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Small Village Woes
Small Village Woes
Version 1.31 | November 04, 2014[Prologue: Traveling on a country path for some weeks, you enter a thick and foreboding forest as your only way forward. Having taken rest in the unnaturally dark woodland, you are awoken by a pelting of scattered rain drops. In the far distance a dim light forms. You see a wagon blockade maneuvered by three village hands who appear in a terrible hurry. Perhaps they have an understanding of why you feel such a great evil around you...]
Module Details
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1. General Information
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a. Version History
1.3.1 -- 11.04.2014 -- Various bug fixes and spelling corrections.
1.3 -- 09.07.2014 -- Edited dialogue. Revised text narratives. Refined game actions. Added events. Fixed broken scripts generated by NWN 1.23 to 1.69 core upgrade.
1.2 -- 07.23.2003 -- Added section for new stealing functionality.
1.1 -- 03.18.2003 -- Added section for newly created player death scenarios.
1.0 -- 02.13.2003 -- Basic outline of information regarding the module, including the creation of the overall module.
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a. Module Summary
Module Title.................Small Village Woes
Created By..................Devon Scalisi
Submitted/Updated.....6-25-2002/11-4-2014
Category.....................Action/RPG
Settings......................Custom Settings
NWN Version...............1.69
Gameplay Length........4 - 7 hours (depending on play-through style)
Starting Level..............1 (recommended)
Ending Level................5 - 7 (depending on play-through style)
Number of Players.......1 - 3 (**see below for more information)
Difficulty.......................Moderate
Content Rating............Teen (violence, mature themes)
Language....................English
Module Type................Single & Multiplayer
Tricks & Traps..............Light
Roleplay......................Moderate
Scope..........................Moderate (but detailed)
DM Status...................Not Recommended
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b. Player Recommendations
Single-player: Character Level 1 - 2. (Varying based on character class. Certain character classes can increase level on module start.)
**Multiplayer: Player Amount 1 - 3. Recommended Character Levels are Varied. (If 3 users are in a game, it is recommended to start each character at level 1, and to not use the provided henchmen.)
Skills underutilized: Skills that are not fully taken into consideration in this module are Appraise, Buff, Craft Armor, Craft Trap, Craft Weapon, Lore, Perform, Persuade, Use Magic Device.
[Special Note: If you would prefer to have the item-stripping script inactive, open up Small Village Woes with the NWN toolset. After opening, go to the "Edit" tab. Go to "Module Properties." Go to "Event" tab. Locate the function entitled "Module OnEntry." Select the "Edit" button displayed next to the field of that function. The Module OnEntry script will then appear. Add " /* " and " */ " symbols to the top and bottom of the script. Save the script, and exit out of the screen. Go to "File" tab and save the module.]
The Module OnEntry item-stripping script should now be inactive.
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2. Introduction
Small Village Woes had been in develpment since the day after Neverwinter Nights became available for purchase. The first public release was in 2002. An update arrived in 2003. The next public release came in September of 2014.
[Author Note: Neverwinter Nights provided me the ability to digitally create the adventure that I had been wanting to since playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for the Intellevision Home Game System in the early 1980s.
A special thanks to Magnus, MagicalMaster, and anyone else who participated in the development of this module since 2002, from coding tidbits or gameplay feedback.]
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3. Feedback
Thanks for playing!
If you would like to provide feedback (please do!), I can be reached in the below comment section.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Module | Small Village Woes (v1.31) (760) | 4.93 MB |
 Read Me | Small Village Woes (v1.30) (549) | 34.55 KB |
Woah! Updated after eleven years, and by no other than the original author himself! The great news indeed! :) That's might be more than good enough reason - for nominate your module for next NWN1 module pick @ Adventurer's Club Nominations Thread.
I'm glad you're enthused! Me too.
I'd love to read the Adventurer's Club discussion of this module. I very much so enjoy reading about people's experience with it, for good and for bad.
If you write the post in nominations thread (yes author are allowed to do that as well) it will be included in our next poll ;)
I have added ID for the old vault entry - this way a duplicate won't be uploaded.
Alas I have a bug to report. I wandered around the village and got myself the female hench person. I then went back to the wine makers house which I hadn't visited before. Entered and went upstairs. Upon reaching this level I experienced a graphical glitch that was halfway between the area transition screen and the upstairs of the wine makers (they were both trying to show at once). After upwards of 10 seconds nwmain crashed. My conclusion is that there is an on area enter script and something in that crashed the game.
This was in win XP.
TR
Well I opened this mod up in the toolset and found something weird so I looked at the mod straight out of the archive. It seems that the one that crashed had become corrupted. Don't know how but the corrupted version has an extra item upstairs in the orchard house - a spelljammer tradesman ship sitting directly on top of the area that crashed NwN for me.
The uncorrupted version works fine (and has no ships whatsoever).
TR
Hi Tarot Redhand,
I opened the latest version of Small Village Woes (1.30), opened the module in the toolset, explored all instances of the Orchard levels (both lower room and upper room), and found no instances of a ship placeable object in them. Additionally, others players have played this module through multiple times since the 1.30 re-release, and have experienced no glitches or bugs in the way you describe.
Try downloading the current version hosted here on the neverwinter vault, and let me know if you have the same issue.
Thanks,
BortSonofBort
WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!
I downloaded it today, believing it to be a nicely done module for a single evening (or morning for that matter) and, well... I was right.
The module was very detailed. I loved how I needed to wait for my mug of ale, since the innkeeper had to pour it, and then I was handed the ale instead of it simply appearing in my inventory without any of the characters moving. These were small things that barely affected gameplay, but it was a nice touch for sure. This also resulted in a somewhat handicapped trading system, though, but for the purposes of this short module, it wasn't much of a problem.
Similarly, I liked one-liners of important enemies that occured while fighting. Be it a description of a breaking construct's body, or a last shout of anger of a dying foe, they were all great.
Time for a more important part. The story of the module was original and well-thought. The plot twist was, like a plot twist is supposed to be, unexpected, but didn't feel unfitting, which isn't all that common a case.
I'd be lying, however, if I said I found no negatives in this adventure.
First problem was the camera. I believe I understand the motive behind the frequent utilization of cutscenes. I assume the author wanted to make the module more moviesque by having camera rotate or be fixed in various ways and I'm aware that many players might like it. I, however, do not. I found myself having to change the control settings all the time, due to camera type switching automatically to the one I don't like every time a cutscene is played. I don't mind doing this once or twice in a module, during events that can really make use of cutscenes to emphasize them and/or force PCs to "play their part" in these little movies. I do believe, however, that a simple walk on a bridge should not trigger a cutscene of my PC crossing said bridge. Similarly, I see no need for a cutscene which aims simply to show an enemy (skeleton demon) appear behind the player. Worse yet, this very cutscene was bugged, so that I could not rotate my camera right or left even after the cutscene ended. I needed to go back to the bridge to trigger the previous cutscene and only after it ended did I regain control over my camera.
This is my main concern. Others are simple nuisances: The Priest having no name whatsoever, despite being a pivotal character in the storyline (it might have been intended, but it still doesn't feel right to me), companions having close to no character development or role in the story other than bashing heads that the PC wants them to bash, a rather specific form of dialogue with NPCs that describes what a PC can say instead of saying it... These are all small things that didn't really make a difference to me in the long run.
All in all, I give this module a rating of 8/10 and I am hopeful you don't take it to be a bad thing, since I liked your adventure very much! There could be many more modules like this one - simple, yet detailed and entertaining, stories perfect for a few hours of bore at home.
Thank you very much!
[SPOILERS BELOW.]
Hi Gani,
Thanks for taking the time to provide me some detailed feedback. I very much appreciate it! Let's get on with it then.
Grani: I downloaded it today, believing it to be a nicely done module for a single evening (or morning for that matter) and, well... I was right.
I spent most of my time making this module at or around 4am, so that sounds about right to me.
Grani: The module was very detailed. I loved how I needed to wait for my mug of ale, since the innkeeper had to pour it, and then I was handed the ale instead of it simply appearing in my inventory without any of the characters moving. These were small things that barely affected gameplay, but it was a nice touch for sure.
I love nice touches. ...waitaminute. I should probably find a different way to express that thought.
Grani: This also resulted in a somewhat handicapped trading system, though, but for the purposes of this short module, it wasn't much of a problem.
I'm not sure that I agree, but can of course understand why some players would prefer the NWN merchant window system. I am happy to hear that in spite of preferring the merchant window system, the text based dialogue screens didn't ruin the module for you.
Grani: Similarly, I liked one-liners of important enemies that occured while fighting. Be it a description of a breaking construct's body, or a last shout of anger of a dying foe, they were all great.
I could probably stand to include a few more specific examples of this throughout the module, as well.
Grani: Time for a more important part. The story of the module was original and well-thought. The plot twist was, like a plot twist is supposed to be, unexpected, but didn't feel unfitting, which isn't all that common a case.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Grani: First problem was the camera. I believe I understand the motive behind the frequent utilization of cutscenes. I assume the author wanted to make the module more moviesque by having camera rotate or be fixed in various ways and I'm aware that many players might like it. I, however, do not.
I can understand that. I knew I was going to use it a few times. I've actually removed a few less purposeful ones. There is one or two I do intend to delete. Funny enough, the walk on the bridge is also somewhat functional in nature. In all, there are seven (or eight) camera shifts that affect no more than two minutes of the module (excluding the module's "Epilogue," of course).
Grani: Similarly, I see no need for a cutscene which aims simply to show an enemy (skeleton demon) appear behind the player.
I'm going to have to disagree with this one as well. I think many players might have their camera positioned in such a way that they would miss certain 'boss character' appearances and 'event moments' as they happen. I'd rather error on the side of caution an impress upon a camera shift by the player than have the player miss the skeleton's appearance. I don't mind missing a similar camera shift when the earth elemental is spawned, because it speaks. I don't mind it during the start of module when the wolves are spawned, because I had to introduce the concept early on that the camera would occasionally become animated during the game, as well as try artfully informing the player that enemies could spawn in close relation to the player's character. Although it could be envisioned differently, I think the purpose of each, and the aesthetic of most, are beneficial elements in the moment.
Grani: Worse yet, this very cutscene was bugged, so that I could not rotate my camera right or left even after the cutscene ended.
That doesn't sound right. Might be a bug from my last series of edits. I'll have to look at that. Thanks!
Grani: The Priest having no name whatsoever, despite being a pivotal character in the storyline (it might have been intended, but it still doesn't feel right to me)
Definitely intended. You feeling this way is good by me. The Priest. No one calls the Dalai Lama by his birth name. Only in stories and introductions is he even referred to as the Dalai Lama. Those that are 'disciples' of the Dalai Lama call him "Your/His Holiness." Now, don't misunderstand me, The Priest is not at all a caricature of the Dalai Lama, I only use it as a naming convention example of 'anointed'-types.
Grani: Companions having close to no character development or role in the story other than bashing heads that the PC wants them to bash.
In the best case scenario, I would correct this and add, at the very least, conversational one-liners throughout the module, which would be easy enough. Doing it well would demand a decent chunk of time, however. Hopefully, I have some free time in the future to add some.
Grani: A rather specific form of dialogue with NPCs that describes what a PC can say instead of saying it...
I love to use my imagination! Because it forces the player to have to imagine the situational response for themselves, as opposed to me writing for a player's character that I know nothing about. If I can be frank for a second ("Frank who?" they shouted), I think writing specific responses for a character I know nothing about is silly. Always have.
Grani: All in all, I give this module a rating of 8/10 and I am hopeful you don't take it to be a bad thing, since I liked your adventure very much!
I'm happy to hear that! And thanks. I don't take anything said to be "bad." I enjoy hearing all thoughts: those that the player feel are successful and unsuccessful, and then determine for myself where I agree, disagree, why, or discover if a happy medium exists.
Grani: There could be many more modules like this one - simple, yet detailed and entertaining, stories perfect for a few hours of bore at home. Thank you very much!
You're very welcome!
Best,
Bort
Aw, you stripped items this time.
Could you please make a non item strip?
Savickster is a Mac user - he has no access to toolset as far as I know.
Thanks Werelynx; dang you've known me longer than I thought.
Savickster, I've modified the OnEnter script - according to Bort's advice and uploaded module (packed as 7zip file) here: SVW_v131_noitemstripping (165)
Hope that I didnt mess anything (the script was compiled successfully) and that it will prove to be helpful. And that Bort doesn't mind, of course. ;) If he does, I'll remove the link immediately and delete the file.
Hi Sawark,
That file looks fine to me. The item-stripping OnEntry script is commented out, and no longer functions, as requested.
The only issue, which isn't a large one, is that the player's spawn point has been moved a bit after you saved the file (which is a toolset save bug). The player now spawns a little off his/her bed roll. Again, not a big deal, though. :)
Savickster, feel free to use the Small Village Woes "noitemstripping" module file provided by Sawark.
Thanks,
BortSonofBort
Wow, the community seems to be very helpful.
Does this mod get the "oldest mod to be updated" award?
Okay, still a couple bugs:
1. When confronting the priest, Farmer Fred must be made invulnerable. If any beasties follow him in during dialogue confrontation, they will kill him and thus we cannot continue.
2. The new henchwoman in Graveyard Gary's attacks Willy when he confronts the final demon.
Hi Savickster,
Thanks for your feedback.
Aha! Great. I'll fix this.
I have never seen this happen before. I'll take a look and see if their factions have been altered some how.
Thanks again,
Bort
When updating, please remove the item strip.
Or: please pack and upload the two versions (with/without item stripping) in single archive, thus leaving the simple decision: which one to choose - to the players (regardless if they are using Windows, Linux or Mac).
Also: I'd personally recommend 7z format, as it means the file will be compressed much better than zip in such cases (i.e .: 2 * 29MB and almost identical files) - and the resulting download size would be still about 1 MB (vs 9 MB zip).
Since there is an option to disagree with the priest before visiting the Bre'i, if Bort continues to update this, I suggest there be an option of entering the Bre'i village peacefully and get their side of the story.
On one hand I agree with S., but then Brei are barbarians that have slaughtered innocents for the sins of 2 humans.
I don't disagree with this at all. In 2002/2003, this is exactly what I was planning to do in a future update. It would require me making two separate instances of the Br'ei Camp and the burning version of the Small Village. Fundmentally, it wouldn't be a difficult addition, just time consuming, and I'm not sure that I have time to complete the necessary edits required for this level of module expansion. We're talking new story elements, new outcomes, new action scripts, new instances of objects, NPCs, etc.. For the scope of what Small Village Woes is, it's entirely possible. It wouldn't be a slight addition, however.
I can entirely agree with your rationale, Werelynx. Any characters that don't lean Good would undoubtedly like the option to join the Br'ei. It would be nice to provide that option. That being said, I did my best to balance the mystery of story arc reveals/twists with the logic points used to never feel comfortable with the Br'ei tactics. Glad you had this thought.
Thanks to you both for the input,
BortSonofBort
Hi
Just played this module yesterday. I found it very entertaining.
I found the merchant-system a bit tirering (slow), but understand why it was implemented (I guess it gives alot more freedom to control equipment economy). But since it is a short module it isnt a big problem.
I would also like different opportunities than jusy kiling all the Br'ei. By the time I talked to the priest this much was clear to me:
1. The Br'ei where looking for a book (the way they searched bookshelves at attacked locations). This was even more clear when I entered Lennys lodge.
2. Fred had unwantingly began to summon undead through a book (likely the one sytolen from the Br'ei). Thus it was quite an "evil"-book, but there where no stories of the Br'ei using it for such.
3.The barbarian Br'ei had lived for long without attacking the village before the current events. Thus it might have beenpossible to restore a "truce"-of some sort. At least enough to consider it/investigate the possibility.
4. The priest was definitely involved somehow (from Freds talk and letter, and the Priests response). I only wondered if the church alter was also a clue (it had a description as covered in dust, that is: unused).
Even as a lawfull good Paladin I did not like to just slaughter the whole tribe (on the command of an untrustworthy local Priest) which I expected was not the root of the problem. I really wanted to track down Fred instead and figure out what was happening before "slaugther commenced". Especially since the Priest was very fishy indeed, I strongly suspected him using me as a way of getting rid of his trail of evidence. I my character had been low Wis - I would gladly had taken fast and impulsive action against the barbarian, but my chracter really first disclained the priest mission, but it was clear that there was no other way to move forward.
This to me was the biggest issue. But otherwise a great module. I would rate it around 7 or 8 out of 10, with 5 being average.
I'm happy that you enjoyed yourself.
I can appreciate all of these observations. Thanks!
I can understand that.
I really enjoy hearing response like this. Thoughts about how the narrative informs the player's experience are necessary and interesting perspectives.
Definitely
I agree. If I had the time to create an alternate second and third act of the module, having the option to partner with the Br'ei would be included.
Nice observation of details. The church alter and certain dialogue points are definitely a clue to question the altruistic intent of the church.
Excellent opinions. I very much enjoyed reading them.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, Tobtor!
Best,
BortSonofBort
Thanks for this grim adventure! I really enjoyed the writing, the merchant system, and the conversation system. I was playing as a NE human ranger with a bit of an attitude problem and definitely had fun imagining my own responses in dialogue. (I would hazard a guess that this conversation system lightens the author's load, too...)
*SPOILER BELOW*
The most memorable encounter in this adventure for me, besides stripping rotten body parts off of zombies, was in Farmer Fred's crypt. I had just laid to rest a family of zombies and was feeling particularly weak and nervous, having consumed the last of my healing potions. When those conspicuous piles of human bones came to life and started chasing me, I ran like hell, stopping only long enough to hack down one skeleton that barred my path! I ran out the manor and all the way town, yelling for help. The village boys helped me defeat the horrifying monsters, and I felt appropriately shaken by my very close call with death.
Thanks for the feedback, Lord Frostie!
I'm glad you enjoyed the module, and some of the ways that it differs from other modules. And I loved hearing about your experience in the family crypt. I laughed out loud.
Best,
Bort Son of Bort
I wonder if this one is still being updated.
99% sure that NO.
Hi All,
Just a FYI, I will be updating the module to correct some minor bugs this Winter. No new content, though. The chances of new content being added in (such as side quests, or a path division of the main quest) is unlikely.
Thanks,
Bort Son of Bort
So what was the update?
Plain and simple, but marvellously crafted.
Thanks so much for playing. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Fun adventure with an interesting story. Heavy on the hack and slash, but with a lot of ambience.
One small bug: when I reloaded the final encounter, one of the companions disappeared and couldn't be rejoined. Managed to survive with the help available anyway, but watch out for that!
Thanks for playing! I'm glad that you appreciated the details.
It stripped me! I was unwilling to go in and do all the work to keep this from happening so that is what I get! Module was okay, a bit minimal and bleak. Killing the barbarians was an onerous task only if you knew the story ahead of time, which I did not. Too bad, but these things happen! All seemed to work and the end played out. This may be the longest post string that I have ever seen for so small and inconsequential a module!
Sorry about the stripping! Because of the way the module works, and specifically, the in-game economy, I didn't want users bringing in their own weapons, as they aren't able to sell them. The in-game economy is also important to the balancing in the game. Turning off the script can be very quick if you're willing to follow the instructions for doing so in my readme.
I like to think that people come to this comment section because they can see how much love was put into making this. It was always intended to be an inconsiquential entry level module (Small Village Woes), but extremely detailed, and a little dark in its story. If I spent more time on it, my goal would have been to flesh out more options for how the story plays out.
Thanks for taking the time to play the module! It was a labor of love from 2002-2003, and then again for several months in 2014. I couldn't be happier to know there are still players loading it up.
Thanks for your response, BortSonofBort. Always nice to see that the authors are monitoring the module pages. I did not mean anything negative about the size or complexity of your work. Just that there were so many years of posts about it! Wow. Thanks for all the effort. I have played almost all the Hack n Slash type modules on the Vault and so am a bit jaded, I would have to say. The stripping is a technique that many use to balance play, and I understand that better now than when I wrote this review. I still think that my 7 star review is about right for my enjoyment level. Again, thanks for all the effort!
I check back here every so often because people's feedback really tickles me. For good or for bad. This project also meant quite a bit to me at the time of creating it. I was 21 years-old when I began work on this module, and desperately seeking an outlet to funnel my disappointment in life at the time. A person's early-20s can be very conflicted with taking in all new perspectives and information about their surroundings and the people who inhabit them, while at the same time critiquing and refuting passed down traditions.
At the time, I had quit my day job without notice, and lived on the small savings I had accrued to afford myself time to find a new path. I used the creation of this game as a mechanism to find that path. I spent a little over a year of 13-hour days building this module. You can imagine, I have a wild bunch of memories associated with the creation process.
And nothing negative taken! No worries about that. I like to take a moment to flesh out the 'whys' and 'what fors' when possible. Many of the features of this module were a first of their kind of Neverwinter Nights user-created mods. That statement no longer holds up after many years of great module releases, but at the time, Small Village Woes represented a kind of detail and craft that was largely not a focus of the greater creator community.
Thanks for reading!
A big thanks for this quality module. I used this as a starting adventure for low levels before leading into the OC for EE (as once one has learned how to play the "training academy" isn't a very compelling start point for me). Works great and I didn't run into any bugs. It also has the benefit of not requiring digging around in CEP stuff.
You're very welcome, Mappinger! I'm glad that you enjoyed it!