Readme File for the Midwinter Festival module, final version for Neverwinter Nights:
Welcome to the Midwinter Festival! This adventure is intended for newly created first
level characters, and is designed as a single player game. The adventure has been carefully
balanced with both these aspects in mind, and should provide a lengthy and challenging
adventure with over twenty hours of game play. The adventure centers around a large,
detailed city environment, so be prepared to explore this large area if you wish to play
this adventure. Be aware that this adventure also includes many challenging combat
situations, where thoughful use of tactical combat and use of the items you find throughout
the game are essential for victory. A Spoiler section is provided at the end of this
Readme, and you may reference it during play if you require assistance. This module requires
Neverwinter Nights with the Shadows of Undrentide expansion (SoU).
For a copy of the module compatible with NWN version 1.29 (before the expansion), contact the author at marcsprice@yahoo.com.
The adventure takes place in the city of Kerendas, which is located in the Empire of
Thyatis. The game world is based upon the Tryman Lands campaign, which is my own creation,
based upon over twenty years of "pen and paper" gaming.
In this world, the primary struggle is among nations which you will learn about during game
play. Your character is a visitor to the City of Kerendas, and a stranger to the Empire of
Thyatis. There are two other major nations on the continent, from which a character may
have his/her origins. These are: The Rankan Kingdoms to the far north, whose Norsemen have
a mixed Celtic/Viking heritage, and The Eastern Desert Emirates, with a nomadic tribal
culture. Humans are dominant upon the continent. Elves and dwarves are infrequent visitors
to the Empire, while gnomes and halflings are even far less common.
For character creation, you may also consider the following deities:
Norsemen worship the Storm God Wodin.
Desert tribesmen worship one of three deities: Ra, the god of light; Osiris, the god of life
and growth; and Bast, goddess of home, the hearth, and animals (cats in particular).
The selection of any of these deities for worship is optional and will not affect game play
except for roleplaying purposes.
Although the player character is NOT an Imperial citizen (i.e., a citizen of the Empire of
Thyatis), it is known that the god Kanos is worshipped exclusively there.
Arcane magic casters are outlawed in the Empire. Thus, wizards and sorcerers are somewhat
rare, and one should not expect an abundance of items for these character classes. However,
the ancient wizards did create many items of power that are still in use in society. Thus,
there are magic items to be found, while perhaps somewhat more rare and varied than those
found in other campaign worlds. City guards may not arrest magic users on sight, since many
magic items produce similar effects to those of spell casters. Nevertheless, suspicion of
magical abilities is grounds for being arrested and tried as a witch.
The game is designed with equal emphasis on roleplaying and combat. The adventure is
non-linear, especially in the early game, and therefore many areas can be explored and
quests performed in any order. However, it is recommended for players to reference the
journal sorted by Priority, which will assist one in understanding which quests are most
appropriate to undertake first.
This adventure is designed to be highly challenging. It is strongly recommended that you
take some precautions to fight intelligently, and to frequently use items that you may
acquire during the game, including potions and other unique items. You should also consider
buying more of these items when the opportunity presents itself.
I hope you enjoy the game, and please remember to vote on this adventure and provide
feedback! Comments, questions, and bugs can be reported to marcsprice@yahoo.com
The sequel to this module - Midsummer Knights' Dream - is forthcoming. The character used in Midwinter Festival can be exported at the conclusion of this game, and used in the upcoming sequel.
Thanks and enjoy!
Marc Price
Updates for final version (cumulative)
--------------------------------------------
Corrected minor dialog errors
Updated some quest rewards
Changed palace doors to unbreakable
Fixed creatures becoming hostile prematurely
Rebalanced some encounters
Added minor Kerendas characters
Added Return Scroll
Improved graveyard encounters
Rebalanced final encounters
Added garlic cookie
Allowed different order for some quests
Updated to NWN version 1.29
Added some map pins and minor dialog
Added spoilers to the Readme file
Fixed and clarified a few dialog errors
Fixed Boccaccio gold cheat
Fixed catacomb triggers
Updated for compatibility with SoU expansion
Updated minor fix for Vendrill
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These spoilers are presented in the order they may be encountered:
If you have trouble with the wererats...
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it is highly recommended that the PC advance to third level before facing the wererats.
Plenty of quests exist throughout Kerendas that can be pursued before returning to face
the wererats. Suggestions for defeating them include using a magical weapon - several can
be acquired for use by a third level PC throughout Kerendas, and using an item available
from Tybalt, a character who can be found in the docks region.
If you have trouble figuring out how to get into the lower parts of the temple...
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there are a couple clues for this, and it is recommended that the PC explore most of the city before pursuing this course of action. The caged goblin can inform the PC that someone named "Knights Panther" has acquired a key to the lower areas from a boy inside the Temple. Second, at the palace the PC can overhear a conversation about visitors to the city - the same Knights Panther - who are confined to the upper floor of the Singing Moon Inn. One should visit the Singing Moon and speak with the proprietor about getting upstairs. Speaking to Severin of the Knights Panther will advance the plot.
If you are having trouble with the elemental rune puzzle in the South End...
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a proper number of elemental runes are required to generate a portal. One is needed
for each brazier. Two of these runes are found scattered throughout the South End,
one is found in a Warehouse, and one is located in Vendrill's Mansion, in his main
upstairs study. Once these are all placed in a brazier and the fires remain lit,
the portal will open.
If you are having trouble getting into the Serpentine Tavern...
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it is first necessary to retrieve the encrypted note from Vendrill's Mansion and
decrypt it. This is done with the encryption/decryption device in one of the Warehouses,
which are accessed once the Warehouse Key is retrieved from the Venom messenger within the
Temple. By placing the note on the decryption device and pulling the lever, the note is
decrypted and the password is known. With the note in your inventory, you may knock on
the door of the Serpentine Tavern, speak the correct password, as revealed by the note,
and you will gain entrance to this Thieves' stronghold.
If you are having trouble finding the sun crystal on the Plane of Fire...
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speak with the female Azer at the base camp. She is a teacher and can give you a quest
to assist with learning the language of Ignan. Once you complete this quest for her, you
will be able to understand the runes on this plane. Following these instructions, you
should be able to trace a path to the current possessor(s) of the sun crystal.
If you have trouble with the fire giants...
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the key to defeating the fire giants is using the right protection, as they hit for a lot
of damage quickly. A very successful technique is to employ the potion of ether, as they
will have great difficulty damaging the PC who uses this potion. Other protections include
a variety of potions found throughout the game.
If you have trouble defeating Modius...
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it is essential that you use the sun crystal against Modius, as instructed by Julian and
Severin. The sun crystal is a unique item with unlimited uses per day. So use it!
Use it on your foes by targeting them either as individuals, or as an area of effect,
by targeting the ground near the enemy. In either case, the power of the sun will
drain your enemy while simultaneously replenishing the PC.
Secondly, Modius may use harm spells against the PC. This spell will severely drain the
PC's hitpoints, but cannot kill the PC. If a PC uses a heal potion immediately after the
harm, this will negate the attack. Use of defenses to prevent Modius from hitting the PC
are obviously essential. Another useful potion is the potion of speed, which will enable
a PC to take action (such as drinking a heal potion) before Modius can react.
Ultimately, the sun crystal will wear him down if you choose to make that your primary attack.
If you are stuck in a jail cell...
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you need to acquire the key that lies on a pedestal just beyond the cell bars.
First, the key must be knocked to the ground, which can be accomplished by destroying
the pedestal using any ranged weapon or spell. The sling and rocks (bullets) found
in the cell are handy for this, as are any others means available to the PC.
Second, the key is still out of reach. Therefore, the key must be moved closer to the PC
by destroying the pool of blood that lies just beyond the key. This will spill enough
blood out to push the key even closer to the PC.
Finally, a pair of skeleton bones found inside the jail cell can be used to reach the key,
once it is on the ground and moved toward the PC in a pool of blood. The PC can stand as
close to the bars as one can, which using the pair of skeleton bones to reach the key.
Voila, the key is retrieved, and one can return to business.
