These Dark Days of Waiting

Thunder Bay has a new Lord and you have a new employer. Despite the promise of rest and recuperation he has one more job for you to do before you can settle down in front of that log fire for a few weeks.

Hal Tysans life is in turmoil, just hours ago he was the only child of a dying father and a loving mother. In the intervening time his father has died, his mother has left his side and he has discovered he is not an only child. His elder half brother is dead, killed at the hands of yourself and your party and his younger half sister is living in a small village somewhere on the outskirts of the lands belonging to Crossroads keep.

And there, adventurer, is where you come in ... Hal Tysan wants his sister back, preferably alive this time, and you are to go and get her. As ever you have help but with Honour returned to her stepfather, Solace persuing her own goals and Harald facing the justice of Lord Nasher in Neverwinter your friends are looking thin on the ground.

Still; all you have to do is travel a few days to Crossroads Keep, pick up a five year old girl and bring her back. That can't be hard ..... Can it?

Campaign

This module is the fourth in a series on the Vault. The others are:

1. Sheep and Stone
2. The Caravan Club
3. The Last Days of the Raven
4. These Dark Days of Waiting
5. From This Comes Strength

The series will be six modules in length, the fifth of which is work in progress. All will appear under the campaign title of Tales from the Lake of Sorrows, late in 2012.

Please enjoy the modules and don't forget to vote :)

Module

• Location – Forgotten realms – in the area of Neverwinter.
• Setting – The module is set at the same time as SoZ against a backdrop of hard times in Neverwinter brought on by the war with the King of Shadows. It starts two hours after the last module “The last Days of the Raven” concludes.
• Play time – 3 - 4 hours
• Level – 9 - 10
• Class – Any
• Companions – 2

This is module four in the series Tales from the Lake of Sorrows. The story starts just a few hours after the ending in The Last Days of the Raven and carries on with the story threads from that module.

This is a linear story led mod, there are some side quests and conversations which boost your exp but this is not a sandbox mod by any means. There is some exploring to be done and rewards for doing so.

Note on combat – Unless you are an experienced tactical player keep all the companions with you, the combat is balanced to be challenging at times but with preparation and tactics none of the encounters will be too difficult to manage. Rogues and, to some degree, bards especially should keep plentiful potions to hand and ensure that Alan Baxter is well equipped.

Note on npc's – If you pass time in the keep or Thunder Bay and the npc's do not appear then walk into a building and out and all should be well.

Loading instructions.

Loading instructions are included in the zipped file. It is important to follow these carefully.

The module will run from your campaigns start up screen.

Things you should know:

• There are no race restrictions but humans are the order of the day. Ember may now be romanced by any character and any sex. The opening convo will allow you to define your relationship with Ember as you will see in the conversation nodes.
• You can start at any level, there is a little intro section that will take your character to around level 9 unless you are higher than this. All characters get some money to spend in town to ensure they are adequately equipped.
• Combat difficulty varies and is tough in places but if you have the NPC's provided with you then you should always prevail, particularly if you use the terrain to your advantage.
• The story is carried by some of the main npc's but there is no main facilitator as per previous mods.
• Check your journal if you get lost as to what to do.
• You are going to recognise some of the key players if you have played the OC. Talk to the main npc's for a side quest or two.
• Transitions are made without a world map.
• In each outdoor area you will find either a stone, a sign or an area transition that will get you out. For indoor areas use the door like everybody else.
• Your npc's are Honour(Mage) and Alan(fighter).
• Honour may be dropped initially but once she joins she is there to stay.
• You will know how well you are treating the npc's by the way they talk to you. The less well you treat then the less you will get out of them.

Romance

The romance with Ember is developed in the last module. You may pick it up in this module by picking the lilac lines in the opening sequence.

Note: the conversation with the innkeeper is you set up convo for this mod. When you are asked how many rooms you want your answer will set your relationship with Ember for this module. It will be clear what I mean in the module.

Time

This mod is very time based. Shops shut at night and certain npc's are not available at certain times. Resting is restricted in places but generally you can rest where you need to. All of the innkeepers and the sundial in the market square, will allow you to pass up to 4 hours without resting so you should never be stuck waiting. Note however, at night most, if not all, npc's go to one of the inns. If they are not there then they are not plot movers.

While in Thunder Bay you will hear a bell from time to time. This rings on the sixes, giving you a general idea of the time of day.

What the mod has:

This is a linear story driven module. There are side quests but limited possibilities for sandbox style play. That said there are places to explore with rewards for doing so. Talking to everyone will reveal opportunities to gain experience.

The module has a good degree of npc interaction; talk to them and they will talk right back :) Alan Baxter in particular can fill in some blanks on the other npc’s if you raise your standing with him.

What this mod does not have:

• SoZ style conversations.
• Flexible npc hiring and firing.

Big thanks bit:

Thanks go to the following for their parts in the making and testing of the mod.

• M.Reider - for all his support in the development, testing and scripting for this module.
• Arkalzelth - for his play testing and advice on character builds.
• Uncle FB - for the Uncle FB's NPC control.
• Lilac soul - for the script generator – all scripts, not written by M.R, were written using this.
• RWS - for the creature models.
• Finally thanks to the forum users who helped with my questions, _Knightmare_ and Chaos Wielder in particular.

Sorry if I have missed anyone I do not intend to offend.

Music

There is a lot of custom music in this module. Credit is due to the following persons.

For the playing of La Manfredina which may be heard in Thunder Bay thanks to Susan Sandman and Derwent crocker. This music in played on authentic instruments and, to me, sounds great. If it sounds good to you then you can find this track on The Medieval Lady, available on Leonarda productions. I payed royalties for these tracks please do not rip them.

For the playing of the many guitar tracks used in the taverns and inns of my modules thanks to Jon Sayles. Check out his website for an enormous free resource and also develop a love for his art.

All of the area music may be found on freesound, the composer, in whole or in part, of all the tracks I use is Tillman Sillescu, big thanks to him for his art and for making the music freely available.

I hope you enjoy These Dark Days of Waiting and hope also than you can find time to vote and comment.

Thanks and enjoy,

PJ