Title | Agrenost - Beneath the Cobbles |
Author | Bubba Thudd |
Submitted / Updated | 09-05-2009 / 06-02-2011 |
Category | City Adventure |
Expansions | Requires All Expansions (SoU & HotU & CEP) |
Setting | Parts of the City of Agrenost, a Tolkienesque/Medieval Western European part of a world of my own devising. |
Gameplay Length | 16-24 hours per faction, depending on play style & side-quests |
Number Players | I've only tried 1. |
Language | English |
Level Range | Starting only. |
Races | Any but half-orc. |
Tricks & Traps | Medium |
Roleplay | Medium |
Hack & Slash | Medium |
Classes | Any but ranger & druid. |
Scope | Medium |
DMNeeded | No DM Required |
Single or Multiplayer | Single Player |
Max Character Level | 01 |
Max # Players | 01 |
Min # Players | 01 |
Min Character Level | Any |
Forums | Link |
Content Rating | Everyone |
Alignments | All, but if you are playing a monk or cleric pick a side - good or evil. |
Gameplay Hours | 20 |
Description | |
Agrenost: Beneath the Cobbles was a finalist for the AME Golden Dragon Award for Best Roleplaying Module! “It’s deeply atmospheric and it contains one of the best-designed cities I’ve ever seen. With its seedy, darkened alleys bustling with peddlers, prostitutes, beggars, and thugs, Agrenost feels like a living city, full of hidden mysteries to explore. I played a rogue, and not only did the author make the shopworn rats-in-the-cellar quest interesting, he used it to immerse me in the story and the environment. I really did feel like I was starting as a lowly gutter-rat who, through the twists of fate, rises to the level of hero... Little details, such as town criers shouting the news in the street, or the run-down appearance of the chapel in the slums, really give the module flavor and make it come alive. The NPCs, while not astounding, do have personality, the story is interesting, the author makes good use of custom tilesets and other content to give the module a fresh appearance, and the combat is very challenging.” Razide0506 (voted 9) The Northern Empire stands on the brink; News of a terrible defeat in a distant land has stirred talk of civil war. A forbidden tome of great power is stolen. A condemned necromancer escapes. Four visiting priests on a mysterious mission walk into danger. More than just rats are being driven up from the lower sewers by the ceaseless rains. Evil is stirring beneath the cobbles of Agrenost. +++++ This module has been designed as an "urban origins" story for new characters. It is really 5 modules in 1 as there are 5 sets of starting adventures based on the class and alignment you chose. Each path reveals new aspects of the plot and new areas, so replaying is encouraged. Requires all expansions (SoU, HotU & CEP), Feanor's Mediaeval Armoury 2.1, Axe Murderer's Killer Walk Waypoints 2.1 and custom HAK. Players: 1 Level: 1 Alignments: All, but if you are playing a monk or cleric pick a side - good or evil. Races: All but half-orc. If you are playing an evil priest or monk, human would be the choice most consistent with the plot. Classes: Any but Ranger and Druid. Henchmen: 6 possible. Culture/Setting: The City of Agrenost, a Tolkienesque/Medieval Western European part of a world of my own devising. Respawn: NONE - Save Frequently! Plot Style: There are 5 distinct starting areas and plotlines which are determined by your faction (class/alignment); 1) Church (Good Cleric, Monk, Paladin) 2). Cult (Evil Cleric, Monk) 3) Thief (Rogue, Bard) 4) Thug (Fighter, Barbarian) and 5) Mage (Wizard, Sorcerer) Each of the main plots are fairly linear, but there are many chances for exploration and side-quests. Magic: Medium-Low (about on a par with the original Baldurs' Gate) Playing Time: 18-20 hours per plotline if all quests are explored. Features: 145 areas to explore, loads of custom costumes, armour, weapons and items. Party can consist of up to 5 henchmen. Many custom scripts (such as recoverable missile weapon ammo). Custom music by Wolgemut and others. -------------- Agrenost - Beneath the Cobbles FINAL v4 (Directors Cut) (April 2011) a NWN 1 Module by Bubba McThudd This update contains: - Minor bug fixes and typo corrections. - 2 new quests (see bartenders at the Red Hound and Sanguine Rose) - Additional custom content and overall “polish.” - Custom hands hak. - New Monk henchwoman. This update also contains several new items specifically created for this module by Calgacus (they can also be found on the vault). These items include: Wand of Gather/Drillmasters’ Horn: When activated, this cunning device instantly teleports your henchmen to your side. Very useful for keeping your party together when traversing narrow winding streets or twisting sewers! Potion of Manna: This rare and powerful potion instantly restores a magic users’ spells just like resting. Wand of Cleaning/Soap: These items remove the stench of the sewers of Agrenost from your PC – a handy alternative to visiting the baths. Nobleman’s Walking Stick: When activated on an NPC, it usually causes them to move away from the PC – useful for dispersing crowds that sometimes clog narrow streets. |
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Well done module.
I loved the way it started for my rogue character. The atmosphere was amazing, one of the best towns to play a rogue in that I have experienced.
The later part of the module was less fun for a rogue and I spend my time frantically trying to control the henchmen rather than participating in the combat.
All in all I give it a 7/10.
Yes this is a good module but for an evil path chararter the ending was a letdown. Not to give anything away but the ending was too heroic and good for an evil character. The music was superb, reminds me of In Slaughter Natives. I give it a 8/10
In an unusual complaint for me, the map was too small and the city streets too narrow. Also, there were no real dialogue choices in the little that I played before deciding this wasn't really my cup of tea.
Finished this one today. It's an extremely difficult and hardcore module, especially with rest restrictions, compared to most I've played. The inns & taverns feel very alive because the author filled them up with NPCs nicely. Someone made the comment that the ending feels false if you talke the evil path, with which I have to agree. It feels like the author just kept the same ending for both good paths and evil, which, if true, is a little lazy if you ask me, especially considering that he offered so many different questlines for different builds and alignments. Otherwise it's a pretty solid module. 8/10
rated 8/10
The atmosphere in this module is simply amazing, with great use of music, lightning and additional effects like smoke and fog. The streets feel alive, with NPCs walking around, engaging in coversations etc., instead of just standing around like dummies. Agrenost is not without issues, though:
1) NPCs clogging the streets. The walking stick (which is supposed to disperse them) didn't work for me - NPCs who got stuck on each other wouldn't move away, because there was nowhere for them to go.
2) Faction issues: everyone and everything (including little kids and cats) not part of the gangs would fearlessly attack any threat on the streets, such as cutthroats, and usually get killed in the process.
3) Respawning happened a little too quick; often it was enough to walk round the corner and turn back to get the same enemies spawned freshly on top of the corpses of the previous group.
4) Broken economy. This was frankly the biggest issue, as it puts the entire plot in question. My rogue earned several thousands of gold (by selling all magical loot he found) even before finishing up the rat catching quests. Wy would anyone that rich work as a rat catcher anymore?
Nevertheless, the amazing atmosphere made this mod a delight to play.
This module is in dire need of fixing its traders. Almost in the beginning as a mage I could buy a thing for less and sell for more in the same place, basically having an unlimited amount of cash.
Sadly, I have to give this one only 4 stars. Has anyone played a Paladin or a Monk? One of the very first Monk quests is to carry medicine to these different apartments. One of them is the "Southwall Tenament 2nd Floor Room 4". The Walkthrough even tells you that. Well there is a problem there. There ISN"T a Southwall Tenament. There is however a Southwall Lodgements. The problem there is on the second floor there are only two rooms and they are both locked. I can NOT complet the Mod. YES the mod is nice looking. As above everything looks nice. The music is nice. All of that. If I want to enjoy all that I have to play a class that I may not enjoy (I like monks).
Note, I changed it from 2 stars to 4 because it is fine with every other class but Paladins, Clerics and Monks. (those that have to start in the church)
I had this trouble too, but after teleporting through the Southwall Lodgements using DebugMode, I found another area where the "Southwall Tenament 2nd Floor Room 4" is located. Turns out you have to enter through the Pawn Shop, THEN following the sign,up the stairs, which is very misleading, because the map marker in the town area says otherwise.
Great, teleporting through the area triggered the crime script and my character will inevitably land in jail. Gee thanks, I had to debug to fix this stupid design and I have to reload way back because of it, bullshit! (Sorry for the salty rant.)
FYI tenement is not a buildings name but its description. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word tenement thus -
TR
A very promising mod, but NWN refuses to restore a saved game. It says that the file is corrupt or stored with a newer version. Of course, I have a clean overide.
I didn'n have the recommended CEP V 2.1, I'm already on 2.6 (plus fixes).
Did anybody have a idea? Is there any way to get a detailed log of the restore-process?
-------edit
Found it. My fault. Done
Almost Anything what I've to say is already said by others (chimaera, rosilon), except one thing: I miss the proper ending of some quests (such as the last ratcatcher quest).
But this doesn't spoil the fun too much.
I suggest to start with the mod at last at level 3.
Nice city oriented adventure
I tired of this module after trying to navigate the extremely constricted alleyways, sewers and city areas. Extremely non-linear, to a fault. Too much crammed into too small a space. Not sure why this was done in this way, but it is not good for me. I brought in a lot of money and that allowed me to get some decent equipment, but this was a bit of a mess, I am sorry to say. The journal is not helpful either. Too bad, as I liked the concept!
This is one of the best.But you gotta have a high search skill and be ready to reload any time, which can make for some frustration.
Be sure to talk to the dwarven bandleader ;)
This was clearly a very ambitious project. 5 different questlines related to starting class, hell yeah. Lots of side content and hidden secrets to find so long as you are well prepared. Agrenost is a lively city with many NPCs plus there's crime scripts too regarding trespassing and vandalism.
Not a Rogue? Don't worry, you too can rob from civilians' homes. Don't let them approach you for conversation as this will net you a crime, making Constables arrest you. However, if you kill them quick, you get away scot-free.
Unforunately, it has many flaws that detract from the experience.
I've mixed feelings about this module (I haven't finished it yet). I will try to write down some thoughts about it.
The good:
- Realistic and detailed town setting.
- Many detailed builings, shops, inns, taverns, serwers etc. with many minor NPCs to interact with.
- Unconventional weapons and armor suites. Very few items above +1 bonus.
- The creeping feeling of urgency in certain quests.
- Different backgrounds and introductory quests for rogues, fighters and mages.
The bad:
- Very difficult module. It's awfully hard to survive some combats. Many limitations to the resting, too.
- VERY slow level progression.
- Not very clear how to proceed from a quest to the next one. Sometimes you have to visit every building to find someone who gives you a task to accomplish, only to earn some spare xp.
- Enemies to fight are mainly zombies and rats.
- Too many people cluttering very narrow streets. Sometimes they stuck and it's impossible to make them go away.
As a fan of the rogue/ranger/shadowdancer character class, I like town adventures above all other kind of modules, and I place this module between the highly romantic and lyrical "A dance with rogues" and the and somehow humorous and lighter "Lankhmar Nights".
If I could give a suggestion to the author, I would place less people around and would give some more xp to ensure that, upon reaching the "main quest", the PC is at least at 5th level.
edit: I've restarted from a 4th level save, completed almost all the side quests and, at the 5th level and with, *MANY* healing potions of various power, I've managed to complete level one of the dungeon.
it has been some time since I played this but I have been all the way through it as a Paladin and again as a fighter. The module is diificult but a low magic module would be. I think a lot of the features are very unique and this module would be a prime candidate for an EE refreshed version