Gladiatrix III - The Hand of Destiny

Just finished this module and I must say it is one of the BEST modules I have played in a long time!  Thank you so much!  Can you please make more!

Just played through all 3 Gladiatrix modules.  I really enjoyed them however, the ending wasn't quite the ending I had hoped for.

I had not expected that twist of the plot with Kristaly! The ending is like there still could be room for more adventure! Though maybe with different character ;)

Onto the bugs:

- keeper of the forest has two sets of wings

- no explanation why thicket closed behind player. If the forest of sorrows were to scare away wanderers, then why make it non-escapable.

- game/scripting actually make you kill Pech (ilithid's dinner)

- the hunter is immortal and is quickly nearly dead :D

- Braxton can die in cyclops battle which breaks the game as you can't bring him back without the resurrection rod and ilithid won't notice

- 3 potions in ilithid pods are actually 4 potions

- trolls in the arena are not regenerating constantly, only when on the brink of death

- bugbear and drow and elven wizards and whatnot: all expandables during battles don't drop their eq, I wished I had not given them good eq of mine :p

- tents in shroud camp have transitions that are not working

- in the battle with scourge if emmalynn die and I resurrect her she won't join me back. Cypher will and other I haven't tested.

typos:

- "himself]"- Dakari guard;

- "veneging" - Dinzinthresh;

- "benficail" - zujelzebub;

- "bod" - Braxton;

- "bas"(should be "bad") - emmalynn;

Voted 9.

*MAJOR spoilers*

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this series, however I found the ending extremely lacking and it left me sorely disappointed... really, only a single, one sentence snippet of dialogue about your child? Even if it was part minotaur or half drow? Saying "eight possible romance endings" is rather misleading, since every single one of the potential romances says the exact same dialogue at the end.

The PC's pregnancy is a plot thread that had a great deal of potential and should have been explored a lot more, with more attention given to the emotional ramifications it would have on the main characters. If the father is Cypher or Landon and you side with the Scourge at the end, the PC's former lover becomes a bitter enemy, who has no contact with her and is almost certainly unaware that she has borne his child. If Xanderfein is the father, then the PC gives birth to a half-drow child in a society that absolutely despises anyone with drow blood, so much that they are usually killed on sight. It would be especially interesting to see how the situation with Tarth being the father plays out, the one possibility that always leaves the PC a single mother - how the PC copes with giving birth to her rapist's child, raising a part-minotaur child in a world that universally abhors minotaur as savage monsters, and her chosen lover reacts to the situation, and his decision to become the child's adopted father.

The real issue is the "romances" lack substance - you spend hardly any time with any of the characters in question, except for Tessa, so it's very hard for the player to really develop a connection with them. You don't meet Avyndar or Xanderfein until you're very close to the end of the game, Kelvyn and Kristaly are minor characters who only play a brief role in part one and don't show up again until the epilogue, you only have brief meetings with Cypher between missions, you don't meet Braxton until part two and he doesn't show up again until late in part three, and Landon is absent for all of part two. I think things were simply spread too thin - the author tried to include a large number of main characters and there was simply no way to give them all a great deal of attention in the story. It would have been better to have a smaller cast, which would have allowed the characters to play a more prominent role in the plot.

Just finished, and saved at the key point where you **OOPS wait-- SPOILERS AHEAD**

Anyway, where you decide what flavor you like best(Scourge or Shroud). If you choose Scourge, there is a bug with Kristaly showing up when she's not supposed to, and vice versa(wait- she's in the bedroom with you and Andarvyn..? also- she's not there when you meet with Andarvyn and he tells you to team up with her to speak to your former colleagues so you have to spawn creature her in)

All in all, the ending seems to be the issue for more than just myself. Methinks the author definitely has her biases political(to which she has every right of course!)

Suffice to say, if your dream is a world oppressed by a global communist dictatorship over which you and your significant other rule with an iron fist while receiving the worshipful adoration of the very people you bleed an opulent, overindulgent, self-worshipping living, you're in for a treat. You get to stand and survey your perfect new world and can shake your head in disgust at those who dare fight against you and your "benevolent, loving" supremacy. Of course you never question your choice because you obviously made the right one, duh!

If you choose Shroud, you will be reminded just how sad and full of poverty, crime, strife, murder, bad hair days, and hangnails a world of individual governments and certain rights and freedoms really is. Unlike the Scourge choice, you now can question the wisdom of your choice(as you should!), and just as the Emperor Darth Sidious said to Luke Skywalker, you pay the price for your lack of vision.

Great mod for superior scripting; good story telling(except for the propaganda style ending). Use of CEP material really adds to this game. Despite my contempt for the ending, this is a very well put together series, and thanks to the creator of this series for keeping good old NWN1 alive and well exactly 13 years after its release.

@Werelynx: If another character were to continue the story I think a certain cleric would be a good contender.

*SPOILERS*

The series was good, with the first part being the strongest one. I kept thinking the Shroud was actually making up the Scourge or them being one and the same. The second part was where I began to think the Scourge was a serious threat and the Shroud wasn't making it up. The third part was pretty much figuring out Kristaly's fate before she showed up and generally being puzzled by the Scourge.

Things I really liked about the module.

-Mission briefing, mission-specific equipment and the occasional changing hair-colour for undercover missions.

-The option for a trans-module romance.

-The idea of getting a child. (Though being rather surprised Tessa did not wind up with one. I kid, of course.)

Two things for the lizard people which did not make sense to me were the following.

-The male mage leading the tower overrules the female mage in her decisions. Seeing as he is the head of the school that makes sense until it is revealed that she is the lizards' Queen and he is a lizard.

-Later, when you can ask the Queen if she and the leader of the Scourge are lovers she answers that she does not feel attracted to humans in the same way as we are not attracted to lizards. Despite the fact that several male lizards expressed interest in having intercourse with the PC.

One thing in general was the logic behind Alcan. Why would Alcan be a member of the Scourge? If the Scourge is what their leader says it is then he would have no power left once the Scourge succeeded. As a noble, he directly profits from inequality and he does not strike me as the noble type like the PC's father. Did I miss something?

A good follow up on the previous modules. The finale seemed a bit rushed.

I agree with the rushed and I didn't like the ending.

It was better than 1, but not as good as 2.

Very interesting finale of the trilogy with an interesting diversions (like playing poker in a tavern), choices that affect the story and a plot twist; well written, interesting personalities of your companions, who have their unique profile; and a final battle that allows you to select allies your work with. Well done FallynRaine, it is one of best novel-like stories on the vault, comparabile to ADWR, albeit shorter. I very much like the idea of characters who - on entering a new area - comment on what they have experienced in the previous area. Also animals and varied monsters (even dinosaurs!) are a feast for the eye, and fully justify the thread with Scourge investin in eyesore & playing on fear factor in order to force populational submission. 

Some disadvantages:

/1/ Still no items that would allow for fast movement - I really regeret I did not choose Travel domain for my Fighter/Cleric

/2/ If you are violated by Braxton in Illlithid's house, the plot seemingly assumes as if nothing happened, likewise if you get pregnant in the process.

/3/ the brave-new-world'style future proposed by the Scourge might have received more sophisticated, philosophical treatment :) 

/4/ too many intimate scenes although some finely crafted (like the one with the priestess that starts to cherish life when accompanied by a male of good alignment)

Part 3 is the best of the series.

I just missed an ending with no romance at all ...

Found another typo in the "Hot Springs" : their gorgeous --> they're gorgeous.

Very nicely written follow-up of the two previous modules, but maybe the ending could have been more developed (whatever side you chose!): I actually felt there was something missing, just to tie up loose ends (what happens to Kristaly? Or what happens to the Shroud operatives? etc...)

Regarding bugs:

- I got the Kristaly not joining bug, but thanks to the instructions in a previous post it was easily solved.

- due to many situations where you end up naked (or almost), the second sex journal went missing (after the minotaurs) - use dm_spawnitem SexJournal2 in the console to get it back (it will be empty, but at least the other entries will show). By the way, Cypher's and Andarvyn's entries go to the first sex journal.

All in all, a well-deserved 9 stars rate (I may not like the ending, but the story is well written, the characters have their own personality, even Tessa who was deeply in love has her doubts [depending on which side you join], and even if the dialogs are generic for henchmen, the conversations that happen when you change areas fill the blanks neatly).

Nice work FallynRayne!

Like the world detail

Remembering each part as I go asit has been years :p

A great conclusion to a great series. I loved the moral dilemma of the ending but even if my character is questioning her choice I am sure that I'll always choose to live in a chaotic world where people are free to decide rather than an utopistic world where peace is just a forced imposition. 

My favourite module of the saga remain the first one, followed by this one while the weakest  of the three (but still very good) is the second.

I romanced Tessa across the whole series and I tought her romance was decent enough. She's a little wild perhaps, but she's still a good and affctionate partner, especially during the 3rd module. Moreover you spend a lot of time with her therefore it's quite easy for her character to grow on you.

I wish I could play more games from this author. A pity she quit modding but I am still grateful to her for this great series. 

i need help, i am stuck in Dreamscape when i fround a book with line "way forward is to do unthikable", what is it?

well, now i am confused about Scourge ending, it's even confusing when i recall strange apparition quest from chapter 2 of this mod: "don't be sedused by promises of power", but in Scourge ending was an attempt on my life by Shroud assasins, in Shroud ending was strive for power between kingdoms, i guess there is no good ending, i can't find lesser evil.

I really don't understand the appeal of the college humour variety of eroticism, and already found the occasional instances of it in the otherwise excellent ADWR quite jarring. The sexual situations in Demonheart on the other hand seemed less out of place (or at least more easily avoidable). I'm writing this to ask honestly: Is there much appeal to the Gladiatrix series apart from its "adult" themes, which seem to be entirely presented in that vein? It keeps coming up in module lists I trust, but from the series' description here it would seem erotic humour is their main selling point. Would greatly appreciate an informed recommendation! :)

Tl;dr: Is Gladiatrix Porn With Plot or Plot With Porn?

Have been enjoying these modules but have reached a point where I'm stuck. The Illithid Death Match - my character just can't beat the Bladeling. Am I missing something or have I simply not got a charcter who is good enough? She's a F13/R5 with 16 str. Maybe that just isn't good enough but if that's the case, I'm stuck and can never finish the module.  

It's been >7 years since I've played this series and I have little intention of replaying it at this point (just poking around the Vault for new modules to play during lockdown), but since I left a comment and a vote on Chapter II (in response to an asinine remark about downvoting a mod for doing what it says on the tin) I figured I might as well leave a quick review based on what I can remember.

Pros: Welp... the sex with Braxton was among the hottest I've ever had in any NWN module (and I've played ADWR, The Wink and Kiss, and Demonheart). I have a soft spot for bad boys in fiction, and Braxton can easily give Vico, Tylr, Sir Brash, and that pirate dude from Enigma Islands a run for their money. Also turns out illithid sex is pretty hot. I actually felt sorry for Kristaly at the end, and if a module manages to make me care about characters other than my own it must be doing something right in my book. Well-written dialogue and fleshed (ahem) out scenes, and have I mentioned the sex?

Cons: Simple and linear plot, with extremely unbalanced and jarring experience gain... it made no sense to me to receive thousands of XP for what may amount to little more than a fetch quest, which made me feel like I didn't quite "earn" or "deserve" the levels I got and created a bit of disjunction between my character's mechanical progression and my emotional investment in her narrative journey. Like I could be level 20 on paper, but I didn't "feel" like I had truly gone from just a simple farm girl to an epic hero saving the world, y'know? There was also one fight that I remember was ridiculously difficult, in the desert against a champion from an all-women tribe... I guess it was because my PC just wasn't specced for DPS - I had Charisma as my primary trait and relied heavily upon my Champion of Torm abilities to see me through most fights, but her DR pretty much nullified most of my attacks (since I was forced to fight in nonmagical gear) once my Divine Wrath fizzled so it quickly degenerated into an extremely tedious battle of attrition.

Just finished all 3 modules. Very enjoyable.

I had a lot of fun playing the whole series. It was rather linear, but it kept my interest and was not frustrating at all.
The whole series is excellent!
The sex scenes were well done.

Not yet finished the 3rd chapter, but so far, I LOVE those modules. Thanks for the great job, and I'd glad know if you ever do more of such.

I have just replayed the three modules.

Gladiatrix is a very pleasant module to play and without any bug. Congratulations to FallynRayne for all these monsters that I have never seen elsewhere. The plot is however quite linear and the final twist of the third opus is a bit sudden but comes as a possible and enjoyable conclusion for the characters that can be seduced by the dark side: after killing so many for the sake of the quest, my Gladiatrix became quite used to it and the frontier between good and evil became blurry.

Just finished the trilogy and what can I say, it has been a total blast. Definitely one of the best modules I've played. Could've used more diversity as the final showdown grew closer, but it was still awesome and engaging. Hella huge thanks to FallynRayne for such an amazing experience.

Hello from Germany,

some weeks ago I found this "Gladiatrix 3" module. A really nice story. The constant disappearing of all equipement when captured was not so nice (repeated breaking of the game flow), but nevertheless a really good plot.

But I have a problem is the underdark: Gladiatrix was captured by an Ilthide, came free together with Braxton and walked through some corridors where finaly the "elder brain" of the Ilthides was killed.  But after this event the 2 warriors are not able to go through one of the 2 portals. What could be the reason? They are captured in this room with the dead brain.

Thanks a lot in before for help !

Well, started this and found the same problem as the start of two, my character's body isnt assembled properly, even naked. In the last one, that stopped after my swim in the lake to save the boy, though Emmalyne had the problem when in her underwear later.

 Is there a walkthrough posted for this? Having troubles in the Forest of Sorrows.

Well, have made it as far as the Dakkari, but body is still messed up. I wonder what could have fixed it in two. Could it be something in my inventory? Kind of off-putting to either see your hand and shoulder in right place, while rest of arms are displaced to the right, left arm in torso, right floating freely.

  Love the module so far, but after going through the Everdark cave with the mushrooms and getting captured and having my items taken away again, I'm starting to get a little annoyed. Why does this happen so often? Was there no other plot device that could have been used instead? I'm getting kind if tired of reorganizing my inventory every time.

  Is this going to keep happening for the rest of the story?

I know Tessa has the most content out of all the possible romances, but do the sex scenes with her still happen even if you aren't in a relationship?