NIGHT’S DARK TERROR

A NEVERWINTER NIGHTS MODULE

MIKE TRAVIS

2005

"Barely one day's march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the DymrakForest and Wulfholde Hills conceal horrors enough to chill the heart of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary - for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon.

But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the wild is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?

This campaign adventure is for characters 1 - 13 and hurls them into the exciting outdoor world which awaits in the Expert rulebook: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos."

This module is for those whose role-playing teeth were sharpened back in the days of Basic and Expert D&D. The adventure takes place in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, slightly modified from GAZ1. The main plot is that of B10: Night's Dark Terror combined with B3: The Palace of the Silver Princess, O2: Blade of Vengeance, and number of adventures from the pages of Dragon Magazine: “The Hunt in Great Allindel”, “Khasma's Folly”, “A Lost Dog”, “Vesicant”, “In the Dread of Night” and others. I've even thrown in some "Easter eggs" as well, such as the Cthulhu Mythos, the old D&D cartoon, and Conan the Barbarian.

This is the beginning third of the nearly decade long campaign I ran while at PurdueUniversity. Play is meant to be in parties, but there are quests to be done solo as well. Besides the main plot, there are smaller quests tied to it that are based to both class and race. Best play would be with a party of five: A Human male, Human female, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling. Class is a secondary concern. Soloing the whole thing is possible as there are henchmen, but it will be difficult at times.

Other highlights include almost 100% custom equipment and monsters, realistic but not hindering rest and respawn rules, a main city with a casino, bathhouse, arena, thieves guild, auction house, and more, all of which are tied together into an attempt to mix a persistent world feel with a plot driven adventure.

As to the NWN scripts, erfs, areas, and haks I have gotten from the NWN community, I will have to go back though my notes to fully credit them. You might recognize them. I take little credit for much of this; I simply have put it all together in a hopefully enjoyable way.

HINTS FOR PLAY

First let me say that this is not a simple short adventure. Plan on spending much time looking around and immersing yourself in the land of Karameikos. The entire adventure will take many hours of game play to complete. I have tried to make this as epic as possible, while keeping the excitement maximum the whole time. Frankly, this module is expansive with nearly 200 different areas to visit. Take your time and have fun with it.

At the same time, however, I hate modules that don’t provide any direction or plot. Therefore I have tried to make the path of the plot fairly obvious. The hard part was to create a plot that allowed PC’s to make choices but still “shepherd” them to the final goal, the Lost Valley of Hutaaka. Also I wanted to make them think about what to do and make things challenging. Therefore I made the game into three separate sections or chapters. Within each chapter, there is complete freedom of movement and choice, each having its own series of sub-quests and plot separate but related to the main plot. To get to the next chapter however requires the completion of a complex quest, that of the main plot. This main quest may be challenging to figure out at times as it is not completely obvious that which quest will get you to the next chapter.

The culture found in this adventure comes directly from the classic basic and expert editions of the old D&D sets. The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is well known to many old time role-players, so I won’t delve into the background much, only to say that if you can get your hands on a copy of GAZ1, you will have everything you need to fully understand the world this module is set in. I have tried to add as much material in-game, however, so that you should not need that now out-of-print accessory to D&D. All I can say is: PAY ATTENTION! Read as much as you can, especially the books found in Fyodor’s Library.

Therefore, to help PC’s with completing this module, especially if lost, I have included a brief outlined walkthrough that will get you to the end with out too much difficulty. Think of it as a list of hints, rather than a complete walkthrough. Note that none of the side quests, class quests, or race quests are listed. For those, you are on your own!

As far as game play is concerned, the major diversion from the standard NWN rules is the addition of different rest, bleeding, and respawn rules. Respawning is made back at the starting area of Arcadia, which will then send you back to the “Home Base” city of Kelven. There are three exceptions to this rule, as certain areas are plot driven, meaning they are not always accessible, kind of one-time areas. Once in these special areas, you will respawn back at the beginning of that area. Once that area is complete, you will once again respawn in Arcadia. These special areas are The Battle of Sukiskyn, The Palace of the Silver Princess, and the Lost Valley of Hutaaka.

Dying has changed a bit as well, to let PC’s bleed to death. When reduced to 0 hp or lower, you will fall unconscious, and begin to bleed to death. Unless distracted by other PC’s or NPC’s that monster which killed you will continue to hack away at you. You will also begin bleeding to death, losing 1 hp per round. When the hp total reaches -10, you will then die. The best solution then is to have someone get the monster killing you distracted and then get someone else to heal you. Not that each round there is also a chance that your wounds will stabilize and you will begin to recover from unconsciousness, 1 hp per round. The chance to recovery is based on your Constitution.

Finally, resting is changed as well, as I felt that the normal rest rules were ridiculous. Being able to rest at will to relearn spells and heal completely was simply unrealistic and game unbalancing. Therefore resting has been changed as follows (credit to The Dungeon Master for this well working script set):

  1. Resting is only allowed in “restzones”. To be able to benefit from a proper rest, you will need good hot food and a comfortable bed. As such, you will at least need a bedroll and rations to rest. You will also need to find a campfire when in the wild. You will know you are able to rest when the Rest icon flashes.
  1. When in a habited area, you may be able to find an inn. Only there you will be able to fully recover your health while in the security of civilization. Outdoors, the amount of healing is reduced dramatically.
  1. You must remove all heavy armor when resting. If you sleep with the armor on, the night of uncomfortable sleep actually worsens your condition.
  1. Exertion will tire you. If you go too long without rest, you will become fatigued then exhausted, reducing your statistics. Only rest can remedy this malady, not restoration magic.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

These are the major NPC’s in the game, in basic order of appearance:

Xenophon – A “Guardian”, a special type of paladin. He will be the PCs’ protector in the first main plot quest.

Attalus Owlfeather – Attalus is the head of the Riffillian Rangers, a group of elves that protect the elves of that town. He is also a friend of Xenophon.

Grog the Half-Ogre – A former adventurer turned barkeep. He runs the Happy Half-Ogre Inn and Tavern. This place is the preferred meeting spot of adventurers. He is a veritable font of adventuring rumors and suggestions. Also, almost all NPC’s for hire are to be found in this excellent watering hole.

Golthar – The main villain of the module, Golthar is the mastermind of the main plot. You will encounter Golthar and his plans from pretty much the beginning of the adventure to the end. Good luck trying to defeat him!

Gevirion – Golthar’s “partner”, he is the Lord of Barad Morkai. Beware his evil power, as he is formidable in combat.

Fyodor Thalaric – Fyodor is the newly hired wizard working for Baron Kelven. He is a specialist in the ancient history of the world.

Baron Kelven – Baron Kelven is the chief vassal of the Grand Duke himself, and rules over a large fief centered on the city of Kelven. His symbol is a bear, for he is renown as a hunter of the bears found in the land.

Baron Penhaglion – Baron Penhaglion rules the fief to the north of Kelven, and is in charge of maintaining the trade route through the BlackPeaks. He is infamous for his harsh treatment of the native Traldaran population.

Baron Sherlane – Baron Sherlane rules over the fief of Threshold. It is a new fief, but quickly becoming richer and more populous due to the excellent potential for mining in the area. Dwarven technology has allowed Threshold to quickly exploit the mineral resources of the area. Nature is taking a beating because of it, however.

Stephan Kraktys – Stephan and his brother Pytor are the head of the newly built settlement of Sukiskyn. They are famous for their mixed breed of cattle and auroch.

The Silver Princess – This ancient Elf is the daughter of elven heroes and rules the magical land of Haven. She uses her magic to protect the elves of Haven and the Emerlas woods from harm.

MAIN PLOT OUTLINE

CHAPTER ONE: THE BARONY OF KELVEN

  1. Head to Kelven! There are many things to see and buy in this densely built city. First, go to the combat trainers on the east side of Castle Kelven. These will raise you to second level quickly. Thenbe sure to pick up healing kits, rations, and a bedroll from the general store on the east of town. Note that none of the merchants found on the streets can identify items. Also, no merchant will accept stolen or evil-based goods. The only place to sell those goods is in the Black Hand Thieves’ Guild, the location of which is a secret.
  1. Visit Grog’s Tavern. There you can get rumors of quests and hire NPC henchman. You will not be able to hire all henchmen right away. If you come back later to Grog’s after completing a chapter, however, you will be able to hire more of them.
  1. Take the south bridge to the South Ducal Highway. There you will meet Attalus, who will give you your first main plot quest to rescue the kidnapped wizard, Fyodor Thalaric. Follow his instructions.
  1. Return to Kelven and find a way into Castle Kelven to get an audience with Baron Kelven. This requires some exploration in the city itself. Note that there are three ways to gain entrance to the keep.

CHAPTER TWO: THE EASTERN FRONTIER

  1. Take the ferry owned by Kalanos to get to Misha’s ferry. Be sure to rest and then continue on to Sukiskyn. This will begin the Battle of Sukiskyn.
  1. After defending Sukiskyn, proceed to retrieve the cattle that have been stolen. Then return to Sukiskyn and begin the search for Stephan.
  1. To find Stephan will eventually require you to enter the land of Haven. This will seem simple at first, but will in the end require an indirect route. This will probably the most frustrating part of the adventure, gaining entrance to Haven.
  1. Once in Haven, destroy the Eye of Arioch which has cursed the land.
  1. Return to Sukiskyn then travel north to the Black Hills to find the secret lair of Golthar.
  1. Back track all the way to Kelven and then Riffillian to complete Stephan’s quest and this chapter.

CHAPTER THREE: THE LOST VALLEY OF HUTAAKA

  1. During the course of the adventure, hints and rumors will have been heard of the ancient civilization of the Nithians. To this will be tied the lost valley of Hutaaka. At this point, the location of the valley will be known.
  1. Head through the Elf-Gate and travel to Threshold. Explore this previously inaccessible city and stock up on supplies.
  1. Leave the town and enter the FoamfireValley, following it to its end, and search for a hidden entrance. This will eventually lead to the lost valley.
  1. Thus begins the last part of the adventure, a two part quest to first recover the Crown of Kings and also to lift the valley’s ancient curse.
  1. Finally, defeat Golthar and his minions to be able to return to Kelven and end the module!

Thanks for playing this adventure. I have spent countless hours trying to perfect it. It is truly a labor of love and a tribute to all those I had so much fun role-playing with back in the nineties. Give it up for Purdue and 1104 Kossuth St.! Happy adventuring!

Mike “Captain Slade” Travis, 2005