Demonheart - Chapter II

Great Module! Please make more!

I'm glad that it has been moved here especially the vault was shut down for good. Looking forward to the new chapter...

Fantastic trilogy of modules. It's nice to see the mature theme done properly as it adds to the believability of the world.  I hope to see Chapter 3 released and continue the story =)

I experienced a small bug (kind of, more like a glitch) when I tried bringing the horses back to the city. The initial scene involving The Python didn't fire when I first left the Mine with the horses and I got a message that I needed to turn back. When I finally got back and was going back to the stables the scene fired, but it was kind of awkward with the horses standing there in the middle. They also rebelled and galloped back before it happened. Is that supposed to happen? I was with Sinallion when it occurred.

I've also encountered a small glitch with the Undead Creatures (Specifically Undead Deer and Undead Birds). Upon reentering or reloading a cell where they are dead, their corpses will appear to be standing. It's entirely visual and minor, but I figured it was worth a mention.

Okay - I admit it.  Somethimes I can't see something that's right in front of me.  But I cannot find the "house with black windows" where I can rescue the two missing members of the Church of Ravage.  I have walked the four screens of the town again and again without success.  I realize that this ia a "Beta" release, but is this quest not completable?

Otherwise, I am really enjoying this series.

Great module series - I rate it 10/10.

Two minor issues that could be considered "bugs". 

1 - When I was captured by Rivera and had to escape, all of my stuff was confiscated (which is to be expected).  However, when I reclaimed the equipment and swag later, all but one of my bags/pouches were missing, which made it impossible to get everything back.

2 - When I got to the point of starting the battles with Rivera, I right-clicked on the portcullis in front of her, noted that it was locked, and decided to dash down the passage to the left.  I was therefore able to get into the room where she was from the rear and take out her pets - while she remained "neutral" instead of hostile.  When I then tried to talk to her, there was no conversation available, so I attacked, only to find that she was unkillable.  So I reloaded the Auto-Save and approached the portcullis, which triggered the intended script.

I am so hoping that this series continues.

NtG

I just started playing the module.

I found a baby in the middle of the road and since I didn't want to put it into my backpack where it might suffocate I carried it.

A bit later I came across a door which I couldn't open because I didn't have the key. As a fighter I did what fighters do if they can't open a door... bash it!

Poor baby!

Unfortunately, the author has abandoned this series as a NWN module. Apparently because people complained that NWN is too old of a game, or that they coudn't get it to work? Well the former statment is utterly asinine, since there are tons of much older games out there that people still enjoy to this, and the only logical response to the latter statment is "your own damn fault, cause you didn't read the instructions".

Very sad, I enjoyed this series immensely, and it makes me very sad to see it die.

Yeah it is hard to build epic games (60 to 100 hours to complete without cheats / walk-through) and take on criticism.  But I really still do it for hobby and it let's your creative side come out.  With less people able to beta test, there will be more smaller bugs that could potentially show up.

It is nice to see people still involved with the community though.  It takes a shit ton of time to develop a decent game worth playing.  With full-time job, you have to really like doing it.  It is pretty rewarding replaying modules years later and experiencing the fun all over again.  

Anyway, I can see why some people move on...  But there are some like me that still like to take on the challenge and try to provide some free entertainment for others.

@Tigris: There are actually people who think NWN is too old?!? That is indeed idiotic! I played the OC and the 2 Expansions back in '03 and I'm still playing them from time to time using different character classes. And thanks to the module creators who sacrifice their time and dedication to building new Mods(Like Bradley here above me)NWN just keeps getting better and better. Sure there are games that have way better graphics but for me NWN is the only game that lets you play a wide array of mods made by gamers themselves. I used to make mods for Warcraft III but the "environments" are just too limited. I believe NWN will endure...

Uhh, how do I get Brash's heart from the trap mechanism?

THANK YOU Balisong29 for Asking the question & THANK YOU Ralebeau for Answering the question, on "How to Get Brash's Heart from the trap mechanism"...!
Was pretty stuck there & found NO literature anywhere on the internet or any walkthrough for DH2 (not that the character has access to such tools, eh?) Quite the exciting module Trilogy, so far...
 

Oh my, I've just finished Chapter II and... I'm a mess. I didn't expect that at all. Moment, when the story ends...this is unfair. Now I'm constantly thinking about it, and the fact it won't be continued breaks my heart... I still hope that Lamb will come back but, after 2 years, it would be a miracle. 

Just to break a lance in favor of the community for once, it's not because of "people complaining" that the module was abandoned, but because of a very personal and specific author's wish; she stated it quite clearly on her blog, that she wanted demon heart to be "her project only" and not use neverwinter as tool anymore, so she's turning the whole project into something completely different... that's her prerogative of course, and I'm still grateful for the content that she gave us to play for free so far.

Of course, I'm among the ones waiting for a miracle; but I'm also among the ones still waiting for Alaric to finish the remastered version of Sanctum of the Archmage and Valine to finish the revamped chapter 2 of a Dance with rogues (Simon... sigh).... what can I say, dreams are still free nowadays, at least :P

I like the series, too bad it ended

having played this many years ago and now recently playing the VN that came from it, i have to say i prefer the nwn version. the tone is so much better along with the quality of the world building and setting. it is a real shame that is was changed so much from the original product, but in terms of VN's the finished demonheart isn't all bad.

but to add, even though this module isn't completed i would recomend it none the less. the gameplay, story and setting is rare in terms of what i've seen.

I've played the visual novel and NWN versions, both are amazing. Congrats.

I think its great that the author chose to move on it was entirely their choice of course to choose to make a Visual Novel of their own story. With that said its not like its the end of the world in terms of nwn based modules, sure demonheart is something of a gem compared to some other modules but that doesnt mean we shouldnt give up in hopes we'll never see anything like it again. I support wkbuilder for the work they do on the Wink and Kiss Modules, which mind you part 2 made its release this year!

If Lamb chooses to leave this community then we'll have to look elsewhere for content and support other authors who are passionate about making content for our community

I just finished this series. OMG!!!! It is incredible. I really wish that there were more on the NWN platform. Looks like I'll have to knock the dust off of my steam account for the visual novels. I absolutely HAVE to know what happens with Raze!!!!!! :-)

by the way this chapter ended there is suppose to be chapter 3, or why do i need to export my character?

I have played this game some time ago when it first came out, and was mightily impressed/intrigued with it. While I am disappointed that the module series will not be continued, the visual novel itself was fantastic - I loved every second of it! I do have to say that, according to one of the reviewers on here, that they have the right idea of the DH setting being better off as a visual novel. As they said, NWN is more geared towards protagonist characters who are competent in their fighting skills, spellcasting abilities, and/or other skills and abilities they pick up along their adventures, and doesn't really cater to the whole 'poor commoner girl who gets way in over her head' trope. Or perhaps a little bit under it. Okay, bad joke, never mind. :p If you've played the game, you will know what I mean by that. But, I digress. The story itself DOES work better as a visual novel, as the combat and mindless exploration mode that the NWN1 modules pretty much forces upon the player regardless of the story content itself (if there's conflict of any kind, there's bound to be combat in some form or fashion usually), and this version of the game is no exception. It bogs down the plot and overall story that is trying to be told here. I am especially referring to the whole Garden Four or Five shebang, as that seemed like an endless, if not even pointless I dare say, slug-fest, that the game could have really done without. Especially if the character kills Brash and eats his heart, or chooses not to side with Aranna, therefore making her hostile and not available as an adventuring companion from that point on, makes the gameplay much much harder. It was like, down she goes AGAIN, killed for the umpteenth time, before regenerating/resurrecting back again for the umpteenth time. Needless to say, it got to be really tedious and was starting to detract from the fun of it all.  :/ I don't think it was BAD per se, just not entirely necessary. There's a difference.

Then there's the fact that if early in the game, a certain dark knight of a "protector" gets killed, he regenerates and bounces right back up, before the character even knows he's a demonheart just like she is. In truth, that should make the character seriously question what's going on when her companion has the ability to avoid death just as she herself does. Kinda is a major clue right there, that may spoil it for others later on when that little tidbit is actually revealed in full. Though I suppose it is possible to make him "invincible" of a sort, meaning that when he does get down to only 1 hit point, he takes no further damage and comtinues on fighting, if for no other reason then to state that he's important to the plot and should not be killed. Even if it is only temporary. But the PC should not know that right then and there, finding this out later. And it would be way too easy to have this happen a lot since it is just the female MC with Sir Brash up against countless wood-folk, wolves, wargs, and etc. with no other companions to aid them in combat as they make their way to Rivera's lair. And the knight is supposed to be higher level than the MC anyway, due to story reasons. So the MC can't really help much, in that aspect. One reason why the VN format is a better option for this unique and awesome setting.

Then there's the fact that all the combat and exploration as mentioned before majorly slows things down, but maybe that's a good thing for people who felt cheated by the shorter length of the visual novel itself. YMMV. More to do, more to see/explore, more trouble to find, etc. So in some ways, this is a good thing, in others it's doesn't really add much.

And then there's the character classes, albeit modified versions of the Bard, Rogue and Fighter. The VN completely gets rid of the whole 'choose a class' thing, as it really wasn't appropriate to the idea of the player playing a simple commoner girl from a simple commoner family. Even though, let's say, one were to pick the Bard class, the authoress even stating that the character herself is not a bard, never went to a bard school, and is not well-known for this by any stretch of the imagination, it can be more or less explained as the character herself knowing perhaps one or two "bardic" songs, or rather, songs from her childhood, along with the local lore/gossip of her home town. She might even have the ability to coerce people through skills such as Bluff and/or Persuade, though she would not be a pro at it of course. And this version of a Bard does not have the ability to cast spells as that goes against the entire plot, since only witches, demonspawn and demons have the ability to use magic in any shape or form in the DH universe. That makes sense. So if you do choose the Bard class, the MC is not considered an arcane spellcaster, just someone who is perhaps more musically-inclined, and/or more charismatic to others in the town she grew up in. Likewise, if you choose Rogue, you might know a few "tricks of the trade" but are still not considered a rogue by any stretch of believability. And if you pick the Fighter class, the MC might have more physical strength and/or be able to better defend herself, but is still a far cry from being considered a soldier or warrior of any real kind. Therefore the modifications are necessary for the NWN1 DH format. Otherwise, it just wouldn't make any sense with the overall setting itself or the type of character one is supposed to play, having a preset background. Mind you, I love choosing character classes for my characters, but for this game, it isn't really needed. And since 'Commoner' is not a viable option for this game.... Well, that tends to greatly limit what you can do here in terms of custom content, based on what little I know about creating modules and custom content for the Neverwinter Nights game in general. So this is yet another reason why the VN format works better.

Now, this is not a critique about why people should play the VN over the NWN1 modules series, as personally I love them both, despite all the nitpicking above, as they both offer something new, exciting and unique to the player. Not only that, the stories, while they may share some similarities, are more different from each other IMO, than they are the same. Not only that, the modules seem to give you more background and lore on the different religions in the DH setting, whereas the VN covers other aspects that this version does not, and vice versa. So if you want the full run-down on all the world lore and whatnot, then you would need to play both formats, if you haven't already. All in all, they each have something going for them that their respective alternate universe counterpart lacks.

One great thing about the modules as opposed to the visual novel, is that while you cannot choose your background and how the character grew up, as that is pretty much set in stone, you can at least give her a name to your liking, choose what she looks like, hair color, skin color, and whatnot, aside from phenotype that is, and choose the way she acts and what her overall alignment is. The VN only allows you to do the last two things, as her name in that format and what she looks like cannot be changed. In the VN, the MC's  name is Bright and she is a fiery redhead with either wavy or curly hair and hazel eyes, just like her mother (NPC) is. In the modules, this doesn't have to be the case, though there are certain naming conventions to keep in mind all the same, as per the lore of the setting would dictate. The Readme goes into more detail on this, so I will not reiterate that here.

Simply put, both formats are superb, and are true works of storytelling  art, so kudos to the author/mod maker on this, and for all future games in this series. The world is a richer place because of your contributions. :) I am in it for the long haul, wherever it all happens to lead, I am with the story until its very end and then some. :) Currently playing thru the VN again, but will soon replay the module series as well, what's available here that is, just because I want to. A real gem of a game, can't stop thinking about it. And if a game or story can do that, it has most definitely accomplished what it has set out to do. An unforgettable experience all the way. Two Thumbs Up.
 

I can see the purported suitability of the VN medium to the story, but I for one am glad the author is planning to return to the RPG format. I played both versions, and the VN seemed like a rather shallow adaptation that missed out on so much of the unique lore and side content that made this series so appealing. Can't wait to play Demonheart: Hunters!