Ranked #4 in Obsidian mod contest. Updated with new ending! Play as twins of ANY name!
Mask of the Betrayer expansion not required.
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Taking a winding path through a dark forest, you come to the Tower of the White Wizard rising majestically before you. As you enter, you are swept onto a quest that will spell the fate of a whole community. Will you succeed, and get out with the tale you know will make you famous throughout Faerun?
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This mod was originally designed (in 26 days) for the first Obsidian mod contest held in May. The contest�s theme was �The Grimm Tales�. This mod like all contest mods, is a relatively short one, one that makes for a good evening�s diversion from playing some of the larger mods out there.
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The tales known as the Grimm Tales, which are some of the best known folk tales in the world, were collected (and enhanced) by two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, during their travels in 19th century Germany.
In Daark Twins, you play as one half of Faerun�s answer to the Grimm Brothers, as they hunt for the tale that would later make their fame from the Sword Coast all the way to Thay. This tale is known as The Wizard and his Creation.
The Wizard and his Creation, like most popular tales, tells more than it seems to do on the surface. And like these types of tales tend to do, it holds a moral, one you may or may not agree with.
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FEATURES
Appealing exterior and interior areas, non-traditional combat and gameplay, original creatures, amusing dialogue, official campaign player death system, a devious (but optional) gnomish puzzle, at least two possible end games, and a very special guest star.
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NOTICE
In spite of the new features in this version (see VERSION NOTES below), I still recommend you play with the included Jakob Daark character file, or with a level 5 human.
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THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING
One morning, one much like any other for them, the Daark Twins, tellers and gatherers extraordinaire of Faerun�s most mysterious, most fantastic tales, set out from the hamlet of Anaatnas on the north-western edge of Cormyr's Hullack Forest, bound for the Tower of the White Wizard.
Popular tales in this part of the land vary in their accounts of the White Wizard, but they all hint at strange happenings in the Tower. No one the Twins had met in and around Anaatnas had actually been to the Tower or seen it firsthand. While the Daark Twins do not know what to expect, they are convinced their visit will yield a tale to remember� and tell, again and again and again.
Finally, after wandering through the darkening woods, at times taking one path of a fork only to come back to it half a league later, they came to a clearing.
Across the clearing, standing next to a small cabin, they saw a bent, old woman beckoning to them.
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THE MEANING OF THE STORY
The main story is a loose allegory about the creation of the NWN2 game itself, the conditions of its initial release and the community that has formed around it. There are many references to these aspects of the game, some obscure, others much less subtle. The ending moral could be taken as a commentary on the game (not from me though ;) ) and should be familiar to many NWN2 fans�
A copy of NWN2 is required to play and enjoy, as well as a taste for a bit of (very affectionate) irreverence...:). That said, the module can be enjoyed in its own right, without comprehension of the references it contains.
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VERSION NOTES
V1.21:
- Fixed a bug that prevented end game from firing in specific circumstances.
V1.2:
- New, more challenging, more climactic ending.
- Play with any character, with any last name (level 5 recommended): your twin will be of the opposite sex and take your last name. Conversations will reflect your names properly.
- UNSUPPORTED FEATURE: If you decide to play with an elf, dwarf, halfling, half-orc, half-elf or gnome then your twin will take on the appearance of the base race of your PC ( e.g. drow will get a basic elf twin. Sorry, outsiders not supported.). This adjusts the appearance of the twin only, not its stats sheet. Current functions make more precise matching too burdensome.
- A few other tweaks, updates and enhancements.
V1.1:
- Added companion conversation and �diary-type� journal
- fixed the �Wizard conversation failed to advance quest status� bug, otherwise known as the Starwars bug (named in honor of the one who first informed me of it :) )
- made a few other behind-the-scenes modifications and other small enhancements
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I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN PLAYING THIS MOD. PLEASE COME BACK AND VOTE ONCE YOU ARE DONE. THANKS!
Okay - that was pretty funny. :D The tower was very nice, too. Although I must say that I probably liked the beginning area the most. Still, I enjoyed the "arena challenge" (fun stuff) as well as the puzzle. And the inside areas looked good, too, and had nice little touches in them. Also, the final battle (in my case) was quite exciting. All in all, this was really enjoyable. I'd love to see more stuff from the author. I believe he's now working with jackyo123 on Nestlehaven II..? Perhaps among other things. In any case, I look forward to his future contributions to the community. One important question, though, of course: Is there a chance that there'll be more adventures made for Jakob (and Whilma)? If yes, I'll save the character for that. If not, I might take him looking for stories who knows where on Faerûn. :) Thanks again for building this excellent mod. It is excellent - recommended to anyone. Cheers, Lariam _________________________ Forgotten Realms Weave
Posted by Lariam at on08/04/07
Just wanted to say that I started playing this one, and thus far I'm really impressed. I really like the idea behind the characters - the "brothers Grimm" of Faerûn. The characters seem to be really well designed, they have all the appropriate feats, etc. They look pretty good (or appropriate, anyway), too. And thus far their dialogue has been a pleasure to read. The writing in the mod seems to be good. The first area, at least, looks very good, too. The little details seem awesome. Like the wolves mentioned by Berliad. I just got over the water, and will be delighted to find the opportunity to continue playing. Anyway, as I have no objections to mods being short, and as I assume that the level of quality will stay on the same level, I'm pretty confident that this mod is underrated, in my opinion. I'll comment more and vote when I'm done. Oh, two little things... **** MINOR SPOILERS **** In the beginning, Wilma (was that her name) has Jakob's robes in her inventory. Jakob has similar ones, but without the distinctive description. Secondly, at the lake, the description of the "zombie-fellas", after they've been appropriately transformed (very nice effect, by the way!), says that they're 'typical commoners'. I wouldn't say so! ;) **** END OF MINOR SPOILERS **** Thanks for making this mod & cheers! Lariam _________________________ Forgotten Realms Weave
Posted by Aredhel371 at on08/01/07
Almost completely agree with the review of Berliad. So although I don't like being played by a storyteller that much, I liked the atmosphere here and the (partially) excellent area design. I even adopted Jakob Daark somehow in that I'll play him from time to time in other mods! ;-) _________________________ Aka Gront0307 - because of a second adress..;-)
Posted by PfcJs at on07/26/07
I enjoyed playing this module. I liked the atmosphere and the characters. It was a change for me to play a non tank character. Thanks again.
Posted by AshRosen at on07/22/07
Despite fairly good area design, the quick-paced linearity of this module is almost insulting to the intelligence of those who play it. There is literally zero challenge involved, despite the fact that the pregenerated character, Jakob, has virtually no spells that deal any damage. There is one puzzle, which can be solved with two clicks. A four year old could have completed this module. The story was less than engrossing, and I found very little reason to care about any of the characters, or the mission. Most dialog consisted of two options (if that) and both options were more or less the same things worded differently. Although others complained that they didn't want to use a pregenerated character, I didn't find this to be a problem. HOWEVER. I will say, that under the restrictions of the contest and the time in which this was completed, I cannot give it a completely negative review, as it still shows effort and promise, and careful consideration seems to have been given, at the very least, to the environment, which was suitably immersive. My rating is 5: Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable.
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2007-07-2008:31:46
Thank you very much jackyo123 for your comments and vote! I'm really happy you enjoyed my mod! _________________________ E.C.Patterson Gaming Parents Studios Trinity, the NWN2 adventure : Download now.
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2007-07-2008:29:47
Thank you very much Berliad for your eloquent review and thank you for playing Daark Twins. I?m very happy you enjoyed it. Version 1.2 of Daark Twins will include a more climactic, challenging ending. I plan to release it a few days after I return from vacation, August 7. _________________________ E.C.Patterson Gaming Parents Studios Trinity, the NWN2 adventure : Download now.
Posted by Berliad at on07/19/07
My Vote: 7 - Deserves a Look Character: included character, lv. 5 wizard Jacob Daark. Module version played: v.1.1, released 23 June 2007 There haven't been very many modules for NWN2 that have deviated from the standard hack 'em up plus story rpg standard. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the traditional rpg's, but it is nice to play modules that march off the beaten path now and then. Daark Twins is one of those modules. It's essentially linear, though there are a few possible endings to the module. But it essentially plays out as a series of challenges. Some of these do involve combat, but others involve either puzzles or tough decisions. What holds it all together are a decent little story (with a surprising punch line), as well as absolutely superb area design. Attention to detail is fantastic. Walking through the forests, you'll see wolves scamper out of your way and run down a wildlife trail. And some of the visuals in this module are spectacular, especially the exterior area (there's a castle on an island in the middle of a lake that is simply breathtaking). There is also a beautiful puzzle that makes great use of the visual effects editor (I'm guessing). The writing is also very good. The only real critique I have of the module is that it seems to end just as it begins. Granted, it is a contest module, and therefore had to be short to satisfy the contest rules, not to mention the limited time in which it was built. But after everything one works to do to get to the ending, the final encounter was rather anticlimatic. And even though the ending of the tale is surprising and unexpected, I still didn't feel completely satisfied after playing it. That said, it's still absolutely worth a look. It's polished, enjoyable, and perhaps best of all, different. Thanks for sharing the module, and I hope to play something more of yours in the future! -B _________________________ My NWN Blog FRW Character Creator
Posted by DaveFritz at 2007-07-1911:02:45
Hi, E.C., Thanks for the hint. I'm back after playing "Grimm Brigade" and going again. I did run into an oddity. After the kids gave up, Whilma kept on fighting them. I had to put her in "Follow" mode to get her to stop. The kids showed as non-hostile by then, but she kept on going. Cheers, Dave
Posted by E.C.Patterson at 2007-07-1715:08:08
Hi DaveFritz! Thanks for playing the mod! Here's a tip: ***MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING*** Whilma has spells that can effectively summon a third companion... Jakob can have them rolling on the floor laughing. With that and a few well placed rapier and staff hits, it should not be a problem. Besides, these guys are not fanatic enough to die for this Creation? ***END OF SPOILER*** Good luck! _________________________ E.C.Patterson Gaming Parents Studios Trinity, the NWN2 adventure : Download now.
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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