All classes work. There are some things that won't work with pets, though, so pure casters may have trouble.
Scope
Large
DMNeeded
No DM Required
Single or Multiplayer
Single Player
Max Character Level
01
Max # Players
01
Min # Players
01
Min Character Level
01
Content Rating
Teen
Alignments
All alignments but Lawful Good will have to bend their beliefs to follow the plot. Recommend chaotic.
Description
Whether or not you were guilty of the crimes you were jailed for is irrelevant. What matters is that now you're free...but with a catch. In exchange for your freedom, you're working for the most notorious assassins guild in the Realms: The Black Veils. As your missions become more complex, you notice something strangely familiar about your victims. Perhaps there's more to this guild than meets the eye? This module was built many months ago and is about 99.9% complete. It's been through extensive beta testing and most bugs have been fixed. However, the ending conversation and some problems with pets have NOT been complete. I'm no longer playing NWN and am not going to finish the last bits of this mod but decided to post it anyway. If anyone want's to add an ending conversation, go ahead. The module should be perfectly playable and complete all the way up to the finale.
I apparently have played this module before, but I didn't realize it until I got to the end. . .heh, not sure how that happened. It's just a shame that Sara vanishes after going through the portal. I poked around in the DM Chooser, but she was no where to be found. so in order to enable the finale conversation, you'd have to use "dm_spawncreature sara" and talk to the spawned sara rather then the real sara in her room, then the spawned one will create the portal and walk through it and vanish. then you have to pop open the DM Chooser and disable the real Sara's AI, as well as the master's after you travel through the portal, then move her to "the master's" side(this absolutely has to be done, or they'll attack each other for some reason), then you can go ahead and disable Debug Mode, and finish the final confrontation(which is a whole lot easier then the rest of the game's combat, mind you). You however, are quite trapped after that point, since this is where the author stopped working. One thing that bothers me, other then the obviously bugged ending; what exactly is the holy symbol of Sune used for? It has unlimited uses, but appears to do absolutely nothing. Also the prison rations can be used once a day to produce a new file, rather then being a single use item. the completed portion of the module however is pretty solid though I didn't like being dumped into situations that were completely over my head constantly. I almost didn't complete the Vampire's Sire(or the framing of that noble for that matter) quest because I didn't know you had to actually destroy it's coffin(I was expecting a conversation file with regards to the stake found earlier, yet to my horror the vampire respawned instantly), before killing it; me without potions left by this point, and very near death, dm killed the sarcophagus, the vampire and it's gaseous form, and quickly ran back to the dying man, totally ignoring the shadows running after me. What really sucked, was I didn't have a weapon that could even touch the vampire(well I did but it was doing so little damage it healed pretty much instantly), by that point(all my money got spent on potions). I wish I had gone pure sorc, instead of multi-classing with ranger, since I would have had better offensive spells(fireball, ice storm, acid arrow, rather then just a weak magic missle). Fighter/Rogue, or maybe Paladin(or cleric)/Rogue really would have been the better choices. there are very few alignment shifting actions in the module, so class won't matter much. I do hope someone updates and finishes this module(it is kinda up for grabs as the author so kindly offered it). I'd suggest maybe having some conversation file somewhere regarding all the silver rings you pickup off of the "Mysterious assassins". maybe even having some sort of monetary reward for them(since you're not being paid for the missions you undertake anyway) after placing them on the altar of torm, or something. for the longest time I was thinking I was working for a false black veil group, and it was the real ones attacking me while I rested. mind your familiars-they'll be attacked/killed first. All-in-all though, the module is pretty solid, until you hit the buggy ending. the combat can be quite impossible(needs a meat-shield to hide behind), so avoid it when you can. Kilgore's tower was probably my favorite area. I sooo didn't expect that trap(you'll know it when you step in it). _________________________ jml's list of community addons/overrides, etc. Link
Ah. Nevermind. I found it a few days ago. Now I'm several quests farther along, trying to find the ship on the Red Skull quest. A Walkthrough would have been nice...
This MOD is great for as old as it is. Very imaginative. Anyone know where I find the 6th ingredient for the poison quest? I'm missing the spider-poison sac. ¿Donde estas?
Posted by Mirgalen at 2009-09-15 04:10:59 Voted 2.50 on 09/15/09
Avoid.
Good or very good early on (for a thief, spy or assassin type of character) but terrible towards the end. Playing only the early part could be fun.
The first few quests are the more interesting and rewarding. The tower is tedious (e.g. the maze) and so is the journey to find the ingredients. The module is still playable and certainly enjoyable until you get the last quest (Vala something).
* Spoilers *
Got the proper papers to board the ship. During the following attack the sailors did nothing. Once the fight was over they switched to range weapon. Following the trail was pretty easy given the clues gathered at the village and the visible footprints (good idea btw). I came to the conclusion that those I was looking for were prisoners in a temple. Went all the way down and found an empty treasure room (good sign I suppose). Sadly, the rest of the module is unplayable and one should just export his character right there.
The next room is like a closed arena where you cannot rest and must fight 6 times against foes that are way over the top. It is impossible to win these fight with a lvl 7 character and would you die and respawn you would not be able to re-enter the room. A good example showing how a poorly design room/challenge can ruin an above average module.
Posted by ericdoman at 2006-05-27 11:12:42 Voted 8.50 on 05/27/06
End game bu is a bit of a bugger and xp received on completing quests lowered the score. Apart from that pretty good BUT WOULD NEED SOMEONE TO DEBUG IT ETC
Posted by ericdoman at 2006-05-27 11:11:12 Voted 8.50 on 05/27/06
OK sorted but having prob with end now. get whisked away from tower,see sara try and talk to Y and nada. I remembered some things about the mod but only a minor amount. Started with a rg finished? 3/2/3 rg/rgr/ass.
One big thing in cemetaery found vampire I knew I had no chance so control undead. OK dominated vamp, who then is caught in a darkness spell and remains constantly in darkness. Could not un-dominate him as well so to try and complete that little qust went to svirfs and got him killed there whil I stole the rest of the treasure (a lot).
Still not keen on no xp for a kill, you can't pass them by as you may well find some good items. Can see the benefit for spellcasters ie summon familiar, summon creature, if there was a henchman and you'll end up with the same quest xp.
Can't find 5th dagger as well. Even so it is a good mod and if I had any idea of how to build mods etc I'd try and complete it. HINT
Cheers
Posted by ericdoman at 2006-05-26 17:45:34 Voted 8.50 on 05/27/06
Started to play this a long time ago. Can't remember if I finished it or not (basically not very keen on receiving no xp for killing things, I would thinkthat is what xp is all about, maybe?)
Anyway got info on missions etc and then go and speak to Cashi, nothing happens can't get into locked room. Prob not the best start to a game that I already have doubts about.
Help if possible (Tried BOS as well, did not enjoy, kept on being spotted all of the time)
Posted by Chrismith ( 136.176.xxx.xxx ) at 2005-11-09 12:23:39
Maybe I'm just an idiot, but when looking for the ingredients for the poison in the caves, I couldn't find the Lich Spider anywhere. After running around the caves for a couple hours in vain, I finally opened up the toolset and searched for instances of the spider and didn't find any. Is the spider really in the caves anywhere?
Posted by Dave Fritz ( 130.15.xxx.xxx ) at 2005-03-24 11:03:00
Hi, Folks,
I've just been reading through this thread. Yes, the author has not maintained the mod. Notice the last update date was in 2003. I don't think the fixes are going to happen (Kevin - please make a liar out of me) so we just have to keep going. Save early, save often. Uuse the toolset to check things out when things seem to break - that'll usually get you back on the right track. At least it has worked for me so far. Also, to his credit, the author has put up an invitation for someone to finish, and presumably debug the mod. Any takers?
Cheers,
Dave Fritz
Posted by branmakmuffin at 2005-02-23 15:49:05 Voted 5.00 on 02/23/05
Well-designed areas, good premise (if not entirely original), but has a very nasty plot-killer bug very early on making this mod a complete waste of time.
Posted by branmakmuffin at 2005-02-23 15:46:00 Voted 5.00 on 02/23/05
This mod was OK (for a couple of hours). Then I hit the plot terminating wall (unless I am mistaken ).
In doing the Crimson Blades mission, there is a locked door that lead to the 3rd floor of the guild house. One assumes the key is avaialble somehow, somewhere. Guild lieutneant Gargor(sp?) sends you out to steal a couple of things. No problem. You bring them back to Gargor and one result is that she accuses you of being a spy. You are given the options to try to deflect her suspicions or simply attack her. I attacked her and killed her and eventually killed the entirely of the guild. Nowhere did I find a key to get to the third floor. When I search using the toolset, I get no hits.
I assume people have played this mod beyond this point (it's only the second mission after all). I can see they got through the door because the script in talking to Gargor gives the PC the key. But in killing Gargor, you can't get the key, so you can't complete the mission. When I ask Cashi if she has any more messages for me, I get a no, even after waiting a while, I assume because I haven't finished the current mission. If this is so, then the designer has made the grossest of design erors: he has explicitly put in a PC option (attacking Gargor) that disables the plot, and for that he deserves very low marks indeed.
If each task is not in fact essential to continue the plot, then there should be journal entries to that effect because I don't want to waste my time wandering around the city looking for "adventure".
Posted by Mark55 at 2005-02-22 15:56:56 Voted 8.25 on 02/22/05
Generally good, but of course the end is a problem.
You could make the goblins monks Kevin, stealing fish is really evil! ;)"As the edge of midnight falls the warrior stands alone - visions of the fighting past a 1000 tales untold." _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
Helpless Noob, did you use search (or be elf)? I guess there was some hidden mechanism, but it's been a long while. "As the edge of midnight falls the warrior stands alone - visions of the fighting past a 1000 tales untold." _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
Posted by Helpless noob ( 24.95.xxx.xxx ) at 2005-01-08 00:11:00
This is a great module, but if anyone's reading, I've run into a problem I can't get around.
*spoiler*
In the assassination quest where you have to get into the prison and use the diseased rats, I did that annoying little task for the temple of Sune, but upon my return, the preistess tells me off for being an accused murderer, so I can't join and can't figure out how else to get into the jail. Killing the butcher or the priestess doesn't give me any costume I can wear, and killing the door gaurd doesn't give me a key. Even that holy symobl of sune I plundered from the crypt doesn't seem to do anything. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it.
I'm still playing through this module, and I like it so far, but I have some constructive criticism.
-Stick to your strengths! Your dialogue and characterization are wonderful, but so far there just hasn't been enough of it. The mission delivery system is cool, but it just gets so rote after the first couple of times. Where are the clandestine meetings? Everything is so impersonal and repetitive. I realize the story progresses and there are such meetings later, but the fact is, you have to grab your audience early and hard, and the way to do that is to connect them with your module. One of the best ways to connect them with your module is putting in lots of good characterization.
-Where's the government? One of the things I most wanted to see after your escape from prison was that you were actually in hiding, a fugitive, that your freedom was actually precarious, and that perhaps in exchange completing your missions the Black Veils would clear your name. There's no sense of urgency, and not much sense that your downright nasty actions can have consequences with the law. This was also a missed opportunity to put in an engaging enemy who just makes life miserable for you by popping up at all of the worst moments--the stereotypical Tommy Lee Jones detective to your Harrison Ford fugitive, perhaps. You get the idea.
-More STORY! Again with the "Grabbing me early and hard" thing. The missions are pretty interesting in their own right, but they'd be much more interesting if I could see some purpose and/or connection behind it all. If the actual plot had to come later, don't make it so *much* later. Kick it in immediately after the second mission. And again, characterization is crucial for getting players through these early parts of the module and grabbing their attention, getting them to stick with it.
---
All of that said, I like this module a lot. It's just frustrating because I can see areas where it could have been so much better. Your areas are well designed, your combat is challenging, your dialogue is fantastic. The dungeons are nicely built (though 7 levels is three too many, I have to say). The mission-based experience system is great because it allows players to skip combat if they so desire; however, as a small quibble, it (coupled with the vast amounts of money you harvest throughout the missions) made character advancement feel sort of empty and rigid. And, of course, I wouldn't even notice this complaint if the aforementioned areas had picked up the slack and truly captured my interest.
All of that said, I'm still playing, because I think the good stuff is yet to come, and this is one of the best modules I've played in a long while. So kudos for that.
Posted by DartTribal at 2004-09-20 22:36:04 Voted 10.00 on 09/20/04
Sorry you're having trouble. Remember that this module was made long before SoU, HotU, and only one patch had been released at the time. I'm sure something's been broken in all the updates. In order to get the thing working perfectly and fix some of the lingering bugs, I'd have to rebuild most of the module from scratch and I'm not interested in doing that :)
Here's how the decoding system is supposed to work:
Take your mission statement and put it IN the desk in your room (it's a container). Stand near the desk and USE the bottle of Black Veil Ale. If it's the right ale, you should get a targeting cursor instead of drinking it. Target the desk and you should see a puff of smoke on the desk. Remove the mission and it will be readable with the mission specifics (which vary, depending on your alignment).
Sorry you're having trouble. Remember that this module was made long before SoU, HotU, and only one patch had been released at the time. I'm sure something's been broken in all the updates. In order to get the thing working perfectly and fix some of the lingering bugs, I'd have to rebuild most of the module from scratch and I'm not interested in doing that :)
Here's how the decoding system is supposed to work:
Take your mission statement and put it IN the desk in your room (it's a container). Stand near the desk and USE the bottle of Black Veil Ale. If it's the right ale, you should get a targeting cursor instead of drinking it. Target the desk and you should see a puff of smoke on the desk. Remove the mission and it will be readable with the mission specifics (which vary, depending on your alignment).
- Kevin
Posted by slickhop ( 65.78.xxx.xxx ) at 2004-06-22 19:43:00
heya --
like the game so far, but i'm stuck pretty early on with the mechanics. the ink and paper: how exactly do you make the mission appear?
here's what i've tried: 1) putting the paper on desk, clicking on the ale's use item and then 'using' it on the paper, 2) doing the same thing while the ale is a quickslot item, 3) 'using' the ale on myself 4) 'using' the ale you can purchase as well as the ale she gives you in the above ways.
is this a new patch bug? if so, is it fixable? i don't have either expansions (which probably doesn't matter, right?)
thanks for your time
Posted by c00lm at 2004-05-20 03:27:55 Voted 10.00 on 05/20/04
Posted by Elvewyn ( ..xxx.xxx ) at 2004-04-11 10:04:00
I need the password for the 7th floor so i con kill some one but the demon wont tell me it any more. Bye the way its in the tower that you need the tattoo to enter.
Great cool having fun, but one thing puzzles me: how and where do I get paid for the jobs? I've found nothing that explains this and I'd like to be able to eventually upgrade my equipment a little.
Posted by Adamaeldar at 2004-04-02 23:05:12 Voted 8.00 on 04/02/04
Wow! I haven't checked this listing in a year (exactly a year, in fact) and am shocked to see folks still commenting on it.
A few things:
1. My sincere apologies for not finishing it. I quite NWN right before releasing it and was prompted by my Beta testers to post it in its unfinished form. Had I known people would play it, I would have either finished it or not posted it. Sorry for the frustration this may have caused folks.
2. The module was posted before SoU and HotU so I'm sure there are some incompatibilities.
3. I'm back to playing NWN (online, mainly) so I may go back and finish Veil of Shadows. The bug-squashing alone would probably be enough to drive me nuts so I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle it again :)
4. Thanks for the wonderful comments and votes. This module was a ton of fun to make and resulted in a lot of the back story of my current online rogue character.
Unique ideas in a quality setting, please see my written COMMENTS, enjoyed this very much and several hours. _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
And so my journey started in prison and ended in the triumph of the living...I played a half-elven nun/(later)thief mix
First, this module is like all I liked about Thief Prelude:
-Cute, unique ideas
-mission based (hack & slash idiocy ward)
-sidequests and targets of opportunity
-monk-thief mix works & all classes (with thief in combo) welcome
-Some good dialoques
-A story which entangled me, distracted me from unpleasant facts, I didn't want to stop playing this
Minor & Major Flaws:
-No rogue gloves in the entire game
-Pretty tough fight-scale
-innocent lil red dragon killed by arsed-venturers
-Underdark was pretty long stay, goblins were to weak at "koong foo"
-There were only minor errors and (if you still care) dialogue Sara04 was not attached to Sara showing me ...my former targets.
-Devices of damage reduction were scarce, some respawns (Cyric to island i.e.) take time (or I was too stupid to find teleporter?)
-Subtle missions for subtle professions, desk, ale and brazier, fine!
-Best for elves (player-comfort) due auto-search option!
-Equipment not scaled and no note of turn item level restriction off
-Dragon Cult exit portal script failed, had to walk all levels out...
I sided with the Marquise for sadly, Sara was just a puppet. She was nice given the circumstances and racial differences though. The master was to arseholy for my taste, though in "Doom of Artemis Dukar" I had sympathy with the lich... Marquise has no dialogue after final battle?
Voting this a ten (flaws didn't poison atmosphere, entire campaign worked) is realistically, why did the prudent never make part two? Because it is an ungrateful task to make modules and how consumers deal with it. Sad so many prickheads got voted much more...
Why did I never met people like_you_minded in my roleplaying pen and paper years??? Too late, am old and embittered now. ;)
Hm...some modules I would hint you to check:
Medieval Tales - Devil in the Stone (good storyplay)
A song of ice and fire - the nights watch (tuff & hearty)
Witch's Wake - The fields of battle
Competition in your chosen field:
Rogue Life (good)
Gathering of assassins and thieves (unique approach)
Guild War (xp for locks&chests, campaign length)
Shade - a thiefs adventures
Thief Prelude (for I considered pasting your module in as sequel...)
Maugeter - Keys to the city (for prudence and several options to solve quests)"On one truth in life I hold a bet - to be like Hitler you must be dead!" _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
When it is not name and tag then it is included original scripts starting with nw_
Module works now, I like it so far!"On one truth in life I hold a bet - to be like Hitler you must be dead!" _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
I really liked the atmosphere and gameplay of the module. I came to the Crimson Blades before I noticed that my game crashes when I save. Renaming module was no good, but I keep trying.
Playing as a monk I found the module well scaled and the missions nearly always possible.
The script of the first merchant-target didn't work, he didn't move, I went to his house and had to return to brothel and use *provoke* to get ...the quest item.
The subtle approach to getting missions was appreciated, especially since I sit in a webpub where *hm...* citizens with muslim background boast and shout about what subtle dealers of the hippykraut they are. And when the cops get them it was always some ...traitorous conspirator who turned them in?
For reasons beyond my grasp the five daggers for the quest at the not so innocent adventures merchant were right beside her in a box. Cute, thanks always nice to earn a katana that way (and get the rapier, too) for she gave it seemingly as well. Maybe she felt that as a monk-thief mix I really have use for them?
;) I found it a bit unstable, yet with some minor updating it could easily match with modules like "Guild War, Rogues of Quinn or Rogue Life".
I can't vote this a 10 until repairs are made and until I played it through, yet it could be one of the best rogue-classics among those who are not based on SoU or HotU.
Do you know stuff like Link ? Making such a story your own book and being your own publisher might really work out. Under the assumption that you have at least basic skill for writing."On one truth in life I hold a bet - to be like Hitler you must be dead!" _________________________ "As the edge of midnight falls, the warrior stands alone. Visions of the fighting past - a thousand tales untold."
Posted by thudson at 2004-02-28 20:46:05 Voted 9.00 on 02/28/04
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