These files are no longer being monitored or supported. For the most current version, see:
Link
All further updates and issues will be addressed there.
The Subtlety of Thay, an adventure for characters level 3 to 5...
"It only takes one man to change history, one man to spark the fires of a cataclysm. This has been
a universal truth since the dawn of time. Tensions are high on both sides of the Watchwall, and an uneasy truce
has developed between the lands of Thay and Aglarond. It only takes one man to destroy that truce...and he will gaze
out at the world from atop a mountain of corpses, and those closest to the flame that sparked that will be consumed. That
is a fact. Of course, it will only take one to change that fact...
Will you?"
The Subtlety of Thay is a single player campaign spanning roughly 8 hours for characters starting from levels 3 to 5, of any
race and class. Challenge will depend on a number of factors, from class, ECL race, and skill level.
Installation:
-------------
This is a little different than NWN1.
When you extract the files from the archive (.rar file you downloaded), you need to do two things. It's absolutely important that you install
this correctly or it won't work properly and you're likely to run into a lot of bugs, even if you don't notice right away.
The folder called "The Subtlety of Thay" goes into your Neverwinter Nights 2/campaigns folder. This folder is found either where you installed the
game, or under the My Documents area of your computer. The default location of each is C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\Campaigns (there's also usually
a link to it in your start menu), and for the other location C:\Program Files/Neverwinter Nights 2\Campaigns. If you installed it elsewhere or moved the
path to My Documents, you probably don't need my help with that.
The two .mod files, called typart1.mod and typart2.mod go in the modules folder. This is in the same directory as the campaign folder, just a little
lower down the list.
To start a new game, start NWN2 and click the "New Campaigns" button. If you're starting it from the "New Modules" button, you're doing it wrong.
Also, I highly suggest using the Program Files location. On some computers, mine included, the My Documents location doesn't work. If you installed it as
above and you're having problems, you're probably one of those people. You'll know you did it right if the campaigns folder contains the OC folder, and
the modules folder contains a dozen or so modules that start with the number 0 and bear a remarkable resemblance in name to some of the locations found in
the OC.
v1.13+
-----
The folder named SoTOverride goes into your override folder, located in C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\OVerride or C:\Program
Files\Neverwinter Nights 2\Override, or whever you installed the game. This is required to view the updated models being utilized throughout the next and
further chapters of the campaign. The reason I chose an override instead of a hak or campaign folder is simply because you can carry the items with you to
different modules and not have to view a floppy hat or box with a question mark. It will not override any of the base Obsidian models in either the OC or
expansion.
Note on the override:
A lot of people hate on this folder like it's a bad thing to use; it's not, when builders use it responsibly. As always, empty it before patching the game
to avoid problems! But for things like this, it's relatively harmless and allows builders a lot of flexibility as well as allowing you, the player, to use,
for instance, the items I've spent countless hours making and to actually see the models created by the talented community in the hands of the PC instead of
watching all the NPCs looking all bad while you're stuck with the default stuff.
Things to know for character design:
------------------------------------
-Nearly every skill is used at some point in the campaign. For instance, a high lore skill will allow your character dialogue options
that account for knowing, ironically, a lot of lore about the world and facts about the world around them. Likewise, diplomacy can convince
others to do what you want them to, and you can scare them into doing what you want with Intimidate. However, these checks are hidden, so pay
attention to your conversation options.
-Alignments shifts are fairly frequent, and result from either your words or your actions. If you want to play a Paladin, you'll probably have to
limit your ruthless murdering. There is also Neutral shifts. They look odd in the game, but are always accompanied by a final "your alignment has shifted
towards neutral. You should also be careful how you speak to strangers, because your companions might not like the way you treat people either!
-You get XP for you or your companions unlocking objects and disarming traps, as well as successful skill checks. A skilled character can bypass a lot
of combat and still get rewards where an unskilled character couldn't, if you are diligent in seeking out places to test yourself.
-Companions can be multiclassed, as well as influenced by your actions and words. You can control this through dialogue. If they ask for your advice,
being harsh will result in them shifting towards evil, and telling them to be more free spirited will make them chaotic, for example, as well as unlocking
hidden classes for them to take when they level up. Talk to them frequently, they have things to say about the area you are in or new dialogue based off
of how much they like you, and to check to see if they have any new classes available that might be helpful to you. They are also gender neutral, meaning
that they will react to you regardless of who your character is.
-There are over 200 custom items in the campaign. Not all are available in stores and can be found randomly in treasure. There are also many new and
useful potions and wands available in stores. Take advantage of these, a potion of Mage Armor can mean the difference between life and death in a deep
and unforgiving dungeon, especially since it's not safe to rest everywhere.
-At the same time, though, stores don't sell everything under the sun. A character with a specialized weapon may not be able to find their preferred
weapon immediately, and since the treasure is random, perhaps never. You may have to look to other, less legal, merchants that find goods from far away
lands...
-There are some dungeons that once you enter, the only escape is forward, and sidequests can't be completed past certain points in the timeline. Always
be prepared when you enter a new area, you never know what you'll face and having a stock of helpful items and items to bypass damage resistance will save
your life. Saving often is also recommended.
-Some sidequests block off other sidequests. This is especially true in upcoming releases for the series. If you want to experience the full game, you'll
have to play at least twice!
-For a balanced character, try Berliad's character creator. Since this campaign is part of the Forgotten Realms Weave, it is balanced around the same
standards used by his character creator.
Hi, this is dirtywick. Thanks for downloading and playing my campaign. It wasn't all me, though. The people over at the NWCitadel(http://nwcitadel.com/forums/index.php?styleid=18&Itemid=54)
helped me test the mod out and gave a lot of useful suggestions for improving it. So, here goes the list: Thanks to Phoenixus for a lot of general help,
Lord Niah for helping with his base mod and scripting, Mungo_D for the spellchecking, Aristan for extensive testing, Anduraga for the same, and everyone else
that supported or took an interest. Especially to those cats reading my blog, much love goes out to you as well. Also thanks to Montgomery Markland from
Rogue Dao, be sure to check their drop when it's ready. Thanks goes out to the BiObsidian boards for any scripting and toolset help. Thanks goes out to
Patcha for the sitting system used by the FRW Base Mod. I also bookmarked this secret door script I saw on the scripting board that I lost when I got a
new OS on the computer, so sorry to not name you but I love ya all the same! And finally, thanks to WOTC and Gary Gygax for putting together this tremendous
game and world we all love, holla at me!
Thanks to all of the authors of the work that are a part of the item model compilation:
Adonnay's Elven Weaponry - Adonnay
Coat of Arms & Cloak Packs - Wild Bill
Hatsplosion! Hat & Helmet Pack, My Samurai is Fight! Japanese armor & clothing v1.01 - Schazzwozzer
ATShield Set - SilkD
Get Shady, Get Your Skull On - Komuro
Alauris's Crown, Alauris's Equipment - zpirit
Death Dealer Helm - Cyric_the_Dark
Ar_Pharazon's Elven/Paladin Helm, Drow Evil Long Sword - Ar_Pharazon
Fey's Spear model pack, Auril's Shield of Ascendance - Feydakin
Stormfury and Requiem - Deavron
Scimitar Models *Override* - Escrimator
MWM Dragon ShortBow Hak - MWMDragon
Assassin's dagger - Vanlhok Rokdhur
Zpirit's Shield Pack - zpirit
Arsan Hood - Arsan
NWCitadel: Link Forgotten Realms Weave: Link Rogue Dao: Link BiObsidian: Link
Version History:
----------------
v1.14
-----
Fixed final battle bug with new MotB classes
v1.13
-----
Mask of the Betrayer Required!
Updated many of the scripts and items to include new base classes.
Fixed several small bugs introduced from the expansion.
Added custom models for many of the weapons, override required to view them.
v1.12
-----
Fixed double bug at the watchwall camp.
Tweaked the lighting a bit in some problem areas.
Fixed (hopefully) the disappearing henchmen bug in a certain area after a save.
Fixed a few very small issues.
v1.11
-----
Well, I think I got the final bug in the Watchwall camp sequence, finally.
Changed a few item icons.
v1.10
-----
Fixed (hopefully) the gate bug locking up.
Switched to patch 1.6, everything seems to be working fine so why not.
v1.9
----
Few more isolated bug fixes. Next stop, typos!
v1.8
----
Added a few failsafe's for a few bugs
v1.7
----
Few polish fixes, nothing huge.
v1.6
----
Merged the hotfix and v1.5
Added a few new items to some stores
Few changes to the random loot system
v1.5
----
Revamped the rest system. Limited rest areas now track how many times you've rested, not
how many times you've entered the room.
v1.4
----
Several conversation bugs were fixed.
The museum archive is no longer bashable, so the plot makes sense now! Yay!
Paladins got hosed in the final encounter because of a bad script. Not anymore.
The rest system was problematic. Added a floating message above the player to make it
more obvious which areas are restable and which aren't.
v1.3
----
Reduced likelyhood of crash when mindflayers use their crazy attacks!
Fixed three dialogues that weren't working properly.
v1.2
----
Game breaking cutscene bug is erratic. Added a few safeguards to prevent it. Since I can't
reproduce the bug, these are in place as an alternative way of firing the cutscene if the
bug presents itself.
There are many aspects of this module that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, there were almost as many aspects of the module that just destroyed the enjoyability factor for me. I note that the author states unequivocally that he enjoys the battles to be tough, and that they are set to be tough. I agree that they are at times extremely tough. My suggestion is that you start with a 4th level PC, maybe even a 5th level PC. To begin with almost every battle with an enemy has the enemy casting some kind of mind affecting spell, which generally speaking causes the party to get killed. I would expect that with that many mind affecting spells being cast that there would be some form of mind protection to purchase, but alas there is not. Therefore, I recommend that you get some form of mind protection before even beginning the campaign, or you will be frustrated beyond belief, and probably not survive many battles. Henchmen: I enjoy the fact that there is a diverse selection of henchmen in the module. However, in the meat of the module, you have absolutely no thief to disable traps or unlock chests. Even when I had the tiefling in my party, it seems that she never made a roll, and had critical failure on almost every trap. Also, regarding the abrupt leaving of henchmen, that seems punishing to the PC. I gave items to the henchmen, ie... healing kits, potions, etc..., then they leave the party with the items. Storyline: The story is excellent at times, but leaves little real choice once you choose a path. I would like SOME choice in what I say once I decided to be good. The bright spot, is that the author is not extremely long winded. But, I will admit that I enjoy a good mix of story and battle. Tilesets: This was the most pleasing part of the module for me. I found the usage of the areas, and re-usage for different battles upon return was very enjoyable. The biggest problem with some of the areas though, is that there is little to no room to move around, and you ultimately get only one or two party members involved in most battles. That definitely detracts from the gameplay. Two perfect examples are the city of Glarondar and the Underdark. Creatures: I am not sure why the author decided to have almost all of the creatures spawn right on top of the party. It seems the spawning scripts could have been much better executed. I understand that some monsters, like the ghosts and spiders can drop from the ceiling, but the constant spawning of the rats in one of the caves, I found most ludicrous. In fact, it was so annoying, I never even attempted to go back and go through the Ilefarn door. Resting: I found this to be the most frustrating part of the entire module. It seems that no matter where you rest outside, it is ALWAYS safe to rest. However, when you completely wipe out all of the enemies in an area, you still get the script "I should find a safe area to rest." This simply makes no sense, and with what amounts to constantly tough battles, there needs to be much more ease on the resting restriction. To be honest, I want to play this module again as an evil character, and see the opposing story line. However, there is no way that I will play this module again, without eliminating the custom resting system. It destroyed the game play that much! Journals: This was a VERY enjoyable aspect of the module. The fact that the author took the time divide each number of the quest, and restate it in the next journal entry with a break was SUPERB. If I were really keeping a journal, that is EXACTLY what it would look like! Miscellaneous: - When the PC is in the Fortress in the Mountain, there are a couple of Duergar that are standing in some sort of summoning or prison circle. They say nothing, and nobody really has anything to say about them. What is the purpose of the Duergar? -At many points despite the fact that the journal style is excellent, there is no direction... ie... instructing the PC on whom to speak with next, or what they need to do in general. -NO WORLD MAP? - The author's use of the Campaign ability was very well done, even making sure that any override will not significantly alter an OC game play. But, WHY? There should be a world map. They are fairly easy to create if you read through the Worl Map creator by Sunjammer. I have already began my delve into the NWN2 tileset, and I HAVE to create a multi-player campaign, because there are just too few out there. The good news Oldirtywick is that you will be able to critique my work as well. I expect that, and know that no matter how much I might enjoy the game play of my Campaign, there will be others who do not. -When many of the hostiles die in the Red Light area, they just die standing up. I realize that is probably not your fault or anything you have any control over, but just making a note of it. -When you enter the town for the first time, it says "The day is early." But, I found it to be night time. -When the party is in the Fortress in the Mountain, the henchmen just unwittingly run through burning lava? That makes no sense. I know that is an AI issue, but can't you block off the lava pit? I mean really, nobody is simply going to run through burning lava, right? I am currently continuing the Campaign in the second module, and experiencing the same frustration with the rest scripts and some other issues as described above, and will give the review on that link. Many may look at this as though I am being highly critical, but I also noticed that there were a great many bugs throughout the module, and that there is no walk through. I saw the author's note on "I thought about a walk through, but said Bah!" That is great for him, because he absolutely knows every aspect of the module, but the truth is that with a simple walk through, you could avoid many time killing issues, that some people just don't have time for.... The result = far more enjoyability for the gamer. Lastly, I will say that you should look at my score of the module. I believe that it is, as the NWN2 Voting Standards indicate, Good, Qualified Recommendation + .50. I feel that is a fair score for the issues that I have presented. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed the module, but as with everything else, I just felt it could have been better. Thank you for your contribution to the community, and I will definitely play the module again, but I will be very mindful of certain game play facets, and I will eliminate the custom resting scripts from the campaign to enhance my own enjoyability.
Posted by Darpaek at on03/07/09
Gamestopping bug: I just killed the beholders in Velp during the Zhent attack and the Simbul showed up to save the day (seriously? You're that guy? Mebbe Drizzt's wandering around somewhere nearby too). I got the cutscene and was tp'd into the guestroom in the palace and the journal says to go to the throne room. There are no new convo's in the throne room. The guards at the front of the palace tell me its off limits and the Simbul is standing outside the front of the palace with a pile of dead beholders around her and no convo options. The city is still in battle mode. I could prolly leave the city (I havent tried) and continue with the Yuirwood part of the game, but I don't really care to. I've been playing this mod on and off for awhile. This is a showstopper bug, but the mod is riddled with other bugs - most of them involving sidequests or workarounds. It seems that every third convo has a typo and half the dialogue just doesn't make sense (maybe you don't speak english natively). There's "hard" combat and then there's throwing mindflayers at lvl 7 characters and beholders at lvl 10. I like "hard" combat as much as the next guy (I still remember the first time I beat the demilich in BG2), but come on. This mod is a giant save/reload fest centered around whether or not you pass a saving throw. And, lousy unbalanced encounters aside, it wouldnt be so completely awful if there were things the player could do counteract some of these unbalances - but the mod doesnt provide the tools for the player to succeed. You have no access to a cleric in the first half of the game and no access to an arcane caster in the second half (besides a bard). There's also no access to a rogue beyond the tiefling that hangs out with you for half a level, except the bard which can be trained as a rogue, but then you lose all access to any arcane magic in the second half of the game. Too many of the combats center around area transitions - so tactics are impossible and you find yourself scrolling into a wall to even see the combat. This mod loves to spawn creatures on top of you - fine, but annoying with the dire rats in the underdark, but ridiculous when it's Zhentish warriors on the streets of a city. The mod loves to use the "unclimbable pile of trash/terrain/wall" to force you into certain fights or making you walk the long way around. And what's up with the area sizes? This mod has two activities: fetch quests and dungeon siege kill em all in a straight line. Is it really necessary for me to spend 5 real time minutes walking from the palace to noble district or through the catacombs? Or all the enormous caravan areas where nothing happens except talking to NPCs? All the custom tiles and objects in the game also slow most of the areas and combats to a crawl. I don't have the best gaming rig in the world, but I did just play Fallout 3 on this computer. There are more parts of this mod that slow to a 2-3 FPS crawl than there aren't. And seeing as this mod loves to drop objects all over the places in giant areas, you have to walk through chairs and tables in pea soup just to get the next fetch quest from a quest giver. The mods idea of hard combat also loves to drown you in a bodies - which are fun until you have dozens of corpses at your feet instead of remains bags and you can't even spin the camera to walk to the next "pile of bodies" encounter. It sucks because someone obviously put a lot of work into this and wanted it to be a cool thing and it really has the potential to do cool stuff. But I could spend all afternoon writing gripes about the numerous and repeated headaches that sap all the fun out of this mod. I'm glad I hit a showstopper bug, because now I can put this aside for something else.
Posted by Blazerking at on03/08/09
There has to be a walk through for this module, isn't there? I am stuck outside the city of Galrandor and cannot get in through the sewer, over rocks or anything. I have covered every square inch, in which I can walk, and I find nothing. A module this long and at times frustrating ought to have a walkthrough. Any help?
Posted by Blazerking at on03/08/09
I read your input on the override, and I do note that I am one of those people that has steered away from some Campaigns, because of the overrides. I am going to download and play this series, because I have heard so many good things about it. But, I am curious, can you put the overrides into the Campaign folder?
Posted by deathangel at 2009-02-1011:01:43
I can't get into the secret room in the museum! The bookcase in front of it resists all my attempts at damaging it any help would be much appreciated. _________________________ Dying's easy Living's hard "Don't fear the dark...fear what's in it." "Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires, but by the removal of desire." -Epictetus (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into (")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination. Check out my stuff at fanfiction.net Link
Posted by dj1 at on01/26/09
Aramil-I started there too. I believe that's where the mod starts. It skips the usual intro banter. The journal entry is the intro. (Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.) _________________________ "In life, one and one don't make two. One and one make one." -The Who "Bargain"
Posted by Aramil89 at 2009-02-0308:30:48
I can't play the mod, 'cause when i start the campain i'm teleported to a cave and a quest named "Found the amulet", or something like that, start... I've downloaded the MotB edition v1.14 and followed all the install instruction. (sorry for possible english errors... -_-')
Posted by dj1 at on01/26/09
!@#$% Looking at my previous post I noticed I never uploaded my comments from my first play through. So... Info: MotB version, Human favored soul leveled from 4 to 7, played through as a FRW pseudo-campaign of Subtlety Thay/Tragidor/Night Howls (I hate waiting for sequels, "part 2's", etc.) Also took Tanithiel along for the ride (a bit of a cheat balance-wise). I can't give a tech critique except to say it ran flawlessly. Even with several overrides (SOC, Charlies UI/Item-mod/Appearance, several modded 2das and my own turn-undead scripts for classes and items). Story-wise it doesn't waste time with any generic "I got a job for you". I loved starting right in the lair and in the story. The "what brought me to this" intro was far more immersing than any over-used start. It has plenty for everyone (RP, combat, tricks and traps) and it still manages to segue smoothly from circumstance to circumstance (a lot of others fail at this). I can't say it was unique or groundbreaking, but it's definitely a must-have for everyone. On to part 2! _________________________ "In life, one and one don't make two. One and one make one." -The Who "Bargain"
Posted by dj1 at on01/26/09
This mod was outstanding in single player so my wife and I had a try in multi. We try all great mods in multi because several still work (like Tragidor, I always plug that one). That said, this one did not. The first areas ran great, but upon reaching the town, nothing fires for all players. It seems to pick a random player for quest and journal updates leaving some impossible to complete for the other PCs. Oh well, it was still awesome in single. Just a note for other multiplayers considering it. _________________________ "In life, one and one don't make two. One and one make one." -The Who "Bargain"
Posted by Equester at on01/18/09
Simply one of the best modules I have played, harb but fun battles combined with a good story and interresting characters. obsidian could learn something from this mod
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
Site
