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The Cave of Songs
Submitted by:
Submitted by Migrate Wizard on 2014-07-02 19:07.
Last modified:
2018-12-12 08:02
Version:
3.1
Old Vault Category:
modules
Old Vault ID:
3273
Game:
Category:
Language:
| Title | The Cave of Songs |
| Author | Baldecaran |
| Submitted / Updated | 04-27-2003 / 01-18-2009 |
| Category | Dungeon Adventure |
| Expansions | HOTU-1.61 |
| Setting | The Runelands (custom world) |
| Gameplay Length | 5-10 |
| Number Players | Recommended for small group of level 1 characters |
| Language | English |
| Level Range | 1-3 |
| Races | All (pure-blooded elves are rare in this part of the world) |
| Tricks & Traps | Medium |
| Roleplay | Medium |
| Hack & Slash | Light |
| Classes | All (stealthy characters will be particularly effective) |
| Scope | Small |
| DMNeeded | No DM Required |
| Single or Multiplayer | Single Player or Multiplayer |
| Max Character Level | 03 |
| Max # Players | 04 |
| Min # Players | 01 |
| Min Character Level | 01 |
| Content Rating | Teen |
| Alignments | All (the primary motivation is that of a treasure seeker or explorer) |
| Gameplay Hours | 10 |
| Description | |
| It is said that the dark forest of Grimwood is home to the most foul of creatures, and few who enter its gloomy depths ever return. Those who have speak of horse-sized wolves with eyes of glowing embers, of giants whose footsteps make the very earth tremble, and yes, even of dragons that breathe fiery death. But most famous among these tales is that of the Cave of Songs, a howling abyss where even the beasts of the forest dare not enter. It is said that within the cave lives a spirit so ancient as to predate the mountains themselves, a spirit mad with sorrow and hatred. No one knows what riches may be found within its lair. Until now, only the bards have explored the mysteries of the cave, but only in songs and poetry.
| |
Files:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 the_cave_of_songs.rar (7337) | 781.88 KB |
A very nice, cozy mod with an ancient sad story behind the main quest. I haven't encounter any bugs or logical mistakes. Perhaps some dialogs could be refreshed after new story development, but it is a minor whim of mine.
Spoilers!
And it is very fresh that solving the main quest you don't save everyone and do not solve the main problem, you just manage to get yourself out) Helping a couple of creatures on the way.
I guess I played this one.
Interesting story. Played with Ranger/Rogue - combination of stealth and animal empathy is really good strategy for this module. Still there were moments I had to run.
- it would be neat if my henchman could use animal empathy as I did
- or level-up as I did
Early masterpiece.
Amazing mod with great dialog, interesting areas and well balanced fights. I'd recommend this for anyone. It works great in multiplayer as well.
Best "short mod" I've played from the Vault.
Bar none.
Depth of dialogue with some of the NPCs really held my attention; there's some great substance here.
Well Done.
Very satisfying game play.
Highly recommend.
Thank You for laboring over its design.
Fun little adventure.
A great Mod from a long time ago... Baldecaran's work is always great and since I really like his mods it surprised me that I hadn't played this one before... now I finally did it and it is a beautiful and somber tale, I totally agree: it is a masterpiece from the early days.
A true classic, very Dungeons & Dragons.
Just finished playing this module! Very nicely thought out story!
I played and finished this for the first time this week and came away very impressed. Being a pretty short module, this is a great example of quality over quantity, and although it might not be immediately apparent in the opening areas, it's very atmospheric. The Grimwood, the titular cave, and the areas beyond all feel very detailed and alive and feature wonderful visual and sound design. I was also impressed with the henchman, both gameplay-wise and in terms of character design and how he fit in to the story. He was very useful and a lot of options are provided to set up his behavior to fit your preferences. There is not a lot of dialog and story in the first half of the module, but after you reach the cave it really opens up and the writing is consistently strong. I won't spoil anything but the story is impressive and the characters involved feel realistic and have a real depth to them.
I played this on D&D Hardcore Rules with a level 3 Rogue build around Dexterity / Weapon Finesse and Llarien set up to mostly use his bow and heal me. By the end of the adventure my character was level 6. All encounters felt fair, with a handful requiring reloads. Of the equipment I found, the potions (Barkskin, Bless, Clarity, Cure [...] Wounds) and medkits were by far the most useful. Some of the more challenging encounters might've been easier (possibly to the point of becoming trivial) had I put some skill points in UMD, as there are quite a few scrolls and even a couple of wands to be found. I liked that equipment in general was scarce -- you don't find a lot, and you don't have a lot opportunities to sell things or replenish your supplies, which makes managing your resources an important factor.
One aspect I did not like was the death system. I like having an XP penalty for respawning, but the "Afterlife" area seemed unnecessary and only added extra hoops for me to jump through before letting me get back to the adventure. It also tied into henchman death in a not-so-great way, as the only way to get him back if he fell was to let my character die (because that is the only way to get to the Afterlife -- which is where he goes when he dies). The system is not game-breaking or anything, but definitely a nuisance, and I would've preferred a more elegant solution.
Overall, I would say this module is a definite must play. It's considered a classic, and deservedly so -- it holds up wonderfully, even today -- and I am looking forward to playing Baldecaran's Honor Among Thieves next.
One of the great modules out there.
Afraid I found this one a little overrated...not to say it wasn't worth playing, but there were a couple of issues with it. Starting with the positives:
-As others have mentioned, the atmosphere of the game was amazing. The Cave of Songs felt like a real legend in the world, based off the way people talked about it, and it was cool to get that sense from the NPCs in the area.
-Basically all of the NPCs had interesting things to say, but if you weren't interested in the lore (or had played through it before), they were also skippable. The storyline, once it actually really started, was unique and interesting.
-The henchman is pretty cool and very useful as well, especially early on (and especially for me, as I played a Rogue).
-The game had a fairly nice flow to it, though it did feel a little linear. Combat was reasonable in difficulty--not outrageously hard (I actually found it mostly easy, even starting at level 1, as long as I didn't attempt to engage enemies labeled as "Impossible"), but you still had to be smart about it.
And now for the negatives, all of which fell more into the "annoying" camp than the "makes the module unplayable" camp, fortunately:
-Having to die in order to get your henchman back was really annoying, particularly since it comes with an XP penalty. Mine got himself killed a couple of times by healing himself while the enemy was at Near Death, and he died to their attacks of opportunity (wish there was an option to tell him to retreat).
-(Minor spoilers) The last section of the cave was the coolest atmosphere-wise, but it eventually got pretty annoying that there was no way to offload excess loot. I wound up heavily encumbered with something like 170 pounds of loot (most of it class-specific, which was also annoying), so I wish there were either a place to sell it or more magic bags to purchase/find.
-While the story was pretty cool, my character's motivation seemed really...lacking. There wasn't much in the way of roleplaying at all, and my whole goal was to go into near-certain death for...curiosity, I guess?
-There was a lot of nonsense/useless items all over the place. Including a couple of keys that I got from the witches which didn't seem to go to anything at all.
-(SPOILERS) It was especially irritating that if I couldn't wear Medium armor, I couldn't finish the module without either releasing an obviously evil demon or destroying him, which costs me a whole level for some reason. Completely cutting off the only reasonable Good-aligned way to finish the story simply because of a class choice is really stupid IMO (it'd be one thing if I ignored RP-style skills like Persuade, but just because I couldn't wear the armor? Really?).
So a mixed bag for me. It was a module worth playing, but I couldn't heartily recommend it.
I must say that ol' Baldecaran didn't put all his efforts on this one.
He did. It was his first module, and despite its shortcomings, it's still a very good first effort, one that people keep re-playing.
Hey, that was just my opinion. And i didn't say it's not a nice module, just that compared with his other ones, it's not comparable. And if you say that was his first module, that makes sense after all.
for some server error the post was duplicated.
Good showcase of what is to come from Balecaran, very re-playable
A good module but getting a bit too dependent on puzzles in the Dark Queen's abode. Stuck is kind of what I mean...Interesting tale and effects. Not a fan of this minimalist henchman interface though...
One of the great ones, no doubt. I enjoyed the journey up until having to resort to the Walk Through (contained in the readme file) to figure out how to proceed near the end. I am against having to do this when I can avoid it, but there are many of the more complex modules out there that require this reference. I was able to finish and it was a grand tale. What kept it from being a 10 star rating was the poor henchman interface, with no ability to equip. Also, the his tendency to kill everything that he ran into! Had to keep him tethered sometimes to make sure all things worked.
Thank you Baldecaran for the fine work. Once again you come through for all the community!
I will amend my rating as the henchman was pretty competent on his own, with little need for outfitting. Just tell him "Guard Me" in the radial menu and he will be of great service. And let him choose his own weapon tactics. Not sure why he doesn't just default to that setting as most do, but that is the way it is. Only had to resort to the Walk Through in the final area. Extremely well done adventure, Baldecaran!
Quite heavy atmosphere. Narrative similar to folk tale.
Rule 1 of playing Cave of Songs: forget about what you learned from other games in terms of "kill all, loot all, rack up the XP" (however evil/greedy re-run is quite refreshing experience after you do the "proper" one).
(Spoiler alert) Playing with different endings (mainly outcomes of different Wishes from the demonic contract) is a game in itself. Certain challenges are quite interesting even if just running away is the tricky part (good luck surviving first rest with that demonic ring you may get while finishing main storyline).
Even better with friends.
A finely-crafted, atmospheric adventure, that keeps on giving, even after you think you might have unravelled its final secret.
Eminently suitable for single player. Deceptively simple at first, immersion deepens as you pick your way cautiously through the dangerous forest and the spooky cave - and that's when the story really begins. The writing becomes very powerful, hinting at the meandering dreamscapes of the Prophet series, but remaining much more focussed.
It's nice that you can backtrack everywhere. Once the player has grown more powerful, it's rewarding to scour the hitherto no-go areas. You can even go back to the inn where you started, to sell loot and regale everyone with your interesting tales of adventure.
One tiny word of warning - for reasons unknown, transition triggers are frequent, even in doorways where they're unnecessary. Buggy at the best of times, some of them are a bit small, so you have to find the sweet spot to click before they work. Persevere, it can be done, even in EE and on Android.
Scored as a 10 because it's under-rated IMO.
You do reach a point where you can't go back and sell stuff for a while, but at least at that stage, the story has taken off to such a degree that your focus should be elsewhere anyway.
The Cave of Songs is a fairy tale of dreamlike quality that will stay with you for years after. Baldecaran explores themes that are commonplace in fantasy, but manages to find new angles to them without outright subverting them. What makes the writing in this module so great is that it creatively addresses the dilemma of low level modules, which need to tell an interesting story rather than the standard fetch quests, but do so without unrealistic power creep. In the Cave of Songs, you become witness to an intriguing legend, meddle with archmages and demons, but when you return to the Hopping Hobgoblin inn, precious little has changed. You are still that young adventurer you set out as, if a few important lessons wiser. I also really appreciate that the module does not simply cut after the final confrontation, but instead allows you to return and regale the townsfolk with your tale over a mug of ale. It does wonders for the feeling of a continous journey between modules.
Although generally the module seems best suited for a druid or ranger, there is a set of extraordinary equipment only usable by an Elven Sorcerer. Regardless, one should definitely put a level or two into Rogue to be able to take care of traps and locks. I also highly recommend installing Zwerkules' Bioware tileset facelifts (as override or patch hak) to play this module, since lacking a hak pack of its own it relies entirely on the standard Bioware content. Grimwood forest especially comes into its own this way, between the skilled use of sounds and lighting in this module and the detail of Zwerkules' work. The lack of custom content in Cave of Songs also means that all characters, even the companion, are assigned standard NWN portraits. If like me you have played too many modules and seen those same faces over and over again too many times for it not to break your immersion, just replace the standard po_el_m_01 assigned to the companion with the portrait of your choice by naming it that way in the override and creating the copies (_l, _s, _t). Personally, I found CS_M_02 in "Cobra's Male Portraits" pack to be a decent fit.
More aggravatingly, the antiquated henchman system here means that combat can be a real pain, with the challenge often being not how to defeat your foe, but how to keep your companion alive. There being no option to order him to retreat, he tends to expose himself to attacks of opportunity by casting a useless minor healing spell just when his HP are at near death. I should not blame the builder for the faults of the engine, but encounter design could at least have taken these problems more into account. There are one or two pivotal moments during which I really wanted to enjoy the turns of the narrative, but had my immersion gradually broken by continued reloading due to henchman death, even after I grudgingly disabled Hardcore Rules. Worst of all, just before the finale the henchman ran out of arrows (which must be a script error, as usually henchmen without inventory access are given infinite ammo) which made him rush headlong into his death even more often. No inventory access also means that your PC has to carry all the loot by themselves, and while I appreciate that for once the decision which ancient artifacts to haul out of the deadly tomb actually is an agonising one to make (as it should be!), any immersion thereby gained is lost due to not being able to let the henchman handle his share.
All things considered, this module still holds up really well. It works great as a prologue to the Prophet series, anticipating some of its themes and characters (although to my considerable frustration, you cannot actually bring it up to the returning cast that you have potentially met before - how difficult would it have been to script recognition depending on an item, as it is done in the OC?). But it also works well as a standalone, and despite its age and flaws I actually consider it one of the best gateways into the world of modules.
Minor spoiler: One of the greatest surprise moments in NWN is hidden behind picking the greedy option when negotiating with a certain character towards the very end of the module. It is absolutely worth trying it out (I completely missed it on my first playthrough and was amazed when I encountered it this time around). But be sure to save prudently...
PS: The "real" Cave of Songs... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn9B83rGIIQ
Absolutely phenomenal adventure, really well thought out and flawlessly (almost, more on that later) executed!! Great story and very good pacing, brilliant atmosphere and overall balanced to tough encounters. You might wanna be careful as the creator states during the early stages, especially if you don't use henchmen as I typically do (played through the adventure solo, with a Fighter 1/Monk 1, rather strong character and had to avoid a few things early on or I would turn into minced meat)
I would suggest you invest a couple of points in Lore, just to make sure you won't need merchants often.
The only 'flaw' I found in this adventure was:
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Potential spoilers
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There was an abandoned temple somewhere in Grimwood, and inside there was a magical pool that fairies protected. Those, I'm fairly certain, were spawning indefinetely, since I had to kill about 20 of them to escape the temple. That can be a 'cheese' spot where people could easily farm a couple of levels really fast . .
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I had tons of fun playing this, cheers and thank you for sharing!!
P.S. - If that means anything, Baldecaran, I have actually played this adventure in 2006 or so, when I was in highschool. I've played probably 100+ Modules since then in NWN and now NWN:EE, yet I did remember things from it!! I remembered some places, some things you needed to do and other details!! (I don't wanna spoil stuff) This has happened to me only with your module, and N1 by Phantasma. I don't know if that is important to you, but I don't remember that vividly random videogames from my highschool era, and it is important to me ^ so sincerely Thank You for the experience/memory!
I had a great time playing this adventure. Recommend it to everyone and especially to those who start with a new character!
Module Testing Tournement 2020
Very light on quest motivation, but as an adventurer who cares. The Grimwood was super atmospheric and dangerous (Grizzlies!). The first two to three levels I was saving and reloading a lot. Once in the Cave and armed with a tower shield I managed better against the enemies. The only regret I have is losing my henchman in the final battle of the game. He almost made it out!
I can understand why this module is so highly rated. The immersion is high in this one.
Like others who have played this module, I found it very enjoyable. I appreciate a mod that does things well and a bit different, and this one qualifies.
Many modules are balanced so that a solo player will be able to defeat everything encountered. This one emphasizes that you really do want to sneak past a lot of stuff and focus on your ultimate goal.
This would be a great module for multiplayer.
I started it with a 3rd level gnome illusionist and at 4th level started taking levels as rogue. The character finished the main quest as illusionist 3/rogue 2, the hench person having died valiantly in combat near the end of that. Returning to the starting point to register the last quest, the character achieved another level and some decent loot by defeating many of the encounters previously bypassed.
Treasure is probably excessive for a single player, though some classes would have used a lot of the expendables in play. It would be well balanced for 3 - 4 characters.
Can't guess how many times I have played this with different characters. The setting is detailed and atmospheric, the quest nicely low-key for a beginning character, with goals of discovery and survival rather than saving the world. I kept finding new things for quite a few playthroughs. This is one of the NWN mods that most reminds me of a really well-done classic pen-and-paper D&D adventure.
Great module with a good story, lots of actions finely balanced.
Well done !
does the .bic file go in localvault?
Yes
Really well done. I've been sampling modules from the vault off and on for a few years now and all of Baldecaran's are polished and have excellent storylines.
I played this one last month and it's rather good!
Low-level, spooky when travelling towards the cave, good story and the henchman I found to be so spot on. He did not level when I played, if I remember correctly, wether you start level 1 or 3 he's the same as well.
The sad story was interesting.
***Spoilers ***
I progressed to playing Honor Among Thieves then The Prophet series with the same character. The recurring theme of making us lose permanent levels in his modules is... not as cool (At least once in The Cave of Songs and another level in Chapter II of The Prophet series, the former was for a good cause, though I suspect if I could have worn Medium Armor I would have had more options, but at the end of The Prophet series was for naught, ok maybe for a power, but one I never used once so... At least I got a bit of history to his universe out of losing said level).
I also kind of broke my word to the goblin in the cave, I promised him to take care of the roaming giant blocking him from leaving but... It was an impossible task for this Rogue/Monk, unfortunately.
Still, this was a very good adventure.
I don't know if anyone could help me with this: in the orc area of the Grimwood, there's an Ogre name Shaduk who has a locked chest (opened by key only) in his cave, when I watched Willy Wonka's playthrough video on Youtube, he's able to persuade the Ogre to give him the key for the chest, but when I talk to the Ogre, I do not have the first chat option of persuassion. I have tried quite a few times, defeated every single mob in the area, but I still don't have that persuassion chat option when I talk to the Ogre. I think I must have missed some item. Could anybody give me a clue? I mean I could just kill that Ogre, there is a +1 light armor in his chest I need, but I don't like the feeling of missing something
Also in the same area, the statue in the abandoned temple also requires a key to open to retrieve the +1 longsword underneath, I couldn't find that key anywhere either. Does anyone know if that key exists? Very appreciate if anyone could help me on this. This is indeed a good quality module, the plot and the combat are all very interesting and engaging. Although I assume if I plan to use the same character to play through Honor Among Thieves and the Prophet serie, I should try to avoid a lot of the combat in this mod, and minimize the attempt of developing melee skill of my rogue, and leave space for him to develop more thief skills in the next mod, shouldn't I?
I remember telling him I brought him a gold coin and that was all I had to do to rob him blind.
I do recall getting a longsword with +1 enchantment and some other bonus in the temple area.
Concerning the Medium armour requirement, I also had an issue with this but was still able to continue and finish the module without pretending to be someone else...
Losing a Character Level was a bit strange but it was ok because I was doing the right thing. I used the same character from The Cave of Songs, Honor among thieves, The Prophet Series (Prologue, Chapters 1 to 3). It was a super adventure! Finished The Cave of Songs with a Rogue 1 / Monk 4 and the complete series with a Rogue 3 / Monk 12 / Champion 1
Did have to use Console Commands a few times because I ran it with Enhanced Edition and The Prophet Series didn't like EE at a few places.
There is more than one way to finish the main part of the story, so if you can't use the armor, just take another path. It might involve a sacrifice, but one that isn't more than a setback. And I guess you can also go without that sacrifice, just focusing on getting out.
Superb setting. It felt like a living world more than most. Lairs were constructed with much thought, making the desgnation "lair" a bit derogatory, for each was more community than den o' mobs.
The areas have an authentic ambience to them, so I often found myself in walking mode so that I could take them in. Just what RPers are always searching for. And they stay alive after you (think you) have cleared them. Bravo.
This dynamism, though, mismatched Llarian's lifeless companionship. He was OK to have around at the beginning, but he becomes a drag. He never uses his bow, even when he says he will, nor any other item, and there just isn't enough income to pay for all the potions that must be dropped on him.
He never levels up, so he's a squishy burden, and he can't be equipped, so unless your PC is a strength-based character, which in unlikely for this mod, much of what you do find must be left behind.
One of the fun things about adventuring with a henchman is watching him grow along with you. How great would it have been to see him learn to stand up to the undead -- he's part cleric after all -- instead of run away in fear? Sheesh.
The henchman is not that type of cleric and it is woven into the story, so it's intentional, though it may be annoying.
I played with GOG’s EE version.
Character: Brefira Ravenspark, CG Female Halfling Rogue/Ranger.
Your equipment transfers into this module. As a module for a starting player, this is excellent, although it will be highly challenging if you’re aiming to complete everything rather than evading the tougher enemies. And the module maker is not joking about “impossible” actually meaning impossible on some occasions. There are battles that can’t be won, some a result of decisions you make during the module.
I started playing this and found I couldn’t do anything else until I had completed it. Good thing I had eaten before I got going… I found the story incredibly engaging and there was a good balance where you also had plenty of meaningful battles, some requiring planning or thinking outside the box. Everything went smoothly and though I had to use the Read Me/walkthrough on one occasion near the end to get things right, generally there was always a path forward, which made sense. The amount of loot in the primary “dungeon” was well above what my character could carry, even with a box. The player should sell off all surplus items at the nearby location with a merchant before entering and not worry about picking up regular weapons and other low-value items at this stage.
The Read Me/walkthrough doesn’t overwhelm you, but it gives you the information you need and also adds some flavour.
Though this module is short, it felt like I had experienced a lot in those five-six hours.
Reading the walkthrough after completing the main part of the module, I found out I had missed the Frk quest. At least I could remember where I had sold the item needed for it.
Almost perfect English with just a few mistakes.
Conversation option when talking to Llarien: Tell me about your “diety” instead of deity.
Gnur: “a gnome name Gutilbia”
Two or three cases of missing capitalization.
That was about it, for a module with a great deal of writing for a short module.
For me, the henchman worked well, healing when needed (and when he had healing left) and using his bow a lot instead of charging into melee, like some have experienced. It is a bit sad he doesn’t grow with you, but I guess there are good reasons it is done this way.
I’m a critical reviewer, but I was deeply impressed with this one. I enjoyed that it was a new take on a familiar story, making it one of those modules that will probably stick around for a long time. Replayability value is perhaps not particularly high and I guess it’s also more suited for some character types than others. Still, I can definitely see myself taking other starting characters through this module in the future as it’s close to flawless in all the areas that matter to me. It’s close enough to perfect that I will go with the top grade.
I really enjoyed this! It was pretty short, and started rather slow, but things really picked up once we made it into the cave itself. I really enjoyed the mystery of the demon stone, and then seeing the events of the past play out. I thought a few of the puzzles were a bit tricky, but overall was really wrapped up in the story.
Lovely!
Such a short but memorable experience. Very atmospheric and well written.
I believe it would greatly benefit to some updates (tilesets, henchman inventory, etc) to bring it up to modern NWN standards but, even as it stands, it's one of those "must play" modules.
Leaving my review here, a good start of the series and I enjoy it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/neverwinternights/comments/1hqrhx5/modules_revi...