Island Holiday Version 1.1 3 September 2003 by Bob Stewart dreambard@bigplanet.com http://www.employees.org/~bstewart Scenario A small group of friends goes on a sea cruise to a beautiful island for a peaceful vacation, or anyway that was the original plan... Installation Installation couldn’t be simpler. Just put the file "Island Holiday.mod" in the "modules" folder which is in your "nwn" folder. Module Characteristics The module is best for a small, reasonably balanced party of 3-4 players. It can be quite difficult playing alone at lower levels, especially for a new, level 1 character. It is not designed for evil characters or exploitive players. Bad actions will often be punished, but I didn't catch all possibilities and it is certainly possible to foul up the works by being perverse. Most combat is scaled according to BioWare conventions as is some treasure. Some combat and treasure are of fixed value. Some treasure scaling is custom, by average party level. Combat experience is awarded according to BioWare conventions. Experience for quests and various other actions is scaled by average party level. Resting and the penalty for death are according to BioWare conventions. Acknowledgements Although I did all the development, including considerable scripting, much credit goes to posters on the BioWare scripting forum, script contributors at Neverwinter Vault, and the Neverwinter Nights Lexicon. Those three provided many examples, tips, and necessary information nuggets to accomplish the scripting I had to do when I just couldn't stand to do things the easy way. My test team: Bob Stewart Jr., Ben Stewart, and Rob Brown took the shakedown cruise and provided me with many useful comments and suggestions that significantly improved the module. In the context of his fair and thorough review, Expresso pointed out some flaws that led to improvements in this version. ** Caution -- Spoilers Start Here ** Possible Technical Problems NWN doesn't appear consistently to save all the state of the running module, especially if you save, exit, and come back during a generated encounter. Such problems have been observed inconsistently in the Ominous Mausoleum and in the endgame at Paradise Farm. If you find yourself solidly unable to get the lich to fight or unable to make the family members happy you may have encountered that problem. So if you want the security of a save file, get it before you go into the Ominous Mausoleum (on the two-tiered hill in Paradise Gardens) or enter Paradise Farm (when you leave Paradise Gardens). It's also happened that a character came into the Repel Boarders area on the wrong ship if the entry spot is crowded. Mechanisms are in place to fix that, but if they don't work, you're stuck unless a DM can get in and move you. DM Notes The module was designed to operate without a DM's active involvement, but a DM might find some areas to get involved. The module contains the DM Wand and FX Wand from Neverwinter Vault. In the order they appear, the key NPCs that might be interesting to possess are: The shopkeeper in Island Holidays. The captain in At Sea, Repel Boarders, or Below Deck (he moves among those areas). The cook in Below Deck. The innkeeper in Paradise Inn. The druid in Paradise Forest. The key warden in Eerie Mausoleum. The lich in Ominous Mausoleum. Any of the Goodman family initially found in Root Cellar Detailed Walkthrough The following walkthrough covers all the areas, by name, in the order you’ll most likely see them, except for the Death area. Death When you die you go to the Death area and must speak with the Lord of Limbo. If you have been attacking good creatures he will scold you and adjust your faction with them. The adjustment is as in the Official Campaign. Then he offers the available options for your return. At minimum you can go back to the place you died. As your adventure progresses other options become available as described below. The experience and gold penalties for resurrection are as in the official campaign. This Death area and handling are available as a prefab at Neverwinter Vault. Island Holidays You start at the office of Island Holidays where you and your friends, if you bring any, have reservations for a sea cruise to a peaceful island for some rest and relaxation. The shopkeeper has most basic items for sale and will buy items. Her prices are not real good. Snooping and stealing carry an alignment penalty. You must wait here until the entire adventuring party is together. When you leave, by telling the shopkeeper you're ready to go, the whole party leaves together and no further players can follow. At Sea The captain will greet you on deck and suggest you go below. All party members must go below at the same time to proceed with the action. Death during the sea voyage gives a choice of return to the place of death or Below Deck. Below Deck The cook will offer food but never quite get around to giving it to you. Until the entire party has come below at the same time going topside returns to At Sea. Once the entire party is below deck at the same time, you’ll be encouraged to go back topside where you’ll find a fight. During the fight the captain will come below deck and players can go back and forth to the fight. When the fight is finished the captain goes back on deck and all players must come below again at the same time to proceed to the island. Repel Boarders You’re now next to a pirate ship and pirates are on board. You have to fight them off while the captain runs for cover. Once you’ve killed all the pirates on board more appear on the pirate ship and must be killed with distance weapons. You can go below deck to get out of their range and to get distance weapons from the weapon rack the captain has unlocked for you. When you’ve killed off the pirates on the pirate ship the captain will come back and the weapon rack will be locked. All party members must go below at the same time to proceed to the island. Paradise Landing You’ve made it to Paradise Island. The captain and cook have disappeared. All you can see of the island is a fairly small area with the dock, an inn, and some cows and chickens. The area is walled, with a locked gate. When you return here after completing the main quests you'll receive the gratitude of the captain and a visit from the module author. Paradise Inn In the inn you meet the innkeeper. She’s looking for her ring, which she doesn’t know she dropped outside in the water trough by the cows. She’ll charge you a gold for the gate key you need to move on. She'll return that when you return the key. The innkeeper sells the same items as the Island Holidays shopkeeper, for the same buy and sell prices. Upstairs is a sleeping area with nothing else in it. Paradise Forest Entering the forest you’ll see a named white stag. Speaking to or standing near the stag causes it to look at you, run off, and look back at you several times, until it reaches the druid grove and turns into the druid. The druid gives a multi-part quest to get and deliver some artifacts and retrieve a key for him. The quest all takes place within the forest and a 2-door ruin found in the forest. The ruin holds the spirits of notable dead, evil on one side and good on the other. It is a place of neutral balance, rest for the dead, and protection for the living. When his main quest is done the druid offers a starting clue about further problems on the island. The druid will also appreciate a delivery from his friend Grandpa Goodman when you've completed the other main quests. You can't leave the forest until the druid's msin quest is satisfied. Rangers and druids get a clearer hint from the white stag and from the magic blocking the exit from the forest behind the waterfall. The forest has incidental fights with incorporeal undead and spiders, as well as a fight with undead to gain the artifacts. The spiders guard some useful treasure. In the forest is a dryad that turns into a tree when you get too close and back to a dryad when you move away. She's the druid's girlfriend and has no other purpose. There are also some deer and a cougar, not hostile and just adding to the scenery and the balance. The ghost of the unknown soldier haunts the area near his monument. He wants to know who he is and will be a bit more clear about that to clerics or paladins. Speaking his name, "Fenther," by typing it will free him, and change his monuments here and in Paradise Gardens, where the real hint to his identity is found. Killing the druid is relatively difficult and is a game-stopper if done too soon. He becomes very upset and attacks if you kill his friends. He heals all damage and negative effects on anyone who starts a conversation with him. He will help if you run to him under attack. If you die in the forest you'll have the options to return to the place you died or the druid's grove. In Paradise Forest you begin to get hints that Paradise Island is primarily a cemetery. Druid Shack The druid lives in a shack built out of a large tree in the forest. In the shack his pet badger patrols on guard. Opening any of the druid's containers causes the badger to come watch you. Taking anything causes the badger to attack. Killing the badger upsets the druid. Catacomb of Villiany After you've retrieved the hero's remains, a skull and staff, for him, the druid gives you the Key of Villiany and sends you to the Catacomb to retrieve the Key of Benevolence. The Catacomb of Villiany is not a place to pick a fight. The guards are numerous and extremely tough. The Guardian of Villiany readily gives up the Key of Benevolence. Catacomb of Benevolence With the Key of Benevolence you can enter the Catacomb of Benevolence. Again this is not a place to fight. The guards are numerous and extremely tough. The Guardian of Benevolence will be pleased with the hero's remains and will give a reward and a token for their delivery. This token and the two keys will satisfy the druid's main quest. Paradise Caverns Paradise Caverns is a long, twisty tunnel through the cliff. It has crystal tomb structures in a couple of places and some hostile orcs live there, separated from the haunted tomb by a locked door. The orcs and the haunted tomb have fairly easy fights. When most of the quests are complete and Grandpa Goodman from the Root Cellar is fully satisfied shortcuts appear between the two exits from the caverns. Orc Hut The orc hut contains some constant, fairly low-value treasure. Orc Chief Hut The orc chief hut contains some constant, slightly better treasure and the key to the locked door. Unlocking the door with the key rewards some experience. Paradise Gardens Paradise Gardens is the island's obvious cemetery. While the evil lich lives it is dark, stormy, and haunted by evil. When the lich is gone it remains moderately dark but the evil and storm are gone. The gardens have a zombie fight, multiple skeleton fights, an incorporeal undead fight, and a ghoul fight. The possibility of these fights and any leftovers from them disappear when the lich dies. The gardens have the ghostly parents and family plot of Fenther Goodman, the unknown soldier from the forest. These are the clues to his identity. He and his parents are released and his monument here changes when he hears his name from you. From the gardens you can go into two mausoleums and a house, a cave at the end of the stream, or back to Paradise Caverns or on to Paradise Farm. If you die in the gardens you'll have the option of returning to the place you died or the sundial in the gardens, which is relatively safe unless you've dragged a fight there from elsewhere. Eerie Mausoleum This mausoleum is infested with ghouls. One of them, the key warden, leaves behind the key to the other mausoleum when he dies. He also guards an urn with gold in it. Ominous Mausoleum The door to this mausoleum is locked and its key is held by a ghoul in the other mausoleum. In here is the lich that is the source of evil polluting the island and mentioned by the druid. The power of the lich is scaled according to the power of the adventuring party. He will refuse to fight until you have conquered his undead minions hiding in deep darkness in each of the crypt's four corners. Each corner holds a strongly trapped, locked chest. When the lich dies the traps disappear. He has the key to the altar in front of him and the chests. When you approach the lich after clearing all four corners the coffins in front of him open and his undead council appears for another fight. Once you've killed the council and spoken to him, he'll fight to the death. Killing him lights the crypt and cleans the cemetery. This crypt contains the hardest combat in the module. Keeper's House The cemetery keeper lives here but he isn't home. He left his door locked. Unlocking or destroying it is a chaotic act. Relocking it a lawful act. Inside are a few containers but no treasure. The keeper's dog wanders around the area outside the house. Here the keeper, Grandpa Goodman, will reward you after you've rescued his family from the Root Cellar in Paradise Farm. He will ask you to make a delivery to the druid and will activate the shortcut through the caverns. Wet Cave In the wet cave is the inept adventurer who lost the hero's artifacts in the forest. He now lives here with a nymph who is sound asleep as he sits watching her. He won't leave his version of paradise, but is relieved to hear his quest was completed. Paradise Farm The farm is the home of the cemetery keeper's family. It has a few building you can enter. It is presently under siege by pirates and the Goodman family is nowhere to be seen. It falls to you to destroy the pirates near the barn, near their ship, and in two of the buildings. Carelessly boarding the pirate ship will trigger a deadly trap. If you die anywhere on the farm you'll have the choice of returning to the place you died or to the Farm Barn. Farm House The lower floor of the house looks disturbingly empty and quiet, as though the people suddenly left. Here Mom Goodman will reward you after you've rescued her family from the Root Cellar. Upstairs the pirates are looking for loot. Farm Barn The farm's cows munch contentedly in the dimly lit barn. Farm Shop The shop shows signs of considerable industry but the only inhabitants are some more pirates. Here Dad Goodman will reward you after you've rescued his family from the Root Cellar. Farm Shed In the small, dark storage shed a pile of flour sacks sit on a trap door. If you're strong enough you can move them, otherwise you'll have to destroy them. Through the door is the root cellar. Root Cellar Below the shed is the root cellar. Here you find the Goodman family, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Son, and Daughter. They won't trust you until you assure Grandpa of your motives. Grandpa wants you to clear the evil from the cemetery and Mom wants you to clear the pirates from the farm. They'll sense if you haven't accomplished that. When you've accomplished these quests Grandpa will say to meet him at his house, Mom will tell you to meet you at her house, and Dad will tell you to meet him at the shop. Once you've spoken to them, and they're all happy, they'll all leave. Version History V1.1 - 3 September 2003 Added Installation, DM Notes, and Detailed Walkthrough sections to readme file, along with other tweaks to the information provided. Went through all the areas and selected more appropriate music and ambient sounds. Added many sounds in the Garden. Made the captain more likely to move correctly to and from below. Fixed a bug where the druid would make a seriously misleading comment if you came back to him again after finding the hero's artifacts and the druid giving you the Key of Villiany. It looked like a game stopper but was not if you believed your journal and forged ahead regardless of what the druid was saying. Made the druid generous with healing on conversation with player characters with any sort of damage or negative effects. Renamed Fancy Mausoleum and Small Mausoleum as Eerie Mausoleum and Ominous Mausoleum, respectively. When the lich dies, removed the traps on the corner chests in the Ominous Mausoleum. Updated to Version 2.0 of my Death area and added various alternate return points beyond just coming back to where you died. V1.0 - 28 April 2003