Ravenloft. A nether world of evil, a place of darkness that can be reached from any world-escape is a different matter entirely.
Gameplay Length
Those that stumble into the dark domain find themselves trapped in lands filled with vampires, werebeasts, zombies and worse.
Number Players
1
Language
English
Level Range
10th level would be a good starting point.
Races
All
Tricks & Traps
Light
Roleplay
Heavy
Hack & Slash
Heavy
Classes
All. (I hope.)
Scope
Part of Series
DMNeeded
No DM Required
Single or Multiplayer
Single Player
Max Character Level
20
Max # Players
01
Min # Players
01
Min Character Level
10
Content Rating
Teen
Alignments
Be careful what you wish for-the dark powers of Ravenloft might hear you.
Gameplay Hours
02
Description
" I am every nightmare every creature has ever had. I am the dark thoughts of murder and treachery, of fear and lust and obscenity and violation. I am the lie. I am the black pit of madness. I am Death and all things worse. You know me. We are old friends, you and I."
This is the final revised copy. Special thanks to Mutantspicy who did all the hard work on scripts and new items! Without him this would not have been possible. Thanks Mutantspicy! I look forward to working with you on future projects. This includes the mod and the read me file with all revisements. Special thanks to NWN Vault members for giving me feedback for the revisement. You know who you are, and I thank each and everyone of you.
Posted by DM_shadowdragon at 2011-08-05 08:54:22 Voted 10.00 on 08/05/11
hi wanted to ask wil you be adding any more areas to this wonderfull module of your the 2 hour game play I think is a litte short
Posted by RAS2010DOURDEN at 2010-03-26 23:06:02 Voted 10.00 on 03/26/10
Hey Ken. Nice Horror mod here. I have played both, this one and the revised one. I know Oliver is trying to help out, but I think he should let the players look at both mods. Though both are overral the same game, this one, the original has, the author's personal touch to it. That's just me though. I really felt I was in the world of Ravenloft. The theme was like a Poe or Lovecraft novel and made me want to finish it. I was not disappointed. Thank you. The Haunted House was better than the one at Great Adventure! Really scary. I also loved how the doors slammed shut by themselves. Made me jump out of my seat. _________________________ Let's not mince words. Let us say what we really mean to say.
Thanks Olivier. Glad you liked it. Wait until you see, " Thoughts of Darkness." :) _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Posted by olivier_leroux at 2009-11-26 02:52:02 Voted 8.75 on 11/26/09
ATTENTION:
There's a revised version available. Search the Vault for it and download that one instead!
It's an enjoyable short hack and slash mod with top notch graphics and an appropriate Ravenloft feel. There's not much RP in it, but the text was interesting and the combats fun (not too hard for a martial lvl 7 cleric). I liked it!
Great feedback and thanks for the vote. Your comments have gone into my mod making notebook. When time permits I will revise this. I am glad you like it. Thank you. _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Posted by mutantspicy at 2009-11-04 00:47:23 Voted 8.00 on 11/03/09
OK. Just completed, well not really.
SPOILER
I couldn't kill strahd. 7 thief/6 wiz. Probably not the right class to go thru this mod. I don't know what weapons are able to hit strahd, but the only weapon in the game I could use was the mace of disruption, which was ineffective. Being only 6 lvl wiz meant not enough fireballs, magic missiles to kill him even if he didn't resist 50% of what I thru at him. As a straight wiz, I dunno what would have happened but I suspect it would have been doable, like evards tentacles or something. As a straight thief unless you play an elf and can use the longswords I really don't know how you'd go about killing him. That assumes the longsword hits him.
And I ran into the Gaseous form in the crypt blocking the door issue.
End SPOILER.
Still though an engaging adventure. I would hope you take time to take a second look at this to address, these small things. Otherwise this could be a top contender MOD.
Posted by mutantspicy at 2009-11-03 15:52:35 Voted 8.00 on 11/03/09
Oh the only suggestion I have is with the start out level. You say 10, I don't know how unless the character is loaded down with equipment. I don't know the answer but the start out should be higher than 10 IMO.
But what I really wanted to say is this mod screams out for a Pre generated character or characters to choose from. Which would also help you tell your story a little better.
Posted by mutantspicy at 2009-11-03 15:22:00 Voted 8.00 on 11/03/09
I gave you an 8 so far and I may up it later if I really enjoy it. I'm just starting out with a 7 thief/6 mage and it is proving to be very very very difficult. I may restart with a pure class. I dunno. But I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt early, because the atmosphere is addictive and makes keep trying. I haven't found any bugs but its still very early in the module. Keep on keeping on dude. All the classic builders have left us NWN1 peeps by the wayside, we need talented builders to keep on trucking.
If you are still out there. Sorry it took so long to respond. I have been away. Here is you answer......
When I first did this project, I knew I had six mods lined up. The first three, I, Strahd, Nosferatu, and Thoughts of Darkness were prequels, giving the players a look into the world of Ravenloft and to establish the mythology.
The Lord of Ravenloft series throws the player right smack into it. Wich is finished by the way. I am afraid Thoughts of Darkness is still under works for now. I had major issues with scripts and game crashes. I hope to get it out before Halloween. Please pray to the dragon!!!! :)
PS. I would have responded to you directly by e-mail but you do not have one posted. Sorry. _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
I know I asked this same ??? on a different site but please please what is the order of playing these games. I played this 1 first n then Nosferatu 2nd but I'm having a hard time with the 3rd one if I've been playing these in order in the first place lol. (Did not make sense sorry) Anyways in what order are these played _________________________ "Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time. The Prophecies will be fulfilled. The Dragon is Reborn."
Thanks for taking the time to play this. Great input by the way.
Olivier I have to admit I messed up with the vamps :( Revised version coming out soon.
Libita, the mods line up with story only. I continue to write a history for the characters that can be used as a setting for my mods. Level requirements should follow as well. I was testing ballance when making Nosferatu. It's one of my problems when mod making. Working on it.
Great input about the weapons. Please if yo would not mind, make a list of other weapons you would like featured in my mods. This too has always been a weak point in my mods. Going by most books dirks and longswords are the norm, however I would like to put more of a selection. Please let me know. _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Posted by Libita at 2009-07-29 06:44:21 Voted 8.00 on 07/29/09
Beautiful scenery. However, some of the items seemed to be way off. And there's a certain bias towards longswords, greatswords and warhammers, none of which a standard Cleric/Rogue/Wizard/Monk can use.
And it is really more RP_light. _________________________ 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 2009-07-27 06:08:47 Voted 8.00 on 07/29/09
How exactly do your mods line up? I,Strahd, then Nosferatu, then Lord of Ravenloft? Because Nosferatu has a lower level range than I, Strahd, this got me confused. _________________________ 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 olivier_leroux at 2009-07-17 14:32:59 Voted 8.75 on 11/26/09
Dear Kenneth,
I've only played this for a few minutes, certainly not enough to give judgement yet. The area design is quite nice though. Unfortunately I ran into some kind of game-stopping bug, or maybe I was just unlucky or clueless?
*SPOILERS*
After I defeated the vampires in the crypt, they took on gaseous form and headed towards the exit. I haven't found out how to kill them in their gaseous form, if it's possible at all, so when I tried to leave the crypt I couldn't because the three of them were blocking the exit and I had no means to make them move out of my way. :(
Is there a way to kill them? If not, you should fix them so that they vanish and don't linger at the exit anymore.
One more advice: The mod is listed as RP-heavy but so far I haven't seen any opportunity for roleplaying my character. The only two dialogues I've had gave me no options to choose from. Instead I was told was my character was thinking. Perhaps it's just the beginning and will be handled differently later on. If not, there's nothing wrong with that, but you should declare the mod as "RP: Light" or "Non-existent", otherwise it's bound to get bad feedback from people who expected heavy RP.
I could not agree with you more. One of my favorite things to do, when I was done with a quest was to back track and go over areas I rushed through. One of the reasons Shadows of Amn is still one of my all time favorite RPG. Graphics were basic but the element was really there. Of course NWN has it beat.
You read correctly. I am making the finishing touches to the next chapter. I hope it's ready Sunday 12th. In part two you are not the only one summoned by the mists. A certain female dark elf from Toril shows up. The two of you go off to confront Strahd.
As for the criti, thanks. I need all the help I can get. It really means alot to me. Especially when it's done with class.
Well I think I hear a werewolf breaking down my front door! Let me get back to part 2. Thank you again. :) _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Posted by LeslieMS at 2009-07-10 20:14:21 Voted 9.75 on 07/05/09
Well I don't mind them being out of order just as long as A) everything critical is in the right order, and B) I can go back once I finish the main plot and do more nosing around.
Did I read properly that there was a sequel to this module?? Which one is it, or is it available yet? Very interested in seeing more!
I believe in positive constructive critique, and my husband says I have a knack for making the worst news not sound so bad... He says he hopes 'I live long enough to announce armageddon since by then people will need some positive reinforcement' Lol. I guess it is a side effect from trying to see everything in the brightest light possible.\
Bugs happen and can be fixed one way or another, so I try to not let it bother me much. =) Just make notes because a problem can't be fixed if someone doesn't know about it.
Besides, one day I hope to get proficient, and brave enough to try my hand at the toolset... and I wouldn't want a negative gripe fest in place of a useful comment. 'do unto others and all that jazz' =) _________________________ Stupidity kills people.
Nothing Good comes from ignorance.
Knowledge is power that is useless with out the wisdom to use it properly.
You made my day! :) Thank you so much for the lovely comments. I do plan to stay in the Demi Plane of Dread for awhile. I actualy have five more mods on Ravenloft that I am cleaning up now. I really enjoy casting Strahd as a villian.
I kind of felt the same way about the wolf howling. Sorry about that. The poor bastard was in such agony. I will not do that again.
As for the vamp ghosts. I messed that up. I thought the coffins were pre scripted in that respect. Never thought of adding individual tags for each one. Shuurai was one of the first to bring that to my attention. Both of you are right. RyanC08 said so as well. So what I plan to do, is use a vampire script hak for coffins in the future.
Future mods will have areas placed in an order so no back tracking will be needed. I should have realized this would be bother some.
Just let me say thank you again. I am going to bed tonight with a smile. :) _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Posted by LeslieMS at 2009-07-05 23:30:35 Voted 9.75 on 07/05/09
Whoa!
I loved this!
I am a huge Ravenloft fan, and it was so much fun!
I do hope to see future Ravenloft mods from you, and in the meantime I plan on checking out your other mods! You have earned a new fan!
This was a pretty balanced module for it's size and length. Of course I played a cleric/rogue, which was immensely helpful. Great atmosphere and areas... really draws you into the story.
There are only a few things I would like to see changed in the future:
1) Even though the wolf howl in the area outside of the manor was meant to be atmospheric, and truly fit the story... hearing it on a constant loop like that one howl right after the other, sort of killed the great ambiance, and had me turning the sound off. Keep the howl, just make it less frequent =)
2) the gaseous forms had a bad habbit of blocking exits and prompting reloads, plus when they stay hostile they kill the chance to rest. If there was just one or two, you could still exit a door... since they seemed to float to the nearest exit, you could still get out or in. However, for example in the crypt, the 4 vamps produced 4 gaseous roadblocks, who all crowded around the door and kept me from leaving the crypt by legal means and without starting over.
Wow, apologies for running things together... its nearly 2 AM, but I did't want to go to sleep without voting.
3) I made the mistake of going to the cellar first instead of exploring the upper floor first, thinking I could backtrack when I had poked around downstairs... which wasn't the case. Maybe in the future you can 'block off' the cellar area until the rest of its finished or at least explored? Not a big deal mind you... I simply backtracked to a previous save and went up instead of down first, but just for sake of player sanity and bearing in mind that I started playing this about midnight, lol. If I was thinking... I would have gone up first... Everyone knows the vampire hides in the basement hehehe =) But all in good fun.
Some notable highlights are this:
The equipment supplied in game was well placed and in large enough quantity to promote a 'happy game environment' and with enough variety to accomodate any class at any level. My first play through I started at a level one, and managed to survive, barely, but hey... wouldn't be much of a survival horror if it wasn't barely. I still found it largely enjoyable as a level 5cleric/level 5 rogue. Not too hard, definately not too easy.
The atmosphere was outstanding, and the bits of background story were tantalizing... Definately makes you want to know more... see more... Gosh I do hope you stay in Ravenloft a while. I always enjoy Ravenloft Mods, and this one was truly top notch!
Thank you sincerely for sharing your time, effort and certainly your talent with the community! _________________________ Stupidity kills people.
Nothing Good comes from ignorance.
Knowledge is power that is useless with out the wisdom to use it properly.
Whewwww! I thought a mind flayer was making you say evil things before.(Just kidding.) Thank you so much. I take full attention to the door and the vampire ghost form end results. I will correct these in future mods.
Frustrating the players (you) is not cool or my intention. Sorry for that.
PS. Count Strahd von Zarovich will be sending you a bill for the smashed door. :) I'd pay if I were you. _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Actually, I did like the mod; it had great visuals, a nice creepy atmosphere, and some interesting fights. It was short, but that's cool. Overall I would not call it sloppy; but there are a few specific things that came across as sloppy, such as doors that don't work properly.
Sometimes the details make all the difference. As an example, for that door in the cellar, simply making it a plot door that can't be bashed or unlocked tells the player that you, the author, intended it to be unusable. If you want the player to spend the time breaking down the door and then be frustrated, maybe put an effect that knocks them down as they try to leave through it. Again, it makes it clear that you intended it to happen, rather than leave the player wondering if it's a bug or not.
You're obviously a very talented author, as evidenced by your previous entries. You have a real knack for telling a story, and for making a good visual experience. Gatekeepers Crystal, in my opinion, would be a HOF level mod if some of the details were ironed out.
Thanks for the comments RyanC08. I shall put your helpful criti towards my next endeavor and the revisement of this one. Back to the drawing board. :) _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Greetings, Ken. I really liked your ideas for this module, especially the raven at the starting talking to you. I actually said 'cool!' out loud. There seemed to be a few major bugs, however. You stated that the character should be at least level ten, so I played with a level 14 paladin. The zombies at the starting house (which I thought were scary and cool) instantly died, only taking one hit each. I was thinking "OOh, this is too easy...". But, when I went to the mansion and starting fighting shadows and the Mindflayers, (Which were my all time favorite! I love how they looked like the DND 3.5 rulebook ones. I never really liked the Bioware version anyways!) my paladin had a really tough time! I never could beat Strahd, because he was so tough. Mind you, I came into the mod armed with 20 potions of cure critical wounds, a +4 sword that dealt 1d4 Divine damage to evil-aligned creatures, AND really good armor. I believe that with better enemy scaling, a more involving storyline (developing the raven plot could have been really cool, like he gives you background info on Strahd, or maybe he's your guardian, just to name a few...) this module could really shine. I'm going to refrain from voting, because I don't want to hurt your score, and I'll play the future ones, and look forward to them! Kudos!
-Ryan
Don't get me wrong, I hear you. I remember all the helpful suggestions you gave on my other mods. I just don't get why you don't see the improvement, from then to now.
--------------------------------------
I did discover a great vampire system wich I will use in the future mods :)
---------------------------------------
Everything works in the mod. I know because I had 30 plus people I know play it. But I can see where past mistakes of mine might be haunting you. Asking yourself is that a bug or did he do that on purpose?
--------------------------------------
With the door in the cellar I was trying to create a hopeless feeling. Great! The way out is gone. I could and will make it a plot door from now on.
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Yes. Certain parts of the game, once you make a choice, does not allow you to go back. That was the whole idea. To make the player wonder if he missed anything. To make him go back and play it again. That's one of the reasons the mod is so short. We all know, we pick things up we did not see the first time.
--------------------------------------
Do you really think the mod was sloppy because of the cellar door and the vampires floating around? What about all the other features? Story and encounters?
-------------------------------------
There were items in the mod for all classes. I know, because I put them there. True enough a mage, or a druid may have a hard time of it, but it would be more challenging.
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Last but not least, you said you don't want me to take offense to your comments. Comment 4 says a LOT of people had problems with playability with other mods I made. I don't think 10 people out of 680 constitutes as a lot. However I did listen to those 10 people (You being one of them) and made fixes. The last comment, was to me a stab. Because if I am not reading it correctly please tell me. You are saying the mod was sloppy. You beat around the bush, but that's what I am seeing. So be it. We all have our opinion. I now know yours. LOT in caps was overkill too. Have a great day.
_________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
First to Attorman. I know the mod is short. It's just a prelude to the bigger mod yet to come any day now. That's the one that has Drizzt Do'Urden! :)
RyanC08 :) Good to hear from you. I hope you like it. It's short and sweet, but scary! _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
1. Understandable; the issue with the door may well be out of your control; was just mentioning it.
2. If by "areas" you mean parts of the first area, then okay. Had no trouble picking stuff up; though I would suggest some variety. Most of the stuff seemed pretty centered around warrior types.
3. Vampire gas forms... does each vamp have his own unique coffin, or are all the coffins named the same?
4. Bear in mind that you wrote the mod, so you know exactly where everything is and what works. You probably built the mod on the same machine where you're playing. It's of course possible that there is something about my machine that stops it from working; but it's just as possible that there is something on your machine that makes it work. Recall that on your other mods, a LOT of people had issues with playability.
5. Agree, walkthrough is not necessary.
6. Understand that door in cellar leading up is meant to be unusable; so make it a plot door so that the player doesn't spend the time breaking it and then wondering if the fact that he can't use the door is a bug or intentional. It's one check box :) Also, if the player decides to go down into the cellar before going upstairs (no reason not to) then you've essentially cut him off from 1/6 of your mod :)
7. Not a big deal, no; but generally when you leave options that don't actually work it comes off as sloppy work.
The door leading into the cellar is suppose to be unuseable. One you walk in, that's it. There is another exit, if you find it that is.
No respawn in the game, so remove the option? Is it really that big of a deal? It takes a second to click the button and move on. I wanted players to see the death of their character(By hitting H full screen method) makes a nice screen shot. Sort of the Resident Evil player death.
Hope this helps. Just wanted to touch these, for I made no mention in the above comments. Have a great!!!! _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
First off, no disrespect taken. The mess I had up before would have made me smash my computer in frustation. " Hulk mad! Hulk smash!" I cleaned that up.
*More easy links and hak posted everyone! Sorry!*
I promise for the future, no more posting mods on the Vault at 5:00 am before going to work. :)
Please Shuurai when posting comments about the actual indepth game play of the mod, post.....SPOILERS!!!! You don't want to jump through hoops, (understandable.) I don't want contents of the mod being made public without people actually playing it. Thank you.
Your issues.
SPOILERS!!!!!!(Kind of.)
1)Mansion door on top floor does work. You have to aim the cursor on the gargoyle above the door to make it so number 1. I don't know why. Going to have to ask Lord of Worms about that.
2) There are many areas to explore. Outside the Manor. The crypt is just one. I seem to remember a house burining off in the distance. There is a well. Another graveyard off to the east. The Svalich Woods themselves. All items can be picked up. Just aim that cursor baby!
3)The vampires gas forms. These puppies are tricky. They seem to have a mind of their own. I have seen them go in search of a coffin with one right in front of them. Correct tags given and all!
4) I played the mod 8 times before posting it. It's finished and playable.
5) A walk through seemed not needed, because of the size of the mod. It's pretty basic. Hard to get lost. I need no one to do anything for me. I'm a big boy. I can handle it.
With that being said Shuurai. I think you were a little frustated because of the download mess. I do take my mod making serriously, but at the same time the aim here is to have fun. So take a deep breath and go kill some vampires!
Respectfully yours,
-Kenneth J. La Mella _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
Though the mod has the same title as the book, no it is not the same content as the book. It is pure Ravenloft mythology though. As for not telling what the mods about, read the above mentioned comments. Not just the quote. I will tell you this much. The mists have swept you to Ravenloft. _________________________ Farewell and a long farewell it shall be. Some of us are not destined to meet again.
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