You are an adventurer in the employ of Duchess Thestris of Rathenbrough. For the last two years, you and your three companions have travelled throughout the Kingdom of Darchae on missions for her, rooting out evil. You aren't sure what you did before you came into the duchess' service--you are missing three years' worth of memory preceding your travels.
Your and your party have been on your feet for days, after completing your latest mission: killing a would-be lich--the Baron of Quiessa--who had been ritualistically sacrificing his subjects. His successor, grateful for your efforts but wary of your party, ordered you out of Quiessa.
You have finally passed the border of the Barony and are seeking a place to rest in the thick woods. But there is a strange tension in the forest, and your dreams have been darker of late. You feel as though you are on the verge of remembering something.
Posted by edosan at 2009-10-01 19:38:34 Voted 7.00 on 10/01/09
I thought it was okay for what it was, but not phenomenal.
Posted by Erdrick at 2009-07-18 14:27:45 Voted 8.00 on 07/18/09
This is a strong module but I felt a little overwhelmed with all the background material. Not really a piece I felt that I could pick up and play on a whim. The characters are well designed but I felt burdened with backstory, like I was playing a pre-made character and not my own. Very well written, though.
Posted by Okgenuine at 2008-04-17 17:12:42 Voted 7.25 on 04/17/08
The game froze part way through and I went into the toolset to read the story. It's a great short story. I think the way I'm going to vote is, anything over a 5 is how much I wish more mods were like this one. I'm not sure what caused the freezing. It was when we were walking back to the tents. Tx for the mod.
Posted by Berra at 2008-03-13 11:55:18 Voted 9.75 on 03/13/08
I liked the idea of the mystery and having different companions to talk while trying to find out what's going on. I personally think the characters are pretty interesting. And the writing is great.
Though I do have to agree with some here that the ending felt a little rushed but the different choices at the end makes up for it pretty much I think. Amazing how an interesting and suspensful one-area module can be if created right.
Everyone: your VOTES are highly appriciated. A vote is like gold for an author. No kiddin'. ;)
Posted by Jahred at 2006-06-10 01:36:09 Voted 8.50 on 06/10/06
Nice start, rushed ending.
Posted by Jess_ at 2006-04-18 12:48:51 Voted 8.00 on 04/18/06
Excellent story and well-written dialogs. Good scripts but there is a problem with the options put in the dialogs : instead of according the options only to those authorized (example : Ranger or Elf) the classes or races are written. Take a look in this if you can fix it ;)
Posted by Jess_ at 2006-04-18 12:48:42 Voted 8.00 on 04/18/06
Excellent story and well-written dialogs. Good scripts but there is a problem with the options put in the dialogs : instead of according the options only to those authorized (example : Ranger or Elf) the classes or races are written. Take a look in this if you can fix it ;)
I liked the execution of this mod, and the writing was pretty good. You had me drawn into the story. Good luck in the contest.
Posted by Lance Botelle at 2006-03-20 15:26:13 Voted 6.00 on 03/20/06
6.0 GHOSTS OF THE PAST (230TH TESTED MODULE)
This is my latest scoring system. This vote will only be cast if any of the following conditions were met:
1) The module was an EXCEPTIONAL piece � now rated at 7.75 +.
2) The module was an ABOVE AVERAGE piece & the module is currently above 7.75 � One score of 6.0. (*)
3) The module is AVERAGE piece & the module is currently above 7.75 � One score of 4.0. (*)
(*) � Must have more than ten votes.
My score will still be based around the format provided by Bioware and be consistent with any previous systems used. The difference now, is that I will NOT post any vote unless it fits within the criteria above. I have done this for two reasons:
1) To prevent casting a vote that may appear against the grain of other voters � and make me look the bad guy.
2) When it does fit within the above category, keep the voting fair to those I have already voted for.
NB: Judging any material is always subject to personal taste. I have tried hard to be as objective as possible. Remember, this is only my opinion; Bioware�s is the one that counts! If you believe I have scored your module unfairly, or I have missed something of importance, please email me at �[email protected]� and I will consider any comments made. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints (and the past effort of trying to answer all posts, I may take a while to answer. Sorry.)
Rather than break the score down as I have previously, I have decided to revert back to my original system and make general comments for those I do end up posting. The two categories still remain though.
Text of Module: (The Writing/Characterisation/Dialog Flow): There was a misuse of capital letters, poor sentence structure, a missing question mark, missing words and a typo. I often felt the story was linear and my conversation options were limited overall.
Concept & Execution: (Creativity/Logical Flow/Drama/Pacing/Character Development/Multiple Paths): The story started off slow and did not grab me immediately. After we rested, the pace picked up. Then I was held up a while before thinking of checking the tent for items. (Not penalised, simply noted.) Also, I have only ever heard of running-water stopping vampires, not ground magic entirely. ;) (Not penalised, simply noted.) The main problem for me, which is the reason for the score, was that there was too much history of which to be aware before being able to make sense of the present. This made me feel disconnected with my character. It was their adventure and not mine.
Conclusion: This story was built on a good idea, but felt too disconnected from my character to be among the best scorers. That said, the atmosphere and banter between the NPC�s was quite well done, even if it did not best serve the purpose of he competition.
MY SCORE SYSTEM (IMHO):
4.0 Normally means writing errors, low drama and pacing, and/or poor logical flow. (I did not want to finish it.)
6.0 Normally means few writing errors, some drama and/or pacing & logical flow fine. (I wanted to finish it.)
7.75+ Normally means none/very few typos, good drama and/or pacing. Good NPC development & endings.
PERSONAL SCORING FACTORS (IN ORDER OF MY PRIORITIES):
GRAB FACTOR: How quickly am I involved in the action? Do I have direction?
PLOT: Is the story engaging? Is subject interesting? Varied conversation choices?
CHARACTERS: Are they easily identifiable? Are they rounded/memorable?
SPELLING & GRAMMAR: Is the text easy to read? Are there quite a few errors?
OTHER FACTORS (MINOR INFLUENCE): Design for atmosphere & scenery, including sounds & props. Quality of module stability; does it break easily? _________________________ World of Althéa Blog: Link
Posted by alklau at 2006-03-19 17:39:25 Voted 8.75 on 03/19/06
My thoughts echo that of other voters in that there's a rather heavy reliance on character background and that the ending seemed somewhat forced. However, it's well-executed and written well.
Posted by imported_beer at 2006-03-17 09:44:34 Voted 8.50 on 03/17/06
My biggest problem was this module was more about backstory than current action. I also didn't like being forced into a character. *However* what you lacked in story, you more than made up in writing. You have a great sense of how to use language to tell a story, create atmosphere and create characters.
Posted by herrjeff at 2006-03-13 19:41:56 Voted 8.25 on 03/13/06
Interesting NPC interaction, with good description of characters but too much reliance on background and past events to support the plot of this module. Ending comes too quickly compared to the initial set-up.
Posted by saraphinn at 2006-03-13 19:34:26 Voted 9.00 on 03/13/06
A well written mod.
Posted by Jubilee at 2006-03-03 09:07:01 Voted 9.00 on 03/03/06
I thought the characters were well developed and I liked the storyline. It was engaging and well-written. I would definitely like to see more modules by this author.
Posted by nereng at 2006-02-27 04:57:02 Voted 9.00 on 02/27/06
A very good story, excellent writing, and very good character development. You don't get much choice about who you are, though. The whole thing is very well executed.
Posted by thegeorge at 2006-02-22 13:25:37 Voted 9.50 on 02/22/06
Would the Narrator count as a 4th npc? No matter, I quite liked the banter between the party members.
Posted by Kirian at 2006-02-12 05:51:59 Voted 8.25 on 02/12/06
A well written story that deserves more attention. I do have the feeling that it goes way beyond the allowed amount of words for this contest, but that is not for me to take into account.
The writing style is elegant and light, and the author manages to draw the character into his/her story pretty well. Resorting to journal entries to fill in the gaps in the story strikes me as a weakness, and the solution to the conundrum was a bit too easy to my taste. Also, the end seemed a bit rushed, contrary to the nicely build-up first part of the module. All in all this is a very promising little module, and I would like to see more of this author. Keep me posted :)
Posted by MikeLM9215 at 2006-02-11 08:31:25 Voted 7.25 on 02/11/06
I liked the way the story went, the use of scripts and the writing. However can't give you extras for scripting due to Bioware rules. _________________________ The road to Ravenloft is paved with good intentions.
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