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A Symphony of Horror
Submitted by:
Submitted by hartunga on 2021-09-08 14:54.
Last modified:
2022-04-21 14:55
A tribute to gothic horror - a tale of fog shrouded graveyards at midnight, haunted crypts, and an abandoned insane asylum - along with assorted vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and ghosts.
Please note: be sure to use the PC included with the download.
Files:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 a_symphony_of_horror.zip (370) | 776.31 KB |
Are you sure that your module is for the original NWN and not for NWN enhanced edition? Becouse if i try to play the module it says "the module has been made with an upgraded version of NWN" but i have the 1.69 last update so it's not possible.
Indeed, the module is stamped as version 1.83.
Evidently, it has been made using a recent version of EE, and will not work on earlier versions - worth mentioning in the description.
I've changed it from NWN:1 to NWN: EE. Sorry about the mix-up.
Interesting module. I sent you a private message about some things; wasn't sure about the best way to reach you.
This module has been updated. The included PC has been corrected and some of the dialogue typos have been fixed.
This is a short & enjoyable story module. The maps and events set a nice, eery mood. I particularly liked the last map.
The pacing and rewards are good, with good use of new (at least to me) items and creatures. In particular, the story is told from an unexpected "angle" that makes for a nice touch. One might complain that it is very linear, but given how the story unfolds, a certain air of predestiny makes sense.
No bugs encountered playing the latest NWN:EE build 7398767 under Windows 10.
The module plays like the intro to a larger tale, which I would definitely check out if the author continues it.
Made an account just to say how much I enjoyed this. This was a well crafted story with plenty of action and role playing. Well done would love to see more.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. I am working on some more modules. So hopefully should be posting something new fairly soon.
WOW -- the legendary Chris Huntoon is back?! :D Man, I hold your modules "A Halo of Flies" and "Shadow from a Soul of Fire" as two of my personal module favorites. ^_^ I'm SO going to play this! :P
P.S. Welcome back. :)
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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Hi again :) I'm enjoying myself so far! Don't know if I've encountered a bug though or if I've missed something but:
*** SPOILERS ***
When I defeat The Beast (which I assume is close to the end of the game) I get teleported back to the observatory, but nothing happens. No vampire lord, no journal entry, nothing. I've tried backtracking to see if something triggers on the way back but nothing happens then either. Have I missed something or is this a bug? If it's a bug, is there a work around I can do with DebugMode so I can finish the module?
*** SPOILERS END ***
I hope to hear from you soon, I'm itching to finish this :P
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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Hi, I'm glad you are enjoying it. To answer your question:
***** SPOILERS ******
No, that's no bug. The Beast is the embodiement of the dark, tainted bestial aspect of vampirism. The context of the encounter was meant to convey that the battle with it was "psychic" rather than a real, physical one. And the vampire lord used it as a distraction to slip away.
I'm sorry it was confusing. But, yes, you're almost at the end.
****** SPOILERS END **********
Okay, thanks! I'm glad it wasn't a bug, though what should I do next? I can't really figure it out, so please give me a hint. :P
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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Just keep exploring.
*** SPOILERS *** Should I keep exploring in the same room or somewhere else? Because I literally don't know where to go, LOL :P *** SPOILERS END ***
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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***** SPOILERS ****
No, you are done with the observatory. Keep exploring elsewhere in the manor house.
****** END SPOILERS ********
I managed to find my way thanks to your hints and now I've completed your latest module. :)
I think it was pretty good, not one of your best work but still solid. You manage to nail the gothic horror aspects well, the story had mystery (which I feel is a central aspect of your works) and the adventure felt like going on a journey, with a goal that was cemented early, which I liked. Your writing is good and some of your lines made me shiver quite a bit (in a positive way) and those moments made me remember some of the best lines from your earlier works (I'll tell you more of which ones I'm thinking about in the spoiler section below). The items that were found in dungeons or in shops felt well made, unique and appropriate.
I do have some suggestions that could improve your work even more:
1.) MUSIC. Sometimes the choice of music feels appropriate but most of the time I feel like a different piece could improve the atmoshpere a lot more. I'm thinking mostly about the times where you've used the generic "Generic Wealthy House" or the "Generic Castle Interior" for a dramatic scene or dungeon. It just doesn't feel right. Maybe choose another piece or why not try custom music? There is a lot of royalty free music to find online (or just use fitting music from other games).
2.) LIGHTNING. Some areas would have even better atmosphere and feel more unique if they were darker, or just lit in a different way. My own Surviving Horror series and Fester Pot's Almraiven and Shadewood does this well, in case you want to look at some inspiration.
3.) PLACEABLES. The contents of some of your areas felt a bit scarce and I think using more placebles could make your areas feel more unique. Fester Pot's modules does this very well too. Maybe your own areas doesn't need as many placeables as in Fester's mods, but using more placeables than you have now would be better.
Now to the spoiler section ;)
*** SPOILERS ***
The lines that I fell for and made me shiver in this module were the lines said when the ghost runs up the stairs in the abandoned insane asylum ("You hear someone run up the stairs and stops right outside the room your in, then everything goes quiet."), the ghost whispers that happen when you walk through a really dark area (it said something like "Do you know what happened to me?") and when the blood message appeared on the wall in the insane asylum ("I am dead."). One line that I remember from one of your older modules (it might have been "Some Distant Shore") that also made me shiver was, in a cave somewhere, and the line goes something like "You felt something brush the top of your head and then disappear into the darkness". In my opinion, these kind of lines/moments are the best content of your work.
*** SPOILERS END ***
Well, I think I'll end it here, it's been going on for awhile now ;) I'm SO looking forward to your next modules (I read above that you're currently making some more mods)! Maybe you could give me a hint of what kind of setting or story we can expect from these new modules? ;)
In any case, take care now. :)
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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Dang it, I forgot one thing :P
*** SPOILERS ***
I think the moment after defeating The Beast could be improved by hinting (maybe in a subtile way?) to the player regarding where to go / what to do next. I was at a total loss, which I think you noticed earlier. ;) Maybe have the PC comment the situation, something like "What happened? Where did he go? Hmm... where could a vampire have gone?" or something similar, I think you can come up with something better. ;) Alternatively, maybe place an item on the ground that can hint of the vampire's location? Or do it in some other way. The possibilities are endless. ;)
*** SPOILERS END ***
That's all folks! ;P
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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I'm glad you liked it. And I really appreciate your detailed feedback. It's been about 20 years since I worked on a module. So my first works are bound to be a little rough around the edges.
In games like NWN there is tendency towards the bombastic. But I think it is the small, quiet moments that can have the most impact.
In regards to the music and lighting in some of the areas being too bland and generic - that's actually the effect I was going for. If you're down in some dark, moldy crypt and a ghost appears, there is a certain amount of anticipation for that. But if you take the banal and commonplace and then introduce something unexpected and horrific, then it can be unsettling. What's more I wanted to have the ordinary places to contrast with the more fantastic ones.
As to the lack of more placeables - one of the things I paricularly dislike when I'm playing other people's modules is that the areas often feel cluttered. I especially can't stand it when its obvious the designer dumped in a bunch of pointless and unneccesary objects just to fill in space. I prefer to trim the fat.
Another reason is that when having something with so many fantasy elements in it I try to ground it at least somewhat in reality. And historically the vast majority of people in the past had very little. I find it absurd that when I enter what is supposed to be a peasant's hut and their place is packed with stuff.
As to the observatory - I was trying to convey that the vampire lord was taunting you and playing a game of cat and mouse. I'll try to think of some way to better clarify that.
Regarding my future modules - I'm actually plugging away at several different ones. That's how I normally work - I bounce around from designing one module to another as various ideas occur to me. And eventually they become finished. Most of the modules involve mystery and horror, since I prefer those. I'm hoping once the holidays are behind us to get a new module posted at the begining of year.
Thanks again!
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Birger's NWN 1 Hall of Fame Awarded Dark Fantasy Stories:
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Thanks for the feedback!
To answer your questions: The PC may have the Ranger class - but that does not mean he is supposed to be the traditional forest ranger of standard D&D. He is intended to be a vampire hunter - more in the vein (pun intended) of Van Helsing. And the Ranger class is the closest analogous to that. So that means no talking with animals nor tracking through forests nor laying out traps nor any of the typical woodlands abilities that are normally associated with Rangers.
This is not the high fantasy "Forgotten Realms" type of universe we are used to being associated with D&D. There are no elves, orcs, or goblins - no dragons, druids, or magic swords. Instead this is a world of gothic horror. It is a place exclusive to humans. Where the monsters are, by and large, those who were once human but have been tainted by the Darkness.
That also means the items follow the usual tropes of vampire lore - holy water, garlic, silver, and so forth. That is why there is no crafting.
This is the approach I've been taking since I've come back to building modules. I'm using the NWN engine to make fantasy adventures - just not ones that use all the conventions and cliches normally associated with orthodox D&D.
As to the invisibility glitch - no matter how careful a builder is, some player always manages to figure out a way to do something unexpected. I'll have to fix the coffin conversation so the ending only works after the Baron is dead.
In regards to the PC and Madame Xavia missing portraits - I'm trying to remember why I did that? Maybe I was trying for "mysterious?" But you are right - it would be better if they had portraits.
There was a time when I would have given all the villagers conversations. But I realized they are just backround actors - there to fill up space. Any conversations with them are pointless. Building modules are huge time drain as is without having to do the unneccesary.
Thanks for the typos and journal fixes. I'll need to do some corrections and update the module. The holidays have been hectic. So hopefully I'll find some time in January.
Thanks again.
Module has been updated. Fixes pointed out by the players have been made.
Well, i've played with it, and to point the reasons of the vote:
You *must* use the character given = -3 points
Areas are pretty bare mostly = -2 points
The story itself is ok, the atmosphere gets his striking.
I understand and appreciate that some people dislike playing with pregenerated characters. And everyone has their own tastes. For example, I personally don't like modules that have you play as an evil character. So I just don't play them. But if playing with a pregenerated character was such a deal breaker for you then why play it anyway when you knew from the start that you were going to give it a lousy rating because of it?
As to the areas being "pretty bare mostly" - I actually feel most other modules tend to be overly cluttered. I hate entering an area and its obvious the designer just dumped in a whole bunch of odds and ends because they felt that every bit of open space had to be filled with stuff. Again this is all a matter of opinion. But I prefer an overall aesthetic that is clean and simple.
But I do think taking off two points for it is a bit harsh. I put a lot of thought and effort into the design of all the areas. They are all fully developed - maybe not as busy as you might prefer. But neither are they empty.
But I do thank you for your comments and explaining why you gave the rating that you did. All feedback is appreciated.
Well, about the areas, i understand your point of view, and some times i would agree with you, but there are some that if you just put a road and a tree could appear definitely too bare.
Maybe two points could seem too much, but in some parts i really felt areas could have been enhanced a little. After all we're using the enhanced edition right?
(And seriously, already in the 1.69 there were quite new thingies to use for making wonderful areas, especially outside, but in the enhanced edition even more)
About pregenerated characters: first there is no actual need for them. You could simply say (as many other authors do) "you should be that race/sex/class or story would make no sense" leaving to US the choice, and not choosing for us. I tried it out becouse there are many authors that gives us a pregenerated character if we want to play the 'ideal' character for the adventure, but if you want to make yours nevertheless it's ok. I thought that was the idea, but... Wow, i mean, a checker that if you don't use yours is 'game over' immediately. I was speechless.
Areas could be a matter of taste, but decide which character one *must* use in a roleplay game is simply a poor choice.
Regarding pregenerated PC's - I decided to make a post explaining me reasons for using them. Its over in the NWN1 - General forum if you are interested.
I quite enjoyed the writing and atmosphere in this linear story-telling module, and especially the variety in area design and encounters which pay hommage to various gothic horror tropes.
What dragged it down a little in my opinion was that it was combat-heavy without providing much variety on how to approach battles, so while I felt entertained by the storytelling, I also felt a bit bored by the hack-and-slash gameplay. The PC is a lone low level ranger with no magical abilities and subpar attack stats who doesn't have many options but to face enemies head on in one-on-one melee battles and yet misses a lot. You get a chance for a ranged weapon, some nice buffing items and throwables later on, which is definitely an improvement, as it increases opportunities for tactical approaches somewhat, but combat still felt rather same-y to me most of the times. That, combined with the linearity of the areas (often you can't go back to previous ones) made me miss player agency a bit. And with that in mind, I wish there had been a bit more storytelling and less fighting at least. I understand that the PC is meant to be an average young human without exceptional abilities due to story reasons, but I thought that such a character just isn't much fun for a hack-and-slash module in the NWN engine. It would have been more interesting to make him try and avoid encounters with the horrors in this module or trick the monsters somehow instead of facing them one by one head on.
That being said, even if I don't agree with all design decisions, I still thought it was a well-crafted module with quite a few memorable scenes.
Module has been updated. Several typos were fixed and some other minor tweaks were made. I especially want to thank Olivier Leroux for helping out with the typos.
This module has all the gothic horrors.
Seriously, I'm impressed with how many classic gothic horror monsters the author squeezed in here. The "symphony" part of the title is no joke. This module is a classic "heroes journey" with lots of fighting evil which I love. Due to the sheer number of different monsters in this, it means there's quite a lot of diversity of environments to fight in and mini-stories to explore, which I enjoy for short modules like this. A small touch, but I really enjoy the pit stop in the town before heading out into the great unknown. Having a chance to trade for some equipment with what little I had (only achievable by pawning off goods that I brought from my village) was enjoyable with the diversity of goods available, like sea fire, bolts for defeating different monsters, special reagents, etc. All the different gear designed for tackling different monsters made each encounter feel a lot more tactical than many modules I've played, so big plus there. I like that there are plenty of animals to tame throughout the journey, but I only wish they were a little stronger as they tended to just be a meat shield to absorb one blow before being obliterated. I wanted a loyal companion to follow me all the way, but many short-lived companions will do. The final boss also could've stood to be a little tougher. It was built up as being only defeatable under special circumstances and encouraged an alternate solution, but I won easily enough through unbuffed brute strength. We're one powerful 18-year-old!
My main criticism is that I ran into a bit of an awkward situation at the end where I was seeing double. That said, it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the module in any great way other than missing a bit of the story. Explanation below with spoilers.
Overall, very enjoyable module! It's short but I stepped away halfway through to take care of real-life things and couldn't get back in game until a couple of days later - the whole time I couldn't wait to jump back in. A lucky find - this kind of thing is right up my alley.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
***SPOILERS BELOW***
***SPOILERS BELOW***
***SPOILERS BELOW***
At the end, I went up into the observatory and saw the vampire lord standing there. He hadn't seen me, so I decided to back off and continue exploring the crypts below. Using old-school vampire lore, I figured if I defeated him up in the tower, he'd respawn in his coffin in the crypts, and if I'd already placed the rose on the coffin then I'd have thwarted him. So imagine my surprise when I get to his coffin and... He was already laying in there? I thought he was up in the observatory? So after defeating him proper, I went back to the observatory and he was still there, and I gathered that the whole sequence up there was to provide a little bit of extra story before the final encounter in the crypts. If that's the case and I'm not totally misinterpreting this whole thing, then a simple fix might be to make the key to the crypt come from defeating the beast.
Thanks - I did try to make this module a send up to classic gothic horror. Regarding your issues with the ending:
***** Begin Spoilers *****
As far as finding the Baron in his coffin, it is assumed that while the PC has been busy exploring the manor - in the mean time the Baron has gone to rest in his coffin.
As to finding the Baron again - I just never thought that after defeating the Big Boss that a player would then completely ignore the spirits of his dead parents, take the time to walk from the crypt, up through the manor, and all the way back to the Astronomy Tower. It just shows that players will always do the unexpected.
**** End Spoilers *****
Its great that you enjoyed it.
That makes sense. Yeah, what I did doesn't make sense from an RP standpoint, it was just my completionism getting the better of me
How do I find the PC that comes with the mod? I have loads of pregenerated characters and I can't tell which is the one that came with this mod.
pitarezust
FP!
I see, thank you. BTW in future you might want to include instructions on how to install custom characters in NWN in response to questions like mine as I had to do a bit of hunting after you pointed out where I could find the character for this module to find them. It wasn't difficult or anything but still.
Question: I have quite a few characters in the Local Vault: I am not seeing the name listed for the BIC included. This is just simply so I can select the correct Ranger for the mod.
I dug around enough and Piter.
The name of the character is "pitarezust3."
Thank you
Thank you
I haven't played this yet but I am adding it to my personal list of modules I want to play, so just out of curiosity: what's the setting this takes place in? FR? Greyhawk? Custom world?
Thank you for your interest. The setting is a custom world. The module is focussed on gothic horror. So it is closest in flavor to the Ravenloft campaign setting. But still it is own thing.
I'm late to the drama party -
While I tend to dislike pregenerated characters (which I'll get into further down), I think that deducting points from the score over it is excessive. I could understand such a deduction if the module itself was in an archive that was 1GB in size AND there was at least ten different additional add-ons to download separately. I'm one of those peope that will download everything first, then I start extracting stuff from all the archives, and lastly check the readme.... If that's when you find out that oh, there's a pregenerated character - then the heavy score deduction might be valid.
However in this case, there's ample warning on the NWVault page - meaning if it really is that much of a deal breaker, walk away. There's plenty of other modules on the vault. I'm not sure why someone would have a hissy fit and deduct points so heavily over it.
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Now onto my issues with pregenerated characters.
1> I do wish that ALL modules with manitory pregenerated characters provided more adequate notice on the module's description in NWN when you pull it up to play as to who the required character is.
It currently sayis: "Please note: be sure to use the PC included with the download." While it's great that it tells me that there's a pregenerated character, it doesn't tell me which one. I mean I have a bunch of other manitory pregenerated characters (and I think their module creators are equally guilty here.)
It would be more helpful for the player if it said something like, "Be sure to select pregenerated character Pitar Ezust." However since it doesn't say this, it will mean returning to the NWVault page to check who the character is when I go to play it.
2> Pregenerated characters are normally of classes that I don't play a whole lot of.
I could write an essay on why I consider Use Magic Device one of the most imporant rogue skills, but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to playing rangers. Since pregenerated characters never come with advise as to what feats and skills the module's author recommends, I now have to go look up a ranger build and hope I pick a good one.
Thanks for the comments. I agree - there's a fundamental difference with criticizing and deducting points becaue a work is poorly made compared to disliking something simply because it doesn't personally appeal.
Thanks for the advice about posting which pregenerated character to use. Sometimes when building a module it is hard to see things from the player's side and it is easy to skip over certain things. I'll be sure to include the info in my next module.
As to which Ranger build to model - I used the Ranger class for this PC simply because in D&D terms it was the closest thing there was to the classic version of a "vampire hunter." It really doesn't involve the usual activities associated with Rangers - woodcraft, traps, animal handling, etc. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the module.
I finally played through the module. Pregenerated guy starts out at level 1 and is level 4 by the end.
Starting Stats:
Strength 14
Dexterity 16
Constitution 14
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 12
Charisma 10
I thought that character stats were a bit odd as wouldn't you want Wisdom set to 14 to get level 4 spells, but the module doesn't last long enough for you to even get level 1 spells or the animal companion. For this reason, Wisdom could have been set to 10 to put either Strength or Constitution at 16.
Starting Class Skills:
Animal Empathy 0
Concentration 4
Craft Armor 0
Craft Trap 0
Craft Weapon 0
Discipline 4
Heal 4
Hide 0
Listen 4
Lore 0
Move Silently 0
Parry 0
Ride 0
Search 0
Set Trap 0
Spot 4
Likewise the starting skill choices were a bit odd. Concentration is mostly used for casting spells in combat and disregarding Taunt. Since there's no enemies that taunt (as far as I can tell) and you never get high enough in level to be casting spells, Concentration isn't needed. Yes, I found two spell scrolls in Big Bad's Secret Hideout That Practically Everyone Knows About, but I wouldn't be sticking points into Concentration just for two spells. I feel like those 4 points in Concentration would have been better put elsewhere. Likewise the 4 point in both listen and spot aren't really needed when enemies couldn't make themselves more obvious if they went around shouting, "I'm Here!" while being bathed in a halo of light to maximize their visibility.
I think that the player would have been better served if instead 4 points were put into Hide and Move Silently so that you can sneak up behind some of the stuff outside, attack from behind, get an attack of opportunity, and force the enemy to go flatfooted as they have to turn around.
I similarly would rather have the remaining 4 points in animal empathy plus some animals to make friends with. Even if the animals are some ravens that provide information (such as what enemies are still in the area or about some edible berries in the area with curative effects), it's still providing value. The fact that this skill isn't used is a bit of a waste.
Starting Feats: Dodge + Mobility
Dodge and Mobility as the two starting skills seemed like an odd choice, which I say as a rogue primary that doesn't take either skill until later. In retrospect, I think that the +1 dodge bonus to AC (Dodge) and +4 dodge bonus to AC (Mobility) for a total bonus of +5 at the start was to entirely to compensate for the equipment deficiencies that this module has.
Having said all of that, I do believe that making the required use character a range is a total waste. The only thing that you really get out of is Favored Enemy Undead which gives you a +1 bonus to damage, which improves by +1 for every 5 levels of ranger. However since you finish the module at Level 4, you only ever get the +1 bonus that again seems like it is there to make up for a lack of equipment options.
While I understand that this was entirely for flavor purposes, Pitar could have just as easily have been several other classes, but it would have required more equipment options.
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Okay, now on to the module itself...
For good or bad, this module is going to get compared to the Ravenloft. While I understand, from reading prior comments, that the goal wasn't Ravenloft so much as a much more mundane and seemingly normal gothic horror. The problem here is that there is nothing mundane and normal about vampires to begin with.
This is why I do agree a lot with Birger when it comes to music, lighting and use of Placeable items. The atmosphere that a game gives off is very important, and the worst that can happen is that it isn't interesting. There's a reason why there's certain moments in some games that have me crying every single time without fail, even knowing what will happen, and one of these is just a close up of a photo. The idea behind placeable objects isn't to clutter up a scene but to add to the atmosphere of a location.
When you catch up with the vampire lord, the motivation dialogue is just weird. He destroyed your entire village over a ring that he tossed into the silver mine himself. I think it would have been better if someone had stolen the ring from him and while the thief was long dealt with, he never got the ring back. Now that it's resurfaced, he's determined to have it back and doesn't think twice about eating up an entire village. Also why doesn't he take it from you when you show up at his house when he first talks to you?
Lastly I did run into a visual bug where Papa has no arms, legs or torso. I'm not sure what's going on there.
Thanks for detailed feedback. It is very much appreciated.
Yes, starting off with different skills or stats might have been a bit more helpful later on in the game. But you have to remember this is supposed to be someone who didn't set off to be a vampire hunter. He begins as a rather ordinary person, and therefore has rather basic and common traits. Sure, being strong as an ox or great at stealth are all useful abilities. But not characteristics usually found in the son of a silversmith.
Like I said in a previous post, of course it would have been very helpful in combat if the PC started off having a crossbow. But it makes no sense that a silversmith's son in a quiet, little out of the way hamlet would own such a deadly weapon. It's not always about gameplay but also about in-game verisimilitude.
The PC starts off with literally nothing but a loincloth and gathers equipment bit by bit. That's why the initial focus was on defense and the Dodge + Mobility Feats.
The aim of Ravenloft was to take gothic horror and use it to play D&D. My aim with this module was to take D&D and use it to make gothic horror.
I'm sorry, I can't tell if you like the atmosophere in this module or not.
I actually had a whole history involving the ring worked out. But there just wasn't any place to fit it in. To summarize: the first vampire Hunter, Gotz, used the ring to perform the first slaying of a vampire. In revenge, the Baron killed Gotz and threw the ring away in the silver mine. But Gotz's actions proved that vampires weren't invincible. This set off the peasent uprising which started the Blood Wars where the power of the Vampire Lords was broken. Consequently, the Baron, one of the last Vampire Lords left, had to flee to safety. Centuries later, when he learns the ring has been found, he now sees it as a symbol and wants it back.
Regarding the Baron and his motivation dialogue - the way I think of it is that he considers human life to be worthless. Him slaughtering an entire village full of people means nothing more to him than swatting a fly. But he's also lived for centuries and filled with ennui. So when the PC shows up on his doorstep he toys with Pitar simply because it amuses and distracts him for a bit.
As to the visual bug with Papa having no arms, legs, or torso - I've never run into that before! I have noticed ever since that last software patch with NWN I've been encountering odd glitches here and there.
Thanks again!
Well, I'm done. Lol. Hit the Ghoul Lord, says a candle will burn and he'll come after me but nothing happens. I can't kill him. He gets near death and never dies. Nowhere else to go on the map that I see. I'm sure there's something simple but.
A few comments... Makes no sense the boy was in his room but didn't get killed but everyone else in town did. Make something plausible. I was immediately taken out of suspension of disbelief. I like the module otherwise though except for can't find a way to progress.
Just niggles - the silversmithy of his father is the size of an outhouse. The insane asylum is tiny. Idk. I'm ocd like that, the buildings should be a little bigger to represent what they are.
For the Ghoul Lord, just walk up to the candle and snuff it out. You don't fight him. :)
The encounter wth the Ghoul Lord is a kind of riddle. (See spoiler at the end for the solution.)
There's a reason why the boy wasn't killed while he was in his room. At one point, the PC is standing right in front of the vampire and his companion, and neither one can see him. Obviously some sort of magic is involved. The whole thing is explained a little later on in the module.
The proportions in the toolset between the outsides and insides are always off. For example, in the toolset, the outside of an average house is just 1x1. But the inside is 2x2. So the insides are always about twice the size of the outside. I know, I find it weird too. But that's just how the NWN toolset is designed.
***** Spoiler Below ******
To solve the Ghoul Lord's riddle - snuff out the candle then talk to him again. He'll give you a key that allows you to move on. Not every problem is solved with combat. ;-)
***** End Spoiler ********
> Yes, starting off with different skills or stats might have been a bit more helpful later on in the game. But you have to remember this is supposed to be someone who didn't set off to be a vampire hunter. He begins as a rather ordinary person, and therefore has rather basic and common traits. Sure, being strong as an ox or great at stealth are all useful abilities. But not characteristics usually found in the son of a silversmith.
Although it could be argued that a silversmith is still a metal worker and his son would have needed to have been strong to assist with carrying bars of silver. He's not going to be a scrawny boy.
Likewise if skills are being selected for ordinariness, I would have dropped Concentration, Listen, and Spot to put those points into Craft Armor, Craft Weapons, and Lore. You still have three skills that are not used by the module but as the son of a silversmith, he should have some knowledge (lore) in the crafting of things made of silver. Additionally in this situation, there could have been an early quest where Papa assists him with crafting a weapon or two out of silver that he gives to the player.
> Like I said in a previous post, of course it would have been very helpful in combat if the PC started off having a crossbow. But it makes no sense that a silversmith's son in a quiet, little out of the way hamlet would own such a deadly weapon. It's not always about gameplay but also about in-game verisimilitude.
I didn't find the crossbow all that useful except for in a few instances - primarily the gargoles near the end that I wasn't able to damage with melee weapons for some reason but could with the crossbow? In the forest areas, the crossbow was useful primarily for pulling enemies to you, but I still switched to melee. Enemies are too quick and without haste, I don't find it worth it to play the chase me around in a circle while I shoot you to death game with enemies.
>I'm sorry, I can't tell if you like the atmosophere in this module or not.
I would have made different music choices, and I could see the argument for more peaceable in the asylum in particular. If not for being specifically told that it was an asylum, it could have been anything really.
I am never going to complain that things are not dark enough because I really am color-blind, and it makes really dark areas hard to get around when areas are super dark.
> I actually had a whole history involving the ring worked out.
Yea, it was pretty apparaent when you finally meet up with him when he can see you. My whole thought process was that tossing the ring into the silver mine was a bit silly. I'm just stating a personal preference that if he does have to tell me anything, I would have liked it better if it was something like the ring was stolen from the vampire...
I mean, I get it that there's the whole troup about villains going off in a monologue....
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaughtMonologuing
I do think that it really isn't necessary. I mean, you as the author should know why your villain is doing what he is doing and what his motivations are, but it doesn't mean that said villain should tell the player character why he is doing anything. However if he does need to give out too much info, I would have preferred something other than that he tossed it in the mine itself.
> As to the visual bug with Papa having no arms, legs, or torso - I've never run into that before! I have noticed ever since that last software patch with NWN I've been encountering odd glitches here and there.
It may be an issue related to version differences as I have the GOG version, which tends to lag behind the Steam version on patches, or could be a compatibility issue with something that I patched in.
A silversmith is nothing like a blacksmith. Unlike iron, silver is a precious metal. So the objects are normally quite small. And the work on them is fine and delicate. He wouldn't be pounding on huge sheets of metal until his muscles were like cannon balls.
And at any given time they might have a small bar of silver available. But that doesn't equate to having to lug around piles of bricks of the stuff like its some sort of silver Fort Knox.
No one is forging plate armor or broad swords and battle axes out of silver. Yes, the PC is given a couple of little silver daggers because they live in a land where there are vampires and werewolves walking around. But knives are very simple tools to make. My brother made one when he was 12 in the first semester of shop class.
The point about the crossbow is while it would have been helpful early on to have one - from a stricly gamplay perspective - it made no sense for the character to own one from an in-game perspective. This was about maintaining a sense of verisimilitude. Sure, the PC would have been better in combat if he had a higher strength. And he was able to forge a set of his own chain mail and swords. And he was a Paladin. And he shot lasers out of his eyes.
One of the designs that went into this module was the PC was supposed to start off as a pretty normal person. Than over the course of the adventure he'd slowly transform into a formidable vampire hunter. Not that he'd begin as a capable character and get even better.
Those old time mental asylums were usually nothing more than prisons. And except for the odd broken bit laying around - abandoned places should feel empty. Normally when people leave someplace they take most of their stuff with them.
One of the issues in doing a strictly first person narrative is when something happens at a different time or place you have to have another character talk about it in a block of exposition.
Talking about overused tropes - in fantasy there's always characters struggling over a particular object because it posseses some power or ability one of them wants to exploit. A thief stealing and hiding the ring to keep it away from the Baron and the Baron wanting it back so he can use it again just furthers that trope.
No one ever seems to want something simply for the sake of having it. I mean I wanted the clown figurine sitting on my shelf for no other reason than it used to belong to my grandmother. It can't help me to conquer the world. (Or can it?)
Well I give up again. Lol. Came across a statue cold to the touch but no idea what to do with it. There's a fire nearby but nothing can do with it. I see no way to exit the area, even back from where I came from. Nothing marked on the map. No hints on what to do.
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