In the previous module, it was discovered that unknown forces were pitting the Red Shield militia of Scornubel with Zhentarim troops. The sole purpose seems to have been the ready creation of corpses, which were transported to Hill's Edge by a rogue known as Shrak. You have travelled back to Scornubel, with little more than the name Quincel left on a note, and a claim ticket for a warehouse in Hill's Edge. After explaining the situation to Josura, you must continue on to this little town to investigate further. Make sure you download the associated hak pack. Note that this is the same as the previous Shadowlords module, so if you've downloaded it once, a second time isn't necessary.
As I said on the comments of the first module of SL, I played the whole Miller Saga a long time ago, loved it, and the release of Demon gave me the incentive to redo it from scratch. Finished the first three modules, and sadly, as I've said there too, they are clearly of a rather poor quality (which makes me hope that I loved the serie for the later parts, rather than being all nostalgia). So, I'm compelled by intellectual honesty to say that I found this chapter of the serie pretty weak. Outside the challenge balance, which I care little about as long as it's doable, I found that the biggest flaws, which seriously hurt the quality of the module, are the whole dialogue/storytelling parts. Dialogue is bland, uninspired and dry. There is practically no way to really roleplay (too few answers, which are usually stereotypical to the caricature), and the writing feel terribly artificial. *** SPOILERS *** The friendship/romance with Anera come in a very not believable way (we barely walked together for a few hours during the next module, then we do some steps on the road here and she's already a deep friend ? Hu ?), we can change the political situation of a town by saying two one-liners to two persons, the people doesn't even realize that the cape has been given back, and so on. All in all, the dialogues are short, but in the bad way, without any of the "fluff" that makes them enjoyable and makes the world living and the characters believable. Another points not helping immersion is also the fact that nobody has description when you use the "eye" icon of the menu, and there is no description either when we talk to them. No descrition of any sort makes for a hard-to-immerse-in world, as the people are all "nobody". Strangely, despite this severe lack of writing quality, the overhead descriptions were, them, quite well done. I suppose that these first modules were the first made by Miller, and as such he lacked practice, and could only reveal his talent later, and I hate to bash someone's work, but if I have to judge on a strictly objective point of view, this module is barely worth a 4, or perhaps 4,5 by itself.
Posted by sdsd1 at 2005-12-2906:34:19
Great mod! I feel kinda stuck with Thistle Hill. He tells me that I should "check with the townspeople" before we get going. I have done all quests under the temple (excluding lever quest), I have defeated the orcs in the corner of the city, gave the letter to Baern, and some more. Does anybody else know what needs to be done?
Posted by rstadig at on12/12/05
Hate to say it, but I have to agree with some others on this board. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, thru chapter one and most of chapter two. And then I entered the fourth level of the fist of fury temple with a fourth level wizard and a paladin wannabe henchmen. One Summoned II pet and a familiar. Death after death after death. Got past the lever trap, but sans my party: they couldn't make it thru the doors. On level four, death after death to incredibly overpowered undead critters. Sure, I could go swap henchmens and drag Alena down, I suppose: but fromw what i've read here and seen from here so far, she often doesn't respond when required to. A shame, really. This one had potential. But now? Now, it's deleted, sad to say.
Posted by Tom_McG at on10/25/05
Great work. Thanks!
Posted by Quiz at 2005-10-0600:20:54
try resting. people need to rest/sleep a bit every day.... //quote// Posted by ouroboros ( 24.229.xxx.xxx ) at 2005-04-25 05:59:00 hi, im really enjoying the modules. im having a problem though. im using anera as my henchman and shes having some odd problems: 1. she will not level. 2. her stats keep setting themselves to 8. all her stats are at 8. shes not diseased or anything. when i examine her her stats are not red so they arent being reduced for some reason. if i have her leave the party and ask her to rejion, her stats will be normal again but only until i rest or go through a transition (a door or to another area)...then they will all be set at 8 again. 3. even when her stats are normal...she has an unexplained reduced movement speed. i have tried boosting her str. it didnt help. thnx //quote//
Posted by minissa at on09/24/05
A great continuation of a great series. Have to admit I've gone through now as a follower of both Lathander and Lliira, and I haven't really seen the difference. My one difficulty has been in choosing a bard character (building toward arcane archer) and wanting the romance with Anera (may replay from the middle for Tiera) -- I think for an effective combat team, you need to be more of a frontline fighter not to keep suffering henchman death with either of the women (or else a class with better buffing spells). The women seem somewhat fragile under these conditions, and you need to keep them with you a certain amount to trigger the romance elements. Still, one of my favorite series and the first I've bothered to reply. Thanks, Adam!
Posted by herrjeff at on09/13/05
Again, a few incoherent dialogue options if you happen to complete future quests before receiving them, and minimal journal entries. Classic design for caves/treasures
Posted by Nicole at on09/11/05
Another great mod, keep up for the good work Adam :)
Posted by wurm657 at on09/02/05
Nice 2nd Chapter! These Mods form a Series, so play from the start. Especially like the Auto-link between Chapters.
Posted by CJN at on08/22/05
This part of the series is decent. Nothing remarkable yet, but it's a clear improvment over part 1. It feels a bit empty in some parts (the rooms could be a bit smaller) however.
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