If you have any questions, comments or feedback of any sort, I would be thrilled to hear from you; feel free to email me at [email protected] , or just post on the module�s message board on the NWVault.
This module requires NWN version 1.68 and the CEP 1.68, which is available as a download to your right.
Premise:
Many a sage knows the sad tale of Sammaster, the brilliantly-powerful wizard whose passion and gradual descent into madness caused him to rise and fall in the Goddess Mystra�s favor; she took him as one of Her Chosen, only to revoke the status when his lust for power and vengeance finally overshadowed the few morals he had ever possessed, and he confronted (and was slain by) three others of Mystra�s Chosen.
Yet after falling out of Mystra�s good graces and losing his God-given powers, Sammaster�s tale was not done; together with a poison-tongued Priest of Bane who revived and manipulated the wizard under orders from Bane himself, he founded what is known today as the Cult of the Dragon, an evil organization formed around the belief that dragons, specifically undead dragons, will come to rule the world�Sammaster and his followers in the Cult dedicated their lives to convincing the evil dragons of Faer�n to choose to partake in an unholy ritual and become Dracoliches.
Sammaster�s and the Cult of the Dragon�s actions after the wizard�s resurrection did not go unnoticed by the good folk of Faer�n; the Harpers in particular were anxious to eradicate the Cult as soon as possible. After an ambush which culminated with an epic showdown between an Avatar of Lathander and Sammaster himself, Sammaster was reduced to ashes and the unifying-piece of the Cult was gone.
Sammaster had been prepared for such an eventuality, and had arranged several chain-contingencies upon his death; he became a lich, and 300 years later, in the Year of Many Mists (1282 DR), he emerged from a crypt high in the Desertsmouth Mountains near Shadow Gap and began to gather an army of dark minions and servants, included dragons and the occasional dracolich, under his banner.
In the Year of Blacksnake (1285 DR) a group of adventuring paladins known as the Company of Twelve rode off to confront Sammaster and his growing army. The paladins, supported by the Harpers, attacked the lich and his powerful dracolich-mount in the ruins of an ancient city then known as Harrowsmouth, or the �Gates of Hell.� The battle was immense and nine of the Company of the Twelve died, but in the end Sammaster was defeated and the mad mage fell once more; the paladins and harpers who were slain in the battle were interred with Sammaster at Harrowsmouth to act as eternal guardians against the lich�s resurrection.
Despite the best efforts of the victorious forces of good after the battle at Harrowsmouth, no-one ever did locate Sammaster�s phylactery, which was said to be an un-cut diamond of tremendous monetary value, or the Tome of the Dragon, the artifact book containing Sammaster�s and his Cult�s unholy prophecies and teachings which the good people of Faer�n would have liked nothing better than to have seen destroyed once and for all.
The Current Situation:
The year is 1360 DR, 75 years the lich Sammaster�s defeat at Harrowsmouth, and strange rumors abound, rumors pertaining to the evil Cult of the Dragon; there are fearful whispers amongst the people of Faer�n that the highest-ranking members of the Cult, known as Those Who Wear Purple for their trademark robes, plan on performing a vile ritual in order to resurrect their First-Speaker, Founder and Prophet, the Fallen-Chosen of Mystra known as Sammaster, whose remains are said to lie deep beneath the long-abandoned city known as Harrowsmouth, or �The Gates of Hell.� In life, Sammaster was a mage who wielded power comparable to that of Elminster or Khelben �Blackstaff� Arunsun�in undeath as a lich, he was even more fearsome a foe, until the Company of Twelve, a band of powerful paladins, with aid from the Harpers, defeated him. His phylactery, of course, was never found after the battle was over...
If a scheme to resurrect Sammaster truly does exist, it would be grave news indeed�and so, eight of Mystra�s Chosen, all of the known Chosen except the Drow Priestess Qilu� Veladorn, have gathered to discuss which course of action to take�if the Cult of the Dragon indeed has the means to somehow resurrect Sammaster, they must be stopped at all costs.
The Module:
�Perchance to Dream�, an adventure of epic proportions (both in story-content and level-range), places the player in the role of Khelben �The Blackstaff� Arunsun, a level 26 wizard and one of Mystra�s Chosen. This module includes 10 new custom spells designed by yours-truly specifically for this adventure; included in these 10 is the Silver Fire epic spell/ability, along with 1 other non-Chosen-Ability-epic spell and 8 more high-level (7-9) custom spells. You must use the pre-provided character for this module (Khelben �Blackstaff� Arunsun); he already has all of the custom spells and abilities learned and set-up, along with a complete memorized spell-book and three full quick-slot sets for easy-access to his abilities, items and spells.
The fate of Faer�n hangs in the balance, and it�s up to you to see that, if the Cult of the Dragon truly intends to resurrect Sammaster, they are not allowed to do so.
Armed with Mystra�s blessing and an arsenal of spells deadly enough to lay-low a small army, you will soon be journeying to the ancient abandoned ruined-city of Harrowsmouth (The Gates of Hell), where a showdown with the highest-ranking members of the Cult of the Dragon seems to be in order...
RULES:
Resting: Restricted in some areas
Death: Automatic transportation to an alternate dimension, from which you will be returned to the location at which you perished by your Goddess, Mystra
XP-Scale: Experience is awarded at certain points in the game; XP is not awarded for killing creatures
Number of Players: Singleplayer only; the game will break otherwise, trust me.
Starting Level: You MUST use the pregenerated �Khelben �Blackstaff� Arunsun� character, or you will not be allowed to start the module. I will not be changing this restriction, so don�t even ask. If you want to change it for your own use, be my guest.
Level Advancement: You will most likely gain one level near the end of the module, just-before or during the final boss-fight.
Hak & Music Credits:
Portraits by Phaere, DarkAnya, Gwendolyn
Elemental sword models by V3par
Kroqadilla and Dracotaur by HydromancerX
Dragonkin by Bloodsong
Wyverns by Swiftbow
DragonGolemsCEP by Princerouse
Piles of Gold by Bloodmonkey
Spawns of Tiamat by nirvy
Lich Lizards by St4scream
Dwarven Halls Tileset by JDA
Sky / Atmosphere Tileset compiled by Chaos_Theocrat, originally designed by Spelljammer team
�Wheel of Fortune� track by Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Carribean)
�Kan-on� track by Kitaro (Sacred Journey Album)
�Buried Secrets / Whispers� by Jack Wall (Jade Empire Soundtrack)
Special Thanks To:
Alazander & Murdane, my Forgotten Realms and story/plotline advisors
Cowface for designing the logo
Gary Webster for composing music exclusively for �Perchance to Dream�(!) (Shadowdale, Battle Theme)
...and to my faithful Beta-Testers; your help was much appreciated!!!
(Alazander, Aessinus, nunza, Mungo_D, Phantasma)
So yeah, thanks to everyone in the NWN community for their support--this will be my last mod (for NWN1), and it's been a good time. :)
Congrats Hughie, this module was a pleasure to beta-test! You deserve the accolades. Cheers, Mungo
Posted by Alex at 2007-11-2105:28:13
Thanks Azarr Kul!!! :D I'm SO PUMPED!!!!! _________________________ Alex "Hugie" Hugon Writer - Ossian Studios NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate - NWN2's first Adventure Pack Moonshadows - An Action-Packed, Story-Driven Adventure in the Forgotten Realms [Development Blog] The Third Sign - A Novel-to-NWN2-Module conversion of Gregory A. Wilson's book [Purchase from Amazon]
Posted by Azarr at on11/21/07
Congratulations Hugie!
Posted by Alex at 2007-11-1610:21:49
Hey Steve, My Andover address is no longer valid--try alex@hugon.com or ahugon@fas.harvard.edu . :) _________________________ Alex "Hugie" Hugon Writer - Ossian Studios NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate - NWN2's first Adventure Pack Moonshadows - An Action-Packed, Story-Driven Adventure in the Forgotten Realms [Development Blog] The Third Sign - A Novel-to-NWN2-Module conversion of Gregory A. Wilson's book [Purchase from Amazon]
Posted by Steve_Savicki at 09:22:12 Voted10.00
Hugie, Did you get my email at your andover address I believe? _________________________ Steve's Characters - please don't forget to vote on them if you play them. Thanks, Steve
Posted by Bloum at on11/11/07
Thank you for your kind reply. The end of the module was so great ! And now, I feel a little frustrated ! :D Thanks and congratulations again for this fantastic module !
Posted by Alex at 2007-11-1104:45:14
@Bloum: Very glad you're enjoying yourself so much thus far! :D Yup, it's normal for the prison pit to be sealed--it's there more for ambiance than for anything else, iirc. And your english is great--don't worry about it! :) Thanks again! _________________________ Alex "Hugie" Hugon Writer - Ossian Studios NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate - NWN2's first Adventure Pack Moonshadows - An Action-Packed, Story-Driven Adventure in the Forgotten Realms [Development Blog] The Third Sign - A Novel-to-NWN2-Module conversion of Gregory A. Wilson's book [Purchase from Amazon]
Posted by Bloum at on11/11/07
First of all, English is not my language, so I apologize for the mistakes there could be in my commentary. And then, the most important : congratulations for this great story. Even if I haven't finished it yet, I've got so much pleasure to play it that I don't hesitate to give you the maximal note. ~Spoiler~ I've got one question : In Harrowsmouth Upper Halls, I cannot open the door at the Pit Prison. Is it normal ?
Posted by Alex at 2007-11-1006:30:25
Sweetness! Thanks Ben--I've got my fingers crossed!! :D _________________________ Alex "Hugie" Hugon Writer - Ossian Studios NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate - NWN2's first Adventure Pack Moonshadows - An Action-Packed, Story-Driven Adventure in the Forgotten Realms [Development Blog] The Third Sign - A Novel-to-NWN2-Module conversion of Gregory A. Wilson's book [Purchase from Amazon]
Posted by Alex at 2007-11-0219:05:06
Thanks fireice! :D _________________________ Alex "Hugie" Hugon Writer - Ossian Studios NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate - NWN2's first Adventure Pack Moonshadows - An Action-Packed, Story-Driven Adventure in the Forgotten Realms [Development Blog] The Third Sign - A Novel-to-NWN2-Module conversion of Gregory A. Wilson's book [Purchase from Amazon]
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