Daleland mothers tell bed-time tales of a Witch who lives in the wood, a malevolent creature more animal than human that eats careless children who become lost in her woods. Some dismiss these tales as the fanciful stories of old wives designed to frighten mischievous children into obedience, while others point out that even the most fantastic tales often contain a kernel of truth, and surely the dark, untrodden forests of the Dales hold many hidden dangers. As a traveler of these woods, you are about to discover what truth lies behind these tales.
This is a re-visioning of a classic Grimm's Fairy Tale, set in the Forgotten Realms. This means that the unexpected can and will happen, so even if you are familiar with the tale in question, you are definitely not familiar with this version. Think of this as an alternate never-before-told version of a classic.
Enjoy.
Changes to Ver 1-0-1
*Fixed problem with merchant not working
*Fixed some typos
Nice fairy tale, though confusing as where to start. Got off track several times. Almost didn't finish. Would give 7.00 if it weren't a contest module and I didn't want to mess up final standings. _________________________ The road to Ravenloft is paved with good intentions.
Posted by Steph09 at 2007-11-08 15:33:35 Voted 8.50 on 11/08/07
Yes the forest (decor and sounds) is great ! Grimm and nice tale.
Posted by Jorlemayne at 2007-10-21 10:04:55 Voted 6.00 on 10/21/07
Good to kill a half hour with.
Posted by Nadri at 2007-08-31 16:14:22 Voted 7.50 on 08/31/07
Very enjoyable module. Short as hell, though.
Posted by redqueen at 2007-08-28 05:00:17 Voted 8.00 on 08/28/07
Beautifully done areas. I liked that the forest was actually forest-like, for once. I was a little disappointed that, since jacob said they had 'scrolls and books', he didn't have any books in stock, but finding the books in the witch's cabin was a real treat. I must've read the complete collection of grimm's fifteen times in my life, and I never get tired of them. I LOVED how you could flatten the witch--that was an excellent touch, really well-implemented. And the special shears and the helpful bird were very grimm-like touches. Like most people who've commented, I wish it'd been longer, but I understand it was for a contest and there were time limits. The battle with the ogres seemed a bit superfluous, but gave my ranger something to do besides tracking down the kids. The kids were nicely done--fleshed out well in a very brief time. _________________________ They say the Prince of Darkness is a gentleman, and as it turns out, they're right. A fine gentleman.
Posted by fardoche77 at 2007-06-28 13:13:59 Voted 7.25 on 06/28/07
I agree with almost everything that has been said here. More roleplaying opportunities would be nice. Anyway, this mod is very enjoyable, with nice custom scripting, but the ending was a big let down *** spoiler***: cutting through a hedge was somewhat anti-climatic, don't you think?
Posted by romeo_longsword at 2007-06-26 21:26:01 Voted 5.00 on 06/26/07
*SPOILER*
It�s a rather �sweet� moduel.
I played a ranger at level 4 through the game, I felt the story was quite interesting, but even provided different dialog options, it�s still rather liner and straight forward, and there was nothing twisty about it the story and game flow.
There was one point that I suspect the children were evil or something, and that they had taken the home of the first witch they have killed, making them the new witches in the woods. That thought creeps me out; I think something could be developed from that direction to give it more a twist.
The dialog could also be improved a bit more as well, to repeat constantly of what the person just said in a question, such as �Witch?� �Oven?� was rather annoying.
And of course the presentation could be improved on, you are placed in the middle of a road at the start, talking to old man, agreed to help him, get kids, walk back to old man, a man ran right after you asking you to tell the story that isn�t that long. To me, there is lacking of �drama� there, and there are plenty of rooms to develop.
_________________________ "I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae, a han noston ned 'wilith."
Posted by The Ridge at 2007-06-19 17:20:00 Voted 8.25 on 06/19/07
Fun but fast adventure. Played my favorite ranger, as suggested and was impressed. The area designs were top notch and the story fun as well. I enjoyed what little there was so much, that I wished there had been more.
One of the things missing from NWN2 are "class based" adventures, and Lord Niah sets a great example of what can be done with the toolset in this aspect.
-R _________________________ NWN2 Voting Standards
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking
9 - Outstanding, a Must Have
8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone
7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look
6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation
5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable
4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements
3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized
2 - Very Little Appeal
1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
Posted by shaughn at 2007-06-19 08:11:54 Voted 6.50 on 06/19/07
Good mod. like the search checks on the placables throughout the woods.
Posted by Aredhel371 at 2007-06-19 07:07:53 Voted 7.50 on 06/19/07
Most I could say is already said. Very creative ideas, by far too short and rather simple retelling of the story.
So in the end I thought you did exaggerate a little bit when claiming "Think of this as an alternate never-before-told version of a classic."
Nice to play anyway though. _________________________ Aka Gront0307 - because of a second adress..;-)
Posted by sad_eyed at 2007-06-18 09:24:24 Voted 8.25 on 06/18/07
This is short and sweet. I especially appreciated the wry humor and the many small touches of, well, genius, like the search system and the "special" items.
Oh, and a wood that actually does look like a wood was great, too.
Posted by Juan Valera at 2007-06-16 08:54:32 Voted 8.00 on 06/16/07
Interesting module to play. Very good use of the abilities of the ranger.
Damn mephit!! I didn´t know how to kill it.
Posted by Joeborg at 2007-06-02 11:56:37 Voted 8.00 on 06/02/07
A bit short but I dug the sarcastic little tikes. I liked the humorous spin on an old tale.
Posted by theobeau at 2007-05-19 18:03:59 Voted 7.75 on 05/19/07
I really enjoyed the look and style of this small mod (completed with a Wood elf Ranger3/rogue2-> no levelling)
Pros:
* The forest environment stands out against the large number of generic woods and trees of the OC.
*The extra bonuses that could be dug out with a little bit of effort on the player's part was a nice touch.
* The rolling pin was a lot of fun
* Fitted nicely to the "Grimm/Fable" world.
Cons:
* It was very short for all the great design
However, if it's well crafted exteriors are a guide, I am looking forward to your future works.
Thanks for the votes and comments. It is true this is a little on the short side. I actually only spent about two weeks on building and about another week on testing and some additional building. Working under the time constraints was good practice, though (and fun).
BTW, Dr_Sascha, thanks for the vote increase :) I am actually pretty astonished by the overall quality of these contest mods, even though many are on the short side. Hopefully we will see more full length modules from these same authors in the coming months.
Posted by Dr_Sascha at 2007-05-18 15:24:58 Voted 6.50 on 05/18/07
After playing some of the other Content mods I have to rise the vote.
Posted by gooler at 2007-05-18 04:34:02 Voted 6.75 on 05/18/07
fair
Posted by flem at 2007-05-18 02:56:12 Voted 6.00 on 05/18/07
Plus: Beautiful and careful area design. Nice detail in the items (including use of default examining), etc. Clever flattening effect. Companion conversations!
Minus: Very short -- not much to it. Also, some stray slipups like wierd line breaks in the Grimm books (and no way to give the tales back to the brothers).
Can't wait to see this kind of outdoor area in one of the author's real mods.
Yeah, the shrubs can be annoying if you try to hack through them. There are two other ways past them, one of which I hope at least some people discovered (i.e. the bird...).
Posted by Lariam at 2007-05-15 04:11:42 Voted 8.25
About the shrubs... I take it that there are three ways to deal with the Shrubs. I guess I was fortunate enough to find one of the non-annoying ways, then, as cutting them didn't take any time, at all, in my case.
@Dal: the books you find are actually some tales from the Brother's Grimm. They are not as well known, but I decided to add them for flavor. I was also considering a little side quest involving them, but never got around to adding it.
Posted by Berliad at 2007-05-08 21:26:39 Voted 6.00 on 05/08/07
A few specific comments to the author (spoilers!!!):
* I liked that you included so many fairy-tale books, but it seems like the formatting got messed up in the copy-and-paste process with some of them. There are carriage returns in inappropriate places, etc. Still legible, of course.
* The rolling-pin effect was hysterical. I was a bit bummed that it made the final battle so easy, though I guess I could have just decided not to use it!
* I never quite figured out what to do with the magnifying glass, but the hedge trimmers certainly came in handy.
Posted by Berliad at 2007-05-08 21:25:46 Voted 6.00 on 05/08/07
My vote: 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation
Character: lv. 4 chaotic good wood elf ranger
Witch in the Woods is a very short, but still enjoyable little adventure. While it is more true to the classic tale it is based on than some of the other contest modules, it still takes liberties with the story to spice things up a bit. As the readme indicates, the best fit for this module is a ranger, as essentially you are tasked with tracking down two lost kids and saving them from whatever fate has befallen them.
The highlight of this module is its custom scripting, which includes an interesting "search" system in which you can check an object (like a hollow tree stump) for items or other bonuses using your search skill, as well as a few special-use items. It's a nice variant from the typical "click to open and loot" approach that is the default in nwn2, especially in this setting (a forest). The writing is good, and the plot is decent even in its brevity, with a (sometimes humorous) twist or two to keep it interesting. The action was fairly easy for my ranger (a level-3 character might have been better balanced), but I like that what combat is there fits the setting, without any obvious "filler." Finally, the area design is fantastic. The author makes great use of scaling to create a gigantic redwood backdrop, beneath which lies a thick understory. When coupled with the ambient noises of an untouched wilderness, the module gives a great sense of walking through a thick forest.
The reason I "only" give it a qualified recommendation is that, at about a half-hour of game time, it is such a short module; it seemed to just be gaining some momentum by the time that it ended. You could probably describe the whole module as something that would make for a fun little side-quest in a larger adventure. I understand the constraints that the author worked under, of course, so this is understandable. But one thing that might have made this module more enjoyable is if the tracking phase of the module had a bit more meat to it. As it is, while there is some effort to include spot checks for signs of the kids, you basically just stumble upon the children. Perhaps if something more akin to the tracking system used in Kale's Rangers (NWN1), or even the "chase-the-odor" sequence in Stormchaser, had been used, it might have been a bit more dramatic when one finally locates the house.
Overall, though, it's a fun little module and is worth checking out, as long as you are aware of its limitations. _________________________ My NWN Blog FRW Character Creator
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking 9 - Outstanding, a Must Have 8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone 7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation 5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable 4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements 3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized 2 - Very Little Appeal 1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
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