Incline Hearkenwold - an IceBlink and DC engine Campaign

[Serus]

Question that was probably asked before but i'll ask itr anyway. I'm too lazy to look it up.
What are the differences between this version and kotc2 version if any? I'm obviously not talking about presentation or engine or things you make first in iceblink version before porting to kotc2. I ask about content that is already in both and about game mechanics.

 

[Dorateen]

What are the differences between this version and kotc2 version if any? I ask about content that is already in both and about game mechanics.

In terms of game mechanics, IceBlink is more simple than KotC2. IceBlink is only six classes, five races and less spells and feats. On the other hand, the way the conversation interface works in IceBlink makes it possible to select the character you want to speak even in the middle of an interaction, in order to choose other possible dialogue options. These are still available in KotC2, but it is more picking from the list of available options. Essentially, it means you can swap the party "spokesman" or leader on the fly.

Also a big mechanical difference, IceBlink uses a spell points system for magic. As opposed to memorization in KotC2.

Regarding content, I have tried to recreate everything that is in the IceBlink module in KotC2. I'd like to say it is a 1:1 conversion, although there might be minor things I intentionally left out or added here and there. However, every encounter and every quest, every NPC is present in both versions.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Is that minotaur an asset from Dungeon Hack? Hmmm.... I bet one could put in doom/heretic/hexen assets eh?

 

[Abu Antar]

What are the differences between this version and kotc2 version if any? I ask about content that is already in both and about game mechanics.

In terms of game mechanics, IceBlink is more simple than KotC2. IceBlink is only six classes, five races and less spells and feats. On the other hand, the way the conversation interface works in IceBlink makes it possible to select the character you want to speak even in the middle of an interaction, in order to choose other possible dialogue options. These are still available in KotC2, but it is more picking from the list of available options. Essentially, it means you can swap the party "spokesman" or leader on the fly.

Also a big mechanical difference, IceBlink uses a spell points system for magic. As opposed to memorization in KotC2.

Regarding content, I have tried to recreate everything that is in the IceBlink module in KotC2. I'd like to say it is a 1:1 conversion, although there might be minor things I intentionally left out or added here and there. However, every encounter and every quest, every NPC is present in both versions.

If you had to choose which version, which would you recommend? (I tried KotC2 version). Pretend that your are being held under gunp... threatened by JarlFrank licking your feet.

 

[Dorateen]

In terms of game mechanics, IceBlink is more simple than KotC2. IceBlink is only six classes, five races and less spells and feats. On the other hand, the way the conversation interface works in IceBlink makes it possible to select the character you want to speak even in the middle of an interaction, in order to choose other possible dialogue options. These are still available in KotC2, but it is more picking from the list of available options. Essentially, it means you can swap the party "spokesman" or leader on the fly.

Also a big mechanical difference, IceBlink uses a spell points system for magic. As opposed to memorization in KotC2.

Regarding content, I have tried to recreate everything that is in the IceBlink module in KotC2. I'd like to say it is a 1:1 conversion, although there might be minor things I intentionally left out or added here and there. However, every encounter and every quest, every NPC is present in both versions.

If you had to choose which version, which would you recommend? (I tried KotC2 version). Pretend that your are being held under gunp... threatened by JarlFrank licking your feet.

That is a fearsome prospect. Under such a threat, I would have to say the Knights of the Chalice 2 version. It is just a more advanced system and offers more in the way of enemy AI and character features. There are things I still like about IceBlink and it is a cozy experience, but I've been working with the engine for more than ten years now.

KeighnMcDeath I think so, about the minotaur. All the assets are from the FRUA archives, which collected sprites and images from all the SSI era games.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Am I correct in assuming that Hearkenwold can't be finished atm given that the fire pits and Saldanus are still under construction? How likely is it that my save is not going to work in later versions once it's done for real?

 

[Dorateen]

Am I correct in assuming that Hearkenwold can't be finished atm given that the fire pits and Saldanus are still under construction? How likely is it that my save is not going to work in later versions once it's done for real?

The save game files will carry over. I am working on the Saldanus content right now that will be available later this year. Players can pick up right where they left off.

 

[Darth Roxor]

In that case it seems I've done everything there is to do at the moment and I'll have to wait for more.

A few impressions from me:

- I'm very highly impressed with this campaign. It's really big, the playtime on my last save is 29 hours, and the open world is really well done. It does a lot of things right in terms of the world and exploration - one thing is how huge it is, but a whole another is how often you feel like you're about to ace it, but then it turns out there's a whole new corner of the map somewhere with 10 new screens. The diversity of the locales is another big advantage, this shit just never gets old because you're in significantly different places all the time.
- The diversity of the map lends itself to a very nicely varied bestiary as well. I particularly laughed at all the weirdo monsters in the gnome's many cherry orchards.
- I also dig the general feel of a low-key D&D adventure turning increasingly 'bigger' in importance as events unfold. It's very much like IWD1 and BG1 in that sense. The story and how all the events are interconnected is neat too, especially with the player's freedom in tackling them.
- XP economy is nicely balanced - you don't get too powerful too fast, and once you start rolling at a relatively higher level, the progress feels appropriately slow to make subsequent level up a really big deal.

So in other words, I liked it a lot. It's better than a lot of actual RPGs out there.

A few things that irked me:

- The #1 most infuriating thing is that every barbarian in the game has that stupid elephant shout. It can add to the difficulty up to about level 5, but after that it's strictly a freaking annoyance, especially if you face 6 barbs at a time and they luck out on initiative and you have to sit through the stupid shout effects for half an hour. The dwarf halls are especially guilty of this with the million Khrystos bugbears. At one point, I just started going nuclear on all barbarians I faced, not because they were a threat, but because the shouts are so stupidly annoying.
- Likewise, I think encounters such as 10 cockatrices with instakill mass petrification are similarly annoying and cheapo. And yes, there may be items that protect from petrification, but there's two of them in total and they're far in between. Although as I type this I realise that I may in fact be a little stupid, but here's a question that occurred to me only just now - does casting Darkness protect anyone caught inside from gaze weapons attacks?
- Maybe it's because I'm relatively fresh off Pierre's sadism and I knew how to munchkin the party properly (greater grapple is MVP as always), but the campaign is too easy. I think a lot of it is due to the very generous placement of campfires. It's too bad because at times when I forced myself to do no-resting gauntlets (like in the cherry orchards), I had a lot of fun managing spellcasting.



Keep up the good work!

 

[Dorateen]

Thank you very much for the feedback! In the upcoming city adventure, I am going to have more restriction on the resting spots. (As in, I'm planning only one safe place to rest.) Trying to keep the difficulty up at the higher levels is a definite challenge.

The new content is added to the existing module, that's why it is no problem to continue with the saved games.

 

[Dorateen]

Sewer locations are an iconic part of traditional computer role-playing games. I think of the sewers beneath Waterdeep in Eye of the Beholder, the sewers under Tilverton from Curse of the Azure Bonds; the sewers of Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, and even KotC2's Augury of Chaos had its prime dungeon built around a sewer complex. Curiously, there has not been any notable sewer crawls featured in Hearkenwold.

Until now!

The Sewers of Saldanus are a labyrinthine network of interconnected maps. Characterized by slimy green rock walls and green frothy waters. I also have a dark green floor tile, but for the purpose of contrast and also clarity, I decided to go with a lighter stone tile for most of the floors. Saldanus is an old city, abundant in resources. I imagine the sewers had been well maintained, at least originally. Now the area exhibits traps and secret passages. It is shaping up to be an interesting dungeon crawl, which should be a nice change of pace from the city exploration above. But whatever is going on down here, will be up to the party to find out.

Here are some screenhots:

Sewers and alligators are a natural fit. But these are no ordinrary gators... here the party fights Vampiric Crocodiles!

This is another area of the Sewers that features a giant whirlpool. I used the height mapping tool of the IceBlink toolset to creat the effect of lower levels of the tiles in a spiral, leading to a dark hole to suck down unwitting characters.

I would like to completely finish the sewers this month. All the maps are created and in place, I am just going through placing encounters and other points of interest. Then next month, I will look to return to other areas of the city and tie everything up. Still trying to make the targeted release for the end of June. Immediately after that, I will copy all this Saldanus content into the Adventure Module for Knights of the Chalice 2.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Curiously, there has not been any notable sewer crawls featured in Hearkenwold.

And that was a good thing

 

[Dorateen]

Curiously, there has not been any notable sewer crawls featured in Hearkenwold.

And that was a good thing

I hear you. Sewers aren't a favorite environment, but I think if you play a big enough RPG, sooner or later you're going to find yourself down there.

 

[Grauken]

I always liked sewers crawls, its the perfect natural environment for any kind of dungeon

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

I always liked sewers crawls, its the perfect natural environment for any kind of dungeon

This might come as a shock to a German, but sewers aren't natural formations.

 

[Grauken]

I always liked sewers crawls, its the perfect natural environment for any kind of dungeon

This might come as a shock to a German, but sewers aren't natural formations.

I walked right into this one