The Subtlety of Thay

Subtlety of Thay 
by dirtywick 
oldirtywick@aol.com 

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These files are no longer being monitored or supported. For the most current version, see: 
Link 

All further updates and issues will be addressed there. 



The Subtlety of Thay, an adventure for characters level 3 to 5... 

"It only takes one man to change history, one man to spark the fires of a cataclysm. This has been  a universal truth since the dawn of time. Tensions are high on both sides of the Watchwall, and an uneasy truce has developed between the lands of Thay and Aglarond. It only takes one man to destroy that truce...and he will gaze out at the world from atop a mountain of corpses, and those closest to the flame that sparked that will be consumed. That is a fact. Of course, it will only take one to change that fact...

Will you?" 

The Subtlety of Thay is a single player campaign spanning roughly 8 hours for characters starting from levels 3 to 5, of any race and class. Challenge will depend on a number of factors, from class, ECL race, and skill level. 

Installation: 
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This is a little different than NWN1. 

When you extract the files from the archive (.rar file you downloaded), you need to do two things. It's absolutely important that you install this correctly or it won't work properly and you're likely to run into a lot of bugs, even if you don't notice right away. 

The folder called "The Subtlety of Thay" goes into your Neverwinter Nights 2/campaigns folder. This folder is found either where you installed the  game, or under the My Documents area of your computer. The default location of each is C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\Campaigns (there's also usually a link to it in your start menu), and for the other location C:\Program Files/Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns. If you installed it elsewhere or moved the path to My Documents, you probably don't need my help with that. 

The two .mod files, called typart1.mod and typart2.mod go in the modules folder. This is in the same directory as the campaign folder, just a little lower down the list. 

To start a new game, start NWN2 and click the "New Campaigns" button. If you're starting it from the "New Modules" button, you're doing it wrong. 

Also, I highly suggest using the Program Files location. On some computers, mine included, the My Documents location doesn't work. If you installed it as above and you're having problems, you're probably one of those people. You'll know you did it right if the campaigns folder contains the OC folder, and the modules folder contains a dozen or so modules that start with the number 0 and bear a remarkable resemblance in name to some of the locations found in the OC. 

v1.13+ 
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The folder named SoTOverride goes into your override folder, located in C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\OVerride or C:\Program Files\Neverwinter Nights 2\Override, or whever you installed the game. This is required to view the updated models being utilized throughout the next and further chapters of the campaign. The reason I chose an override instead of a hak or campaign folder is simply because you can carry the items with you to different modules and not have to view a floppy hat or box with a question mark. It will not override any of the base Obsidian models in either the OC or expansion. 

Note on the override: 

A lot of people hate on this folder like it's a bad thing to use; it's not, when builders use it responsibly. As always, empty it before patching the game to avoid problems! But for things like this, it's relatively harmless and allows builders a lot of flexibility as well as allowing you, the player, to use, 
for instance, the items I've spent countless hours making and to actually see the models created by the talented community in the hands of the PC instead of watching all the NPCs looking all bad while you're stuck with the default stuff.

Things to know for character design: 
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• Nearly every skill is used at some point in the campaign. For instance, a high lore skill will allow your character dialogue options that account for knowing, ironically, a lot of lore about the world and facts about the world around them. Likewise, diplomacy can convince others to do what you want them to, and you can scare them into doing what you want with Intimidate. However, these checks are hidden, so pay attention to your conversation options. 
• Alignments shifts are fairly frequent, and result from either your words or your actions. If you want to play a Paladin, you'll probably have to limit your ruthless murdering. There is also Neutral shifts. They look odd in the game, but are always accompanied by a final "your alignment has shifted towards neutral. You should also be careful how you speak to strangers, because your companions might not like the way you treat people either! 
• You get XP for you or your companions unlocking objects and disarming traps, as well as successful skill checks. A skilled character can bypass a lot of combat and still get rewards where an unskilled character couldn't, if you are diligent in seeking out places to test yourself. 
• Companions can be multiclassed, as well as influenced by your actions and words. You can control this through dialogue. If they ask for your advice, being harsh will result in them shifting towards evil, and telling them to be more free spirited will make them chaotic, for example, as well as unlocking hidden classes for them to take when they level up. Talk to them frequently, they have things to say about the area you are in or new dialogue based off of how much they like you, and to check to see if they have any new classes available that might be helpful to you. They are also gender neutral, meaning that they will react to you regardless of who your character is. 
• There are over 200 custom items in the campaign. Not all are available in stores and can be found randomly in treasure. There are also many new and useful potions and wands available in stores. Take advantage of these, a potion of Mage Armor can mean the difference between life and death in a deep and unforgiving dungeon, especially since it's not safe to rest everywhere. 
• At the same time, though, stores don't sell everything under the sun. A character with a specialized weapon may not be able to find their preferred weapon immediately, and since the treasure is random, perhaps never. You may have to look to other, less legal, merchants that find goods from far away lands... 
• There are some dungeons that once you enter, the only escape is forward, and sidequests can't be completed past certain points in the timeline. Always be prepared when you enter a new area, you never know what you'll face and having a stock of helpful items and items to bypass damage resistance will save your life. Saving often is also recommended. 
• Some sidequests block off other sidequests. This is especially true in upcoming releases for the series. If you want to experience the full game, you'll have to play at least twice! 
• For a balanced character, try Berliad's character creator. Since this campaign is part of the Forgotten Realms Weave, it is balanced around the same standards used by his character creator. 
• Just remember that crafting is not supported! 

Link 


Note from the Author: 
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Hi, this is dirtywick. Thanks for downloading and playing my campaign. It wasn't all me, though. The people over at the NWCitadel(http://nwcitadel.com/forums/index.php?styleid=18&Itemid=54) helped me test the mod out and gave a lot of useful suggestions for improving it. So, here goes the list: Thanks to Phoenixus for a lot of general help, Lord Niah for helping with his base mod and scripting, Mungo_D for the spellchecking, Aristan for extensive testing, Anduraga for the same, and everyone else that supported or took an interest. Especially to those cats reading my blog, much love goes out to you as well. Also thanks to Montgomery Markland from Rogue Dao, be sure to check their drop when it's ready. Thanks goes out to the BiObsidian boards for any scripting and toolset help. Thanks goes out to Patcha for the sitting system used by the FRW Base Mod. I also bookmarked this secret door script I saw on the scripting board that I lost when I got a new OS on the computer, so sorry to not name you but I love ya all the same! And finally, thanks to WOTC and Gary Gygax for putting together this tremendous game and world we all love, holla at me!

Thanks to all of the authors of the work that are a part of the item model compilation: 

• Adonnay's Elven Weaponry - Adonnay 
• Coat of Arms & Cloak Packs - Wild Bill 
• Hatsplosion! Hat & Helmet Pack, My Samurai is Fight! Japanese armor & clothing v1.01 - Schazzwozzer 
• ATShield Set - SilkD 
• Get Shady, Get Your Skull On - Komuro 
• Alauris's Crown, Alauris's Equipment - zpirit 
• Death Dealer Helm - Cyric_the_Dark 
• Ar_Pharazon's Elven/Paladin Helm, Drow Evil Long Sword - Ar_Pharazon 
• Fey's Spear model pack, Auril's Shield of Ascendance - Feydakin 
• Stormfury and Requiem - Deavron 
• Scimitar Models *Override* - Escrimator 
• MWM Dragon ShortBow Hak - MWMDragon 
• Assassin's dagger - Vanlhok Rokdhur 
• Zpirit's Shield Pack - zpirit 
• Arsan Hood - Arsan 

Thank you for all of your hard work and effort! 

Links: 
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Blog: Link 
Email: oldirtywick@aol.com 

NWCitadel: Link 
Forgotten Realms Weave: Link 
Rogue Dao: Link 
BiObsidian: Link 

Version History: 
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v1.14 
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Fixed final battle bug with new MotB classes 

v1.13 
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• Mask of the Betrayer Required! 
• Updated many of the scripts and items to include new base classes. 
• Fixed several small bugs introduced from the expansion. 
• Added custom models for many of the weapons, override required to view them. 

v1.12 
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• Fixed double bug at the watchwall camp. 
• Tweaked the lighting a bit in some problem areas. 
• Fixed (hopefully) the disappearing henchmen bug in a certain area after a save. 
• Fixed a few very small issues. 

v1.11 
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• Well, I think I got the final bug in the Watchwall camp sequence, finally. 
• Changed a few item icons. 

v1.10 
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• Fixed (hopefully) the gate bug locking up. 
• Switched to patch 1.6, everything seems to be working fine so why not. 

v1.9 
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• Few more isolated bug fixes. Next stop, typos! 

v1.8 
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• Added a few failsafe's for a few bugs 

v1.7 
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• Few polish fixes, nothing huge. 

v1.6 
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• Merged the hotfix and v1.5 
• Added a few new items to some stores 
• Few changes to the random loot system 

v1.5 
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• Revamped the rest system. Limited rest areas now track how many times you've rested, not 
• how many times you've entered the room. 

v1.4 
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• Several conversation bugs were fixed. 
• The museum archive is no longer bashable, so the plot makes sense now! Yay! 
• Paladins got hosed in the final encounter because of a bad script. Not anymore. 
• The rest system was problematic. Added a floating message above the player to make it 
• more obvious which areas are restable and which aren't. 

v1.3 
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• Reduced likelyhood of crash when mindflayers use their crazy attacks! 
• Fixed three dialogues that weren't working properly. 

v1.2 
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• Game breaking cutscene bug is erratic. Added a few safeguards to prevent it. Since I can't 
• reproduce the bug, these are in place as an alternative way of firing the cutscene if the 
• bug presents itself. 

v1.1 
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• Fixed game breaking cutscene 
• Fixed readme (lol) 

v1.0 
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• Initial Release 

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