"...Out of money. I should take another job. Blood for gold. 4000 eons have shaped the Way that I might kill men for liquor and other unsatisfying pleasures. Well, even a dog must eat. Now where is that letter...? Ah. From the Order of the Veiled Sky...the head of the sorcerer Van Eisen. Huh... I thought he ran that gig. Useless magi can't handle their own business. Sounds easy enough. This shit never goes as planned, though."
- Seiji
The errant Master of the Way, Seiji, is retained by the Order of the Veiled Sky to murder their deposed leader, Van Eisen. Seiji journeys to the Ironwall Mountains of Sigmar in search of Van Eisen only to be waylaid by the Sigmar troops. Seiji must then travel to the Brass Empire in search of a wanted woman and return her to Sigmar. But the realm of Sigmar has little regard for its pawns...
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Disclaimer
Vis et Virtus is not a normal Neverwinter Nights module, nor is it intended to be. It is, by design, a mostly linear adventure with a heavy emphasis on story and character development. It was designed to be a fusion of game genres combining elements from traditional Japanese console RPG games like Final Fantasy, with computer RPGs like NWN, along with devices that are unique to VeV.
If you are looking for a game that uses a non-linear approach with lots of dialogue options through which you can create a character of your choosing, featuring standard NWN systems, I encourage you to look elsewhere. There are plenty of excellent games out there that do an excellent job of this. I would also encourage you to look elsewhere if you don't have the time to allow the story and characters to develop. Like a great novel, the story gets better as it goes, and many questions remain unanswered until later in the series. In the beginning, you will not know the full history of each of the characters nor have a full understanding of their motivations, but over the course of the game these elements will become apparent. Finally, in order to add to the depth of the characters, Vis et Virtus uses pregenerated characters. If you are uninterested in games involving pregenerated characters, please do not waste your time downloading VeV.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for a game with a truly epic story, strategic battles, engaging party members, unique systems and stunning custom content that make you feel like you're playing an entirely different game, you will enjoy Vis et Virtus.
If you are still uncertain as to whether Vis et Virtus is the sort of gaming experience you like, I encourage you to read our reviews. QSW and the Vault Review Team have written excellent, detailed reviews of the last three chapters of VeV which will likely give you a good idea of what to expect. You can find them at Link, Link, and Link.
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For more information on Vis et Virtus, please visit our website at Link
I released an update to the prologue and chapters 1-6 today. Chapters 7 and 8 will be updated in the coming weeks.
I've dubbed this particular version the "Almost Final Version" because we are honing in on a Final Version. Andrew and I will be doing one last test run this summer and updating accordingly before officially labeling VeV Final.
These final updates are almost exclusively polish, subtle details and bug fixes. The only update I would like to point out is that we have added an On / Off switch to the boss cutscenes we added in version 4. That way, if you prefer not to watch those scenes, you can turn them off via a Macro Command. Further information is included in the in game Journal.
We have also remade our Vis et Virtus Website from scratch and moved it over to wordpress. We are still working on the finishing touches on this as well, but all the important information should be accessible there. You can find it at the link above.
We hope you enjoy!
Jim
Posted by Madoga at 2013-03-28 12:35:37 Voted 5.00 on 03/28/13
Played thos series to somewhere in the middle of chapter 3. I just couldn't take it any more at that point. The story is very incoherend, characters make rediculous descision, there is barelyany character development and a lot of the characters act like 10 year olds.
Areas are huge but completely empty. Moreover, the places where you can interact will be coming back in other cities. Every city is a copy of the last with some slight tweaks.
If you're looking to start a new module, look elsewhere. A 5 is really generous imo.
for a more in depth "review" i suggest you read yatzik's comment.
I started playing through VeV last night and noticed a couple things that need tweaking. I believe the plan will be that I will run through and fix some things, then Andrew will before declaring a final version. Note that everything that will be updated will be bug fixes or minor tweaks. We're not looking to put in new features this time around, just putting in some final layers of polish.
Since the website has had a lot of downtime lately due to the server, I've decided to use a different host. The new Vis et Virtus website can be found at the link above.
Friends, due to being in the process of opening a business and my test player being busy in his final year of college, I'm going to take a different approach with the release than I have in the past with 4.0. I'd like to ask those of you on the vault to please help me find bugs with the new version, so I'm releasing the beta. I have, of course, done a good deal of testing myself, but I'd love to get your input on the new version.
I'll be releasing chapters 3-5 beta as well very soon. Chapters 6-8 are taking a little longer due to my busy schedule and the numerous cutscene additions. Of note, the boss death sequences I mentioned in my prior post will not start showing up until chapter 3 simply because there are not as many major bosses in the early chapters.
Thanks so much for your patience and, to those of you willing to help me out, you have my sincere appreciation.
On an unrelated note, we're still being swamped by troll voters, some of whom may even sound like they've played the game before if you're not familiar with it. I want to make it clear that I have nothing to do with them and do not in any way condone their actions. Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to patrol the site for them, so if you see any, please report them to BeyondThePale.
Thanks,
Jim
Posted by yatzik at 2011-08-18 21:30:15 Voted 5.00 on 08/18/11
There are nearly not enough story, the PC is bad in killing stuff (zombies, zombie dragons). Pease avoid. I voted 5.0 and it's a vote for the modules none should play. I played up to chapter 8 and there's no story no matter how you try. It's not even slay the dragon rescue princess it's just bad bad unfortunate. Who the hell gives this parodty of a module 10.0 I cannot really comprehend. _________________________ Do dance with the rogues.
Posted by yatzik at 2011-08-15 05:46:38 Voted 5.00 on 08/18/11
Okay, now that I am through with it, I have to say the series haven't shown any redeeming qualities, sadly. It doesn't even look like a serious effort; seeing how many people were involved and having played some excellent modules from the Vault made by single persons I don't think VeV deserves the current rating of 9ish.
I was going to suggest you guys seek careers as far from game design and development as possible, but who knows, there's no improvement without trying, maybe you'll learn from the mistakes and I'll return to vote 10.0 on your next project. _________________________ Do dance with the rogues.
Posted by yatzik at 2011-08-14 13:29:54 Voted 5.00 on 08/18/11
======== MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ===========
Now to make some points about the module.
Firstly, the writing is really inconsistent and at times it's gotten to unimaginable lows of 'ehhhh???' and 'hahahahahahahah'. I guess this happens when there are a few people writing the story, so I don't mind it -- playing as a Male Sociopath voice-set certainly made me chuckle at certain phrases. However, it doesn't really help the enjoyment of the game that the writing while OK at times, most of the time has very amateurish or, should I say, lazy feel to it. It's also too bad that as far as the prologue and first chapter go there are not much references to undead ravens sitting on their undead eggs, I guess, in their boney nests everywhere. Is there some undead plague? Prologue didn't have any mobs apart from mage knights and bandits and now I am greeted with legions of unpeople and also some risen dead animals and I don't seriously know what's going on. I am but a mercenary, I understand, and you needed some mobs, but leopards and wolves and hyenas or panthers would be fine with me; failing this, considering the eastern-ish setting, the undead could be some spirits of whatever. Why put undead ravens in the game if some real ravens are agressive and perhaps a danger (not to a level 7 monk, mind you, but I digress). Punching and kicking birds is pretty fun, though, I haven't known about. If that was an elaborate joke, you got me.
While I can't really hold writing to any high regard, I feel I need to stress it doesn't mean I don't like the story development. The roleplaying part is good, I carry 5 types of alcohol in inventory and give at least 100 coins to all the temples I find and I genuinely like my character, weakling as he is, perhaps not really feeling 'the favorite pupil of the great master' feel, but a dumb lucky rag. How good the story is in my humble but very sincere opinion, perhaps, I'll comment on in a few days when I get to the next chapters.
Speaking of the pregenerated character, while I recognize how some of the choices were for roleplaying sake, you don't really give players an idea, if they should pick up on intimidate, or to hell with the social skills (seeing how we start with meager 10 intelligence, there's not many skillpoints to go by). I noticed quite a few seriously powerful rogue equipment in the shops, some +5 pp/ol/dt amulets and bracelets and now I wonder if I should perhaps go around disarming traps -- which for anyone who's playing, don't give any experience as far as chapter 1.
You need to name the keys. 'Strange Key', 'Funny Key' I don't care, just don't leave them all with standard 'Key'. Sounds are way off -- picking loot from a pile makes the sound of a great iron door opening or picking up a flower has the sound of an creeky chest. The sounds, honestly are very out of place. In the aforementioned Abandoned Mines I regularly hear sounds that would be best described as made for some crypts with doors opening and closing and disturbed tombs and I don't see anything remotely believable on my screen; this, however, might be a case for the suspension of disbelief, I guess. The music I don't mind, tastes do differ, as long as I replace it with my playlist on itunes.
Loads of (Seiji thinks) are really unnecessary, in my opinion. Just the text above the head of character without an interlocultor would've sufficed I think. Oh well, maybe this is a staple of RPGs of yore, I don't know.
You need to have a way for a player not acquainted with atlas of the game world to know that Gaul is a place (or land?) accessible through the gates and not some kind of a mob. Perhaps I missed a dialogue, there have not been very many however (can't think of any dialogues really, the modules so far are monologues through and through).
Playing the default character I don't see any reason why you put 50%-concealment enemies in the Abandoned Mines. Am I supposed to sneak past them? I don't think it's possible really and they're valuable XP. It's not like they can kill Seiji -- I can already see how advertised 80 hours of playtime might be 60 hours of pounding half-invincible mobs; do consider replacing them with some meat bags I can at least hit reliably with the character you provided. The AC of mobs could use some toning down at least the first chapter, surely you want your players to reach the conclusion without seeing *miss* a hundred thousand times if you provide them with a pre-generated character as means to experience the story fully. The cinematic feel it ruins throughly. For example, certain boss at the end of chapter 1 pitifully hit me with his bare hands until I stepped away and he decided to teleport away or something, giving me a ton of XP. Also, the enemies do use Taunt and no way your average character (the one you are supposed to play this through) will have enough concentration to resist these attempts. Is this intended? What are the guidelines as to distributing skills, anyway? Perhaps, I am spoiled to a degree, but nothing ever irks more than skillpoints spent in vain, really.
I am sure many of us would appreciate if you made the Master of the Way class feats take around 30 instead of full 40 levels. The players could be multi-classed fighters or SD's or something seeing how you allow it on level-ups, it adds to experience, really, unless of course there's some hidden purpose to playing a pure monk in the module I am yet to see (apart of every other feat relying on a wisdom modifier; after a few encounters with ghosts and stuff I don't see me raising Wisdom past 16, seriously to hell with the Way).
It occured to me, what if you made first two modules (the prologue and 1st chapter) a series of custscenes only to give the player control in the fights? It'd perhaps downsized the mod a little, but I am pretty certain many would appreciate it. Please consider at least some optional shortcut at least for the next-next version (5.0 is it?). Good job supporting the modules, by the way, I am now scientifically replaying most updated to 1.69 and while it's sad to see how some great modules fade into oblivion due to authors not supporting them, I am strongly inclined to conclude the best modules out there (on ADWR or Aielund level) are supported by both makers and the community to stand the test of time for at least another 8 years.
You will have to excuse my sorry grasp on English, it's a native language to me. Witten in gmail interface, so nevermind the obtuse carriage-returns. I reserve my vote until the final chapter and conclusion to this mesmeric if somewhat spoon-fed story. _________________________ Do dance with the rogues.
Posted by yatzik at 2011-08-14 12:07:08 Voted 5.00 on 08/18/11
I hate to say, but this one and the prologue were horribly unfun modules. It's frightening to think how one must endure them to enjoy the whole story. I'll have to see if it deserved slogging through these two abominable volumes of emptiness. I may add something to this comment (or vote) later, I hope you don't mind me posting multiple times. _________________________ Do dance with the rogues.
Posted by yatzik at 2011-08-14 09:34:29 Voted 5.00 on 08/18/11
Just a friendly advice, if the character supposedly knows his whereabouts (like the starting town), please reveal the minimap of the place in question. _________________________ Do dance with the rogues.
* UPDATE *
I have decided to skip uploading VeV version 3.5 and proceed directly to 4.0.
Although this will still be a smaller update than 2.0 or 3.0, primarily because the game is in good shape now and requires fewer large changes, there are still major improvements that I'm very excited about in addition to the normal assortment of bug fixes, difficulty adjustments, grammatical corrections, and xp tweaks.
To give you an idea of what sort of additions to the game will be made in VeV 4.0 here are my top 4 favorite changes:
* Tons of new unique items to be found throughout the game for those who explore.
* Enhanced control over your party's AI during combat through additional macro commands.
* Additional voice acting.
* Cinematic finishes for the major villains.
Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know that I've been working on another update to the VeV series in my scraps of free time. Having finally, after almost 10 years of working on it, played the game myself, I felt that a couple tweaks were in order. This will not be an update anywhere near the scale of versions 2.0 or 3.0, but is large enough to deserve mentioning. This update will have a bunch of bug fixes, polishing touches, difficulty adjustments, and some added easter eggs for those who take the time to explore. I've also moved some xp around to make the level progression more even and added xp to puzzles that were previously missing it.
I'm not sure when exactly this will be done, and most of the changes are subtle and would likely go without notice unless one is paying close attention, but I will say that my 'to do' list for the update has gotten fairly short at this point, so it shouldn't be all that long.
Jim
* Spoiler *
The White Isle in Chapter 5 in particular has been given a bunch of neat things to find in this new version.
* End Spoiler *
Posted by Copperhawk at 2011-03-07 07:05:04 Voted 4.00 on 03/07/11
Very boring game just to kill zombies. I don't think I can play through the other chapters just to see how good it is at the end.
Posted by snowdog at 2011-03-03 09:39:13 Voted 8.00 on 03/02/11
A couple of additional character related tips.
If you absolutely must multi-class, you have very limited choices:
Go fighter. 4 levels pre epic give you an extra attack (and additional +1) to hit along with specialization in unarmed for damage, then one level epic for epic weapon specialization unarmed (+6 to damage total). But it will cost custom special abilities.
Ranger: Like fighter without specialization, so rather pointless (no Kamas for the dual wield monk/ranger).
Rogue/Shadowdancer. Forget it. Nearly everything has "True Seeing", so stealth/HiPs are useless. You can get items to cover other abilities, which are largely useless anyway as most buildings that are locked are simply dummy facades. Even if you crack them open, the doors lead no where.
That is all your choices. Only fighter/Monk or pure Monk make sense in these mods.
Also after using the "Many hands, many feet" feat (AKA Circle kick) it sucks. Don't select this one. It cause your character to switch targets. It interferes with putting a target away quickly and you can't shut it off. If you try to switch back you pause and actually lose attacks. It even causes you character to just stand there and do nothing. Horrible, worse than useless feat.
Posted by snowdog at 2011-03-02 08:30:45 Voted 8.00 on 03/02/11
Some Tips for those about to embark, I am in part 7 now so some hindsight, I could have benefited from, that might help others starting out.
First read the linked reviews above. They are very good a pointing out the pros and cons.
No plot spoilers, but some discussion of items you may or may not find... So if you are real stickler, stop now. Personally I really like to know I won't find the weapon I want to specialize in anywhere so I won't feel I wasted feats in my build. That kind of thing:
About your character:
DO NOT multi-class or do it very sparingly. This module is made for a unarmed fighting monk and the more you multi-class the more you miss out on some killer non standard abilities. Also note the UNARMED. There are no magic kamas (not up to part 7 so far) for those wishing to dual wield kamas (I wasted feats on this unnecessarily).
About travel:
Travel is extremely tedious in these modules, long barren areas you have to run between. Two items help:
"Universal map" you can buy that reveal the map of the area you are in. Search the shops until you find one. I don't know what part they show up in, but get one ASAP, on your travels you will be finding the exit and running to it, as there really won't be anything worth stopping for, that won't auto stop you.
"Haste item". Obviously the faster you run the faster you get through the tedium. Haste items are nearly non existent on equipment you can use, but you will encounter an enemies in one area, with a short sort equipped with permanent haste. Equip - run to exit, unequip to fight as you will do much more damage and get more attacks with your knuckles.
My overall view: There are very fun, well written characters here balanced by negatives best explained by reading the linked reviews. For me the end result is decidedly average.
Rather than making the henchpeople invulnerable (and thus allowing you to kill enemies from afar while using the invulnerable character as a meat shield), we opted to give you the Prayer Beads of Rebirth. If you use that item on the henchmen, they will be revived. The party members dying is not a game ending issue since you can revive them unlimitedly, though they can easily die again if the area remains unsafe!
Posted by Steve_Savicki at 2011-02-03 04:23:46 Voted 8.25 on 02/03/11
besides the things I pointed out in the prelude, there is broken scripting and profanity is a turnoff.
Also, henchlady must be made invulnerable since she is part of the main plot. _________________________ Steve's Characters - please don't forget to vote on them if you play them.
If you are referring to the henchmen, you just use the "Follow" command in the radial menu. If they get too far behind you, they will teleport a bit closer so you don't leave them too far in the dust with the Follow command. If they are not in follow mode, they won't use this teleporting up action in case you wanted them to stay at range.
If you are referring to other players, I would point out that Vis et Virtus is a single player game and does not support multiplayer. A dm could manually do it I suppose, but VeV is simply not designed for that I'm afraid.
Jim
Posted by Steve_Savicki at 2011-02-02 18:25:58 Voted 8.25 on 02/03/11
How does the rest of the group get caught up? _________________________ Steve's Characters - please don't forget to vote on them if you play them.
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by tisdestiny at 2011-01-03 08:41:41 Voted 9.75 on 01/03/11
� Ch 1 of Vis et Virtus was quite pleasing. It started out a little slow, fighting countless zombies in the mountains, but luckily the author gave us a monk who can outrun everything. The speed of a monk and the must have item Quickfoot helps compensate for the larger than usual areas. Vis et Virtus has a lot of nice additions that most other games don�t. First, they have completely original music. Second, every single item minus potions is custom. I spent a good hour exploring the hundreds of items in the shops. The gameplay is top notch. From the always pleasurable zombie killings, to fighting your arch rivals the Company of the Claw (funniest opponent ever), to a stealth assassination mini-game in the barbarian village only to use other more purging means ;) to accomplishing the mission, and running from an army of mages, the gameplay rarely brought a moment of dullness. The writing surpasses many professional games. The combination of humor/wit and elegant dialogues and conversations worked extremely well. I didn�t dare attempt to skim read a scene in fear of missing a quirky one-liner. The overall story jumped around a bit, but it did introduce about half of your party members and gave good reasons for seiji to follow the various missions. Great work, best on the vault.
Posted by Libita at 2010-12-12 02:10:48 Voted 8.50 on 12/12/10
Pros:
- Probably the most customized series on the Vault: custom items, music, classes/abilities, world and some adsitional stuff like a world map handed out separately.
- Characters with a strongly developed personality. The story is totally epic too, though you won't see most of it yet.
- Very good (and long) cutscenes.
- The author is polite, extremely fast to help and doesn't shy away from doing yet another truckload of work to improve his series, even though there weren't many players at first.
In fact, the last two overhauls have greatly reduced most of the criticisms I voiced after my first playthrough (see post before this).
Cons:
- Areas are a bit too large and empty.
- Style can be hard to get used to. As the author pointed out, this game makes use of eastern RPG style and a (custom) midi sound. Which wasn't a problem for me, as this is the style I fancy anyway.
Altogether:
A unique experience with some great heights (mstly when characters open their mouths) and some drags in between, though the latter has quite improved since this series was first posted. _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
Posted by Libita at 2010-12-12 02:10:16 Voted 8.50 on 12/12/10
Pros:
- Probably the most customized series on the Vault: custom items, music, classes/abilities, world
and some adsitional stuff like a world map handed out separately.
- Characters with a strongly developed personality. The story is totally epic too, though you
won't see most of it yet.
- Very good (and long) cutscenes.
- The author is polite, extremely fast to help and doesn't shy away from doing yet another
truckload of work to improve his series, even though there weren't many players at first.
In fact, the last two overhauls have greatly reduced most of the criticisms I voiced after my
first playthrough (see post before this).
Cons:
- Areas are a bit too large and empty.
- Style can be hard to get used to. As the author pointed out, this game makes use of eastern RPG
style and a (custom) midi sound. Which wasn't a problem for me, as this is the style I fancy
anyway.
Altogether:
A unique experience with some great heights (mstly when characters open their mouths) and some
drags in between, though the latter has quite improved since this series was first posted. _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
Posted by Libita at 2010-12-12 01:53:11 Voted 8.50 on 12/12/10
Alright, I have finished this chapter in the new version. This is what came to my mind:
- Having map pins is good, though it wasn't always clear in which direction to go in a city. A suggestion would be to also include street signs or being able to ask the guards or peasants for directions to the shops, docks and/or city gates.
- The areas still have a bit too few elements in them. There were some corpses to be found, and a named bandit, but otherwise it was mostly identical enemy groups. Which is the case in most games, but I wanted to point it out nonetheless. It is still a nice touch to have the identical-looking enemies being slightly different.
- Cutscenes are awesome, but it would be nice to have
- either a possibility to skip them or
- an autosave after them
when there's a fight directly afterwards. I had to run the cutscene with meeting Xian several times because I died directly after it.
- The universal map was GREAT in speeding travel up.
- The dialogue is still awesome, particularly Xian's take on what happened to him rendered me speechless. I think, the main difference between the earlier and the later chapters is that you have yet to collect most of the awesome people to have dialogue with.
Some nitpicks:
- Seiji lost its focus on Rika every round, getting sneak attacked in the process. Is that intentional?
- The HAND OF PAILITH can be taken away.
- Henchpeople give you their inventory when they leave, but not the equipped items, I think.
- What's the matter with the damaged goods? If it's to showcase Azura's state of mind, I shouldn't be able to take it away. In fact, Seiji automatically got it when Azura parted ways.
I will post an updated vote separately, so that the reader gets a full review, instead of just a review of the update. _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
Posted by EthernalWanderer at 2010-10-10 16:28:13 Voted 10.00 on 10/10/10
I enjoyed it sooo much, I'm even getting fond of the Monk class. Pewpew! :D
Posted by flamingninja at 2010-09-27 06:43:44 Voted 10.00 on 09/27/10
This series is the reason to reinstall NWN on your computer.
Posted by bombsaway at 2009-09-19 13:09:04 Voted 10.00 on 09/19/09
i really like the story. one of the best on the vault.
Posted by shuurai at 2009-09-10 13:46:21 Voted 7.25 on 09/10/09
Kinda torn about this one... I like the story so far, but frankly that is the main thing keeping me interested at this point. As some others have mentioned, you're basically railroaded through the story at a pace that makes it impossible to really have much character development - which is odd considering that the authors seemed to consider character to be central to their effort.
Some of the areas are just too big. Ridiculously big at times. And for the most part, it's generally wasted space. I understand not having side quests, but throwing in some variety in the landscape, maybe some interesting features here or there would have made a huge difference. Even having the various NPC's say something interesting once in a while, give them conversations, etc.
I found the combat to be very easy in most cases; the only difficult fights being the ones you're essentially forced to run away from. Much of the fights are repetitive - the same creatures over and over again.
The cut scenes are well done, and do a good job of moving the story along. But the dialog in general could be a bit more clear at times. For example, at one point your character is supposed to "go to the mountains" but there really isn't any indication of where these mountains are, what direction to go, etc.
Yeah, the contest is over, but hey, thanks for the attempt! I appreciate it.
Posted by Libita at 2009-05-30 00:02:37 Voted 8.50 on 12/12/10
Just found it. Jeez, I'm so stupid. I'e always noticed the awards somehow, but it seems this year I was a bit blind. Sorry. _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
Posted by Libita at 2009-05-29 23:57:31 Voted 8.50 on 12/12/10
When I use that link, I get:
"An Error Has OccurredInvalid View Specified (View Does Not Exist)"
I don't see anything on the front page either. Was I too stupid to see it in time and it's already finished? _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
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