What are some of your favorite NWN modules?

[INS-Hyacinth]

Maybe you'll find something in Bioware Contest collection. Over 300 modules here.

 

The Bioware contest was for single areas, rather than complete modules.

 

I see I have some modules yet to try out. I stopped playing modules fairly quick, because stuff such as the Paladin trilogy and the Hex Coda are two out of a billion worthless mods. I got tired of looking through piles of garbage to find the good stuff.

 

The reason I wouldn't recommend them to people unreservedly is that both series are incomplete. It's really frustrating to get through two parts of a trilogy and to be left waiting for the third, with no indication of when it will come out. I think it's better for the connections between the parts to be looser if the parts aren't going to come out in quick succession.

 

Just so that this post isn't just useless philosophy, here's a few more modules I enjoyed or found useful.

 

The Graveron Seduction, a murder mystery.

 

Black Thorn, another mystery which takes place entirely within one building and can be played in less than three hours.

 

Novice to Epic Character Maker, which I think is the best of the "character builder" modules around and which has a version that works with the PrC Pack.

[Bri]

The Graveron Seduction, a murder mystery.

 

Black Thorn, another mystery which takes place entirely within one building and can be played in less than three hours.

 

Novice to Epic Character Maker, which I think is the best of the "character builder" modules around and which has a version that works with the PrC Pack.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Small modules also work fine...I must admit, the mystery idea has me intrigued since I'm trying to figure out a couple ideas for mysteries in BG 2.

[Haucusuchus]

For example, as I said, I am liking the Shadowlord/Dreamcatcher/Demon series, and yet my biggest aggravation with it is the 'dialogue' choices which are definitely out of context/character (the Menos/Mentos comment for example)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hi there, you might like to try Kevin Chan's Tales of arterra; it's an epic setting spanning two modules and 23 levels, and more importantly there's a wide range of dialogue choices. I remember thinking after I played the first module, "this is what the NWN OC should have been like," and the second one was even better.

 

here

and

here

 

Hexa coda is also very good but unfortunatly fairly short.

 

I'd also like to point out that the paladin trilogy mentioned earlier starts out with a series of very frustating and boring hack-and-slash "trials." I suppose it gets better based from others reviews but those trials put me off after 20 minutes.

[Grunker]

Just finished Tales of Arterra, which was quick to move in right below the Hex Coda in my list.

 

Sad to see no good epic level modules out there, ToA is the only one so far I've tried that's been worth something, and you only get to be epic level for a very limited time.

[INS-Hyacinth]

Sad to see no good epic level modules out there, ToA is the only one so far I've tried that's been worth something, and you only get to be epic level for a very limited time.

 

There are some quality modules that get you up to epic levels.

 

My character in Lords of Darkness ended as a Fighter 19/Weapon MAster 6, though that module wouldn't be to everyone's taste.

 

Hunt Through the Dark part 6 got me a 25th level character (Rogue 11/Bard 10/Champion of Torm 4).

 

At the end of chapter 3 of the Aielund saga my PC was a Fighter 6/Wizard 5/Bladesinger 12.

 

One I've got hopes for but haven't played yet is Tale of a Mage Chapter 2, which starts with a mage of 19th/20th level. If the faults of chapter 1 can be avoided - a strong start and end but weak in the middle - it should be a good module.

 

And another module that I'm enjoying, though it's not for epic level characters yet, is Runes of Blood. I haven't finished yet, but what I;ve played so far has been good.

[Lord Ernie]

I have a feeling the reason for lacking in quality Epic modules is the difficulty of making balanced, but challenging combat at those high levels. Frankly, once any mod lets my character get above level 16-17, there's very little that even challenges me.

 

Things get worse at somewhat higher levels, once level 9 Magic becomes avaiable (I usually play a Sorcerer), with spells that can very quickly take out large groups (Wail of the Banshee) or single targets (maximized Isaac's Greater Missile Storm); a cleric is usually even better at high levels: beefy enough fighting abilities, a powerful arsenal of offensive spells (firestorm, Harm,...) and healing.

[Bri]

I have a feeling the reason for lacking in quality Epic modules is the difficulty of making balanced, but challenging combat at those high levels. Frankly, once any mod lets my character get above level 16-17, there's very little that even challenges me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is a very good point Lord Ernie. That is why to me the story is more important when all is said and done.

 

Or, if the modder tries to take into account relative levels of the player, all to often, they favor the monsters so much that it takes a miracle to beat the module.

[Grunker]

True. The story and roleplaying options of the module is all there is. Show and fascinating doodle-dandle (graphical delights) is just sprinkles. But having played many mods, many games and much P&P in D&D, I felt like playing epic for once. sad to say, I found nothing that could hold my interest, not even the winner of the post-HotU competition, Sands of Fate, was very good if you ask me. To much show and focus on combat, too little story and RP.

 

That was what I meant when I said no good epic modules. There are epic level modules, ones made by great modders, with great balance, great combat, and great graphical delight. I just haven't seen one with great RP.

[Necaradan666]

I haven't tried too many modules, every time I got ahold of one it turned out to be rubbish but the persistant world of Avlis owned my loyalty for a good while. It was a fun community but took to much time from my life. And I still prefer BG to NWN. Maybe when NWN2 comes out...*shrugs*

[BigRob]

Good epic RP and story can be pretty hard to do in the first place, in part because of the foes you tend to face for reasons of challenge. And it seems most mod makers who want to make content for higher level games favour endless battles over story anyway.

[INS-Hyacinth]

Good epic RP and story can be pretty hard to do in the first place, in part because of the foes you tend to face for reasons of challenge. And it seems most mod makers who want to make content for higher level games favour endless battles over story anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The problem with creating NWN modules is play balance. You don't know what capabilities the PC will have, and some classes are noticeably more powerful than others. A situation that a sorceror will find challenging might be impossible or really easy for a fighter-type. A rogue might not be able to get through a difficult combat encounter which a fighter can hack through or a spellcaster can blast apart. But a spellcaster or fighter would have equal difficulty with traps that don't represent much of a problem for the rogue.

 

 

The problem with providing henchmen to deal with these problems is the limited control you have over them, and you can't always guarantee which one will be available. In the BG series you had a party of 6 with full control over each of the characters, and could expect that one of your characters would be able to deal with whatever a problem was.

 

 

One reason why the paladin series is effective is that it doesn't try to cope with a range of characters and styles of play. You have to play a Paladin and there's only one NPC available, so all the challenges in the module can be based around the capabilities that you have. Even the range of responses in dialogues is limited by your Paladin status. Other modules have done similar things for other classes - Kale's Rangers is a good example - but few have done it so well.

 

 

And this is the long way of explaining why people who make epic level modules for NWN often favour battles over interaction, simply because it's easier to plan for. There are other factors - dialogue triggers are a pain and removing branches that you've already followed from dialogue trees is a lot of work - but you've correctly identified challenges as the main reason for many NWN modules to favour battles and hack-and-slash play.

[Smoketest]

Imagination in design is the best way to build a module or game. Traps that might seem to halt a warrior or sorcerer could be disarmed by a hidden lever, for instance. In general, it's always nice to have more than one way to do everything, though that obviously leads to longer development times. The end result is worth it, in my opinion.

 

I've yet to try anything outside of what's included in Bioware's Diamond package. The dialogs in the OC felt unfinished many times, and plots were a joke most of the time. It was infuriating to know exactly who did what and how, and be unable to present the abundant evidence to anyone in authority. And then be forced to watch the inevitable betrayal that you saw coming from the beginning. Things like that are why I easily favor the BG series (heck, even the IWD games), over NWN.

 

HotU was fun in that I had a clearly defined foe to deal with, but the bug that allowed me to romance two main NPCs, without even trying or making a conscious decision, was rather distracting.

 

Kingmaker was fun, but short. Way too short.

 

I'm back into the BG series for now. I'm waiting to see what NWN2 looks like, and Dragon Age also has my interest. Even read that Bioware has licensed Epic's Unreal III engine for a new project.

[Bri]

I agree Kingmaker had potential...even when I compare it to NWN Core or NWN SoU.

 

I do want to thank those who gave suggestions and whatnot. I did find a good number that I found to be enjoyable. I will admit, it is heartening to find some people just didn't want another hack'n'slash game.

 

That said, BG 2 still has my heart

[Grunker]

Kingmaker definately had potential. As for SoU, I think that's probably the only RPG I've ever played without having one single moment where I enjoyed it.

 

Thanks for making this thread Bri, I really got some good ideas for mods to play

[icelus]

Has anyone played the Pirates of the Sword Coast module from Bioware?