NWN The Blades of Netheril - unofficial sequel to NWN1 OC from Ossian's Luke Scull

[Immortal]

I think the plan to overhaul all of the creature models, but various factors (cost, botched console release, WotC refusing to greenlight more DLC) made that untenable. The latest patch was, I believe, a voluntary effort by Beamdog devs and community members.

Hmm..

botched console release

WotC refusing to greenlight more DLC

--

They should of skipped hiring David Gaider and gave his paycheck to you guys.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

In addition to the NWN character model updates, Beamdog also updated many of the weapon models as well as I recall. I used as many as I could find when I played last year. They were all a massive improvement, but they did stick out like a sore thumb whenever you saw them next to other vanilla assets that weren't given the same treatment, particularly the weapon icons which they probably should have left default. I still recommend them though.

 

[Immortal]

In addition to the NWN character model updates, Beamdog also updated many of the weapon models as well as I recall. I used as many as I could find when I played last year. They were all a massive improvement, but they did stick out like a sore thumb whenever you saw them next to other vanilla assets that weren't given the same treatment, particularly the weapon icons which they probably should have left default. I still recommend them though.

Until the Creatures / Characters get an overhaul.. Shader & Lighting overhauls.. bump & normal maps.. ect ect.. Keep slathering lipstick on that pig..

At the end of the day..

your character, the thing your camera draws in the center of the screen, taking up like 40 - 60% of your visual bandwidth - is a walking pile of cylinder shapes textured......... badly.. like some kind of lego man with the peices just taped together because they be couldn't assed to click them in.

 

[Gargaune]

Until the Creatures / Characters get an overhaul.. Shader & Lighting overhauls.. bump & normal maps.. ect ect.. Keep slathering lipstick on that pig..

At the end of the day..

your character, the thing your camera draws in the center of the screen, taking up like 40 - 60% of your visual bandwidth - is a walking pile of cylinder shapes textured......... badly.. like some kind of lego man with the peices just taped together because they be couldn't assed to click them in.

Dude, what? The character models did get updated, along with the weapons, as Korangar pointed out.

You can get the official HD Art Pack from Steam or from Beamdog's website, though I'm pretty sure it's packed in as standard with newer releases. Though you'd probably wanna get the Vault's version instead, there was some stuff to fix. I dunno, I've stuck with the old models for now.

As for creatures, yeah, that would've been the next logical step, the tilesets can stay but the monsters and stuff could do with the same HD treatment. But if new DLCs are off the table, I can't imagine Beamdog will keep investing into NWN, there's a lot of creature assets that would have to be redone.

Also, don't knock the renderer updates, they won't blow your mind or anything, but they're quite a nice improvement.

 

[Immortal]

Dude, what? The character models did get updated

... Come on..

 

[Gargaune]

... Come on..

Were you expecting skinned meshes? That's not really an option for NWN, you've gotta stick to the modular layout or break design for pretty much all of the existing content, official and unofficial. Maybe you could do something like Kingdom Come: Deliverance's morphs, but that would be a very big and expensive "maybe." And given the typical bird's eye perspective, I don't see the point.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

For a game this old, the character art updates were perfectly serviceable. They really needed to be applied across the board though for all NPCs, not just for the important ones. As it is there's still a lot of set-dressing townsfolk and whatnot that use the old default models. I have no issue with the way the rest of the game's scenery looks.

 

[Gargaune]

They really needed to be applied across the board though for all NPCs, not just for the important ones. As it is there's still a lot of set-dressing townsfolk and whatnot that use the old default models.

Yeah, it's 'cause they're not using the parts system, they're actually precombined appearances from the original parts. It's doable, you could either have the art department generate new precombines from the updated assets, or have some junior design staff change those blueprints to the default racial appearance (and configure their looks and gear), but there's a long list to go through.

 

[Immortal]

Were you expecting skinned meshes?

Yes.

 

[Gargaune]

While the Codex fawns over Divinity: Original Sin 3 Early Access patches, Matt Barton plays a real cRPG.

P.S. Matt confused why Luke keeps using the word "tenday" in a Forgotten Realms module... Tsk, tsk, Matt!

 

[Infinitron]

Nice: https://www.pcgamer.com/this-fantas...appointed-him-and-then-helped-shape-his-life/

This fantasy author can't stop making mods for the 21-year-old D&D videogame that first disappointed him, and then 'helped shape' his life​

Like many, Luke Scull didn't gel with Neverwinter Nights' official campaign. Now he's working on a 60+ hour unofficial sequel.

Luke Scull, author of The Grim Company series of fantasy novels and a developer at RPG studio Ossian, did not initially have a high opinion of the game that would change his life: he excitedly purchased what fans expected to be the successor to BioWare's seminal Baldur's Gate series, then found himself devoting his summer to Warcraft 3 instead of the game he thought he'd be "falling in love with." Today, however, he credits Neverwinter Nights as the catalyst for his writing career, and is still creating custom modules for it more than 20 years later.

The main campaign of BioWare's follow-up to Baldur's Gate has a mixed reputation even among diehard fans—it's not "the greatest example of what can be achieved" with Neverwinter Nights' toolset, Scull thinks. The campaign was simultaneously rigid and never ending⁠—after a strong first act, you're just chopping through a ceaseless slog of content, and none of it all that interesting or all that open-ended for role playing.

Before BioWare managed to return to form with NwN's more dynamic and inventive expansions, the game had already been saved by its modding community. Thanks to a robust, yet beginner-friendly toolset, modders like Scull began producing new, exciting adventures or "modules" (borrowing the term from tabletop) with BioWare's engine. Something radically changed for Scull when he first started playing with the Aurora Toolset. "That lit something inside of me," he said, "some kind of creative bug that I'd always had."

Scull's initial contribution was the module Siege of Shadowdale(opens in new tab) in 2002, a low-level adventure set in the adopted home of Elminster, the Forgotten Realms' resident superwizard and the protagonist of like, a dozen books by Realms creator Ed Greenwood (he also gets a cheeky cameo in the D&D movie that greatly appeased dorks like me). Scull followed it up in 2005 with Crimson Tides of Tethyr(opens in new tab), a mid-level adventure set amid a brewing conflict in the titular kingdom.

Both have a kind of character and momentum that's missing from the original NwN campaign. Siege is like a perfect videogame homage to a low-level tabletop D&D module, and reminds me a lot of Troika's criminally underappreciated Temple of Elemental Evil⁠(opens in new tab)—it's slightly bounded, but provides a micro-open world to explore, letting you shove off in any direction from the titular starting town for some light hearted adventuring before gradually uncovering the high-stakes conspiracy at the heart of its main quest. Tethyr, meanwhile, is more cinematic and high-energy, featuring interesting experiments with the Aurora Engine like an early boss who teleports between loading zones.

"It's almost overnight I went from being an amateur writer, to kind of having figured out how to write," Scull said. "I don't know how it happened. But I then had BioWare contact me in 2006 to ask me to do a premium mod for them. And I of course said yes, because why wouldn't you?"

"Even though the pay was terrible for the amount of work," Scull added. "Creating this 20 hour module was like 200,000 rows of dialogue. It's basically a large fantasy novel: 'Script it all, program it all, design the areas, and we'll pay like 5,000 Canadian dollars.'"

Unfortunately, Neverwinter Nights publisher Atari abruptly shut down the premium module program before Tyrants of the Moonsea could be finished, a move Scull describes as the publisher being "dicks, basically." Scull eventually finished the adventure as best he could before releasing it on the Neverwinter Vault(opens in new tab) for free, completing a trilogy of sorts with Tethyr and Shadowdale.

Scull wound up having another go at Neverwinter Nights under Atari's auspices though, beginning a long tenure with Ossian, a small studio founded by ex-BioWare producer Alan Miranda. Scull was lead designer on Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate(opens in new tab). Neverwinter Nights 2's final expansion was released in 2009, though not without further trouble from Atari: an early and draconian form of DRM left the game difficult to play even with a legitimate copy, though like many CRPGs, it found a long tail through distribution on GOG.

Staying Power​

Despite the general lack of commercial prospects in hardcore fantasy games, let alone the fanmade-to-official bonus content for them, Scull's first Neverwinter Nights modules ultimately led to a career in games and fantasy fiction. "I was working part time in an office to support myself while working on The Shadow Sun [a mobile RPG from Ossian] and got laid off, so I decided 'why not try writing a novel?'"

That project would become the first of Scull's Grim Company(opens in new tab) books⁠⁠, a dark fantasy series where rag tag, misfit adventurers are thrust into history-shaping events in a brutal world. Today he's an established author, recently having contributed to the Warhammer setting for Games Workshop while continuing to build The Grim Company's world and develop games for Ossian.

He attributes that success to the creative outlet he had in Neverwinter Nights module-building. "It's helped shape my life; it's helped shape my writing career," Scull told me. "In fact, the advance for Mysteries of Westgate paid for my wedding way back in 2007. I would have had a very different career and been a very different person if I had never picked up that box with the giant glowing eye."

And he's never really stopped coming back to Neverwinter Nights. In 2019, Ossian returned to Tyrants of the Moonsea, adding new quests as well as graphical enhancements and bespoke art, producing a remastered module to go with Beamdog's Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition and finally fulfilling the "Premium Module" promise that got cut off in '06. Solo, Scull released a similar treatment for Siege of Shadowdale, and is working on another for Crimson Tides of Tethyr.

Scull has at least one last great project left on the Aurora engine as well: The Blades of Netheril(opens in new tab), a multipart, unofficial sequel to the original Neverwinter Nights campaign. I was really curious why Scull chose the OG, Wailing Death campaign to continue⁠—after all, didn't we all think it was kind of a let-down? "The original campaign," Scull explained, "has some fantastic characters," ones he wanted to return to. I have to agree⁠—despite its foibles, the Wailing Death campaign did have some real memorable personalities like a disillusioned, brokenhearted paladin, a patriotic spymaster, and my favorite: a dwarven pugilist-assassin obsessed with death and the end of all things.

With BioWare tied up in protracted development for its far more recent, megahit in-house franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, who else but NwN's passionate module builders to continue the story of this awkward middle child between Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic? Scull also believes that the open-ended, bittersweet conclusion of the original game leaves it primed for an experiment with "an antihero player character, one that had once attained great heights, and then had a fall from grace."

Scull wants to do it right, crafting a multipart, high level adventure continuing with, ideally, an imported character who finished the original campaign (though high-level modules often let you bring a lowbie up to speed). To that end, he's funding the project through Patreon(opens in new tab) and commissioning art, music, and contributions from other module builders. Scull plans on having the first episode of a planned seven, Doom of Icewind Dale(opens in new tab), out later this year, with the second chapter focusing on the Forgotten Realms' underground pirate city of Skullport.

"It's something I want to do for fun because I have always enjoyed modding. It makes me happy," Scull explained. "I love the Forgotten Realms. It's just a long-held desire I've had to complete the saga that began with Siege of Shadowdale, and also finish the story of the Hero of Neverwinter, who just disappears at the end of the Wailing Death campaign."

On his introduction to The Blades of Netheril on Patreon, Scull calls the project "a love letter to NwN," and the author estimates that he'll be busy cranking out those seven chapters until at least 2027, a full quarter century after Neverwinter Nights' initial release⁠—a pretty good run for a strange little RPG that started with only a hit-or-miss campaign.

 

[taxalot]

This guy has a such a high opinion of himself that he wrote the announcement in the tone of a press release.

 

[EtcEtcEtc]

Until the Creatures / Characters get an overhaul.. Shader & Lighting overhauls.. bump & normal maps.. ect ect.. Keep slathering lipstick on that pig..

At the end of the day..

your character, the thing your camera draws in the center of the screen, taking up like 40 - 60% of your visual bandwidth - is a walking pile of cylinder shapes textured......... badly.. like some kind of lego man with the peices just taped together because they be couldn't assed to click them in.

Dude, what? The character models did get updated, along with the weapons, as Korangar pointed out.

You can get the official HD Art Pack from Steam or from Beamdog's website, though I'm pretty sure it's packed in as standard with newer releases. Though you'd probably wanna get the Vault's version instead, there was some stuff to fix. I dunno, I've stuck with the old models for now.

As for creatures, yeah, that would've been the next logical step, the tilesets can stay but the monsters and stuff could do with the same HD treatment. But if new DLCs are off the table, I can't imagine Beamdog will keep investing into NWN, there's a lot of creature assets that would have to be redone.

Also, don't knock the renderer updates, they won't blow your mind or anything, but they're quite a nice improvement.

Makes the game run like a stuttering mess though.

 

[Chippy]

I know the Bhaalspawn has nothing to do with NWN, but bear with me a sec.

But when you think about it - the Bhaalspawn has been given a pretty raw deal by everyone. WOTC made him a meathead. None of the FR fantasy writers mentioned him as canon AFAIK. They botched the novels to the point of perversion. The IE modding community can't write for shit. Beamdog...can't write for shit. And I don't even know where to begin with all the latest crap from WOTC in terms of modules and whatever.

So, when a writer and modder like Luke Scull starts making quality mods like this, it's probably the closest thing to "the setting" and tone of the IE games we'll ever get. And that's pure incline. If he somehow secured the opportunity to bring in BG characters as well as Icewind Dale characters from the games as well...then my interest in RPGs would be pretty much restored.

But as it is these new modules are something I never thought possible.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

re: new dlcs not greenlit by WOTC, in the case of NWN, it must be closely related to how poorly Dark Dreams of Furiae was received. I don't think if you guys were aware that we had Planescape content released not too long ago. The fact that it's 5/10 on Steam and 2.4/5 on GOG should say enough, though.

 

[Luke Scull]

This guy has a such a high opinion of himself that he wrote the announcement in the tone of a press release.

He's an absolute chad

 

[Luke Scull]

I know the Bhaalspawn has nothing to do with NWN, but bear with me a sec.

But when you think about it - the Bhaalspawn has been given a pretty raw deal by everyone. WOTC made him a meathead. None of the FR fantasy writers mentioned him as canon AFAIK. They botched the novels to the point of perversion. The IE modding community can't write for shit. Beamdog...can't write for shit. And I don't even know where to begin with all the latest crap from WOTC in terms of modules and whatever.

So, when a writer and modder like Luke Scull starts making quality mods like this, it's probably the closest thing to "the setting" and tone of the IE games we'll ever get. And that's pure incline. If he somehow secured the opportunity to bring in BG characters as well as Icewind Dale characters from the games as well...then my interest in RPGs would be pretty much restored.

But as it is these new modules are something I never thought possible.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Though, this campaign is about the Hero of Neverwinter, and doesn't touch on the Bhaalspawn saga.

There are some very decent writers in the NWN community. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I can leverage my skills and experience and decades of FR research with some ambitious story ideas I've had gestating for years.

 

[Gargaune]

Props on the PC Gamer feature, man, hope it gets some fresh meat in the community! Not sure why the interviewer regards NWN as a "strange little RPG", though, it sold quite well back in its day.

Makes the game run like a stuttering mess though.

Yeah, I did notice that about the HD Art Pack when I gave it a go, I had a test area with eighteen characters crammed into one room and the game stumbled for a moment when I went in. I think the Vault has a lower-res option for it. I don't use it either way, I still prefer the old assets.

the opportunity to bring in BG characters as well as Icewind Dale characters

I love IWD, but the only character I remember from it is Yxunomei. For two obvious reasons.

 

[Feargus Jewhart]

There are people in this world using the precious little amount of time bestowed on their human lives to make sequels for Neverwinter Nights' original campaign

It could be worse. They could be playing NWN2 original campaign.

 

[Gargaune]

Cross-posting 'cause it's relevant, related to the series - Crimson Tides of Tethyr Enhanced Edition is out on the Vault!

​

"Old friend, I fear that Tethyr's future is once again in the balance. The Sythillisian Empire has turned its gaze towards us for reasons I cannot fathom. How can this recently healed nation hope to defend itself from the untold thousands of goblins, orcs, ogres and giants that lurk on its northern border?"

Excerpt from a letter by Royal Court Sage Gamalon Idogyr to Elminster of Shadowdale, 1372 DR.

Author and game designer Luke Scull is delighted to present a remake of the classic Hall of Fame module Crimson Tides of Tethyr for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition! A 20-hour adventure with a colorful cast of characters, epic war storyline, and tactically challenging encounters inspired by Baldur's Gate, this enhanced edition features rewritten dialogue, visual improvements, bug fixes, new systems and quality-of-life improvements, a new hour of gameplay content, and 100 new lines of voiced dialogue.

A huge thank you to all the folk whose generous contributions helped make this module possible! Please visit https://www.patreon.com/lukescull to keep up to date with development of The Blades of Netheril: an epic, seven-part campaign that serves as a mega-sequel to all the game's official content including the original campaign and expansions. If you would prefer to make a one-off donation rather than subscribe, you can do so here: PayPal

 

[Gargaune]

Luke Scull, I'm curious why you chose to restrict henchman inventory access in CToT, is it a balance consideration? Back when I played the original, I just figured you might've used the OC script set, but now that I saw it's the same in the EE I went to check, and both have always been using the x0 standard. Didn't pay it any mind in SoS since it's a short module, but it seems like it might be of use in CToT (even if just to give Neremul a crossbow). I was also curious about how you did it, I thought the boolean flag in bkRespondToHenchmenShout() was the only switch for it, I take it there's other variables that control the function?

By the by, loving the EE so far, got as far as the mountain pass over the weekend. Darromar looks great with Zwerkules' city facelift and the new score is most welcome (I like the Lonely Shepherd as much as the next guy, but it never quite fit).

 

[Gargaune]

Luke Scull, a couple of bug notes if you do check back in here:

1) In the "elhan" conversation, once the gates are secure, under "The minotaur you killed [...]" line you've got two CONTINUE nodes, one's conditioned and the other isn't, so they'll both show if the player's dealt with the ettins.

2) Following that, upstairs in the elf city when you take the spell components to the wizard (you know which, I don't wanna spoil stuff), the trigger for the assassins doesn't cover all areas of approach. I went shopping first and then went to the wizard over the little bridge from the central platform instead of the floor tiles, I picked up on the error when I got the conversation option without having encountered the assassins.

Also, a flow observation - after you deal with Fulgore, you'll get that cinematic where you run back and change map without having a chance to loot him for his horn and gear. I just went back and did it, I seem to recall it being the same in the original, but I just thought I'd point it out in case this wasn't your intent.

Oh, and I dunno if this is covered in your "fixed several typos" in the 1.1 notes, my save's on 1.0, but you've got some instances where the <race> token isn't grammatically accurate, like the Jewelery Merchant's "Hail, good <race>" or (presumably) Grimlock's "Yes, little <race> speaks sense" - it's fine if that translates to "human" but, dwarf and elf translate to "dwarven" and "elven." I'm not sure if this is a new issue 'cause it doesn't correspond to the Toolset's notations for the tokens, just never noticed it since I usually play humans. Maybe qualify them, like <race> <class> or <race> <gender>? I imagine they'd be a pain to track down, perhaps prwo's external dialogue editor can help, but I haven't tried it myself.

 

[Luke Scull]

Luke Scull, I'm curious why you chose to restrict henchman inventory access in CToT, is it a balance consideration? Back when I played the original, I just figured you might've used the OC script set, but now that I saw it's the same in the EE I went to check, and both have always been using the x0 standard. Didn't pay it any mind in SoS since it's a short module, but it seems like it might be of use in CToT (even if just to give Neremul a crossbow). I was also curious about how you did it, I thought the boolean flag in bkRespondToHenchmenShout() was the only switch for it, I take it there's other variables that control the function?

By the by, loving the EE so far, got as far as the mountain pass over the weekend. Darromar looks great with Zwerkules' city facelift and the new score is most welcome (I like the Lonely Shepherd as much as the next guy, but it never quite fit).

Enabling henchmen inventory access would drastically alter the difficulty balance. There are of course plot reasons why several of the henchmen wouldn't want the PC fiddling with their equipment, but after considering it for a while, I decided it wasn't worth the risk of making the combat too easy (at least without multiple balancing runs, and that's a big task in a 20-hour module). Note that you *can* change Loric's equipment in Chapter IV.

You can set X2_JUST_A_DISABLEEQUIP OnSpawn to disable a henchman's inventory.

 

[Luke Scull]

Luke Scull, a couple of bug notes if you do check back in here:

1) In the "elhan" conversation, once the gates are secure, under "The minotaur you killed [...]" line you've got two CONTINUE nodes, one's conditioned and the other isn't, so they'll both show if the player's dealt with the ettins.

2) Following that, upstairs in the elf city when you take the spell components to the wizard (you know which, I don't wanna spoil stuff), the trigger for the assassins doesn't cover all areas of approach. I went shopping first and then went to the wizard over the little bridge from the central platform instead of the floor tiles, I picked up on the error when I got the conversation option without having encountered the assassins.

Also, a flow observation - after you deal with Fulgore, you'll get that cinematic where you run back and change map without having a chance to loot him for his horn and gear. I just went back and did it, I seem to recall it being the same in the original, but I just thought I'd point it out in case this wasn't your intent.

Oh, and I dunno if this is covered in your "fixed several typos" in the 1.1 notes, my save's on 1.0, but you've got some instances where the <race> token isn't grammatically accurate, like the Jewelery Merchant's "Hail, good <race>" or (presumably) Grimlock's "Yes, little <race> speaks sense" - it's fine if that translates to "human" but, dwarf and elf translate to "dwarven" and "elven." I'm not sure if this is a new issue 'cause it doesn't correspond to the Toolset's notations for the tokens, just never noticed it since I usually play humans. Maybe qualify them, like <race> <class> or <race> <gender>? I imagine they'd be a pain to track down, perhaps prwo's external dialogue editor can help, but I haven't tried it myself.

Thanks for the bug report! 2) is fixed, I'll fix 1) and the weird grammar in the next update.

 

[Gargaune]

Thanks for the bug report! 2) is fixed, I'll fix 1) and the weird grammar in the next update.

Sure thing, thanks for the great work, I just finished it over the weekend and it came out brilliantly!

Got one more possible bug for you before you pass it to Beamdog - if you bribe the big guy to help you in the final battle and you then Persuade the boss's "compatriot" to sit it out, the big guy doesn't join in the fighting, he remains neutral. If you don't Persuade said minion and fight both of them, the big guy does correctly join your party. Again, keeping it vague to avoid spoilers.

You can set X2_JUST_A_DISABLEEQUIP OnSpawn to disable a henchman's inventory.

Cheers, that's what I was after! And yes, slapping a spare pair of Boots of Speed on Loric definitely "altered the balance" a wee bit.


Hey, while you're here, I did mean to ask you a plot-related question regarding a certain character:

SPOILERS for SoS, CToT and TotM

I'd always assumed Neremul was a Malaugrym, the same one we later encounter as Eremuth in ToTM, and presumably the main villain in the initial SoS as well. I'd guessed that's what he was doing in Nekrodemus's library, tracking down Dominion, but the new Calimshan sequence you added to CToT EE would suggest otherwise, leaving just Salidar as part of Team Tentacles... unless it's all just elaborate misdirection? The whole thing does play out a little trippy, out of character for Neremul, as if he's putting on a thinly-veiled show to throw you off the scent. I was wondering whether I missed something, or am I asking for future Blades of Netheril spoilers here?