my character was too weak to vanquish the final boss. I wanted to play the Bastard of Kosigan series but I hear the english translations bug the game severely. In fact, it's one of the two or three modules I did attempt to play a few years ago when I became addicted to NWN modules that I couldn't finish. I forgot why I quit it but it was probably the bugs.

Blackguard Trilogy is fairly tough, yes: optimized build or go home.

In his readmes Fabien warns that Bastard of Kosigan: Exile of the West is hard, but I found combat quite EZ. Despite its bugs (listed at the end of this post) I found EotW very entertaining, mainly for its writing, characterizations, questing and exciting finale. It's definitely worth playing, though you might like to consult my walkthrough at points. I hope someone can help me with my unsolved mysteries, someday.

Balkoth's A Peremptory Summons and Siege of the Heavens are well-scripted hack n slash modules. Don't expect any sort of role-playing, though. And again, optimized build or don't bother (SotH supplies a few decent builds).

The ruins were great, but it was largely the only area that was fun to explore.

I liked the other dungeons, too. I'm glad you found the ruins fun: they constitute a large chunk of the campaign.

Now let's see if part 2 improves on that. Given that it's supposed to be more open-ended, I have some hope left.

It does, and is.

Please comment and vote here while Chapter One is fresh in your mind! Lacrymas, Naveen, Rivmusique - it seems you have not voted? Vote pls.

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm waiting for the "moderators" to "approve" my account...

 

[Inf0mercial]

So i thought why not i would register and vote, that fucking captcha my god i want to blow my brains out, they kept giving me captchas with I and i but never making the top and bottom lines on the I clear and making it look like an L or l then hiding the dot of the i in blue squiggles while making the letter blue.

Now i have to wait for some guy to get off his ass and approve my account, i guess the captcha wasn't enough? Get a lot of spammers on the vault?

 

[Farmer Brun's Dead Son]

At Lilura's insistence I tried to sign up at neverwintervault (in order to rate Swordflight, of course), failed captcha thrice, fuck it, enough for today. Anyway, it's a great mod. It kinda renewed my love for cRPGs, greatly damaged after years of drought (and by poor man's pseudo-RPGs like PoE). Yeah, I know, it's just a mod for a flawed game, but still... I'm at the beginning of the second chapter now, looking forward to the 3rd instalment. Props to Lilura for recommending it.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I remember an "IQ test" for one forum (I think it was for the Might & Magic forums) where if you couldn't figure out the puzzle that allowed you to register, you couldn't join their forum. Elitist basterds. May they choke to death on their own semen.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

In his readmes Fabien warns that Bastard of Kosigan: Exile of the West is hard, but I found combat quite EZ. Despite its bugs (listed at the end of this post) I found EotW very entertaining, mainly for its writing, characterizations, questing and exciting finale. It's definitely worth playing, though you might like to consult my walkthrough at points. I hope someone can help me with my unsolved mysteries, someday.

You're a much braver soul than I. One thing I must have in playing ancient NWN modules that are no longer supported by the authors, is a reasonably bug-free experience. I heard Chapter 2 of this series doesn't even allow you to reload a saved game in certain areas unless you try try again...and again....and again. This is why I don't think I'll attempt it. I remember playing the A Song of Ice and Fire NWN module years ago, and though I was totally digging it, I did one tiny thing out of order and I ended up breaking the main quest. Fuck dat shit.

 

[Lilura]

Sorry you guys seem to be having trouble just registering. I have messaged the Administrator about this.

You're a much braver soul than I.

Not really. I dove in expecting a fairly polished campaign, and would have never bothered if I knew what was in store. The srs bugs hit late, after which I just pushed on out of stubbornness. Why not discourage others from trying it, then? Well, three reasons:

1) The writing is GREAT despite being translated into English from French (it was translated by a scholar, not just any schlub). Fabien is a medieval historian and novelist, and I don't think he would be out of place alongside the best of Black Isle and Troika writers when it comes to characterization. In fact, I think he is superior in that respect.
2) Future players may consult my aspie-level walkthrough and just enjoy EotW without too many hiccups. They know what they're in for.
3) EotW is a 95% self-contained campaign that has a pretty satisfying conclusion/finale in itself. No need to play on. As I said, Ep.1 gets 8/10 even with all the bugs.

 

[Lacrymas]

Done, voted and commented on the first chapter.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I played the first 3 parts of Aielund when they first came out but never got around to Act IV. I noticed that, unlike the others, Savant had a co-writer. How does it compare to the first 3 acts? Was it a satisfying conclusion to the series?

 

[Lacrymas]

I remember the plot going bonkers at one point, but that's it. I don't think the plot is Aielund's strong point tbh. It's all kinda too generic and cliche. It's good that the characters move the plot though, not random events. It also isn't difficult. What it excels at is exploration and providing options and equipment for many types of builds. I'm replaying it now, but I'm only at the start of the second chapter, so can't comment on the gameplay part of the later chapters.

 

[Lilura]

How does it compare to the first 3 acts? Was it a satisfying conclusion to the series?

Pretty satisfying, yeah. Act IV consists of three epic-in-scope parts. In addition to Black Diamond, Balkoth aka Magical Master coded some AI for the finale. He's also the maintainer; and currently working on improvements to the Saga in general.

Contents page for the entire Saga is here (spoiler alert).

Act II was my fave. Loved the Isle of the Dead and Finale.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

How does it compare to the first 3 acts? Was it a satisfying conclusion to the series?

Act II was my fave. Loved the Isle of the Dead and Finale.

Yeah, that cut scene at the very end where he puts the evil mask/armor on was pretty nifty, yet subtle. I remember thinking at the time, "Now this is the way to end an act in a multi-part WIP, and not like some cheesy cliffhanger right out of a 1930s Poverty Row movie serial."

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Since my most pleasant RPG memories were with NWN modules, I just compiled a large list of all the NWM modules I wanted to play but never got around to playing. Think I'll install a few mods first (camera hacks, body replacers, icon colorizations, etc.) then start with SOU, finish up with HotU (never completed it the first time I attempted it because I hated getting stumped on a really neat looking puzzle in the golem map, and later encountered a Vampire-mage in an invulnerability globe that made kibbles & bits out of my party), and finish with a few modules on the list. Feel free to download my list, look it over, and encourage or discourage me, or just shake your head sadly and think, "That poor aspie, with a brain syndrome not seen since the likes of CRPGaddict."

 

[Antigoon]

Almost finished Aielund. Did I fuck something up at the installation or so (dont even think its possible) or is the 4th act really terribly bugged. Quest NPC keep dying before I can advance in the story, my henchmen are attacking themselves whenever I resurrect one, and short before the end the tempest attacks and kills the archangel. I think the 4th act especially for epic lvl is quite nice, but this is really a bit annoying.