NWN The Blades of Netheril: Doom of Icewind Dale - NWN1 OC sequel DLC from Ossian's Luke Scull

[luj1]

Awesome

 

[ERYFKRAD]

What is the engine of this game?

Aurora

 

[R@tmaster]

They hanged Aribeth in her full plate armor! Poor girl.

 

[fantadomat]

Should have gone for a jail break of some elven puss,since her romance path was the best one.

 

[Chippy]

22 years since NWN released. Think of all the shit that's been shovelled at us since then and more recently. Then consider that these games are being made by a great writer. That a number of classic games/modules are on their way again.

It's awesome. It's like if the Mandalorian had carried on being good.

 

[Chippy]

So I can't really find any information on progress at all. Is it a year or so behind schedule? I think I read something about Luke Scull looking for a publisher or something?. Anyone got any news?.

 

[MjKorz]

So I can't really find any information on progress at all. Is it a year or so behind schedule? I think I read something about Luke Scull looking for a publisher or something?. Anyone got any news?.

This is his last response on Steam:

Looks like it's more or less finished with the closed beta in progress.

 

[Vyvian]

I was shown this. I had no idea they were still creating "official" expansions.

After more than 20 years, the story of the Hero of Neverwinter finally continues in this epic new adventure from Luke Scull, fantasy author and lead designer of Tyrants of the Moonsea!

In the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale, the Hero of Neverwinter awakens. Stripped of their recent memories and left to die by a mysterious power, they must survive a dire threat to the dale as they seek the truth behind their abduction. The answers they discover will shape the very fate of the Forgotten Realms.

 

[Lacrymas]

Isn't that part 1 of the Blades of Netheril campaign they wanted to do? I have enough NWN content to last me a lifetime, but I might get it at a steep discount later down the line.

 

[Vyvian]

Isn't that part 1 of the Blades of Netheril campaign they wanted to do? I have enough NWN content to last me a lifetime, but I might get it at a steep discount later down the line.

It seems so. At the bottom of the store page they actually say purchasing this will help fund future development of the rest of the campaign.

 

[Lacrymas]

It's out now on GOG too and it seems to be cheaper than on Steam for some reason.

 

[almondblight]

So I guess Beamdog was the mysterious 3rd party that was holding everything up for months?

Anyway, it's really nice that this seems to have a world map.

 

[Lacrymas]

Part 1 is out now on both Steam and GOG.

P.S. It's cheaper on GOG.

 

[Lacrymas]

So I guess Beamdog was the mysterious 3rd party that was holding everything up for months?

Anyway, it's really nice that this seems to have a world map.

All of Luke Scull's campaigns have a world map.

 

[Luke Scull]

So I guess Beamdog was the mysterious 3rd party that was holding everything up for months?

Anyway, it's really nice that this seems to have a world map.

All of Luke Scull's campaigns have a world map.

All but Crimson Tides of Tethyr. I couldn't figure out a good use for one there, other than to look pretty.

 

[Lacrymas]

All but Crimson Tides of Tethyr. I couldn't figure out a good use for one there, other than to look pretty.

I'm so glad that you are here. I'm almost finished with Siege of Shadowdale and I have some thoughts for a later update if there will be one, but will write them out later today when I actually finish it. As for Doom of Icewind Dale, I am considering buying to support the overall project because there aren't a lot of long campaigns for NWN, but I'd like more details on it. Do you begin at level 1? Is there reactivity to classes (including prestige classes), alignments (and shifts thereof), narrative choices? Would you say the difficulty is hard? Are there some weapon types or classes which are less supported or not supported at all?

 

[Luke Scull]

All but Crimson Tides of Tethyr. I couldn't figure out a good use for one there, other than to look pretty.

I'm so glad that you are here. I'm almost finished with Siege of Shadowdale and I have some thoughts for a later update if there will be one, but will write them out later today when I actually finish it. As for Doom of Icewind Dale, I am considering buying to support the overall project because there aren't a lot of long campaigns for NWN, but I'd like more details on it. Do you begin at level 1? Is there reactivity to classes (including prestige classes), alignments (and shifts thereof), narrative choices? Would you say the difficulty is hard? Are there some weapon types or classes which are less supported or not supported at all?

Siege of Shadowdale is really, really old (23 years this September). Not sure I'll ever do another update but always happy to hear feedback.

The module automatically sets the PC at level 10. The PC is assumed to be the Hero of Neverwinter. This means that if you bring in a level 1 character, you'll be automatically levelled up. Higher than 10, you'll be de-levelled (I know, I know - the narrative explains why you got weaker).

There is some reactivity, alignment shifts, difficulty is about standard, should be support for all weapon types, etc.

 

[Lacrymas]

Siege of Shadowdale is really, really old (23 years this September). Not sure I'll ever do another update but always happy to hear feedback.

I just finished it and here's some ideas. Don't read if you don't want spoilers, I guess.

Easy to implement ones -
1. Remove magical items from random cupboards/chests in Shadowdale and the surrounding farms.
2. After persuading Narvel to hand himself over and having him put in the stocks, implement a dialogue with him to make him help in the defense of the tower.
3. Have Scotti force you into a dialogue with him after ending the dialogue with Malauntyr, so you don't run to the tower and then realize you should've talked with Scotti instead.
4. Implement something that points you towards the main questline. This is probably not the first time you hear this and I'm sure it's your authorial intent for the module to be more free-form, but it really needs something to hint that the forest is the way to go forward with the main storyline. As it stands now, it's kind of random and assumes the player reads between the lines to intuit this is where the main quest is, so he should do everything else first instead. I don't even remember how I learned about this location in the first place.
5. Have a merchant sell a Stone to Flesh scroll/potion/item unless you really, really want your companion to just die when facing the dracolisk. Or have the dracolisk drop something to dispel petrification.
6. Maybe have a look at the critical strike damage of the adult wyvern. I'm not sure how much hp other classes can have at this level, but he one-shots me at 52 hp if he crits (which is the only way for him to hit me in the first place).
7. Pepper the world with some scrolls/potions of Expeditious Retreat. The backtracking is real, out, loud and proud. Alternatively, make shortcuts to the entrance at the end of dungeons.
8. There's a door on the left of the entrance to the courtyard of Castle Krag that teleports you on top of the tower and you can't get down without the use of the console or reloading. It doesn't highlight as blue when you mouse over it, but you can walk into it and it teleports you. I was looking for one of the herbs for the quest from the healer and randomly decided to check whether it's a real door or not. Sooooo, bug?
9. Have the healer quest give you a more unique potion. I already had 9-10 potions of Heroism from Castle Krag, so the healer giving me 2 more is not entirely satisfying.

Not so easy to implement ones -
1. Have the invasion of the tower be a series of setpieces rather than a constant stream of drow mooks that pose no threat whatsoever. Definitely beef up the bosses too.
2. When returning to the Old Skull inn after saving Scotti, have them barricading inside, not frolicking around like nothing is happening. Alternatively, have massive fights in the streets with named characters already dead when you get there. The first named NPC you meet is dead, but have more and have others fighting the drow.
3. If you really want the companion to die to the dracolisk, maybe make it into some kind of narrative event so we know that's the intention and it has some weight.
4. Flesh out the companions a little bit more? Not that I would know if they were fleshed out, I didn't need them, so ymmv.
5. Have the drow scale to your level somehow. This is connected to point number 1 and I know they are so weak because you can theoretically trigger/do the main quest at a very low level, but still.
6. The final map maybe needs a redesign, it's kind of weird and random and really reminds me of the last levels from KotOR2. Winding outdoor corridors that have almost nothing in them and you just press forward.
7. Have alignment shifts. I don't remember anything shifting my alignment regardless of what I chose. Not that I was constantly being a dick for no reason, but I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to bargain with Malauntyr and I didn't even get a single shift towards evil. Imo, it should immediately shift you to evil if you suggest helping him.
8. The random chests with randomly generated loot are a bit kitsch and lame. Maybe have some more handcrafted items drop from bosses instead and remove the chests.
9. The end of Castle Krag is kind of anticlimactic? You don't get any special dialogue with the ogre you can persuade to fight on your side and iirc there's a locked door in the final room that you can't open? Maybe look into that, unless I've missed something big.
10. Ditto for the undead dragon cult. At least you get a sentence with the cult leader if he survives, but having him give you a reward or some dialogue would be better.

Other than that, it was a good module. Not as good as Against the Cult of the Reptile God and I did it a disservice playing it after Reptile God, but definitely worth a playthrough and afaik it's the first part of a trilogy? I'll be playing Crimson Tides next, so I'm obviously clamoring for more. The best part of the module were the tougher optional bosses that require use of consumables or a very powerful character, that's always very good design and hopefully such things exist in your other modules, especially Doom of Icewind Dale.

Oh and speaking of, there's nothing in-game to promote Doom of Icewind Dale. Neither a news post nor is it a greyed out button in the new game menu anywhere (and yes, I checked all the subcategories and no, I don't have all not-installed mods hidden).

If I had more time I'd definitely go through the "officially curated" user-made modules in the EE and fix them up a little bit because they really could use a clean-up and a loving touch here and there.

 

[Infinitron]

Luke Scull No launch trailer? I guess there's that trailer from 2022.

I wasn't even expecting this to be a paid product.

 

[Turn_BASED]

Remove magical items from random cupboards/chests in Shadowdale and the surrounding farms.

So I just bought Doom of Icewind Dale. After exploring the first town a bit I found a sapphire and 1,000 gp in a chest sitting on the side of the street. I immediately thought of this LOL.

 

[Crispy]

Luke Scull, any chance you could provide, without spoilers, of course, a clue or general idea what classes the available henchmen will be in DoIWD so as to give prospective players like me a better idea what class their character should be in order to avoid too many e.g. Illusionist / Monks in the party at the same time?

Man, that was a long question...

 

[almondblight]

All of Luke Scull's campaigns have a world map.

Luke Scull modules, Darkness over Daggerford - what other modules have it?

 

[Lacrymas]

Remove magical items from random cupboards/chests in Shadowdale and the surrounding farms.

So I just bought Doom of Icewind Dale. After exploring the first town a bit I found a sapphire and 1,000 gp in a chest sitting on the side of the street. I immediately thought of this LOL.

That's disappointing.

 

[Nerevar]

Oh yeah! its time.

 

[Infinitron]

Gargaune Will you review?