Small Village Woes

Sawark: 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.

[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

Tobtor: Just played this module yesterday. I found it very entertaining.

I'm happy that you enjoyed yourself.

Tobtor: 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 can appreciate all of these observations. Thanks!

Tobtor: I would also like different opportunities than jusy kiling all the Br'ei.

I can understand that.

Tobtor: 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.

I really enjoy hearing response like this. Thoughts about how the narrative informs the player's experience are necessary and interesting perspectives.

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 were no stories of the Br'ei using it for such.

Definitely

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. true!

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.

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).

Nice observation of details. The church alter and certain dialogue points are definitely a clue to question the altruistic intent of the church.

Tobtor: 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.

Excellent opinions. I very much enjoyed reading them.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, Tobtor!

Best,
BortSonofBort

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

Thanks so much for playing. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for playing! I'm glad that you appreciated the details.

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.