A HARPER'S TALE 1 - Escort Duty v1.06, by Dave Mason
SHORT READ ME
Credits:
A transatlantic cooperative effort brought to you by:
Module builder, story expansion, and whip-cracker:
Dave Mason (Canadian)
Plot basis, (some) dialogue, and custom content:
SideStep (Scottish)
Error checker extraordinaire, custom content, and walkthru read me with spoilers (be sure to check those out at some point - great reading!):
Jo Cool (American)
Grateful thanks to:
- Barfark for two wonderful portraits
- Ice-Child for the children and window haks
- Schazzwozzer for pretty much everthing else, hak-wise
- John "Gestalt" Bye for his GestaltCamera scripts (totally cool)
- Tony K's Henchman Inventory & Battle AI mod v0.94 for version 1.01. (This is an unbelievably huge improvement to the henchmen in the game!)
Beta testing was greatly assisted by:
- Eye4NEye (Check out his 'Trust Lies Within' series!)
- DaMonkey (Check out his 'A Simple Plan' series!)
- Becca
- Jo Cool
- SideStep (who's gone beyond the call of duty in this area. Been beta testing these since the modules were just a series of connected areas!)
- Dave Mason
As before with AMOT, a special thanks goes to Eye4NEye, whose scripting help and building inspiration never seem to end for me, or cease to amaze. He was, is, and always will be, in my estimation, THE MAN!!
Thanks to BioWare for giving us the tools to do this, and honors and praise to Ed Greenwood, the man who created the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, and to all at TSR and Wizards of the Coast who published the books that hooked SideStep (and a lot of others) all those years ago. For those who know their F.R., this MOD is happening a few weeks after (and not far away from) the momentous events described in the early part of Ed Greenwood's book 'Spellfire', and some NPCs may make reference to some of these goings-on.
We believe this series to be very faithful the FR, including the time line, so any inconsistencies noticed are welcomed.
Once again, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the community for their continued support. Your comments are what keep me coming back to the NWN builder, again, and again.
I'd also like to thank all the great builders in the community who I've been entertained, inspired, and instructed by. Playing many of the mods out there has given me some great ideas, and cracking them open has given me some great code. There are too many builders to mention specifically, here. Check out the "All Mods List" for a quick reference... :) Thanks everyone!
If you finish this and you like it, please vote! (don't vote if you didn't like it... heh heh, just kidding). All comments welcomed and encouraged.
Read Me
To install:
You should have 2 files: the mod file, and the HarpersTaleHak.hak (each obtained from separate web pages).
1) Extract the .mod file to your \NeverwinterNights\NWN\modules directory.
2) Extract the .hak file to your \NeverwinterNights\NWN\haks directory.
NOTE: The "Hooknose Crag" module is merely a placeholder for the real module (available now). This will prevent your computer from crashing at the end of the game if you do not have the real module downloaded and installed.
The Game
This secion provides a brief overview of A Harper's Tale Part 1: Escort Duty, the second in what will be an (extensive) ongoing series of modules. The module is only suitable for single-player use, and has certain restrictions on character type:
- Must be of human, half-elven, or elven descent
- Must be a non-evil alignment (any goods or neutrals - If you are tempted to take an evil route after starting, be warned that allowing a character to drift too far in this direction can prove detrimental in this series of modules)
- Must be at least level 8 (Equally, if you are too much higher than that, Chapter 1 won't be as much of a challenge, although most encounters scale).
One thing that is not restricted with respect to the PC is gender. It is encouraged that players try either sex (or both if you replay).
The MOD is plot driven, but features lots of custom content, and extensive hack'n'slash areas just to keep you on your toes (and to make use of the stuff you get). The Harpers, that 'semi-secret organization dedicated to the cause of Good' feature strongly, together with a sub-cast including invulnerable dragons, village idiots, resurrected vampires and bad tempered gnomish millers.
The Mod is set in the Year of the Prince, 1357 in the Dale Reckoning, in the Thunder Gap area south west of Cormyr, in the Forgotten Realms.
If you have already played the Prelude (recommended!) you will recognize the opening area in the village. For players using established characters and who are starting at Part 1, the opening cut-scene is intended to provide a brief backdrop to the history.
The game is probably easiest when played with a fighter class, but has been successfully completed with all types, and a significant number of dual-classed characters. Spellcasters can have a lot of fun here. A pure rogue is probably the hardest route to take.
NOTE: There is no PC re-spawn in this game, so be careful to SAVE REGULARLY!! When you are escorting the prisoner, it is essential that you keep the prisoner alive; failure to do so ends the game. The message here: SAVE REGULARLY!!
One slight spoiler: Try to hang on to any reagents and jewels you find, especially if they're things you've never seen. Trust me, you'll be glad you did later on...
The mod features a LOT of custom content with more details in the spoilers, but it's probably more fun to discover things as you go along.
Some enemies cannot be slain, but can be outwitted, sneaked past, or otherwise defeated. A wise adventurer accepts the need to retreat and re-group on occasion. Know when to run away! (we don't believe every single encounter should be tailor made to match your exact level every time... be aware! Most encounters can be handled, however.) Again, save regularly, and learn as you go.
We hope you enjoy these modules, which have been six long months in the making. At this moment, we anticipate there will be at least six more to come before we're done (there goes the next few years of my life...) SideStep could be drawing a pension by then! We think we've error-checked it to exhaustion, but we're bound to have missed something. If you find any bugs, play difficulties or typographical errors, please let us know; we'd really appreciate it.
KNOWN ISSUES:
- To use an item that requires you to point to a target, that target item cannot be in your inventory. All target items must be placed on the ground first.
- There are times when you will have an NPC(s) in 'follow mode'. This works OK for the most part, but there tends to sometimes be some lag, especially when moving between areas. Keep moving! The best cure for this is just a little patience.
