For reasons irrelevant, you have become a convict and slave in the God-Emperor Kathutet's domain. For your skills in combat and spellcraft you have been hand-picked to run his Gauntlet, a maze filled with deadly traps and monsters, created for the emperor's own entertainment. The prize waiting at the end: a full imperial pardon of your crimes. Can you earn your freedom?
After playing the original content I was disgusted by how easy it was and its lack of dungeoneering - so what I�ve tried to provide here is a challenging dungeon in the classic style. This is the first thing I�ve done with the NWN2 toolset so try not to be too harsh. Also - I know some things are directly stolen, but there was no way I was going to waste hours trying to come up with my own riddles.
Thanks for voting. _________________________ The Emperor's Mercy - Link
Posted by Balgin at on06/26/08
Oh, I forgot to add, I'll be playing through this again tomorrow with my mate (we'll probably try a couple of 4th level characters, maybe 5th if we want it easier).
Posted by Balgin at on06/26/08
Well I gave it another go last night and finished it in one sitting. It was fun but very challenging (and my 6th level cleric ended up about 2-3xp short of levelling to 7th). I've cast my vote now based on what I feel is a fair evaluation of the module. Hopefuly it'll bump it up a bit (but not too much as I wasn't going to give an unfairly high vote just to cancel out the low ones or anything). I reckon a few areas could do with some more music as some of them are a bit quiet. You've done a good job of putting things together, no real bugs or anything, just the occassional balance issue in earlier versions. Technicaly it's pretty sound.
Posted by Blatob at on06/17/08
Good, although basic module. There is nothing bad with the idea of running the gauntlet to freedom - it looks like some kind of divine test to determine the inocence. This could easily fit as a a part of some larger module. Also, it would be ok if you strip PC of his items - I played through with the 4th level PC. Or you could choose some generic weapon and armour. Potion of lore would be appreciated if you play the mod as a sigle player.
Posted by John_Citizen at 2008-06-1706:03:58
Thanks for spreading the word. You can only obtain the kaleidoscope if you have a good bluff or intimidate. Its not very useful but I like its description _________________________ The Emperor's Mercy - Link
Posted by Sabriana at on06/14/08
Ah, so it's mostly concepts that were borrowed, and the creatures, their (often) funny names, items, and all the other fun stuff came from you. You shouldn't worry about that, concepts are borrowed all the time - even Hollywood borrowed the 'running through a maze with killers at your heel' frequently. Arnold comes to mind and 'The Running Man'. You did yourself a disservice with the description then, it gives the impression that you took existing NWN module stuff and incorporated it. Level 4 solo is definitely too low a level for a solo, but the module does not prohibit anyone from using the level they deem appropriate. It does not even prohibit anyone from importing a companion or three. ========Possible Spoilers ahead - look out!=============== To be honest, I don't remember if my fighter popped up there with me. I was too busy being creeped out by the noises coming from the rooms. But I do know that he was there with me fighting off the skeletons (tough ones, phew). I will make another run through soon though, because I missed a major chunk of the second level by going through the portal too early. I also plan on using my 8th level cleric and importing one of my fighters again. I'll pay attention this time. Choosing the path wasn't anything that made me wonder in any way, shape or form. I thought it was a nice touch, as a matter of fact. ...If it just weren't for the creatures trying to kill the PC during that cutscene ;) Don't sell yourself short with the concept being an excuse for a dungeon quest only. You have put quite a few surprises and twists and turns in there. Some of it might have been inadvertently, like the portals by the bladelings. However, the 2 portals made me wonder for quite a while until I decided it was just the royally rotten king playing head-games. Imagination.... it's a wonderful thing. I don't remember the kaleidoscope in particular, because there were quite a few funny things going on. The bird for one, the 'skeleton key' for another, and who can forget the snozcucumber (sp?). That was a great touch too by the way. Thank goodness I found the book, those elementals were rough. The carrion beetles (another nice touch) were tough alright, luckily my PC-girl had some freeze/hold spells on hand still. I'm glad she did, we almost had our collective butts handed to us ... again. We weren't prepared at all for that one, but we learned our lesson: Don't step carelessly in that maze, or you'll be decorating the floor with your corpse. The lizardmen/bugbear scuffle was another encounter that was surprising. My team ran around that corner at full speed, luckily my PC-girl saw what was going on and collard the fighter (so to speak) to wait out their fight and take on the survivors. ===========End possible Spoilers =================== Great job on the build by the way. I gave up on that tileset long ago. The Shadow fortress might look mighty fine, but to get even the smallest room to look and fit right in a module takes more patience than I can muster. As for the low rating, I don't agree at all with it. It's too fun a module to suffer from it. I talked a friend into playing it, and she's still at it. We have to take turns, so it's slow going, because my computer has all things NWN, hers has all things Oblivion. But so far, she's liking it very much. What can I say, when you have laptops only, you got to improvise :D
Posted by John_Citizen at 2008-06-1423:19:53
It?s been a little while since I checked here for any activity and I?m surprised to see there?s still people looking at this module despite its low score. Thanks for voting, I?m glad you liked it. Spoilers! The things I would consider to be borrowed in this module: The background story of your (perhaps unjust) conviction, the decadent emperor and the desert setting is heavily inspired by the Dark Sun campaign setting, specifically the game Dark Sun: Shattered Lands. DS:SL is like a million years old (you?d probably have to run it in Dos Box) but I would still strongly recommend it to anyone who can still tolerate turn-based DnD action. The candle riddle is directly copied from Baldurs Gate 2. The airlock puzzle on the first level is inspired by similar puzzles in DDO and Arx Fatalis. The name ?the Gribbler? is taken from The Longest Journey. Some people might have thought the captive deva was copied from Planescape: Torment, but I actually only played Torment after I made this module ? and yeah I was surprised at how similar the situation was. A tequila mockingbird is a*bleep*tail playing on the book To Kill a Mockingbird. The statue that tests your virtue is of course based of the Mouth of Truth. Finally, the shadow prince is somewhat inspired by a similar situation in Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager, where you have to free the souls of some people trapped in a pocket dimension (if I remember correctly). I tried to include opportunities for all of the skills to be useful (except for crafting) and you might say that the shadow prince is the spot check. Shadows hide passively, but I think you can see them under normal circumstances because they attack you. Because the shadow prince is friendly and motionless, he?s about as hard to detect as a shadow in the dark. There are no empty rooms in the module though, so I hope people will realize that there is something going on in that room. Since you used more than 1 character, did you find they got put in different places when you entered the final portal? I think that this is one of the best touches in the module and really recreates the feeling of old school dungeons. It?s also the reason you can?t go back; you would just be able to regroup. In retrospect I should have put some sort of indication that it was a one-way trip I actually chose the symbols for the pillars randomly, because I didn?t want guessing to be the easiest way to pass them. The yellow water thing only occurred to me after I posted the module, but I didn?t change it later because I though some people might find it entertaining I?m embarrassed that people are taking the Other path. It?s pretty silly. I was hoping everyone would just take the Warrior path. I think the whole ?choose you path? thing looked better on paper than in practice. I was considering cutting it out entirely but I couldn?t think of anything to replace it with. Like I?ve said before, the context is really just an excuse for the dungeon full of random encounters. The main goal of the game is just to secure your freedom. I haven?t really planned to expand on this module or to make anything else with NWN2 unless I get some good inspiration. _________________________ The Emperor's Mercy - Link
Posted by Sabriana at on06/14/08
Well, all done, and one thing is sure, this module does not deserve this low rating. It lacks a bit in the description part, which might be why people are reluctant to try. A first level character cannot survive long, that is certain. Given that my girls are all mages, it makes it even tougher. So I build a bard/fighter/7, just for this occasion. I also imported a companion (fighter/6) and still we had a tough time. But a little strategizing and a lot of running and regrouping, and we made it. ====Possible Spoilers==== For solo play, the level definitely has to be at least 6 or 7 at the minimum - else you get your butt handed to you early and often. Pure casters have no chance unless a companion with melee feats and skills is there as well. It would be nice if there were more resting areas as well, especially after the really tough fights. On the 1st level, I ran into the problem of cut-scene play with hostiles attacking during the scene-play - repeatedly. When asked about the 'path I wish to take' my poor girl was attacked by wolves and kobolds and killed twice before I got over that hump. The same happened while the loudmouthed bird talked to her, but I could click 'leave' early enough and avoided wipe-out. Other than that, the bird certainly provided comic relief. The second problem is not really a technical issue. I was able to go through the portal too early. That's a personal opinion only, and has nothing to do with the module itself. I could not back-track, and left a lot of areas unexplored. I wish I had known that beforehand, I had fun exploring the dungeon. A lot of creativity going on there. I loved the elemental creatures, that was some funny naming. I'm glad the color-room puzzle was not tied to the plot, because my computer did not show the correct colors at all. Everything looked pinkish-white, but my computer (and my card) are not the top of line by a long shot. You mentioned in the description that some stuff is borrowed, but I don't know which so I can only say that most of the items and creatures were well thought out and innovative. The skeleton popping back to life startled the hell out of me, as did the two spiders popping out of the side-rooms, for instance. I almost missed the shadow prince until PC-girl was almost right on top of him (so to speak). I couldn't see him, and nothing told me that something interesting was in that room. Not the module, but most likely my graphics card again. I had no problem with the color obelisks after finding the book on the remains. Knowing the red leaf (which I never would've guessed), the blue moon was the first thing that came into my mind. From there, getting the yellow one was a cinch, even though the 'yellow water' raised my eyebrow. Funny, that. The ending was a bit of a let-down because by then I would've loved to kick some royal butt for having my PC-girl chased through the ditch with arrows, making her having to kill some other poor slaves, and putting her through the wringer ;) =====end spoilers=========== All in all, this module does not deserve its rating. It is a fun module, and it was tough but doable with the right PC + companion. I might not agree with your description, but the description is the description and the module is the module. It's as simple as that. I for one, usually like to know what comes from the builder and what is borrowed, but that has naught to do with the module itself, nor does it have anything to do with enjoyment and playability. Good job, and don't be discouraged. I liked the module very much. I actually like having to figure out the best PC/companion combination myself, I do it ALL the time. I usually read the builders' recommendations, but I always use my own judgment - For any module.
Posted by Sabriana at on06/14/08
======QUOTE: As for the bear ? I admit he?s pretty tough, but he?s kind of supposed to be ?I tried to design it so that unless a group is traveling in very tight formation, only one guy should be in the room before the gates shut, and the other party members have to watch him get torn up by the bear while they scramble to get the gate down and assist him. That?s why you get a handful of resurrection scrolls at the start. Of course, the cheap way to get past this part is to just close the doors after they open, since animals can?t open them again. ======/QUOTE Hey now - cheap you say? Watch it, sir. I was pretty darn proud of myself when I figured out that this was a way to get by that critter. That's using your noggin - always try for alternatives, no? ;D Anyway, don't give up on your work because of a low vote. I haven't voted yet either, because I haven't finished yet. But so far I've not encountered anything that merits a low vote from me, and what questions I had have been answered in previous posts. I know what hard work module building entails, because I've build 3 myself. Strictly for private use, because I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to scripting. I somehow doubt very much that the community would be as patient and forgiving as my friends and my family for my unique...ah... shall we say,'work-arounds,'in that area. So thanks for your hard work, keep the faith in your work - it's early days yet. And so far, it's a good module, and I'm enjoying it. I've never played a dwarven girl before, and I'm having fun. I wonder if I can use the party roster database (another mod). That would give me a companion, and I could try with another race/class.
Posted by John_Citizen at 2008-05-2023:36:37
Actually, your don?t need disable device to get past the pillars - if you have the other 2, you can just guess what the symbol is for the yellow pillar, since there?s only 5 possibilities (spoiler: it?s the water drop). The bars need 16 Str to pass, but it?s not 100% necessary to pass them ? it sure is helpful for the final fight though. Almost all the locked doors on the 3rd level are opened by the skeleton key ? which is incidentally dropped by skeletons - in the room with the crates. _________________________ The Emperor's Mercy - Link
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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