AL2: Crimson Tides of Tethyr (Canceled Premium Module)

An excellent module for single player, my husband and I decided to take a chance on playing it multiplayer, with the understanding that it may not work. That is indeed the case - area transitions out of the Royal Quarter do not allow for party transition, and will move one player, and not necessarily the one that clicks on the transition. Scripting-wise, it's probably a reasonably quick fix for anyone that feels like tackling it, but as-is, it won't work for you in multiplayer.

This module plays a bit differently than the other NWN official modules and I had to mentally adjust to that. By this I mean that the module has a heavy emphasis on the military aspect of the world of Toril which involves a lot of marching and to me the really interesting parts started after the marching was done. The art included in the hak_pak for this module (as can be seen in the second screenshot) really adds to the setting of the place which is easily the best part of this module in my opinion.

I used a character coming directly from the SoU campaign and I thought it made the module an appropriate challenge even by using all henchmen available. However it is to note that this character was a level 13 arcanist and I did NOT ask for a reward for a certain quest thinking I would receive "it" automatically, so without spoiling too much the final boss can become quite hectic. Especially when playing as a frail spellcaster.

Overall a very strong mod.  A rich, solid storyline full of intrigue and well scripted.  There are a few bugs I found:

1) a certain boss would not fight on normal difficulty but would at hardcore,

2) another boss would not fight at all

3) Two cutscene scripts near the end sometimes break and need to be re-run; one from a conversation, a second following a fight.

This is a fun mod however, which takes your character from level 7-13 and has a lot of great items.  Characters able to wield a long sword will be richly rewarded in this one, though there are a few nice custom items for other classes such as mage.

I played CToT for the first time about a decade ago, remembering it fondly for strong Realmslore, solid writing, many references to the Baldur's Gate series, custom music and haks, overall polish etc.

CToT is currently being replayed by me, and recounted in full, here. Enjoying it so far, just like I did in my youth.

Excellent! Highly recommended! :-)

Can't wait to start Part 3, "Tyrants of the Moonsea"!

That song choice in the temple district :D haha sucha oldie from 90's

Other than that, solid writings, nice companions, cool story.

Great mod, one for the ages. Even the Zam Fir flute was fun!

Wow, this one was truly an excellent module from start to finish, right up there with The Wanderer I and Ravenloft - Beyond the Gate for me as one of my favorites. There's some good challenge to be found here, and I think pretty much all classes will find something to like about it. As opposed to Siege of Shadowdale, you do get companions with this one, and they actually have a bearing on the game's plot (there's room for some complaints as to the lack of variety in your companion options, but I wasn't really bothered by it...this is one area that arcane casters might not appreciate, however). I do miss being able to work on their equipment, especially since you're likely to end up with a ludicrous amount of cash by module's end (as well as some sweet items you may not be able to use), but otherwise this is some of the best companion integration into a campaign I've seen yet.

The first part of the module is probably the weakest part for me, though it's also the least linear. There's certainly some really interesting stuff here (the temple feud and the noble mansion being standouts), but there are some tedious areas (e.g. the sewers; the city itself is also large enough that it can be a pain to traverse) and there's a sense of aimlessness...not helped by the fact that everything you're doing here is literally just your character killing time before the main plot kicks off. The second part is reminiscent of SoU's Interlude, and the third part is my favorite area of the game--the setting is really cool, and your character gets to be important to the war effort while still working alongside other heroes.

I'd refer to this campaign as "the OC done right." You get a nice variety of settings and enemies along with a solid story that contains some twists (some utterly unsurprising, but a few that I didn't see coming). Whether or not you played Siege (there's very little connection between the modules, although the levels line up nicely), I'd heavily recommend this one to just about anyone.

Played this mod with a character which previously finished AL1: Siege of Shadowdale. This second installment is amazing, 10/10. It had minor bugs / problems but now having finished it I can conclude that they can simply be forgotten, the writing is too great, the custom content is aesthetically pleasing, also the new music is nice.

I am looking forward to playing AL3 witht he same character, though I am afraid that it might be too OP with the things I have been hoarding. Time will tell.

Superb, epic module, 10/10, with additional tilesets such as elven city. Cutscenes are great, writing is interesting and you have this feeling of being a part of a larger campaign, which is very nice. Linearity, although present, is not a problem at all - after all you are a soldier and have your orders. There are cool plot twists presents that make up for this linearity. Music is nice as well and it really enhances the climate (with a notable exception of a kitschy native american flute which is ridiculous) :) I played the module without prior knowledge of AL1, nor do I intend to play AL2, as it has never been finished. It is mainly for fighter-types (level 7), although bard- and mage-related equipment is abundant.

Pity haste items are available very late in the game, you will have to rely on dm_mylittlepony or expeditious retreat items (I created one in Pretty good character creator). I finished the game with Paladin (5)/Sorcerer (8) that had Pixie as his pocket thief. Such build was very nice to play, especially considering access to fireballs, flaming blade enchantment, staffs and scrolls. One thing:the best sword in this game is a longsword (+2 with additional 8 dmg and later on +4 ), so have this in mind when choosing weapon specializtion (I misplaced weapon focus)

Some problems: 

- after final fight one of your companions sometimes starts to attack you and anyone neutral thus breaking the plot (must be sth with dealing final blow to the baddie that is changing factions);

- sometimes, rarely, scripts do not trigger and realod is needed;

- when you manage to kill a messenger before he delivers his message in the orc temple, the ogre's apparition (invulnerable) attacks you.

- you cannot access inventory of your henchmen so consider spawning some bags of holding before the start of the game

PS. Any idea how to harm the darkness-casting Ogre in Elven undead forest without resorting to divine damage bonus (which I luckily had, but it was the only type of damage that managed to hit him)

I am at the final boss for this mod currently, really enjoyed it, playing with a character built up through Siege of Shadowdale, A Ranger, I'm wondering if i have missed something which a commenter above seemed to allude to, as the final boss seems genuinely impossible for my lv12 Ranger, his two minions and pet wolf. I can barely scratch him before we are all dead.

I tried Lilura's commentary but alas, it stops before the last section of the mod, Anyone reading this who has completed it give me a hint?

I really enjoyed the module! A million bravo to the creator! The story is awesome and gameplay is excellent !! 

I literally lost my sleep playing just a little more !!

Great job !

Played this one through many years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. I actually started this series again because a module I am currently in the midst of building is set in Tethyr and I wanted to explore what Alazander had done with it.

I do enjoy modules set in the realms with familiar characters as is this entire series.

This particular module is the best of three and in my book is one of the classic NWN modules. 

I played this one through with NWNEE and did not find any game breaking bugs. There were occassional glitches that either solved themselves or were fixed by a quick save and reload. 

I would give this particular module a 10 and then the entire series a 9. I thought I read in one of the Beamdog forums that Alazander was considering an overhaul for NWNEE and finishing the story, apparently there was to be a fourth installment?? Either way loved this module and loved the series! 

Thanks for all the hard work Alazander you put into these modules!

Series review:

https://neverwintervault.org/comment/48460#comment-48460

Killed a whole lot of baddies in the Catacombs and confronted the Boss there. He says that he will take care of you when you click on him again, but when I do that the game just stops. I will try going back for a third time to an earlier save game, if I have one that will allowe me to get past this. Never got out of the City even though I rescued all in the cells, using the hooded cloak. Very loose feel to this mod up to the point described above. Other than that liked getting some of the items that hasted and added damage finally. Good job over all.

The module is excellent overall with a fairly satisfying/decent storyline (though there's too many not too subtle hints dropped along the way to make the ending a real surprise). Lot's of nicely scripted content, good cutscenes (a bit overdone at times). The writing turned out to be a bit ham fisted but for a CRPG it's very decent (let's face it, the genre isn't exactly full of prize winning writing).

Now the real problem: gameplay balance. Maybe the problem is I started with a level 8 character (the Readme file states the module is meant for lvl 6-8 range to start) because I have a non min/max, somewhat underpowered build that I enjoy using. The combat turned out to be so non-challenging that it became a snoozefest. The ones that were especially disappointing were the boss fights; really a letdown after the buildup/trashtalking to find out the big bads go down in a crumpled heap pretty quickly. The only exception was the very final boss fight, which was sufficiently challenging when done 1 v 1 (but still a cakewalk when you succeed in the skillcheck that results in better odds).

Add to that the massive amounts of gold and powerful magic items available by mid/late game (I find it disheartening that most module designers simply can't seem to stay away from the monty haul lootfest mentality - probably doesn't help that the game's OC set the tone). The result: every fight in the last half of the game was anticlimactic, they were so easy. The spellcasting bosses in particular were pitiful; mid/high level spellcasters in DnD should be lethal dangerous, not laughable. The end result of all this was that it undermined  the plot - the lack of challenge flew in the face of attempts by the plot/dialog to convey that powerful enemies were arrayed against Tethyr.

I finished the module just barely at level 14. I deliberately started to skip some sources of XP towards the latter stages because I was concerned about the serious lack of challenge, but it seems level isn't the issue seeing that the module description says 7-14.

If balance could be addressed this would get a better rating from me; even so it's still worthy of a good rating due to interesting quests and other excellent content.