Very nice intro module, well done. Thank you for creating this module and all the work you put into it. A very nice story, everything seemed to flow together and there were no major flaws, it was a lot of fun to play. There were a few issues for me, almost gave up on the Tullerson quest as it was hard to figure out how to get in. (A difficulty check of 99 to pick the lock?) It was sheer frustration that caused me to choose bash the door and get the "who is it?" conversation. Maybe the bartender should mention something about having to knock. Also I ran into the "Antriera before talking to Loren" issue, would also recommend that Antriera have a dialog to go back and talk to farmer Loren. Speaking of Antriera, if you complete the main quest line before doing the bartender's quests she won't have any conversation about pigs, which honestly is fair - If my nephew was missing I wouldn't be concerned about pigs either. Had to go back to an earlier save to get the conversation. But those were all minor taters, strongly recommend this module and hope someday to see part one. Looking forward to traveling to Scornubel and getting deeper into the conspiracy!
Fantastic module! Can't believe it was just a prologue. It was really long and I think you could have called it chapter 1, 'cause it didn't feel like a prologue, it was really fleshed out. It is one of the best modules I've played for NWN2 I must say!
- Great pacing throughout the module! It was never dull or boring, interesting stuff happened all the time. - Great companions with different personalities. Looking forward to get to know them even more! - Balanced and fun combat! Not too hard, and not too easy. Just as it should be. - Beautiful looking areas! - Great dialogue that felt very natural! - Interesting story that shows alot of promise!
Please finish chapter 1 soon!! Can't wait to continue playing.
A little question: I happened to open the toolset to look at your module and I saw two companions named Chansrin and Lliam. I never met them. Have I missed something? Maybe I should replay the module in that case. Or maybe these companions are ones that will be included in future chapters?
I just got back to work on this. I took a long break; had a lot of other things going on. But I love the story that's coming, and am back actively working on Chapter 1.
Oh, and as to the companions. No, you did not miss anything. Chansrin won't appear until the next chapter, but I added her during a session just to get started. Lliam was supposed to be a recruitable companion at the farm, but I changed my mind.
There will be plenty more companions in coming chapters. My goal here is to create a large epic, similar to the Baldur's Gate games, where you have several companions to choose from, and each has their own side-quest.
Great to hear that you're back working on this! Really looking forward to play chapter 1! Of course I will have to replay the prologue then 'cause I've forgotten so much since it's almost a year ago that I finished it.. :-)
I hope you have a lot of time to work on this now! Don't get in over your head though. Better that it be a little smaller and that you finish your masterpiece than it to be too large and you get burnt out and don't finish it. :-) So nice to see that people of your talent are still working on this old gem of a game! Take care.
Yeah, back at work in earnest. The size of the campaign is already set in stone; I have a full story written, chapters 1, 2 and 3. It should build nicely, and culminate it some truly epic battles. I've worked on custom AI for spellcasters so that they, along with various other magical beings, are going to present a good, fair challenge.
As for the prologue: definitely play through it again after I release the next step. I plan on making a few small tweaks to the prologue anyway, from player feedback. There will be a couple minor changes, and hopefully quite a bit more companion dialog this time. The companions were the one thing that really got short-changed when I released, because I wanted to get it out the door. I intend to add a lot more dialog options for all of them, full companion side-quests, and some romance options.
The idea here is to give folks who loved playing through the OC, and people who (like me) are fans of Baldur's Gate, another campaign of epic proportions...
Sounds awesome! Yes, I'll definitely play the prologue again when you've released chapter 1!
Love what you're saying about companion dialogue! To me companions and the story are the most important parts in a game. That is what makes you imersed in a game IMHO. That's why my alltime favourite game is KOTOR. Combat is just there to make it a bit more exciting...at least for me it is..but I don't like it if the battles are too hard.
So excited about this! Can't wait to play it! Hope you'll be able to finish it soon! :-)
This is a nice introduction toward what looks like a fine campaign. Here are some issues I encountered with the latest version:
1. If you bash the locked chests in the warehouses during the rat hunting quest, the resulting loots bags are recessed into the floor and thus cannot actually be looted.
2. If you loot the free weapons lying around town, you still get the "I don't have a weapon" conversation option when talking to the mayor, and you still get sent to talk to Captain Denner. Perhaps the weapons obtained from the captain could be of superior quality (e.g., masterwork).
3. Although this may be by design, the armorer in Kleggan's shop has a significantly better buy back rate than Kleggan himself.
4. The "Artifacts" journal entry triggers as soon as you enter Tullerson's cellar, not when you actually pick up the spider gland. This is a little confusing because the PC hasn't found anything yet when entering the area.
5. After completing the "Rest the Dead" quest, if you speak to Antriera before talking to Loren, Antriera has no quest-related dialogue. Since it's clear the module expects these events to occur in a specific sequence, perhaps the priestess could tell you to speak to the farmer and then report back to her in this case.
6. On a balance note, although I thought the module was fairly well designed in this regard, I felt arming kobold archers with fire arrows dealing an additional 1d6 fire damage was a little much for your 2nd level party. Fortunately, they don't hit often, but when they do it usually only takes 2-3 hits to kill even a "tank" character at this level.
Also, I would suggest offering some additional dialogue options with companions. Right now you get nothing other than "please leave the party", which is not what I was expecting given the context of the story.
I really appreciate the feedback; you brought up some points that I was unaware of, and I will try and remedy those issues before the next Chapter is released.
RE: Fire Arrows on kobolds. Those were a nod, homage if you will, toward the first Baldur's Gate game, where kobolds of similar level, early in the game, were outfitted with the same arrows. I agree with your assessment, but they'll probably stay in the mod. They are one of the few things that make that low level dungeon a challenge
Dialog - absolutely. Companions will be much more robust in the following Chapters, and anyone who replays the prologue will enjoy the enhancements.
Fair enough on the fire arrows, although it's worth pointing out that in BG1, arrows as a whole (and fire arrows in particular) do less damage than they do in NWN2. Also, kobold commandos are far less numerous and your party is both larger and potentially higher level in the former game. Regular kobolds use normal arrows throughout the Nashkel Mines.
You may consider toolsetting custom arrows for the kobold archers that do, say +1 or +2 fire damage rather than +1d6.
Is this really just a Prologue? It is quite large and also a great mod as it is!
Seriously, it is a great start for what seems to be a very enjoyable campaign. The area design is very good and so are the dialogues. The fighting is very well balanced and my PC was properly challenged without being killed every time. The henchmen all have interesting personalities - I only hope the paladin will be more explored in the next chapter, he looks interesting, being slightly different from what we come to expect from paladins.
But the pace of the story is also to be commended, it was well developed and allowed for some nice possibilities - a classic "humble beginnings" kind of story, but it is just what is needed to prepare the players for what will follow.
I also look forward to the next chapter; hopefully it won't take too long...
Yes, it really is just a prologue. The story is that big. I am actively working on Chapter 1, and it will probably take you to level 13 or 14 by the time it is finished.
Your comments are very appreciated; so glad I am hitting my marks. Really want the pacing to be right, and the story to be interesting and fun. Glad you liked it; keep a watchful eye out next year for the next Chapter.
Thanks for downloading!
Oh, and yes - look for all the companions to have their story arcs explored much further, especially the paladin. He's my favorite. And there are more companions coming, each with their own story arc/quest line. It will be worth your time, I hope, to take each companion into your party, at least long enough to do their personal quest, when you discover it.
I will definitely play the next chapter. It is nice to hear that the other characters will be developed also. Story arcs and relationships are important to help with the flow of the narrative and to keep the player interested. The other companions really seem a bit lacking in the depth department, so it is good to know that this will be resolved in Chapter 1.
Thanks for the great mod and rest assured many will be waiting to play the next part of the adventure.
Great work and since this is described as a 'prologue' I think you nailed it. Gives the player a chance to get used to your style of play before the main event.
One odd thing I noticed, neither my PC cleric nor the one you provided were able to turn any of the undead in the crypt. I don't know if that's on purpose or not or I was just very unlucky.
Full comments are here - http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/module/darkening-sky-prologue#comment-1401
Outstanding module. Excellent pacing. Realistic dialogue options. I'm really looking forward to any subsequent chapters. Sincere thanks for the time and effort on this module.
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43 comments
- Great pacing throughout the module! It was never dull or boring, interesting stuff happened all the time.
- Great companions with different personalities. Looking forward to get to know them even more!
- Balanced and fun combat! Not too hard, and not too easy. Just as it should be.
- Beautiful looking areas!
- Great dialogue that felt very natural!
- Interesting story that shows alot of promise!
Please finish chapter 1 soon!! Can't wait to continue playing.
A little question: I happened to open the toolset to look at your module and I saw two companions named Chansrin and Lliam. I never met them. Have I missed something? Maybe I should replay the module in that case. Or maybe these companions are ones that will be included in future chapters?
Thank you for your great work!!
I just got back to work on this. I took a long break; had a lot of other things going on. But I love the story that's coming, and am back actively working on Chapter 1.
There will be plenty more companions in coming chapters. My goal here is to create a large epic, similar to the Baldur's Gate games, where you have several companions to choose from, and each has their own side-quest.
I hope you have a lot of time to work on this now! Don't get in over your head though. Better that it be a little smaller and that you finish your masterpiece than it to be too large and you get burnt out and don't finish it. :-) So nice to see that people of your talent are still working on this old gem of a game! Take care.
Yeah, back at work in earnest. The size of the campaign is already set in stone; I have a full story written, chapters 1, 2 and 3. It should build nicely, and culminate it some truly epic battles. I've worked on custom AI for spellcasters so that they, along with various other magical beings, are going to present a good, fair challenge.
As for the prologue: definitely play through it again after I release the next step. I plan on making a few small tweaks to the prologue anyway, from player feedback. There will be a couple minor changes, and hopefully quite a bit more companion dialog this time. The companions were the one thing that really got short-changed when I released, because I wanted to get it out the door. I intend to add a lot more dialog options for all of them, full companion side-quests, and some romance options.
The idea here is to give folks who loved playing through the OC, and people who (like me) are fans of Baldur's Gate, another campaign of epic proportions...
Love what you're saying about companion dialogue! To me companions and the story are the most important parts in a game. That is what makes you imersed in a game IMHO. That's why my alltime favourite game is KOTOR.
Combat is just there to make it a bit more exciting...at least for me it is..but I don't like it if the battles are too hard.
So excited about this! Can't wait to play it! Hope you'll be able to finish it soon! :-)
It would seem that every aspect of this adventure has had a considerable amount of thought put behind it and it certainly shows.
Really nice job!
1. If you bash the locked chests in the warehouses during the rat hunting quest, the resulting loots bags are recessed into the floor and thus cannot actually be looted.
2. If you loot the free weapons lying around town, you still get the "I don't have a weapon" conversation option when talking to the mayor, and you still get sent to talk to Captain Denner. Perhaps the weapons obtained from the captain could be of superior quality (e.g., masterwork).
3. Although this may be by design, the armorer in Kleggan's shop has a significantly better buy back rate than Kleggan himself.
4. The "Artifacts" journal entry triggers as soon as you enter Tullerson's cellar, not when you actually pick up the spider gland. This is a little confusing because the PC hasn't found anything yet when entering the area.
5. After completing the "Rest the Dead" quest, if you speak to Antriera before talking to Loren, Antriera has no quest-related dialogue. Since it's clear the module expects these events to occur in a specific sequence, perhaps the priestess could tell you to speak to the farmer and then report back to her in this case.
6. On a balance note, although I thought the module was fairly well designed in this regard, I felt arming kobold archers with fire arrows dealing an additional 1d6 fire damage was a little much for your 2nd level party. Fortunately, they don't hit often, but when they do it usually only takes 2-3 hits to kill even a "tank" character at this level.
Also, I would suggest offering some additional dialogue options with companions. Right now you get nothing other than "please leave the party", which is not what I was expecting given the context of the story.
I really appreciate the feedback; you brought up some points that I was unaware of, and I will try and remedy those issues before the next Chapter is released.
RE: Fire Arrows on kobolds. Those were a nod, homage if you will, toward the first Baldur's Gate game, where kobolds of similar level, early in the game, were outfitted with the same arrows. I agree with your assessment, but they'll probably stay in the mod. They are one of the few things that make that low level dungeon a challenge
Dialog - absolutely. Companions will be much more robust in the following Chapters, and anyone who replays the prologue will enjoy the enhancements.
You may consider toolsetting custom arrows for the kobold archers that do, say +1 or +2 fire damage rather than +1d6.
Seriously, it is a great start for what seems to be a very enjoyable campaign. The area design is very good and so are the dialogues. The fighting is very well balanced and my PC was properly challenged without being killed every time. The henchmen all have interesting personalities - I only hope the paladin will be more explored in the next chapter, he looks interesting, being slightly different from what we come to expect from paladins.
But the pace of the story is also to be commended, it was well developed and allowed for some nice possibilities - a classic "humble beginnings" kind of story, but it is just what is needed to prepare the players for what will follow.
I also look forward to the next chapter; hopefully it won't take too long...
Yes, it really is just a prologue. The story is that big. I am actively working on Chapter 1, and it will probably take you to level 13 or 14 by the time it is finished.
Your comments are very appreciated; so glad I am hitting my marks. Really want the pacing to be right, and the story to be interesting and fun. Glad you liked it; keep a watchful eye out next year for the next Chapter.
Thanks for downloading!
Oh, and yes - look for all the companions to have their story arcs explored much further, especially the paladin. He's my favorite. And there are more companions coming, each with their own story arc/quest line. It will be worth your time, I hope, to take each companion into your party, at least long enough to do their personal quest, when you discover it.
Thanks for the great mod and rest assured many will be waiting to play the next part of the adventure.
One odd thing I noticed, neither my PC cleric nor the one you provided were able to turn any of the undead in the crypt. I don't know if that's on purpose or not or I was just very unlucky.
Full comments are here - http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/module/darkening-sky-prologue#comment-1401
Best of luck and I look forward to Chapter 1.