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Almraiven
Please do not upload Almraiven to Steam Workshop.
Almraiven Enhanced Edition available here!
Added a quick script fix for the Medusa Lair - May 27, 2021.
"The dark silhouette of the High Tower looms ahead, reaching upward like the many jagged rocks and dead trees that surround the area. For many years it has been home to you and it is within those walls you were taught the arts of the arcane by Bakadah, your master. It is on this night that your training comes to an end and your acceptance into the Auren Society of Weavers is at hand.
The Auren draw their power from a weave that spans into the Land of the Dead. It allows such members to grasp a better understanding of the spirits that roam that realm and use it to their advantage. As of late the weave has felt tainted, as if it has been soiled in some way. Even your assistant Charles, who you summoned from the Land of the Dead, complained of headaches and the like. The dead should not do this.
It is this very taint that has awoken the Council of the High Tower from their slumber in tombs they have remained within for one-hunded and sixty years. On this night your first assignment is to come from Bakadah, an assignment given directly to him by the Council of the High Tower.
You have been chosen. Your time has come."
-----
Latest update - December 30, 2010.
- Gameplay Length: (6+ hrs) Gameplay hours is a result of following the main adventure. Hours will vary depending on how many side-quests you decide to take on while exploring the city.
- Number Players: 1
- Language: English
- Level Range: 1
- Races: Any
- Tricks & Traps: Light
- Roleplay: Medium
- Hack & Slash: Light
- Classes: Wizard or Sorcerer
- Scope: Medium
- DMNeeded: No DM Required
- Single or Multiplayer: Single Player
- Max Character Level: 01
- Max # Players: 01
- Min # Players: 01
- Min Character Level: 01
- Content Rating: Teen
- Alignments: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil are good choices. Good characters will not suit this module due to the body mutilation and undead summoning that is required for your laboratory assistant.
- Gameplay Hours: 06
Description (Legacy)
This module was created for a single player first level Wizard or Sorcerer of any sex and race.
The adventure takes place within the nation of Calimshan on the eastern shore in a port city known as Almraiven.
Almraiven is a full city adventure and is the first installment of two modules.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Almraiven module. (5847) | 3.18 MB |
| Almraiven Hakpak [REQUIRED] (5751) | 54.7 MB |
| Almraiven Music [OPTIONAL] (4787) | 68.25 MB |
| Almraiven City Map. (3615) | 621.23 KB |
| Stuck in Almraiven? This will assist you. (4465) | 20.78 KB |
 All module release notes. | 19.91 KB |
| Custom content credit list for Almraiven. | 3.85 KB |
| Hall of Fame Interview - Fester Pot (Almraiven) by Tiberius209, Steve Savicki & QSW. (1407) | 2.37 MB |
| Bird's Eye View of the Medusa Lair for navigation. (1456) | 536.39 KB |
| Extract to My Documents/Neverwinter Nights/development (564) | 929 bytes |
the module is superior and even for me as a city neurotic fun to play
what i reaaaally want to praise is the outstanding solution for ooc since the npc have no names above their heads until they tell you - THIS made my day
I guess 'ol Fester has shown with this module what the neverwinter engine could really do if correctly squeezed.
Thanks NicotineCaffeine and Will Ondiron! It's great to read you enjoyed Almraiven and that folks are still up and about playing modules after all these years.
FP!
One of the best module ever....Really amazing work.That's why I always come back to this game, even after so many years.When we can expect the third part?
Thank-you, NvNFan!
It's always nice to know that after all this time, there are players still downloading single player adventures.
Fate of the Auren chugs along, but I don't have a time frame on it.
Thanks for stopping by to play, vote and comment! It's appreciated!
FP!
well, the NWN1 is a game that has all in the right place, i will always come back to it in a while (and it is the only game i do so), what finally is the credit of the modders. If i had only the original campains to play, i probably wouldn't play it so often. So be sure people always will download and play it, and i am really glad that, on the other side, still modders are motivated to create awesome stuff !
Recently i thought about nowadays' games and wondered why the wheel is reinvented again and again, instead of using the existing (already round) ones, say the graphics extreme day by day, and the gameplay, the stories, suffer. So, for here, you take the wheels and build a nice cart so we can have a nice ride with. Thanks for that
How on earth do you solve the clock puzzle in "Laboratory Assisstant"? The walkthrough gives you the combination but the "clock" on the ground doesn't use real numbers, but some symbols that to me look totally random. How am I supposed to know what any of those symbols mean?
Hi there Asorax,
The clock, when reset, starts at 0 - or what would be 12 on a clock - and those symbols to the right procede up from 1 onward to 7. You can reset the position of the hands at any time by "Push the button" conversation option on either runestone that moves the hands of the clock.
The combination can be read on the description of the locked Sarcophagus.
So if you "Push the button" and reset the device, use the rune to turn the red hand clockwise until you hear a clicking tock sound.
Use the other runestone and now turn the red hand counter clockwise until you hear a clicking tock sound again.
Return to the previous runestone and finish moving the red hand clockwise until you hear the final clicking stock sound to complete the puzzle and unlock the Sarcophagus.
Hope that helps,
FP!
Can this be played in multiplayer?
I'm afraid it cannot, as all my modules are single player focused.
When Shadewood was being made, and I gained more experience building, I had thought Almraiven would have made a unique multiplayer module. One player would play a Wizard/Sorcerer and follow the plot of the Auren Society of Weavers, and a second player would play a Rogue, following a side plot that followed the main plot the Wizard/Sorcerer would play. Neither would be in a party together from the start.
Eventually, one would need to contact another - Wizard/Sorcerer needs help from a thieves guild, and the Rogue needs help from a member of the Auren Society, thus, the two players would meet in-game to help one another unfold their own plots, and finish the game together as a party.
Shadewood is also for single players only.
FP!
So what made you scrap that line of thinking? I think that would make a very exciting co-op experience!
Fester Pot,
How did I ever, ever miss this gem of a module? I am only 10 minutes in, but what I've seen is so incredibly detailed (and downright elegant), it just blows my mind. Literally. Mind. Blown.
I look forward to spending more time exploring the fantasticness that is Almraiven, and no doubt will be back to slather on many more heaps of praise and wonderment!
Thanks for making this!
Simply one of the best modules I have played.
Hey Fester, say, have you ever considering of porting (at least) Almraiven in to NWN2?
Unlikely, as I just don't have the free time to relearn a new toolset, as I did with Neverwtiner Nights back when it came out. Although, there is a wonderful city module available if you're looking for a city adventure. Crimmor can be found here - http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/module/crimmor
Sorry for the late response. Completely missed your comment.
FP!
I've already tried that. A little too dispersive in my opinion. Besides playing rogue usually is even LESS appealing that playing wizard for me.
A masterpiece. One of the best NWN modules I've played, which maximizes the game's strengths and keeps it feeling fresh even in 2015.
The sense of immersion, more than anything, is what makes this module amazing. I could spend forever wandering Almraiven's streets talking to washed up adventurers about their glory days, streetside boys who hide keys in their hair, magically caged thieves turned into conversation pieces, and parrots. Placeables, lighting, sound effects, and changes through day and night make each area feel realistic and lived in.
The module also plays the sim-wizard angle up very well. Most of what you need to do is use your spells creatively to solve puzzles and problems. I enjoyed the Auren society as well: Necromancers who summon ghosts for divination is a nice break from the skeleton-army-lich-aspirants of stock fantasy.
The disguise system was great. It was a lot of fun going around pretending to be a street kid, and having to restrain myself when I wanted to threaten someone with fiery death.
The only thing that gnawed at me was I had to quick-save before each conversation. Once you get deep into a conversation previous questions and dialog options would no longer become available. Its been a while since I played but I remembered I was given the option of hearing a guy's life story, or following up about a quest; I wasn't able to ask him about himself once I got the quest info. I just reloaded - but I felt I had to be very careful in order to explore every nook and cranny like I wanted.
Great job! I'm more excited about Fate of the Auren than I was for Dragon Age Inquisition.
This was an awesome module that I played a few years ago. It's in my Top Ten (maybe even Top Five) List of Best NWN Modules EVA. And I played a loot load of them. I compiled a list of modules I'm going to play after my current playthrough of SoU/HotU that I missed the first time around, and Shadewood is near the top of that list. That there's a third part is very cool, though I understand the author has been busy helping rebuild the community after the bombs fell on the old NWN site. First things first. But I'm giving this a 10/10.
I'm hoping to replay this first installent however to see how it looks on my updated i5 1920X1080 system, in 3rd person (always played bird's eye view in the past).
I like everything with FP's fingerprints on it, including HG but really need the typical metadata to figure out the scope and limitations. It wasn't in the release notes as I had hoped. I am always looking for good modules that can be easily adapted for LAN gaming or to give me ideas worth thieving.
I realize this hasn't been designed for MP but our group has adapted several so-called "SP-only" modules successfully and enjoyably before so I never discount the possibility.
I am posting the legacy metadata here in case I can't get to play Almraiven soon and need a reminder (FP, you are welcome to copy to your thematic description as FAQ if so possessed):
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Description (Legacy)
This module was created for a single player first level Wizard or Sorcerer of any sex and race.
The adventure takes place within the nation of Calimshan on the eastern shore in a port city known as Almraiven.
Almraiven is a full city adventure and is the first installment of two modules.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's good I checked further. I usually test new content with a neutral cleric and apparently would have been disappointed.
No rating only means I haven't played it yet but fully expect the highest acclaim after I do.
Hip
Greeting Numos,
Thank-you for taking the time to adventure in Almraiven! The idea of losing out on conversation options based on what one is wearing was simply to give the player a sense of finding out tidbits of information otherwise not offered if one is wearing something else. I can understand the frustration of course, but from what I recall, there is one quest in all of Almraiven that required one to be wearing street-side cloth and stitch to receive it (Runner's End). I truly wanted a player to become part of the role that others viewed them as depending on what they wore, and face those consequences by doing so.
For instance, keeping off one's Auren Robe and going through the game without drawing attention to one's self, offers bonus experience at the end of the module. The same applies for not announcing who you are when speaking with NPCs.
Well met JackofOwls,
Thanks for the kind words, and may your adventure on your new system offers some nice views during your journey!
Hail HipMaestro,
I am going to update the description right now. Thanks for passing that along.
FP!
I have played this module back when it came out (oh, how the time flies!), and remember the sheer delight of it.
My only criticsm is that the crowded streets (which add a lot to the atmosphere) don't always cooperate with the NWN camera, but seeing as there is no rush to exploring the city (due to little combat), this is not such a big defect as to justify removing a start, so 10 out of 10 it is.
Finally. It was worth the wait and (hopefully) the 10 rating. FP rulz!
So far it has been great, just finished Wundra's quest and the Lost girl also, now I'm trying to get a companion for the laboratory, I'm suppose to look for him at the Everburning log, and I did so, I talked to him wth the Auren ring, and he told me to follow him but he wouldn't move, is that a bug, or is not suppose to be avialable yet?. I hope it's not a game breaking bug because so far I've enjoyed every moment of the module.
Check your PM for my e-mail.
Addtionally you can try this.
~ DebugMode 1
~ dm_setlocalvarint flauxfirsttime 0
Click on your character.
~ DebugMode 0
Make sure you are wearing your Auren Society Ring and try talking to Flaux again.
Otherwise, use the e-mail I provided in the PM and send me your save game.
Thanks.
FP!
This was great, the inmersion is beyond what any of the official content offered, the fact that you need ingredients to cast spell, make them more special and unique, you have to talk with characters to know their names, so it's hard to find people some times. I only used the walkthorugh twice, the first one because of a bug and the second one because I tried to get to Forest of Mir before finishing some loose ends, so the game was quite intuitive good job there.
The roleplay aspect was also well written, some missions are unforgivable, like the ghost on Arra's house, the Suldolphor quest, the old man demons, the laboratory quest for the corpse, and my favorite, the Chamber of thought.
I'm eager to see what you did with Shadewood, almraiven so far was excellent work.
A very good module, but there are always things to complain
- why a new currency? Aren't gold pieces good anough?
- why do I need items to cast spells? (I really don't like this, i tossed it out)
Hello, I'm new to trying out NWM modules and this is the first one I've tried. I like it so far but am now officially stuck really before I could get into the meat of the story.
Basically, I talked to flaux and decided to go get a corpse at the Blood Runner ship, but you need to rent a boat and buy some rope according to the journal. I have the boat and can only go to the harbor and there's nothing to do there with no way to interact with the ship because I don't have rope and cannot find rope ANYWHERE. I feel like I've scoured the map.
I tried just spawning rope with no success. Maybe I have the item code wrong. I also tried to reset the conversation with flaux so I could choose the alternative quest to get a lab assistant that doesn't require rope, but I was unsuccessful.
Can anyone tell me where to get rope? This is rather sad.
Hi there Civalias thanks for playing and voting too!
You can purchase Hemp Rope from a street merchant on The Villa during the day or at Gypsy's Good on Loom Avenue.
Thanks for playing and voting, joaquim98!
Hey there Mmat!
Currency is just to add more polish and character to the module. Casting spells using components is just to balance out the number of high powered spells one can cast. Thanks for playing and voting!
FP!
Hi, really enjoying the module so far. Currently I am on the Medusa's Lair quest but seem to be having trouble with it. I have attempted the quest over 20 times, once I get the key I am unsure what to do next. The journal says to find a door, I have found a door but all I get is option to go east or west when I approach it. Anyone have any advice on what to do next, or is it a bug?
Thanks.
Hey there sb2kip, thanks for stopping by and playing Almraiven.
Sorry to read you're having some difficulty, the Medusa Maze has a love/hate relationship with players over all these years.
Upon entering the Medusa Maze, the direction is as follows -
East.
South.
South.
West. (it sounds like this is where you land and no South option is available * )
South.
West (through the door).
* - if indeed you only see East or West and not South, then that means the Medusa is standing on the South block. You cannot move to a block the Medusa is standing on.
As you move, so does the Medusa. If she occupies the next block on any side of you, that conversation option will not be available for you to select. You may have to move around a number of times if she happens to be blocking your way forward into the corridor where the door is.
I have made a map with a compass and arrows showing the conversation options available for movement and can be found listed with the rest of the Almraiven files.
Hope that helps.
FP!
Thanks for the super quick response thats helped alot. As for the love/hate of medusas lair I think its a great idea, really got the feeling of being hunted in a maze with the camera and turn system. I think I was just damn unlucky with my 20 retries.
Cheers much appreciated.
The problem of that part is that by removing the GUI Fester removed the compass on the lower right-end of the screen, which i'm sorry to say, was quite essential for moving in a labyrinth.
Just dropping by to vote and say a few words. I've played through Almraiven twice, and I can say without doubt it has been one of the best and most memorable RPG experiences of all time for me, up there with games like BG2 and PST. The city and all the environments are filled with some much life and detail that you feel like you're actually there, and even with two full playthroughs of trying to be as completionist as possible, I know I've missed a few things.
I've been thinking about starting a third full playthrough for a while now. Too bad I couldn't play a Bard to mix things up a bit, as it turns out there are some checks for wizard/sorcerer levels in shops for example, but I'm sure I'll find some new ways of playing it even as another wizard.
I hope you can find the time and the inspiration to finish the trilogy, Fester Pot. I for one can't wait for it, and whenever it comes out, I'll be there to play it for sure.
"Mine eyes dazzle"
good module dude
This module is the closest I have ever been to feeling like I was playing with dice and a dungeon master, every single detail is accounted for, what you say, what you wear, everything. God I wish he would just finish the last module. It is just such a gaming experience what can you say. I have never seen such attention to plot and detail. I felt like I was in playing with a live dm
Polished, immersive, original, and well written. Almraiven encourages the player to think out of the box; it's truly an unique experience.
I want to be positive, so please understand this negative review for my own personal experience and an honest assessment. Maybe it'll help you decide that this sounds like a lot of fun! Maybe not.
This is basically a point-and-click adventure game. Your hand is not held at all. There are very few directions given, and once a journal is updated, the directions are erased. You'll run back and forth for hours because you can't remember which of the dozen districts a person's house is located at, or which of the reagent merchants carries the bone dust, or which vendors you can buy an empty bottle from. Everyone you talk to is verbose but it's 90% flavor text and not relevant at all, which can be atmosphere-building but also frustrating. People appear and disappear at random, and to get some quests you have to be wearing certain clothes at a certain time and you'd never know that unless you read the walkthrough - it sounds neat, but this module takes SO MUCH TIME with so little action. When you need to investigate a scene, there aren't tooltip highlighted points, instead scripts will fire if you walk close enough. But it's hard to know when you've triggered them all, so you spend ten minutes clicking every walkable point in a room to make sure you didn't miss anything because you won't necessarily be told when you've found everything. It's cool but honestly I don't have the patience. I spent 5 hours on this module before losing my patience with it. It is a technical achievement, looks very unique, has a lot of cool ideas, but maybe it's too hardcore for me? I found it tedious and frustrating though I can see why people like it - it's not like any other module I've ever played, to the point that it's not really the kind of game I'm in the mood to play. You need to take your own notes in the journal, write down the location and add map pins for anything that seems important. Or print out the walkthrough, because that's the only way to save 20 minutes walking from district to district looking for a random reagent or unlisted house, talking to half a dozen unnamed Almravien Residents with conversation trees 10 entries deep that have zero plot relevance because eventually one of them will tell you something you need to know or launch a new quest. It seemed like I had 3 hours of busywork to earn 2 hours of relevant gameplay. Reading back on this review this module sounds pretty cool as an abstract - we like to tell ourselves of course we're willing to do all these housekeeping chores because we're real Role Playing Gamers - but it just did not work for me at all. Your mileage may vary!
It's a very narrative driven module. I'm guessing you're the type who don't have much time to play and just want to hack and slash around for a few hours a day? There's not really much action in this one, and combat can literally be avoided entirely. I think the trick is just to let yourself be immersed into the narrative. Take the time to get to know the characters. Even the poor people(the street-sides) can be useful, and alot of them have interesting and even touching stories. You also get to know where the more important buildings are this way, like finding where you can buy reagents. Though I have to agree on the empty bottle part, that one had me searching around awhile. Read all of the texts, don't skip lines. Take the time to get to know the different areas, and dress accordingly. Read the books, like the one about Almraiven societies.
You're an investigator in this essentially. Take your time. Be meticulous. Take notes. If you're not the type who would want to read a ton of texts then this probably just isn't for you.
For the stores, you're surely right. It can be quite frustrating that one have just one or two reagents and another other one or three and so on. That is why i opened it with the toolset and put the essential ones (those for the questline) infinite in the herbalore so i hadn't to become mad find a bonding agent or somesuch. About being no clues in the journal, i've found only one point which the clues in the journal weren't helpful enough, but usally everything you need is appointed there. Of course it needs some thinking, it's an investigation module, not a hack 'n slash one. If stuff like law & order is bothersome for you you should simply avoid modules like this one.
Hi! I just finished Almraiven and it's awesome! I loved that it wasn't at all about the combat. And so I'm loving that all the talking and investigating created a very interesting and rich background for my character. I'm about to hop into Shadewood, but I was wondering about something. I'm guessing that the ring won't work on other modules, right? I feel like the ring and the staff and the robe are now part of my character's background and I want to continue using them even after the Auren series. Is there a way I can manually apply whatever mojo you did on the ring on modules I want to play in the future? I just checked and the ring is completely ordinary in the toolset. I have no idea how I would go about doing it.
Edit: After mucking about for some time I figured out how to make it store spells! Only thing now is erasing spells after use. Which script file contains that?
Anyways, thank you for making this series! I've had an awesome week playing Almraiven!
Hi there.
Using the ring in other modules is not as simple as adding the ring itself to the override directory, or by having it on your character as you play future modules. The ring uses HOTU tag-bassed scripting, so any module you play must have tag based scripting turned on, and a variable set on the module for the ring to work properly.
To do so, modify the module's OnModuleLoad script to enable the feature fully.
SetModuleSwitch (MODULE_SWITCH_ENABLE_TAGBASED_SCRIPTS, TRUE);
// RING OF SPELL STORING
SetModuleOverrideSpellscript("spelloverride");
Lastly, two scripts should be in the override directory. The first is the script of the ring must be called storering, which you can export from the toolset to include in your override folder. The second is spelloverride.
FP!
I was able to make it work, thank you! The ring is working now. I was stuck when the code you gave me won't compile but then I made a quick search and I figured out I needed to include the swtiches file at the top.
Thanks again!
So I have already messaged FP a fan letter, but I love Almraiven and its sequel. It really is a beautiful world. It inspired me somewhat in my own rpg system and setting I created... (lol). (It was an early steampunk, faction based, low magic city.)
I wanted to make my worlds as vibrant as possible. And FP, I want you to know that if you do make it available for people with enhanced edition to play - I have two friends I am gonna highly recommend it to.
Almraiven is one of the best modules I've ever played, hands down, and I love everything about it. Its been some years since I played but I'd feel remiss if I didn't give it a review.
1) For once you feel like an apprentice wizard, and not a guy who stands behind his familiar with a crossbow. Using your spells creatively is baked into every puzzle and encounter. I enjoyed the fresh take on playing a necromancer who deals in ghosts and spirits rather than corpses.
2) The atmosphere is incredible. I could spend hours wandering the streets and talking to washed up adventurers-turned-beggars, or the odd little urchin boy who keeps lockpicks in his hair. Every nook and cranny of this module is worth exploring from the oppulant sultans, to the seedy underworld, to the ivory towers. Areas are gorgeous and detailed: you can hear voices outside inns, and areas feel like people actually live in them. Festerpot is an absolute master at this.
3) Really fun disguise system. You can take on almost any persona in your choice of clothing, and the dialogues support it: street urchin, merchant prince, visiting scholar...
4) Its short, exciting, and respects your time. The few dungeons Almraiven has are short and challenging. There's a really cool roof-top chase scene, too. You're not going to spend an hour mashing orcs in the vanilla dungeon tileset.
My only critique would be the spell reagent system. It is atmospheric, and there are plenty of reagents that you probably won't ever run out... but I found myself almost not wanting to use spells for fear of it. I suppose it did make magic use a weighty decision. I know the ring allows reagent-free casting if you're ever stuck, but I only know that from reading a comment.
Ah, ehm... Fester, i was replaying the module, and (i don't remember how it worked out first time, but..) i saved Wundra, and Falis of course says that we have to reach surface asap, still, i take the boat, exit outside the abandoned house, then go to runner's end to wundra's house... and... Nothing happens (the door 'tells' no one will likely open at this time). Where exactly would be the "safe place" where i should bring wundra then?
Looks like a variable fired on exiting but the conversation was interupted or did not fire from the trigger.
Head back to Mandrake Route with Falis.
Go into Debug Mode.
~
DebugMode 1
dm_setvarint faliswundra 1
click on your character
DebugMode 0
Move forward toward the abandoned home so the conversation trigger will fire.
That should get Falis to speak with you regarding his sister, and allow the quest to move forward.
FP!
Ah so it was a bug. Strange though, becouse i had a save before the were-boss, so i reloaded and retried many times, but that conversation at the end of the sewer never triggers...
Anyway, thanks for the fast reply
I played through this one many years ago and then life got in the way and I ended up about a 1/4 of the way through Shadewood. Too hard to pick the story back up so I jumped into them both again intent on finishing this time.
I played through this one with 1.69 and a just the required downloads.
Almraiven is an absolute classic. I remembered how much I enjoyed it the first time and it did not disappoint the second. I absolutely loved this module. Everything that was said positive by previous posters I second here. The battles were near perfect, the music was awesome, the detail and creative use of tilesets and placeables in each location was just outstanding.
Fester Pot you are master module builder and a master storyteller. Clearly untold hours were put into the creation of this module. I am grateful for all of your hard work. I just finished Shadewood, so I will a few additional comments there.
This is a must play on the vault.
If had one gripe, its that the gameplay hours might be a bit more than 6! :-)
Thanks again FP for this tremendous module can not wait for the 3rd installment!
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