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Arpelagos Chronicles: The Strain is Strong (DEMO)

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Submitted by Kevlar on 2022-12-20 06:55.
Last modified: 
2022-12-21 11:40
Author: 
Kevlar
Version: 
Demonstration
Game: 
NwN1
Category: 
Module
Requirements: 
OC
Xp1
Xp2
Language: 
English

TL;DR - Homebrew gameworld and story - a work in progress. This may whet your appetite. For a singleplayer/multiplayer party of 4. Starting at 1st level. You need CEP v3.02.

This is the demonstration version of Arpelagos Chronicles: The Strain is Strong - a homebrew world and story that I'm working on. Much of the work has taken place over my regular Twitch streams. Indeed, the project originated there and my viewers have been on-hand to assist with ideas and act as unwitting test subjects.

As it says on the tin, this is a DEMO version and is not the final module. The endgame plot is NOT spoiled in any way. There are parts of the module that require further work and improvement. There are a few placeholders in certain conversations and situations. There will be some partially complete minor storylines. I have done a ton of testing and I'm sure there are plenty of issues still to reveal themselves. I have, however, been able to play test this demo in full multiple times.

"You are a recent arrival in the Mute Lands - an unclaimed desert island in the world of Arpelagos. Popular with adventurers seeking fame and fortune, whatever your reasons for going there, your life is about to change forever."

This module is intended to be played by a party of 4. This can consist of human players and/or up to 3 NPC henchmen. However you decide to play, the module will always assume you are in a party of 4.

This module contains occasional strong language.

You need CEP v3.02 to play this module.

Voting/rating - Not that many people vote/rate anymore, but there really is no need to for this version. Feedback is very welcome though.

I hope you find the module interesting and fun to play. You can catch me on Twitch several times a week: https://www.twitch.tv/kevlarcreates

 

Files: 
AttachmentSize
File Put in modules folder. Don't forget you need CEP 3.02! (100)2.67 MB
Required projects: 
CEP Version 3 (3.02 minimum version required)
Permissions & licensing: 
Open - Free & open only if project also open
Tue, 2022-12-20 06:59
Kevlar
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I'd love to hear what you have to say! There is no need to leave ratings. Save that for the finished module :)

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Tue, 2022-12-20 14:37
Phyte
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Well met.

Neat stuff. Looking forward to the adventures awaiting in the Mute Lands.

—

Phyte: My heart has been locked for longer than I can remember.
Sharwyn: Done, and done.

—

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Wed, 2022-12-21 01:41
BowShatter
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Those are some great screenshots! Looks promising! Gonna take this for a whirl to see what this is about.

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Wed, 2022-12-21 05:46
BowShatter
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Good start so far. I've done the first quest and explored most of the first area north of the town. 

However, I ran into a few glaring issues:

  • Faction issues related to neutral mobs. Preadtors / Carnivores like the Hyena and Alligator start off neutral then aggro onto the PC, but if the PC pre-emptively attacks such mobs when henchmen are tagging along, it will cause the henchmen be permanently aggroed to the commoner faction and will attack NPCs on their own from then on. For example, I attacked a neutral hyena and a few seconds my henchlady went nuts and killed the pilgrims. Make sure you turn off Global Effect for factions in the Factions Editor to minimise NPC faction issues.
  • Henchmen class levelling choice does not work. They still continue levelling up via their standard class package despite telling them to level up in a different class or change class package.
  • Henchmen only level up when in the PC's party. This is problematic if the henchmen dies or is out of the party when the PC levels up, it means the henchman will miss that level up until the PC"s next level up. One solution is to add an option to manually level up the henchman.
  • Stone of Recall or Boots of Travel would be a welcome edition to cut down backtracking.
  • Rogue Henchlady lacks Weapon Finessse and this is made worse by how she backs away really far from enemies when using a ranged weapon, making it very difficult for her to be effective in combat. My advice is to give her a custom creature hide with Weapon Finesse bonus feat (Nevermind she gets it at Level 3, but still, hard to use her till then)
  • There are a few barrel placables near the druid trader that still have the default name with the NWN2 tag shown.
  • Jackals are way too small. I think it is not necessary to scale their size down to this extent.
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Wed, 2022-12-21 06:06
(Reply to #4)
Kevlar
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Hi BowShatter, thanks for giving the module a try. This is exactly the sort of feedback I'm looking for! It's very easy to overlook the small but crucial details, no matter how many times you play through. So what you've mentioned is really helpful and much appreciated.

Faction issue: I must have missed something when I set the animals up. Probaby because I was more focused on providing animals for ranger/druid to recruit! I'll take a look at this.

Henchmen: There's plenty of work to do on henchmen still. What you see in the module today is more or less the barebones; NPC with typical henchman conversation. I will be working on personalising each henchman more, adding the levelup features you mentioned. I may also add some personal quests for the henchmen, as long as I can come up with something connected to the main story in some way - I'm avoiding random quests which distract from the main theme.

Travel QoL: I actually have some movement increasing boots on my to-do list. Definitely needed.

Tara: She dies a lot doesn't she! She has a reputation with my Twitch viewers for it. I do agree with you. Will be reviewing her initial character sheet along the lines you are suggesting.

Barrels and Jackals: Thanks! I will take a closer look at these.

Again, huge thanks for this. This will really help me put this thing together. Enjoy the adventures to come!

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Wed, 2022-12-21 08:16
(Reply to #5)
BowShatter
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No problem, glad to help. I progressed up to the third main quest now using a Dex Cleric/Monk build. It's actually pretty tough and my party got wiped multiple times. I also like how you have to carefully manage your funds, healing items and rations.

I think there's an issue with the second main quest if you completed it by way of persuasion/intimidate/bluff. After I turned in the crate, I did not get the option to say that the leader and a few of her men are still alive. Oddly enough, when i got the crate the violent way, I actually had to option to say they survived despite being dead, probably due to a mistake in checking the variable.

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Wed, 2022-12-21 09:24
(Reply to #6)
Kevlar
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Trying to walk a tightrope of challenging but not to the point of frustration/rage-quit/learn-by-dying. Sometimes lady luck just goes against you too. 

Thanks for the quest issue - I'll look into that. A curse of providing multiple endings, something usually gets tangled up! FYI all your previous points have been sorted :)

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Thu, 2022-12-29 06:19
Vayden Dar
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Have it downloaded and will give it a spin.  Ok to use CEP 3.03

Can it be played using NW:EE?

I appear to be missing a a custome talk table?

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Thu, 2022-12-29 06:10
(Reply to #8)
Kevlar
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It was built using EE but should work fine on any version :D

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Fri, 2022-12-30 07:33
(Reply to #9)
Kevlar
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"I appear to be missing a a custome talk table?"

I always thought that the latest version would be backwards compatible... no matter.

If the CEP tlk file is definitely in your tlk folder and is not working - Grab the tlk file from v3.02 and you should be good.

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Sat, 2023-04-29 15:10
Werelynx
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Looks interesting. Do you have ETA on when it will be fully done?
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