Dramatic, Dungeon Adventure, Final Version, Hardcore Rules, Mountain Adventure
Scope
Medium
Content
Teen
TricksTraps
Light
Roleplay
Medium
HackSlash
Medium
LevelMin
05
LevelMax
06
Gameplay Hours
08
Categories
Single Player
Patch
1.21
NWN2Game
NWN2:SoZ
Description
"Wondrous was the Hall of Dwarven Kings, a crucible of History and Legend..."
The events of this module take place eight hundred years after the founding of the Dwarf Kingdom, which has undergone a rich and tumultuous history. Now rumors abound of an old enemy threatening the dwarves once more. You, the Player find yourself willingly or reluctantly drawn into the unrest.
This is a story-driven, party-based adventure designed for a 5th level character of Good or Neutral alignment.
There are 4 companions, 3 available at the start: a cleric, rogue, and wizard. A fighter can join the party later in the module.
You can also make your own party from scratch. Access the Party Creation menu by talking to Mulligan the barkeep in the starting Village.
You can still bring along companions, but this will affect combat difficulty. I suggest going with a max party size of 5, using player created characters plus companions.
Let me underscore, you do not have to play a dwarf for this adventure. In fact, the story probably works better for a non-dwarven race, an Outsider who finds him or herself caught up in the whirlwind of events. However, if you do play a dwarf, you will receive some greetings that are friendlier. (Well, friendly for dwarves.)
The module has some Party Chat style conversations, which will give dwarf characters an added opportunity to be heard.
The module uses the Storm of Zehir death system. There is no respawn. In addition, companions will start bleeding when they are reduced to negative hit points, and may die. You can use a Raise Dead scroll to bring them back.
Save early, save often.
Resting is restricted to "safe" areas only.
You must start this module by selecting a New Campaign.
This module now uses the Robinson Workshop Deep Halls tileset. Download the Hak files and place them in your Neverwinter Nights2\hak folder.
This module uses Rogue Dao's Lip Flappers. The sound files and .fxe files are in the compressed .rar file. You must copy these files to the Override folder, or else NPC conversations will go by too quickly.
SPECIAL THANKS
In addition to Rogue Dao Studios for their Lip Flappers, Robinson Workshop for the Deep Halls tileset, and Lord Niah for his FR Base Mod that was previously used, I would like to express appreciation to the following members of the NWN2 community:
*Phoenixus for giving the starting village a much needed face-lift with better texturing and height-mapping, and for testing the module. As well as for inviting me to the NW Citadel to help with the beta test.
*Melirinda for testing the module and giving very helpful feedback, and most importantly, for convincing me to use Rogue Dao's Lip Flappers. Also, for your forum post that inspired the ogre dialogue on Halls Level 2.
*JasonNH for initiating the bi-weekly updates in the NWN2 module forum, where builders can report on their progress. It was crucial in keeping me motivated and focused over the months of putting this module together. Also, I would like to thank everyone who posted in those forum updates, for your words of support, encouragement, and suggestions.
*Being a veteran gamer and PnP player, I would like to dedicate this humble module to E. Gary Gygax, for creating the enchanting RPG hobby of Dungeons & Dragons.
Harumph!
----------------------------------------
Version History
August 2, 2008: Hamhock v 1.01
*Important NPCs that give/complete quests or initiate dialogue via speak triggers, will only converse with the PC. Ambient NPCs, random guards and such, can talk to party members if the Player selects the companions to do so.
*Set multi-use speak triggers to destroy themselves when no longer needed. Also, repainted some speak triggers for better placement.
August 3, 2008: Hamhock v 1.02
*Bugbears are entrenched on the battlements of the Grand Entrance Hall, and they are very good at pushing back the advances of their opponent. This is why the dwarves have had trouble rooting them out of the corners. There is a chance during battle that your PC may be driven away from the enemy, and this quick fix adds a message that explains what is happening. Approach these encounters strategically.
(THIS IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE)
August 9, 2008: Hamhock v 1.03
*Some cosmetic changes: Added Mulsantir Walls to the Hall of Gathering; added some more placeables to the Mayor's Estate; added more corpses around the Grand Entrance Hall.
August 17, 2008: Hamhock v 1.04
*Cleaned up some journal entries.
*A dwarf soldier runs up to greet the party when they first arrive on the Mines level.
*Beefed up the final encounter a little.
*There is a secret way to avoid battle with the Undead Dwarven Veteran, which is alluded to in the Mines Walkthrough.
August 31, 2008: Hamhock v 1.05
*Companions now have XP independent of the PC. They start as 5th level characters, no matter what level you bring in your PC.
*Fixed a couple of cameras; expanded Thraigin's "rah-rah" pep rally speech.
September 21, 2008: Hamhock v 1.06
*Made some of the monsters tougher on Level 2.
*Added the possibility of skill checks before the encounter triggers, which will warn players about the respawning bugbears.
December 13, 2008: Hamhock v 1.07
*Converted to Campaign format
*Rebuilt levels using the Deep Halls tileset
*Streamlined the Mines, getting rid of extraneous passages and areas
*Incorporated Storm of Zehir features such as some Party Conversations and the bleeding/death system
*Added full party customization as an option
December 28, 2008: Hamhock v 1.08
*Fixed the door to the Miners Quarters on level 1. This happened because I unknowingly swapped out a tile when I redesigned the Mines. Now you will be able to access the door that will transition you to a small area where it is safe to rest.
February 12, 2011: Hamhock v. 1.09
*Changed almost all conversations to SoZ style "Party Chat" conversations. Tweaked a few lines of dialogue.
The Mines are the lowest level of the Mountain, designed to be an old-school maze/dungeon crawl. This walkthrough was created for the earlier module versions. As of v 1.07, the Mines have been more streamlined. If you get stuck, you can still consult this document as the key items of interest are still in place. Or you can consider this a prototype of what the Mines used to look like. Gameplay should be much improved in this area.
Glad to hear that, DannJ. I've been known to not be thorough in using the journal entries. Something I am trying to improve. Hope the rest goes well for you!
Posted by DannJ at on03/21/11
Thanks. I don't think the journal entry mentioned getting the key, and I saved at that point and came back to the game later not remembering the dialogue. I'm enjoying this module immensely so far, and am looking forward to continuing. I'll vote when finished.
Posted by Dorateen at 2011-03-0708:03:24
Hi DannJ, Thanks for starting this one! After clearing the outposts, and speaking with Drachenvain, he sould have mentioned you need to find Halifax to get the key to progress further. That was the dwarf with the torch, who should be near the entrance to that level. Once you speak with Halifax, he will give you the key to open up those two doors. Hope that helps!
Posted by DannJ at on03/21/11
I cleared out the four outposts, rattled the locked doors (with a fighter), and have now been given a quest to go to the 7th level and talk to the king. However the two doors leading upwards behind the 'stout folk' are locked. Two of the outpost journal entries are 'completed', but the other two are still in the active quests part of the journal (but say that each outpost has been cleared).
Posted by Dorateen at 2011-02-1806:16:28
Hey, darant! Thank you very much for the feedback. This was definitely a learning experience as it was the result of the first time I used the NWN2 toolset. Even the follow up fixes doesn't seem to smooth over some of the initial design flaws. I agree, I think Edinmoor showed much improvement, and hope the sequel to that adventure will continue to get better. Thanks for downloading and playing!
Posted by darant at on02/18/11
While I'm a big fan of the later conceived Edinmoor, I didn't find this as appealing. I see the potentially game-ending mistake with a seemingly dead body and conversational options with healers started in this module and the lesson wasn't learned later. The fallen soldier--whose item I took--killed the action. Why does someone other than a rogue in the party have to touch the doors? I don't see the point adventure wise--seems a tad overcontrolling wouldn't you say Dorateen? What can I say? I'll play your next mod for sure, but I found this one a little bland off the get-go beyond the programming issues.
Posted by Dorateen at 2011-02-1713:10:27
Heh, yeah, it's another companion who initiates that exchange if he's in the party. The ogre guards "spy you and attack" is exactly the fall back line when the companion is absent. I just have to figure out where the ga_attack went wrong.
Posted by Arkalezth at on02/16/11
I played with 4 party members created by myself, and then added Dorateen.
Posted by Dorateen at 2011-02-1710:18:18
Yes, that is very helpful information. The specific conversation with the ogres was designed for an interjection from one of the companions. If the companion is not in the party, you get the simple narrative "A trio of ogres spot you and attack!" After that message, you should get a single PC response to choose, something like, "Look out!". That is the line I was supposed to attach the ga_attack script. I will check it out, and see if I missed something. The gargoyle room, does indeed sound like there was a problem from that Speak Trigger. The one at the south entrance had tested correctly. Looks like I got a little more polishing up to do!
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
