Nwn - Hcr 24-03-2003

Rev Hellfire

See yea all on the portal server around 9:00 (say 8:50)

we'll be playing new characters on a new server, no hak or anything needed.

readme for module :-

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Amulet of Zeran v2.2 README
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The purpose of this module is to be a tribute to all the old school hack-n-slash RPGs
such as Dungeon Hack, Bard's Tale, Wizardry, Might and magic, Nethack, and Demise.
The basic concept is a party goes inside the dungeon, kills stuff, goes back out and
buys things. What makes this module unique is how teamplay is required, not an optional
trait, and how each dungeon level is different from each other (e.g. underground forest).
If you want to play a module that you will remember, that is a challenge, that is long,
and want to relive the days of co-op gameplay with your (drinking) buddies,
then you have found the perfect module.
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Updates
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- Fixed the "scroll looks like corpse bug"
NOTE: In order to answer the riddle golem, EXAMINE the golem for the riddle, TYPE OUT
your answer. If the riddle golem doesn't respond, you didn't get it right.
SAVE GAME NOTE: A saved game will not update when you download the new version. You need
to start out fresh. I would suggest saving those characters from the previous versions
and use those portal crystals.
CRASH NOTE: For those of you experiencing crashes when changing armor, you must wait
for the v1.27 patch. Currently, there is a bug with ranged weapons hitting armor then
changing the armor quickly, causing the game to crash. I would suggest not to change
armor until v1.27 is finished or use the v1.27 beta.
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Contents
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1.Overview
2. Features (Current Version)
3. Party Tips
4. Recommanded Server Settings
5. FAQ
6.Contact Info
7.Special Thanks
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Overview
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Amulet of Zeran starts you off in a small merchant town of Ireran, which happens to be
on top of one of the most famous and valuable treasures in the known realm:
The Amulet of Zeran. After the amulet was discovered by a wizard named Eron,
adventurers all over the realm seeked the possession of this grand prize, for it
is believed to be the test from the Deities and Demons that watch over our realm.
Many challenges, tricks, traps, and odd creatures await down below for any foolish party
that dare enters its 20 level domain. Do you dare challenge the Amulet of Zeran?
Every character should start at level 1 with 0 xp. At the beginning of the module, you will
be given a random number of gold pieces and instructions on playing the module. It is
also recommanded that you play with a group of friends or start from the beginning to the
end, instead of reloading the module each time.
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Features
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- Random Encounters that happen as you roam throughout the dungeon.
- Semi-HCR ruleset. Don't die and be careful with your gold.
- Bleeding system, characters will begin to bleed when below 0 HP
- Custom traps and triggers. Explore and see.
- Gambling with blackjack or play darts
- A chest that splits your loot among your party
- Character dialog that evolves as you do more quests, get ranks, and travel further.
- Shaderaven's 3E converted monsters including some new ones never seen before.
- 21 large dungeon levels with more then 20 hours of gameplay.
- New items for those who dare challenge the odds, from new wands to new axes.
- Highly detailed city setting with a book on the history of Ireran to NPC backgrounds when
examined.
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Tips
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- Teamwork is a must in this module. Going off alone, rushing in, or trying to be a hero
is not how you play this module. Creatures and random encounters are meant for a group of
four players. In other words, your level 1 barbarian half-orc isn't going to survive
against 5 or 4 goblins alone unless he is lucky.
- Expect the unexpected. Both creatures and dungeon levels will always be different from
one another. One might have traps, another might not. Others will have more frequent
random encounters, while others might be rare case.
- Quests are helpful if you need some extra gold to fill your pockets. At first the
quests might seem easy, but later on it will require good thinking from you and your party
members to overcome a situation.
- Know your role and stick to it. If you are a rogue, don't charge into melee combat at the
front line. If you are a fighter, stop watching your sorcerer get his butt whipped by that
orc, beat the crap out of him. If one of your team members decides to play a role he
shouldn't (e.g. wizard going into melee combat), this could literally put the party in
grave danger.
- Pay attention to dialog. Some dialog is really important in terms of story, tips,
and other things.
- This isn't Diablo or some easy hack and slash. This module is like entering a foreign
country: You need to watch yourself, know the basic, and don't act like an idiot. Every
creatures has changed, there is new creatures, the style of gameplay is different, and there
is a good chance that you will die a lot in the beginning. While in single player NWN
you can just charge in and just respawn if things go wrong, in AOZ, you charge in, you don't
wake up and your possessions are dropped on the floor. I would recommand walking around
the dungeons and planning ahead before entering the first level, you'll need it.
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Recommended Server Settings
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- Allow Local Characters: Off
- Reset module when empty: On
- Difficulty: Hardcore DnD
- Enable One Party Only
- Level Range 1-20
- Full PvP
- Players: 4
- Enforce Legal Characters: Off
- Enable Item Level Restriction: Off
- Enable player pausing: Off (On if scheduled games, you'll see)
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FAQ
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Q: Is this a single player module?
A: No. Amulet of Zeran is a multiplay co-op module and it is meant to be so. All
creatures, encounters, treasure, and dialog were built with a four player party in mind.
Q: Is there a story in this?
A: Yes, just get to level 5 and you'll see more.
Q: Is a DM required?
A: Not needed and not recommanded either. With the multitude of creatures that is placed
on the dungeon levels, the DM client will literally slow down to a crawl. This module
was meant to be play with only players and no DM.
Q: Is this hack and slash like diablo?
A: Yes and no. You will find loot in the dungeon and go back to town to sell stuff. There
is also some features in the module that work similar to the Town Portal like in Diablo 2.
However, the module is difficult and you cannot simply jump into each room and expect
easy fighting. Strategies, tactics, and thinking ahead will be involved. You need to be
careful with your gold since the dungeons isn't a gold mine and there is a resting limit.
Also, when you die, you simply don't respawn.
Q: Does this use the HCR rules?
A: Only a limited few options in HCR are used since I wanted to keep the NWN feel still in.
Experience has been cut from the PnP and HCR just comes into play from the death system
and starting gold. The bleeding is seperate from the HCR and resting uses a different
system as well. The only things that are in the HCR that are turned on in this module
are the death system, the player stripping at level 1, starting gold, and introduction
message. Rules such as familars, torch burning limit, and fugue planes are not used
in this module.

Rev Hellfire

Read me Part II (son of readme)

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Q: How long will this module take?
A: It should take at least 15 hours, if not even more. Its a long module with dungeon
levels taking much longer as you go further. There has been some reports that dungeon level
6 took an hour and a half. Later on, areas the size of 20x25 become a *norm*.
Q: Why do the dungeons get bigger later on?
A: This is to reflect your character's advancement when looking back at the low level
dungeons and what you are experiencing now. Plus it requires more teamwork and cooperation
when making decisions with your party.
Q: What classes are recommanded in this?
A: A good mixture of classes will be required in this module. There is traps, there is
tests from both persuation and strength tests. There is many things that will require
many skills from different classes in NWN. Not only that, the players themselves should
know how to play the game and class very well, otherwise the party will suffer. Just
remember that have two characters as the same class narrows your skills.
Q: What type of creatures do I expect in this module?
A: Most of the creatures within the module are from Shaderaven's 3E converted monsters pack.
Which means the monsters will drop what they had equipped during combat. Most creatures, if
not all, even have ranged weapons to keep you at bay. There is also some monsters
created by yours truly to from homebrewed creatures to converted previous editions to
3rd edition.
Q: Are any of the spells or weapons modified?
A: No, but you will find new potions, new mage specific weapons, and new weapons
as you go deeper in the dungeon.
Q: What type of treasure is in this module?
A: Most of the treasure you will find in this module are gems, scrolls, and gold coins.
There is magic wands and other magical equipment involved, but don't expect a +1 bow
just for killing a few beetles.
Q: Hey! How come not all creatures drop their weapons?
A: Since NWN never did have giants throwing huge rocks at the party or oversized weapons,
the creatures simply don't "drop" these items to reflect their lack of use to the party.
In the PnP version, a giant with a longsword is going to be *very* big and useless
to the party. You will notice the lack of weapon drops within
every giant and most of the high level creatures.
Q: What type of challenges are expected instead of just fighting?
A: There is a few lever puzzles and riddles within the module. At points, it is
required to answer the riddles or solve a puzzle to go on.
Q: Does this use scalable encounters?
A: No, encounters in the module are meant to be a challenge. So if you are facing
a very difficult creature, there is a reason why.
Q: Does this have random encounters?
A: Yes. The random encounters is a rare thing however, so do not expect to get swamped
by boatloads of enemies. That being said, random encounters get a little more frequent
as you go lower and lower.
Q: How do you pronounce Ireran and Zeran?
A: Zeran is pronounced "Zee-Ron" and Ireran is pronounced "I-re-ran". Notice something
with the spelling?
Q: Can you roleplay in this module?
A: Its possible, but it will not like be a PnP game or with a DM since the world doesn't
interact with you. Instead, the roleplaying aspect in this module is roleplaying with each
other. Whether be arguing who gets to what, or wondering why the hell there is an alter
in the caverns. The players roleplay characters who want adventure and have been
recently trained in the barracks. After much discussion, they believe Ireran would be
a nice place to start experience.
Q: Are the quests static?
A: Yes and no. Most of the quests are quests that involve killing someone and bringing
back their head. While others require might require thinking and have multiple paths
to choose from. The more interesting quests come later on. However it isn't a requirement
to get these quests or not.
Q: Does your alignment change according to your actions in this module?
A: No. I don't think a computer will never know alignments properly in DnD. Simply
roleplay it properly if you wish.
Q: Is this meant to be played on a public server?
A: No, not really. It is best to play with a private group of friends like a PnP session
if you wish to experience the full game. To also experience the game fully, the game
shouldn't restart or reload from the beginning. It is best to used saved games instead.
Q: How many players is recommanded in this module?
A: I would suggest around four people. Three people is possible but harder, and anything
above 4 might cause advancement in level to take too long. It hasn't been tested yet.
Q: Local vault or server vault?
A: Server vault. The module was meant to be played as if the party were level 1 and
reaching to dungeon level 20. Local vault just means cheaters with their arrow of
slay everything.
Q: Why is there text popping up above my head in some areas?
A: The text above your head happens in certain areas in the dungeons. The text is simply
a description on the dungeon or what is happening to you. The purpose of this is to bring
back the feeling of old school Dungeon Crawling and enhance roleplaying a bit more.
"My arms feel like dead weights."
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Contact Info
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Send any gifts, threats, feedback, or suggestions to bloodknight@rogers.com
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[snip]

Saruman

Looks interesting.. so what actually happens in death? You die completely and have to be raised? you cant respawn?

Rev Hellfire

Yep, so make sure u have a backup plan

Saruman

Hopefully we can get some raise dead scrolls.. at such low levels it will be tough financially and also impossible for clerics to do so... hmmm...

FlashBang

no respawning? that'll be tough...

Squall

Damn i only just looked at this now. I woulda enjoyed a nice HCR game and all. When the next one? is it gonna be every thursday?

Saruman

Sorry i did not make it... something came up.. Went to see a mate i have not seen in years. ended up building him a PC.. well i showed him what to do.. i got him to do a lot of it. He must learn!

Rev Hellfire

Well that was interesting, characters had a very short and bloody life sry about having to bail quite so early.

If ppl are up for it we can continue tonight ?

FlashBang

I'll try to be there

LoLth

yep, me'll be there too.

xp ramp seems very low even compared to pen and paper modules. Now we're going up against lizard men (eeeeek!)

One thing, everyone should have at least one healing kit at this stage. And everyone should take at least one rank in the healing skill.

It's actually quite funny when the thief goes unconscious and is still hiding. remind me to keep putting points into spot and listen or I wont be able to find your body eventually

All in all it's a nice change from the "powergaming" of NWN and definitely needs tactics and planning.

FlashBang

"and definitely needs tactics and planning."

please note he said "needs tactics and planning" and not "we employed tactics and planning to suceed"

BattlingCheese

I'll be there.