Part One: The Sight
Part Two: The Miracle Worker
Part Three: The Alliance
My current plan is to complete Part Two ("The Miracle Worker") in Neverwinter Nights 1, and to develop Part Three ("The Alliance") in Dragon Age. "The Miracle Worker" will be developed in three acts (of which this is Act I), and "The Alliance" will be developed in two acts. Each act will be built as a separate module or chapter in the series.
Act I of "The Miracle Worker" is a bit different in style from the first chapter, "The Sight." It is very heavy on drama and cinematic storytelling, and on roleplaying and companion dialogue (including romance). There are relatively few combats, but a few of them can be very challenging.
Although the sequel can be started and played through as a new module, I strongly recommend transferring to Chapter 2 from a saved game at the end of version 3.4 of Chapter 1. If you start Chapter 2 as a new game (either with a new character, or even a saved character from Chapter 1), then some of the game variables from the first chapter will not be carried over to the sequel. This will affect the romances in particular, since the defaults for these are likely to be lower that what you would have reached by playing through Chapter 1.
NOTE ON IMPORTANT ITEMS: The module includes two important custom items (the Control Rod and the Horn of Rallying from Chapter 1) that it is important for the player to become familiar with, and to be willing to use at times. Otherwise, some of the combats may be more difficult to beat, and some important plot-related information could be missed. The Control Rod must be equipped in the off-hand in order to be used.
NOTE TO PLAYERS WHO PREFER 2-HANDED WEAPONS: In some situations, it may be advantageous for you to temporarily unequip your preferred weapon in order to equip and use the powers of the Control Rod. Most of these should be apparent from the circumstances.
Chapter Two opens with you and your companions finally making your way through the passage to Mount Cassandra. The resistance is under heavy attack, and thanks to intelligence provided by the traitorous Duke Karrik, it is being systematically decimated by Zomoran's army. And also thanks to the Duke's treachery, the Warlord now controls the strategically important Stonegate Keep, and is moving to extend his empire to include the neighboring Kingdom of Rayche.
In the rebellion's most desperate hour, the princess turns to you and your Sight for guidance. And together, you conceive a bold plan to defeat the Magus, the only one that your talent tells you can succeed: to forge an alliance among the nations of the eastern continent, and lead them in an apocalyptic war against the Warlord and his demon allies.
Updates:
4/13/08 - Fixed spelling/grammar errors in dialogue; edited module description.
8/24/08 - Version 3.1 now available for patch 1.69 and CEP 2.1 compatability.
9/24/08 - Updated file description for 1.68 version to include url for CSP v2.0.
9/1/2009 - Version 3.2 released.
12/31/2009 - Version 3.3 released (current version).
"Fake NWNCQ" Hak. NOTE: You only need to download this if you do NOT want to play the modules with Chico400's NWNCQ upgrade. External Website Beyond Our Control
Current version (v3.4) of Sanctum of the Archmage Chapters 1-2, in .7z compressed format. Custom Modules, Haks, Music, Tlk, Documentation and Spoilers. This version is patch 1.69 and CEP 2.2 compatible. External Website Beyond Our Control
Sanctum of the Archmage v3.4a Patch Hak, dated May 23, 2011. This (required) file contains the current hotfixes for Sanctum of the Archmage v3.4. External Website Beyond Our Control
David, thanks for your feedback! A few comments (warning: *spoilers*): You're not supposed to be able to approach the gate in the foothills until after all the demons have been defeated and you've had your conversation with Ferna. The gate is locked and you don't get the key to open it until you've finished the dialog with her and the chase music starts. The conversation with Ferna triggers once all of the creatures spawned in the Demon encounter are dead -- so if you haven't gotten it yet, that means that some of them are still alive somewhere in the area and need to be dealt with. Until Ferna gives you the key, the gate is guarded by a defense field that will push away and deliver lightning damage to anyone who tries to approach it. The trigger by the gate will active the lightning field against you if you enter it without the key, and start the Diana encounter cutscene if you enter it with the key. Regarding the Skeletal Devourer: that encounter is intended to be much easier for a magic wielder. However, while difficult, it should also be winnable for a melee-oriented character, and you're correct that you neglected to consider a number of weapons and abilities other than Len's Wand that should be at your disposal to help dispatch it. Like most of the other creatures in this area of the ruins, it is undead (a Skeletal Devourer is an undead Intellect Devourer), and undead creatures are harmed by Holy Water and healing spells. Using the Healing Circle power (1x/day) of the Ring of Healing will simultaneously heal you and your nearby team members, and damage any nearby undead enemies. The Holy Water power (3x/day) of Orion's Chalice of Holy Water will also hurt it. Thrown Alchemist's Fire will damage it, and a thrown Firebomb (from your Beastman Moonshine or Mage Fire items) will damage it significantly if you make your ranged touch attack. Using the Mage Fire's "Flame Weapon" power or Alchemist's Fire on your weapon will let it overcome a fair amount of the creature's damage resistance. If you cleared the upper level before going to the lower level, the "Sonic Pick" temporarily enchanted to +1 by the Magic Sheath will give you a better weapon to fight with (the creature is vulnerable to sonic damage). Robin and Orion both also have offensive spells that they can use against it if you toggle their spellcasting from their radial menu (right click on them, pick "Other Actions" at 10:30, then "Toggle Spell-Casting" at 7:30, or use the tactics menu from their character conversation). If you're playing as a Paladin, using your "Lay On Hands" power will damage it if you make a melee touch attack, and Bless Weapon and Smite Evil can each help you to overcome its damage resistance. I'm glad you like the new CC and how the romances are progressing. It's natural (and quite deliberate on my part) for some players to start to feel conflicted about the romance with Robin once they meet Orion or Diana. There's a fairly complex "romantic triangle" written into the plot with Robin and the other companions that you'll be able to play for quite some time before you have to make a final choice. Regarding the conversation with the Beastmen and the question of animal cognition: that dialogue reflects my philosophic and scientific convictions, which for the record differ from the claims of the research to which you refer. So we'll just have to agree to disagree on that subject. :) Thanks again for your feedback! Andarian _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by DavidtheGnome at 10:27:06 Voted10.00
Just finished the new version with a Paladin / DC. I encountered one possible bug in Ch.2... After the fight w/ three demons I proceeded down to towards the gate... Ferna (sp?) didn't initiate her conversation about where we should go until we were already inside the gate. Then had to leave the gated area again which triggered the scene with Diana ... I'm not sure if I just broke the conversation somehow or if a trigger is in the wrong place... I think I'm going to play again with a different character so I'll see if it happens again. I really love this module series. I have only a couple of minor quibbles: (1) In the Ancient Ruins I found the skeletal devourer to be overpowered- This fight might be a cakewalk for a mage, but the damage reduction, concealment / high AC made him nigh impossible for my Paladin (who had only a +1 sword) at the time to damage and Robin / Orion didn't last long. Perhaps I overlooked some item in my inventory but the only offensive spells I had at my disposal were the ones in Len's wand which wasn't enough to make the fight winable. I enjoy challenging fights but this one was nigh impossible and too difficult for a wandering monster. (2) A minor detail, but the conversation with the Beastman King bothers me. When explaining their origins he says "Once we were animals, unable to think..." This is anthropocentrism and I don't believe a creature who was once a normal boar or goat / whatever would say this... Sure, their language is not as complex as human language, they may not be capable of certain complex cognitive fucntions, but there's ample scientific evidence that nonhuman animals do think and feel emotions. But regardless of what we may personally believe about an animal's mental processes, a creature who was once an animal would know better. Slightly altering this conversation to something like "once we were normal animals unable to speak like men" would make it more believable IMHO. It will be interesting to see how this progres I like the new custom content added since I last played, especially the pegasai! I like the way the romance has developed in this series... Once Diana comes into the picture I felt conflicted about whether to keep pursuing Robin or go with the less complicated Diana. progresses in the next chapter.
Posted by MackyMac at on09/08/10
**** Blerg! SPOILERS! ***** ++ "And about the smell: there's a journal entry at the beginning of chapter 2 called "Len's Body" that actually addresses that. :) " Then I will go back and check that out. That smiley face you punctuated that thought with implies that I may be amused, which I look forward to. ++ "About the same-gender romance issue with Robin: unfortunately, offering the player a clear path to a permanent relationship with Robin just won't work unless I fundamentally change the story. I can (and will) write the modules so that a same-gender partner can win Robin's heart in the end, and can play the same romance during the course of the modules that will be available to a different gender partner. Anything more than that I can't say, though, without giving away the plot. :) " - Thanks for answering that question. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds. Now all I need to do is find a job so I can afford a platform on which Dragon Age is available... Thanks again for the response Andarian. _________________________ I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past
Posted by Andarian at 17:45:21 Voted10.00
P.S. About the "Sanctum panetheon" as opposed to the DD one: you'll see a lot more of that coming out in Chapter 3, which is still under development. :) _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by Andarian at 17:39:41 Voted10.00
@MackyMac: thanks for your very kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed them so much. You seem to have noticed a number of more subtle aspects of the modules that few players have commented on before, which I especially appreciate. *SPOILERS FOLLOW* The connection from Greek philosophy that you're thinking of is the Platonic Theory of Forms (for example, as described by the Parable of the Cave in Plato's Republic). It was a seminal development that set the foundation for the "idealist" tradition, which has had a profound influence on the history of philosophical thought in the more than two thousand years since. Although not exactly identical, the Ancients' form of idealism was very much inspired by the history of idealism in our own history (and is somewhat allegorical about it). So it was very astute of you to notice that. :) "I really like finding out that in your world Lolth was a Senator among the ancients. Or finding that divine magic was not granted through the gods. I noticed that you used the same pantheon of deities and demons in Forgotten Realms. A first this struck me as odd, but considering the depth and detail with which you created your world, I figured there may have been some reason, otherwise it would look like laziness. Is the story of the ancients then the story of where the gods of other worlds came from?" That was kind of the idea. Sanctum doesn't take place in a DD universe, and in the novels it does have it's own non-DD panetheon. But NWN and its ruleset are based on DD, which NWN players are already familiar with -- which is why I decided to adapt some familiar DD elements into the story in the first two chapters. That included things like the Drow and the Svirfneblin (who don't exist in that form in the novels), and using some of the familiar deities DD deities. I thought that might help add to the player's feeling of his or her understanding of the world being "turned upside down" by the revelations in TRS5. "There was one bit in Sanctum 2 when the PC has Len's body and Robin chides the PC a bit for bringing it because it could have slowed them down. I think there should have been a dialogue response that says something to the effect of ?Hellooooo... bag of holding? You didn't even know I had it all this time? (which is actually a bit odd, I would think the bag of holding would take on an oder on given the time it took to meet up with the rebels)." Ah, but you didn't have the bag of holding until you went through the door into Len's secret room -- which can't be exited once entered. So you had to have been lugging Len's 150 lb. body around the whole time you were searching Blackwing Lodge for supplies after the Slayer's attack. That's what Robin was referring to. And about the smell: there's a journal entry at the beginning of chapter 2 called "Len's Body" that actually addresses that. :) About the same-gender romance issue with Robin: unfortunately, offering the player a clear path to a permanent relationship with Robin just won't work unless I fundamentally change the story. I can (and will) write the modules so that a same-gender partner can win Robin's heart in the end, and can play the same romance during the course of the modules that will be available to a different gender partner. Anything more than that I can't say, though, without giving away the plot. :) _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by MackyMac at on09/08/10
Hi Andarian. Wow. Sanctum is a pretty intense series so far. It's a bit difficult to come back to reality after having played the two mods available so far. When players are raving about the writing and the setting, they are not exaggerating in the slightest. Andarian, thank you very much for talking the time to create a fantastic story. When I first DL's Sanctum I was groaning about all the haks and whatnot I had to install and keep track of, it was a real pain in the butt. However what they added was absolutely worth it. They were put to good use and enriched the world Andarian created. The NPCs are very well developed and well rounded. The Robin romance may be the most well written and dynamic I've enjoyed yet. ****SPOILERS BELOW**** Okay, I could not continue my review without getting into details, so rather than risk letting something slip, I just threw out the spoiler alert. The approach to gods/demons and magic in the world you created was very interesting. The downfall of the Ancients through their philosophy and belief in an ideal world that exists outside the senses that reflects ?ideal? versions of what is in the ?real world? reminded me of something I read recently about the Greeks(?) having similar philosophy. (something about all triangles are reflection of a prefect triangle with perfect angles that exists in an ideal realm, or something) I also found it amusing in the way I like to sometimes pick things apart, after all since we can only verify that something is real through our senses, then how could they ever prove this ?ideal? realm. Figuring out TRS5 was fantastic... awesome... amazing, I don't know, pick a word. It's one of those magic moments one always hopes for in a mod that truly instills a sense of magic and wonder; and feeling that something new is around the corner waiting to be discovered. The idea of an ancient civilization with ?future? technology/magic could so easily have be done cheesy or at least in a very mundane way that one would have expected. This was full of surprises. I really like finding out that in your world Lolth was a Senator among the ancients. Or finding that divine magic was not granted through the gods. I noticed that you used the same pantheon of deities and demons in Forgotten Realms. A first this struck me as odd, but considering the depth and detail with which you created your world, I figured there may have been some reason, otherwise it would look like laziness. Is the story of the ancients then the story of where the gods of other worlds came from? There was one bit in Sanctum 2 when the PC has Len's body and Robin chides the PC a bit for bringing it because it could have slowed them down. I think there should have been a dialogue response that says something to the effect of ?Hellooooo... bag of holding? You didn't even know I had it all this time? (which is actually a bit odd, I would think the bag of holding would take on an oder on given the time it took to meet up with the rebels). There is one thing, that I need to ask about and it's actually a sore point. I read through forum on the andarian.net regarding Robin and that her romance dead ends if the PC is also a woman. (actually, dead ends in either same-sex ?romance?). The discussion took place a while ago, and I don't know how much you keep up with that forum. You indicated that you may come up with a way to make it work. Since it's been a while since that discussion took place (2008... yipes I'm getting old) I was wondering if you have come to a decision on that? After I discovered that thread, it was kinda like a punch in the gut. I was puzzled why such a romance option would be open at all only to have a brick wall thrown up later on. So yeah, I have a definite preference on what side I'm hoping you'll come down on with that. I don't mean to be too much of a bother, but doggone it all if you had much more mediocre writing, I wouldn't be anxious about that issue. :P _________________________ I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past
Posted by Andarian at 04:27:07 Voted10.00
Note: I haven't uploaded anything yet; expect that sometime in the next week. _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by Andarian at 21:42:31 Voted10.00
I've just finished updating chapter 1 to version 3.4, which supports NWNCQ. The visual improvement to the module really is quite striking. While I was at it I added a few new features, including skyboxes to make some of the areas even more awesome, a combat upgrade for some of the enemies, and some new hi-quality PC head models. Once I've done a playtest for chapter 2 and made sure they're both ready, I'll upload the new version. _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by Andarian at 20:36:43 Voted10.00
Festerblatz, thanks for your help! Everyone: The issues Festerblatz had turned out to be caused by a couple of small and easily fixed scripting bugs. I'm a bit busy at work this week, but I'll get a patch hak uploaded this weekend. Hopefully I should be able to get the NWNCQ update (v3.4) that I announced on my blog ready shortly thereafter. _________________________ Sanctum of the Archmage Writing Projects Website and Blog Academy for Modding Excellence
Posted by festerblatz at on09/01/10
Success! I got your email with the new hak and both problems have been resolved. Thanks again for the help. Rating 10 both for the outstanding quality of these modules, as well as your dedication to supporting them. I look forward to the new versions, as well as subsequent chapters.
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