THE WIZARD'S APPRENTICE

BY MATTHEW RIEDER

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How many orcs can you blow up with one fireball?
Is it a good idea to insult the spectre of a centuries-dead archmage?
Do kobolds ever scratch their nether regions?
Do kobolds even *have* nether regions?

You will find answers to these compelling questions and more while playing The Wizard's Apprentice.

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Recommended Starting Level: 1
Typical Ending Level: 4


The Wizard's Apprentice is a story driven module which is set In the Cloven Mountains on the continent of Faerun. It is intended for Wizards. It is possible for a Sorcerer or a Bard to finish the module, but it may be necessary to start at a level higher than first due to the difficulty of combat. Other classes are strongly discouraged as they will not be able to complete the module. If you choose to multi-class it will likely make the module more difficult, but if you take at least one level in the aforementioned spellcasting classes, it will be possible, although very difficult, to finish the module.

Any of the races will fit well with the plot. Due to the difficulty of combat, if you choose a race with a level adjustment you may not be able to complete the module.


Conversations and journal entries will guide you as you proceed through the game. While there is a central plot, There are several side quests which you can complete at your leisure. Some are more difficult than others. If you are not powerful enough to complete a particular quest, I recommend you leave it be and return when you have reached a higher level.

You must proceed with caution in The Wizard's Apprentice or you will die. A lot. Keep your defensive spells at the ready and save frequently as there is no respawning. Explore all areas thoroughly and talk to everyone to complete quests and learn more about your surroundings. There are ample items, potions, scrolls, and other things to assist you. They are there for a reason, to keep you alive.

This module is the first in a series. Questions are raised which will not be answered in this module. You will receive items which do not appear to be immediately useful.

The sequel can be found here:
The Wizard's Apprentice Chapter II: The Talisman and the Eye

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Installation instructions:

You must have both Mask of the Betrayer (XP1) and Storm of Zehir (XP2) installed in order to play this module.

1) Place the .mod file entitled "TWA Prologue" in the "modules" folder in the Neverwinter Nights 2
folder in your "My Documents" folder.

2) Place the folder entitled "The Wizard's Apprentice" in the "campaigns" folder in the Neverwinter Nights 2 folder in your "My Documents" folder.

3) Look in the folder titled "The Wizard's Apprentice" and copy the file "giant_ant.hak" into your hak folder which is found in the Neverwinter Nights 2 folder in your "My Documents" folder.

***IMPORTANT NOTE****
It has been brought to my attention that the ending cutscene of the game will occasionally not play. If you get to what seems like the end of the game, but don't get a cutscene that tells you that you are finished, then reload your last save and do it again and it should work the next time. I am working on releasing version 1.2 which will contain the fix. Thanks for your patience.
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Credits:
-Thanks to the whole community who answered so many of my scripting and toolset questions.
-Particular thanks to Knightmare and Kaldor Silverwand who answered a lion's share of scripting questions for me.
-Thanks to Tani and Sothis B. for the Terra Coppa tool which was indispensable.
-Thanks to Arpharazon for the Giant Ant model. Great Aunt Gertrude wouldn't be the same without it.
-Thanks to ScriptWiz for the excellent site NWN2Scripting which was instrumental in learning basic scripting.
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Note:
If you play a small race, ie: dwarf, halfling or gnome, you will not be holding a shovel in the opening scene because
animations for these races do not support proper animation for a 2-handed weapon. For the full effect of glorious shoveling, play a larger race.