NWN The Blades of Netheril - unofficial sequel to NWN1 OC from Ossian's Luke Scull

[Infinitron]

https://www.lukescull.com/2021/07/1...-to-the-neverwinter-nights-original-campaign/

Announcing The Blades of Netheril – an unofficial sequel to the Neverwinter Nights original campaign

Fantasy author and Ossian Studios lead designer Luke Scull is thrilled to announce The Blades of Netheril, an unofficial sequel to the Neverwinter Nights original campaign! The story is a direct continuation of the Wailing Death storyline. Cast out in disgrace and erased from Neverwinter’s history, the hero is thrust into a struggle between ancient powers that could ultimately rewrite the fate of Faerûn. Familiar faces will return alongside new allies and enemies as the player embarks on an epic quest that is both world-changing and deeply personal.

The Blades of Netheril will be split into three chapters each approaching an expansion in scope. Each chapter will include:

• 20+ hours of gameplay
• A fully narrated intro cinematic
• Deadly new monsters to fight
• New portraits and a gorgeous world map
• New music
• The level of quality one would expect from an official campaign or premium module

The first chapter begins in Skullport, also known as the Port of Shadows—a city of slavers, monsters and villains festering far below Waterdeep. Waking up in a dark cell with no memory of they how they came to be there, the hero will discover a dark conspiracy that spans the breadth of the Forgotten Realms.

As well as acting as a direct sequel to the original campaign, The Blades of Netheril will serve as a sequel to Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark, and Luke’s previous AL series of modules.

The first chapter of the Blades of Netheril is targeting a release date of June 18th, 2022—exactly 20 years after Neverwinter Nights was originally released on Microsoft Windows. Subsequent chapters will follow six to 12 months later.

The Blades of Netheril is currently planned to be available free for owners of Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition on Windows/Mac OS X, while other versions may follow later. Multiplayer is planned but may be added post-release.

For regular updates on The Blades of Netheril, subscribe to Luke Scull’s Patreon. You can also visit his website at www.lukescull.com and follow him on twitter @Luke_Scull.

About Luke Scull:

Luke Scull was the lead designer and writer of NWNEE: Tyrants of the Moonsea, NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate, The Shadow Sun, and the Gemmell award nominated The Grim Company trilogy of novels. He also created the classic NWN Hall of Fame modules Siege of Shadowdale and Crimson Tides of Tethyr and is a veritable depository of Forgotten Realms lore. The Blades of Netheril is his personal project and has no affiliation with Ossian Studios.

 

[agris]

That's cool, nice to see a newspost about free content.

edit: even if NWN is trash :D

 

[Grunker]

There are people in this world using the precious little amount of time bestowed on their human lives to make sequels for Neverwinter Nights' original campaign

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I mean Luke Scull is a cool dude and I like Ossian’s stuff, but the NWN OC? Seriously? Why not make a sequel to Descent to Undermountain or Sword Coast Legends while you’re at it?

 

[Volourn]

I remember when the supreme RPG Codex website proclaimed NWN dead at arrival and stated that within 5 years nobody would play or care about the game. 20 years later, and here we are.... HAHAHAHAHAH.

 

[The Jester]

The OC campaign also underlines just how much of a raw deal the protagonist of the first OC got, since all of his achievements were either erased or attributed to somebody else.

Oh, I forgot just HOW bad the first game's main character got shafted:
1. Aribeth, one potential love interest, either in Hell and/or pounded by the protagonist of the expansions (possibly in a threesome with a sexy Tiefling/Drow).
2. Banished from the city.
3. All his accomplishments either covered up or forgotten.
4. Literally not a single one of his companions join him in exile.
5. Is mentioned, I think, once, in the sequel?
6. If romancing a different companion, they also let him go into exile solo.

Now I wish they made another expansion about THIS GUY.

Hold my beer.

 

[Riddler]

Is this a solo effort Luke Scull or are you collaborating with anyone?

 

[Grauken]

I've played the OC of NWN but remember almost nothing. I know Aribeth's fate (that was the elf chick, right) was supposed to be tragic, but it was so terribly written it felt just like someone's first fanfiction effort. There was a plague at some point, eh. And you had a teleport crystal that broke difficulty.

 

[Luke Scull]

I mean Luke Scull is a cool dude and I like Ossian’s stuff, but the NWN OC? Seriously? Why not make a sequel to Descent to Undermountain or Sword Coast Legends while you’re at it?

The OC itself... wasn't great, but it had a few good characters and some interesting themes. Also, the PC got shafted and ended up being exiled from the city he or she helped save, which serves up an interesting hook. This is a very different, much darker take on the Hero of Neverwinter's fate.

 

[Luke Scull]

Is this a solo effort Luke Scull or are you collaborating with anyone?

As of now, this is a solo effort with a few contractors for art and music further down the line.

 

[Grauken]

I assume the NWN mod community still makes mods, so have they mainly moved on to make them for the EEs or is it split between the originals and the EEs?

 

[Luke Scull]

There are people in this world using their precious time to make sequels for Neverwinter Nights' original campaign

Meh, I've already published a few novels and created a few videogames and I have the time and ability to do it while also doing other stuff I enjoy. A part of the motivation here is to create something that a) a lot of people will play, and b) improves on the original by an unimaginable order of magnitude.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

You can't have too many quality NWN modules, so yaaaay!

 

[The Jester]

I mean Luke Scull is a cool dude and I like Ossian’s stuff, but the NWN OC? Seriously? Why not make a sequel to Descent to Undermountain or Sword Coast Legends while you’re at it?

The OC itself... wasn't great, but it had a few good characters and some interesting themes. Also, the PC got shafted and ended up being exiled from the city he or she helped save. This is a very different, much darker take on the Hero of Neverwinter's fate.

Wasn't it implied that the HoN was a man because Aribeth's romance was only available for male PCs?

 

[The Jester]

Is this a solo effort Luke Scull or are you collaborating with anyone?

As of now, this is a solo effort with a few contractors for art and music further down the line.

So no more Beamdog's money for voice acting, eh?

 

[Luke Scull]

Is this a solo effort Luke Scull or are you collaborating with anyone?

As of now, this is a solo effort with a few contractors for art and music further down the line.

So no more Beamdog's money for voice acting, eh?

The voice-acting will prove the difficult part, hence setting up a Patreon to absorb some of those costs.

 

[Luke Scull]

I mean Luke Scull is a cool dude and I like Ossian’s stuff, but the NWN OC? Seriously? Why not make a sequel to Descent to Undermountain or Sword Coast Legends while you’re at it?

The OC itself... wasn't great, but it had a few good characters and some interesting themes. Also, the PC got shafted and ended up being exiled from the city he or she helped save. This is a very different, much darker take on the Hero of Neverwinter's fate.

Wasn't it implied that the HoN was a man because Aribeth's romance was only available for male PCs?

I don't think so. Either way, TBoN won't assume a gender for the Hero of Neverwinter...

 

[Lacrymas]

Cool. If you need some music composed for this, hit me up.

 

[Sabotin]

Will this have any ties to AL1/2/3 since it was first planned as the 4th module in the series or is it completely unrelated and just kept the name? I'm greatly looking forward to it anyway .

 

[Luke Scull]

Cool. If you need some music composed for this, hit me up.

Thanks, much appreciated.

 

[Luke Scull]

Will this have any ties to AL1/2/3 since it was first planned as the 4th module in the series or is it completely unrelated and just kept the name? I'm greatly looking forward to it anyway .

Yes. It's a sequel to the OC that also hooks in to the expansions and my AL series. It is set weeks/months after both. Anyone familiar with my penchant for antiheroes, grimdarkery, tragedy and action sequences unrivaled in their manliness will see that the Realms are about to get fucked up.

 

[Riddler]

Really looking forwards to this, good luck man!

 

[agris]

With that pitch you almost make me want to play it.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Luke is one of the most highly regarded module authors in the NWN community since the near-beginning but, ironically, I've played a lot of NWN HOF modules but never played any of his. Time to change that.

 

[JarlFrank]

NWN OC is the worst RPG ever made. I was hoping Ossian would be making their own game now, in an engine that doesn't suck...

This is just meh.