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Tales of Arterra - The Lost
Submitted by:
Submitted by Migrate Wizard on 2014-07-04 21:34.
Last modified:
2018-07-31 06:05
Version:
1.08
Old Vault Category:
modules
Old Vault ID:
4046
Game:
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| Title | Tales of Arterra - The Lost - 1.08 |
| Author | Kevin Chan |
| Submitted / Updated | 06-30-2004 / 11-01-2006 |
| Category | Dungeon Adventure |
| Expansions | Requires Both Expansions (SoU & HotU) |
| Setting | Arterra |
| Gameplay Length | 10-15 hours |
| Number Players | Single-player only. |
| Language | English |
| Level Range | Start at level 1 |
| Races | Any |
| Tricks & Traps | Light |
| Roleplay | Medium |
| Hack & Slash | Light |
| Classes | Any |
| Scope | Part of Series |
| DMNeeded | No DM Required |
| Single or Multiplayer | Single Player |
| Max Character Level | 12 |
| Max # Players | 01 |
| Min # Players | 01 |
| Min Character Level | 01 |
| Content Rating | Mature |
| Alignments | Any |
| Gameplay Hours | <1 |
| Description | |
| Your stepfather was slain before your very eyes. Cast out into the world with nothing but the clothes on your back, you journey to the city of Edinburg to find a job, and to find your destiny. Tales of Arterra - The Lost is a story-driven single-player module that takes place on the world of Arterra. Version 1.08 makes minor updates to combat and brings the module to patch 1.65. The sequel is available here. | |
Files:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 toa_the_lost_1.08.zip (6547) | 3.62 MB |
| toa_the_lost_unofficial_ee_compatibility_patch.7z - This fixes Four area transitions that do not work in EE v. 1.76 (2008) | 1.26 MB |
I enjoyed this mod very much and can't wait to jump into Part 2, The Awakening! :-)
Very well made & structured. Very good story & scripting
Great gem and a must play especially for good alignments! I grant 10/10 for the series (10/10 for superb “Awakening” and 9/10 for the first "the Lost", which is a bit less engaging, but also very good). It is a very well written story (I like complex sentences like: “you can feel the dragon’s tension like a crushing weight upon you, squeezing the breath out of your lungs”), novel-like characters, moral dilemmas, grey ethics, well written dialogues and psychological depth of companions almost comparable to Dance with Rogues. Persey, a succubus that may turn good thanks to your support is one of the most enjoyable creations in NWN modules and I have played majority of what is worthwhile (consider this quote: “Countless men told me they would go to hell for me, but it is only you who actually did this”; in principle whenever you read “Persey looks at you curiously, with her bright grey-green eyes” there is an interesting talk ahead).
Prepare for a memorable story about war of faiths, religious crisis, philosophy of life, salvation, weakening kingdom, battles (only some will be hard, but most will be enjoyable), redemption and complexities of good of evil. The second part of module 2 (Awakening) actually takes place in hells (they will try to sell you post-mortem your own equipment, haha!), which brings about memories from Planescape: Torment, additionally enhanced by some music from PT. Some quotes, such as “there are infinite numbers of path in one’s lifetime; destiny is defined by those paths that are most common” (Seer) exhibit philosophical profoundness.
In spite of only basic tilesets available back in 2005, Kevin Chan successfully created lots of interesting locations, characters and custom items (e.g. celestial Oni summon or shortsword granting hide-in-plain-sight feat). If it is not enough, an adequate selection of cool custom music coming among others from Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment, contribute to the immersion.
Best classes to play this module: fighter/wizards (for magic items), fighter/bards (for summoning instruments), paladins, rogues with high UMD skill (for crucial class specific haste items, especially monk robes early in module2); a cleric may be a bit too easy. You will have 3 henchmen available: a fighter, a cleric and a rogue for almost the whole gameplay.
The Lost does not have major bugs.
PS. Additional thanks go to rogueknight, the author of Swordflight series whose post on Lilura blog convinced me to try Tales of Arterra.
Rating this a 10/10.
It is indeed a gem worthy of Hall of Fame in it's time, and perhaps until today.
It has very good story which I liked, and the scripting is flawless.
Wow! I just replayed this since the first time (top post from 3/2015) and I can't believe how much I enjoyed it again! I'd say maybe even more the 2nd time around, since there were so many things that I'd forgotten! I would love to add extra points (if we were allowed) for the excellent walkthrough which I referred to many times!
As I said in my previous post, I'm eager to start Chapter 2 (again) and would highly recommend Chapter One to everybody!
Thanks Kevin! :-)
I might have stumbled onto a bug with Ezros (if anyone knows of a console command to help, please let me know). When I went into talk to him, we were in a battle immediately. I never had the conversation where he explains the source of the zombies. So I destroyed his phylactery and killed him, released the ghosts via their gems and headed back to town to make my report with the requisite journal in hand. But no new dialogue options are popping up so I can't seem to make a report. Did I miss something?
I played this mod ages ago but never played the sequel. It's always been one of my favorites. Complex characters and a great storyline.
Was able to trigger this bug again, though I'm still not sure how. Third try triggered the conversation. Incredibly tired of fighting that guy now, lol.
List of all console commands included here.
TR
I meant one specific to this module since I think the problem is that I didn't trigger a conversation somehow. But I appreciate it nonetheless; handy to have for other games.
It seems like a really cool mod. But I don't know why people were saying there weren't any bugs.
I wasn't even able to continue on with the game because of the Hall of Elders. I ended up putting around 6+ hours into the game, and when I went into the Hall of Elders there was no way to go to the second floor to meet Lord Rayson (I believe his name is...).
This was really disappointing for me, and I know installed the game correctly. However, I was using NWN:EE.
Edit: I upped my score! I figured out that the problem was, indeed, an Enhanced Edition problem.
Another must-play mdoule.
Played a year ago, was fantastic, remember since then. Top 5 deffo
Nicly done
Just finished this one and I really enjoyed it. This module has a rich story line with well developed characters. I will echo all of the comments by greg above. I will also add my kudos to the module holding up well despite its age.
I played through with 1.69 and CEP 2.65 and I did not find any bugs. The battles were well balanced and quite challenging at times. I played with a human fighter using the henchmen as soon as they became available.
This is a terrific module and I am looking forward to the next one.
Great mod!
A very good module. Good dialogue and ok interesting plots.
Sadly, NNW:EE 1.76 update (maybe 1.75, I'm not sure about that) has broken this mod.
There are some area transitions that point to a "Trigger" as their destination. Those transistions are no longer active in the current game version. (Technically, as I understand this, those Area Transitions should be updated to to a Waypoint, something the current toolset does automatically when you transisition between Triggers.)
The three areas I've found affected so far are the exits from the Slum Sewers (to the Deep Slums, and Noble's districts), as well as the Southern exit from Mistwood (to the Mistwood: Druid Grove)
Edit: I think I've found and fixed all the affected Transistions. Assuming Kevin doesn't reply :(.. how do I go about posting my update here for others? This mod is too good/seminal to leave broken.
Thank you very much for the update, I was gonna start this one tonight, and I play on the EE version (at this point)! It's always a bummer when you play a great module in any game platform and it crashes or has minor bugs that stop or spoil your adventure, your work is greatly appreciated <3
When I try to drive a wooden stake it says "...failed to pierce his cold grey skin.." I cant kill vampires / drakkar, any solutions? My game is NWN:EE by the way.
Oldie but goodie
Played this years ago and got back into NWN because of the Beamdog ports.
What happens to PERSEY and EVANINE if they get killed in combat?
All the factions were messed up after killing the lich, too...hmm...
Went back and figured out a better resolution with the lich that didn't involve the henchmen dying or the factions changing.
Decided to give up on it unfortunately. Tried my best to like it.
Module seemed alright at first. Compact and well designed locations, ok combat design, decently written dialogue, nothing special though. But overall it's just another boring, high fantasy drivel about some evil rising, you being forced out of your home etc. Nothing really interesting or griping about the story. Nothing exciting going on, not much moral choices, serious lack of side quests. You are being immediately forced into "ancient evil" bs plot after doing a couple missions for local factions. Oh yeah and tons of loot on lower levels, you literally being showered with expensive magic items, instead of starting small and earning it. Of all three henchies i only liked the romadon(?), well the mercenary guy, the elven girl and succubus are as boring as reading a description on shampoo bottle. And i've seen better medium roleplay modules tbh.
Then another problem arised, i got to the part with the lich and decided to do it peacefully without destroying soul gem. The plot absolutely dead-ended after that, no idea what to do and where to go. Not a single walkthrough around. Very vague directions and i checked pretty much everything in that damn city, spoke with everyone. That wasn't the first time i got stuck in this mod either, its hellbent on keeping player in the dark.
I don't recommend, unless you like modules full of backtracking, frustration and mediocrity.
Only give it 3 instead of 1 because technically and design wise its all nice and tidy. But i regret wasting my time.
"Not a single walkthrough around."
There's actually a walkthrough included in the zip file, but I have to admit that I'd have been stuck without it as well. Some parts are not very intuitive and hints are really vague.
Not so great, but still enjoyed the first part, the second one not so much.
SPOILERS
The storyline is copied from baldur's gate, specially the second part
From today's perspective, I thought it's alright. Quite good but nowhere near great. Competently done, everything worked fine and was at least at the same level of professionalism as the OC. It's just that compared to all the other modules out now, it's not all that special.
Personally I thought the story and setting so-so. I remember that I already tried playing this module a decade ago or so and found it too slow and boring. This time I had more patience for it, I went along with the story and characters and I actually enjoyed parts of that, but a lot of it is also pretty standard fantasy/RPG fare and doesn't really stand out. And some things don't make a lot of sense either. Regarding the quality of story, I felt a bit reminded of the OC as well. Serviceable, if you don't think about it too much, but nothing to write home about. The module uses a custom setting, but it's really not that different from Forgotten Realms, and the invented countries and people are very obiously inspired by countries, people or regions in our own world (Japan, Rome/Sparta/Vikings etc., and the names don't make any attempt to hide that inspiration either, on the contrary).
An impressive amount of work must have gone particularly into all the conversations. They were well written, with great care, and highly polished - I don't think I saw a single typo. You could ask lots of characters about the same things and hardly anyone would give copy/paste answers, they would each give their own version of events, just like real people. (Some of them also had very distinct personalities. I thought that was very well done.) On the other hand, this was seldom used to the extent that you would actually learn new and surprising things from other characters. It mostly just reinforced the known narratives by repetition, just with different words. And you need to take an interest in these narratives in order to appreciate this; a lot of what is said helps to build up the story and setting, but if you don't find these interesting, it's wasted on you.
Another reason why you need patience for The Lost, or a special mindset to enjoy it, is that the first half is almost completely without combat. I think you get from level 1 to to level 5 or 6 just by walking around the town, talking to people, learning what the story is and doing the first main quests which are mostly just walking around and talking as well. I actually liked that you would get xp for learning interesting things from NPCs, at least at first, but if you don't find the story that gripping and are yearning for some action, I guess it can be a bit of a drag. Also, when you finally get to see that action, you will notice that you often don't get xp for defeating regular opponents, only for the bigger plot related villains. This is an interesting approach as well, possibly to encourage avoiding mass slaughter, but I'm not sure how well it works. After all, the enemies are still hostile obstacles in your way and you don't get rewarded by avoiding them either, so it just makes them a little more annoying and there is less gratification in dealing with them. It didn't bother me that much because there wasn't that much combat anyway, but still, if fighting (or avoiding) monsters is part of the game, I think it's more fun when you also get something out of it. The boss fights were good on Normal difficulty though, challenging without being too hard, and rewarding to win.
The last two points for why you need patience is that on the one hand, there is a lot of running to and fro between the city quarters, and once you've fully explored them, constantly traveling between them on foot is no fun anymore, and until you get a pair of boots with Haste property in the second half, it's quite a slog. I really wouldn't have minded some fast travel options. And on the other hand, there were quite a few spots were it was rather vague and not that intuitive what you needed to do in order to advance the plot or get the henchmen to join you so that you'd be more apt for handling the opponents. There were no real puzzles in the module to speak of, but several adventure game style "puzzles" where you needed to do something very specific or be somewhere very specific at night or you'd get stuck, and even though with regards to the story a lot of information is repeated over and over again to get the point across and make you remember, the hints for these specific solutions were very easy to overlook, if there even were any. Thankfully a walkthrough is provided with the game, but it's not such a good thing that I had to use it several times to progress because I'd never have found out the solutions myself, at least not without wasting a lot of time. (One thing the walkthrough omitted to tell me, btw, was what happens with your companions when they die. I never found out in-game either, as I was too afraid of the uncertainty and the risk to lose them completely that I always reloaded when they fell.)
That being said, it's still a very solid module and it was enjoyable enough for me to play through it. I also didn't experience any bugs (also thanks to rashkae's fix for the EE!). I quite liked that loot containers were used more sparingly than in the average NWN module, and there was some humour in it, too (the town criers were great). All in all, I don't regret playing it, but whether I'd recommend it to others would strongly depend on their taste. Nowadays there are just so many modules out there with stories and gameplay that I find more exciting.
Note that:
- Area transitions e.g. from the city to the outlying lands, but sometimes even from one wilderness area to another, often remove your summoned creatures (not sure if by letting a whole day pass? - in that case be wary about buffing your characters before you move to another area, it could all be in vain).
- There is one point shortly before the end, where your companions are removed from your party without warning and you don't get them back before the game ends, so it's worth to keep that in mind when you "lend" items to them. EDIT: Never mind, the sequel will strip you of all belongings anyway.
Fantastic module. It inspired me to abolish XP for combat in my D&D roleplaying group and it had very good effect on the players.
Fantastic story, the combats were engaging, really good scenario, a marvelous gem for those who enjoy more than hack n slash.
I want to thank the creators of this module for the fun they gave me, it is a great story and the scripting is flawless. I give this module a rate 100/100. Thank you very much for your nice work ;)
I am currently playing it so i will give my rate later. I have 2 problems. I cant ressurect my succubus companion**. Where is her body after death? Also there is no area transition from Mistwood to Druid Grove***. How can i get there to continue my quest?
**Persey the succubus will join you again after Rest
***I used the console to jump to this area (dm_movetoarea Mistwood: Druid Grove). Unfortunately there is no other way.
Ok now to the point: I have enjoy it very much even with those area transition problems. You must find a gear that give you "haste" but not in the stores. And be patient. Trust me. You will begin the adventure with a single armor only. If you join the City Guards then you cant join the thieves guild. Whatever you choose does not affect the main plot, you will simply do different missions until you reach a common point. Companions were very useful. I used them all (lol). In general it is very good and I recommend it to all (halfway through the story you wander around town but that's okay by me because I like to cover everything!). Nice Job!
Module Testing Tournement 2020
Great mod. I understand it's one of the classic Oldies but Goodies.
It starts off a little slow, but really picks up once you get the companions. You should get all 3 companions. They are the highlight of the ToA series. (The sequel, Awakenings is even better than the Lost).
Thanks to rashkae for uploading his fixes for door transitions in EE.
Personally, I found this module very mediocre. It seems very ambitious at first, with the huge areas and epic story, but that's about it, as far as depth goes. The actual story of your protagonist seems to be copied from Baldur's Gate, and even though this module comes with a "unique setting" the setting is a completely generic high fantasy world. The game makes no attempt to cater to different playstyles, very obviously favouring direct melee fighters. Your companions have large conversation files with many lines, but their actual content is simplistic in the extreme and very unimaginative.
For instance, if one of your companions is a former succubus-slave, conversation with her is supposed to make you "teach her freedom" (a very delicate concept which has to be handled carefully) but in ToA this is done by the PC outright saying, "I want you to think for yourself." That's it. And the being literally created magically to be a perfect slave replying "ok, I will try."
This brings me nicely to the most remarkable thing about this module, but not in a good way. It's incredibly sexist. It's sexist with that super-blatant heavy-fantasy-sexism which used to be prevalent in sword&sorcery stories in, like, the '60s or something. Honestly, it's practically vintage. Some highlights, as short as possible because this is not a place for a whole book:
All in all, playing this was in many ways like going back in time. There's nothing really wrong about this module - other than the sexism - but there's nothing particularly right about it, either. The setting is generic fantasy that would have actually felt richer and would have more personality if it was Forgotten Realms (now there's something you don't say every day...). The areas are large, but unremarkably furnished and forgettable. The NPCs have lots of dialogue and backstory, but of very cliched sort (exiled princess, former sex slave, generic rude angry he-man woman hater). The quests are very predictable and the plot goes exactly where you think it will.
I have, however, enjoyed the fact that you can get quite a lot of experience and quests that don't involve combat at all and focus on social interactions instead.
While I've never particularly liked this kind of module (limiting, linear, generic) I was appaled by your vote. Then I read your thoughts on it and agreed. Thanks for the fresh perspective.
I had mixed feelings about this module as well, though I rated it higher because I thought it was generally well done, apart from some design choices I did not agree with, and independently of my own taste in stories. But I agree with Jedijax, this was an interesting read due to the different perspective. I'm not sure I would call the module sexist myself, just because male NPCs are sexist or the descriptions are focused on the beauty of female NPCs, but I think it's fair to point these things out and reflect upon them. Weirdly enough, I also played as a female PC (but a male player) and apparently didn't even think about mentioning any of the above in my review. Makes me wonder to what extent I didn't even notice them and to what extent I just didn't care (e.g. because I wasn't interested in romancing any of the jerks anyway). Hm. Now I'm curious what you would say about A Dance With Rogues, which also confronts the player with a very sexist world and constant threats of sexual violence but was explicitly written for a female PC by a female author.
I happen to really love this module... But I also love your review. have to agree with everything.
I'm not adverse to sexual violence as a plot element on principle. It's not a question of "minus two stars because you mentioned rape" - I believe this sort of content has its place in fiction and can be used to good effect. Hell, the module I'm working on right now has several instances of sexual coercion, both perpetrated on the PC and by the PC, if you so decide. I haven't played A Dance with Rogues, but I understand its whole point is to create a bleak, horrible world where people do all sorts of ugly things to one another.
That's why my review above mentions that "none of it amounts to anything." In ToA, these things just sort of pop up, because... I dunno? I guess it was maybe there to show that these were the exceptionally bad people? But it didn't feel that way. Hence why I found it detrimental to the module, not because I find all such content bad.
Same with the "all women are astonishing beauties" part. It's not like it's wrong to have beautiful women in a module. Beautiful women exist and they can have adventures and appear in stories. The problem starts when a) all the female characters are always incredibly beautiful (we ugly women exist, too, and we also have adventures!) b) you never pay attention to men's looks or you explicitly describe them as ugly, and c) you introduce their beauty in those parts of the plot that don't really need it at all. ToA meets all three of these criteria (a good example is when you talk to some city council or something, where there is one woman and several men and the subject is politics. And even there you have to read about the council woman's perfect face. I don't care, why are you even telling me this, I'm there to discuss taxes.) The result you get is a sort of harem-fantasy where you swim in a sea of pretty girls, and if that's not your thing, then... tough luck...?
Hence my remark about it being "vintage" sexism - we've really moved past this sort of thing, as storytellers. We now know that men can also be beautiful, that women can fall in love with someone who treats them well, that there are other ways to describe a woman than her looks, etc. But if you read some of the older stuff, it's exactly like that.
You are right, however, that the module is very well done as far as actual mechanics go - I don't remember any bugs, any loose ends, it played like a polished product. In that sense, it certainly deserves a higher rating. Still, I figured that enough time has passed and enough other votes have amassed here for mine not to be the bomb that will destroy this project.
All good points, thanks for the reply!
I find myself in a bit of a quandary here, as I was shocked by your low score, yet couldn't really disagree with any of the points you made. Admittedly, it has probably been nearly a decade since I played this module, but I still hold it in very fond memory as the first real gem I encountered in NWN. I have been recommending it to new players especially, because while I concur that it doesn't do anything exceptionally well, it is (or was, until EE introduced those bugs) quite unique in that it doesn't do anything less than decent, either... or so I thought. It's true that its setting is bland, its story a bit more than a homage to Baldur's Gate, its characters somewhat cliche and that it overall feels like an 80s fantasy novel - but is that a bad thing for an introduction to NWN? I can see why you are critical of these aspects, but something about the module's writing made them seem endearing to me rather than trite; the sort of experience that draws you back into your childhood-way of appreciating fiction rather than bringing out your inner critic, like a feel-good, retro Saturday night cartoon. Minus the rape, I guess.
Honestly, I don't remember any of that, and I'm a female player playing female PCs too. Was it really that bad / explicit? It would seem entirely at odds with the atmosphere of the module. I also have nothing but the fondest memory of the companions, Persey especially, whose development I don't remember as bland (see the quote greg posted above, for instance!) - maybe it's one of those instances where with a PC not meeting the gender check for the romance, an NPC just goes silent rather than reverting to an essentially equivalent friendship track? That unfortunately was quite common in the days of Baldur's Gate, so I tended to remove the gender checks in advance. But Montador too stroke me as a genuinely good fellow with brusque manners, and it seemed quite clear to me that the author was intending his sexism to reflect badly on him rather than the player. I do remember all the stunningly beautiful female characters, but that seems to be par for the course in fantasy stories, really. Something I don't pay much attention to, and come to think of it it usually applies to men as well. The same goes for the OCs, doesn't it? Personally I recall being much more appalled by Aribeth's ridiculous armour than anything in this module. And it certainly has been a "feature" in many other games & novels, too.
I guess my memory might be blurred, or standards different. Only one way to find out. Thanks for sharing your perspective, anyway!
On the one hand you're right, when you summed it all up together, there is a huge pile of sexism and bigger half could be cut out with no loss for the plot.
On the other hand, it was almost never portrayed as a good thing. The characters objectifying women or treating them like a piece of sh*t were generally bad people (yes, the henchman too: if you check his alignment, he's supposed to be lawul evil). Yes, that sort of cliches should be called out and avoided, but preparing an adventure that you are allowed to play as anything besides a 100% good character, you have to find a reason for any character to care. And, again, on one hand it is sad that the default idea is: "I know! If I make this guy a rapist too, even an evil character will hate him!"; on the other hand the fact that it's a natural first thought means majority of people really do care, so we end in a slightly optimistic note?
Also, I don't remember anyone calling my character pretty, quite the opposite so far. So it's not default treatment of all women. And the one guard I called out for sexism seemed more ashamed of himself than mad at me. But all in all you're absolutely right.
Someone obviously has to scream sExiSm!!11! in every corner of the internet. 2021 whats new. Instead of lecturing and "calling out" an author you all should be thankful to him for taking his time to provide a completely free game for your entertainment. Contrary to your beliefs you don't have a moral highground here and noone cares about your narcissistic preaching. Get off your high horses, the world unfortunately doesn't revolve around you - as much as both of you'd like to.
I just finished TOA, The lost. Globally, i had an experience not far from what Olivier describes in his own review. This is a good module worth playing and i did not find any bug (played with v.1.69), but maybe it is a little too classic in its (linear) form. Doors to the next quest are closed until you finish your current one and it is frustrating reading 10 times the same "no, you can't go throu this door yet". The story is well writen but lacks real surprises (and yes, QuenGalad, i found the female side, borderline misogynistic). Some areas feel empty and you have to walk, and walk and more walk to go from one point to another. Take note, the end of the game doesn't allow saving your caracter.
Can anyone tell me how to get Evanine to talk to me? I've looked through the walkthrough and found nothing about her!
I am really enjoying the mod but I am running into and issue where my henchmen will just stand around while I fight. Even if I command them to fight, they still stand in place. Any help would be appreciated. J