To install Grail War - The Beginning open the zip file and extract the Grail War.mod file you will find in there to your NWN module folder. The file path for this folder should be C:\NeverWinterNights\NWN\modules if you installed in the default location.
Then just start NeverWinterNights and click on the NEW game button. Then click on the OTHER MODULE button, and select Grail War The Begiining module from the list there. Click the load button and select to use either a premade character, or create a new one.
Tired of a life of drudgery in your former occupation you have decided to venture out on to the road as an adventurer.
Many has been the time you have sat around a fire in a tavern and listened to tales of heroic deed, vast treasure won, and excitment you have never yourself experienced.
While your reasons for setting out on the road vary the outcome is the same. You pack your things, though in truth you have little to call your own, and head out on to the road.
As you travel south you hear rumours of what appears to be an increasing amount of lesser race attacks, which appear to center around the city of NewPort. Seeing this as a chance to prove yourself in your new found occupation you head for the city limits.
You see lttle in the way of hostile encounters on your way to the city, but the rumours and stories increase in amount the closer you get to the city, until finally you reach the city of NewPort itself.
You enter the town your heart beat pounding in your chest as you consider the choices you have made, and the possibilites that could now be facing you. The gate swings open and you stride in with confidence to face your future, whatever that may hold.
This module is designed to be played by a starting level character, or party. However it is also a hard module, or at least designed to be so. If you don't like being really challenged then I would recomend starting with a higher level character, but no higher than 5th level to still get good enjoyment from the module as a whole.
Also you should note that this is built like a real world might be, so there is alot of scope to explore, and hense if you don't listen to warnings that NPC's give out you may well walk into the odd area that is to tough for you. Sometimes reteat to live to fight another day is a better idea. These areas are few, and for the most part you will be fine where you go, but be warned at low levels you can get into trouble if you are not wary, or smart about how you play.
If you are playing the module solo you MUST take a henchman with you as the encounters are designed with a player/henchman combination in mind. If you don't do so you will find the encounters to difficult.
On entry to the city you will be greeted by a character by the name of Toman. He will give you some information about the town, including a map of the city so that you can see all the sites of interest marked on your game map. He will then level you up to level two if you are not already that or above, and give you so starting gold based on your class and current gold in your inventory.
Toman is the one to ask where to find the henchmen in the game, so ask him if you are playing solo.
He will also give you a Stone Of Recall.
The stone of recall will return you to the temple of Tyr in NewPort when used. From the temple you can return to the last place you used the stone of recall by using the portal that you will see there. It will cost you 50 gold to use the return portal, so bare that in mind when spending your gold.
The portal in the temple will also jump you straight to the party leader for free if you are playing a multiplayer game for ease of party play.
If you die in the game you will be respawned in the temple of Tyr next to the NPC character called "Old Ned". If you wish to return to the place you last died speak to Old Ned and he can return you to the last point you fell in combat. Bare in mind though that whatever killed you will still be there, so prepare before you jump back into the fray.
Old Ned will give you a refresher course on using the stone of recall as well if you speak to him at any other time other than when you have just died. So if your new to NWN or forget how to use it he can explain it again for you.
Other than that speak to the people of NewPort before you venture out of the city as they will give you an overlay of what is going on in the area, and point out some areas that might be more dangerous than others.
NewPort is a port city that once was a thriving merchant port, but over the last hundred years has slowly been in decline. While it still has a merchant trade it is slowly slipping toward obscurity as new shipping lanes open in other parts of the country.
This has caused the town to slowly split into two halves. One is still fairly affulent, where as the other is a slum area that is in state of decay. As with most cases in society the rich maintain the power and the wealth as the poor get poorer. This has lead to quite a sense of un-rest between the two halves. Violence rarely spills over into the richer half of the city, but the slum area has become quite the dangerous place to wonder as residents slip into lives of crime as the only way to make a living.
Recent events have also seen power shift from what was once a ruling control by one individual by the name of Duke Samuel Diams, to a council run city.
The council is twelve strong, but is in its infancy, and Duke Diams still maintains a large amount of power, due to his hand being on the reins of the local soldiers.
In truth most of the council were rivals of the duke, and formed it as a way of trying to gain power for themselves rather than for the good of the city.
The Duke himself has the reputation of being a good man who cares for his people, but a man who does not suffer fools gladly, and will take action quickly if the need arises for him to do so.
V1.1
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Serious error in henchmen that meant if the henchman died they would not rejoin you when you went to get them back from the temple.
COuple of small fixes to mines levels including removal of a plot item left over from testing phase.
V1.2
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EDit of a couple of encounters to better balance them to the level of player likely to arrive there.
Fixes to a couple of journal updates not updating correctly.
Merchants give more cash for items to help with multiplayer games, and more inline with a reaslitic purchase rate.
Chests reworked so as to give treasure based on PC actually playing. Each chest will give for example low treasure for 2 players if there are 2 PC's, and one low treasure if there is only one.
Edited a couple of conversations to cover player doing quest before actually speaking to the quest setter.
Added a couple of extra encounters to forest to cover routes taken by player.
Moved a couple of spawn points for encounters that weren't firing properly.
Re-did a couple of night spawn encounters that were spawning in the day as well.
V1.3
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Made a couple of changes to guards in temple of talos so that they spot PC more easierly.
Fixed a couple of coffins in temple of talos that wouldn't open due to directional facting issue.
Improved guards waypoints in temple of talos so that they don't end up bunching up.
Fixed a encounter spawn in troll caves so that it works properly.
V1.4 final, barring bug reports.
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Fixed a bug reported by player where a couple of conversations in slums caused game to crash.
Added a final quest (bolly quest) and area I had always planned, but couldn't get scripts to work.
Fixed conversation that had broken text branch so it worked fully.
Fixed issue with a a couple of coffins that couldn't be opened in the cemetary area.
Increased power of a couple of the encounters and general prespawned monsters that needed it to create better balance.
V1.5
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Fixed a lot of spelling errors in conversations, and journal.
Fixed issue with a character that could be spoken to before he was released from his cage.
Added a couple of new placeables in town including notice board outside civic hall.
V1.6
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Fixed problem with a lever in the sewers where it didn't set an INT properly when used in multiplayer.
Added another NPC conversation in scrubs to better warn about a danger area in the scrubs.
Made a couple of pillar levers plot so that area effect spells didn't destroy them by accident.
Added conversation to a beggar in the slums for when the cleric of talos houses become accessable.
There is a small problem with some levers in the module that are placeable in the ground. The levers once placed in the ground can be used, but should only be clicked on once. There is a delay of about 5 seconds between clicking on the lever and it moving.
This bug appeared after the 1.24 patch, and nothing I did would fix it. I am hoping 1.25 bioware patch will fix it, as it is something that they did I think that caused the issue. More so as the script is a borrowed one of thiers from the main campaign turned to a use of my own.
There also is a small issue with onperception scripts not always seeming to fire instantly, or first time. This can cause a mild issue on one of the bounty hunt section of the game, but not plot changing.
The quest to help find Gram's son can be got from the house next to NewPorts main sewers. Both his house and the sewers are marked on your map.
This quest is for level two and up characters ideally.
This quest to help find Illaya Fentalas missing spellbook is part of the main quest, and can be got from the Arcane Magic Society building, which is marked on your map of NewPort city.
This is designed for characters of 2nd level and up.
This quest is to hunt down and kill a thief that was captured by the local guard and placed in the NewPort dungeons. The quest can be got from the thieves guild in the slum area of NewPort City.
This quest is for 2nd level and above characters, but easier if left until 3rd level.
The lost tavern supplies quest can be gotten from the Fisherman's Rest Inn, which is in the main area of NewPort City. It is marked on your main map.
This quest is designed for 2nd level and above characters.
The quest for Anderts missing children can be got from the NPC "Andert", who can be found near the North gates of the Scrubs area, which is out of the East gates of NewPort City.
This quest is meant for characters of 3rd level and above at least.
Bolly's quest can be obtained from his shop in NewPort, but only if you have come across another area in the game. His shop is not marked on your map, but is easy to find.
This quest is designed for characters of a minimum of 3rd level, though higher would be better.
The quest to aquire the pelt of the winter wolf can be got from Sir Halrold Palarold in NewPort's civic centre. The civic centre is marked on your map of the main area of NewPort City. The quest is meant for characters of a minimum level of 3rd, though higher will make it easier.
The breaking into the castle quest can be got from the mage Illaya Fentalas, from the Arcane Magic Society after you have completed the quest to recover her spellbook.
The quest is designed for a character of above 4th level really.
The bounty hunt quest can be got from the Sheriff in the Civic Hall in NewPort City. The Civic Hall is marked on your map of NewPort City.
Quest is difficult to give you a level guide, but you will need to be between 3rd and 6th level to get the heads of all the 3 criminals.
The stolen artifact of Tyr quest can be obtained from the NPC character "Jonathan", how is in a room off of the main chamber of the Temple of Tyr.
The quest is meant for a character of at least 4th level, and maybe 5th depending on how you choose to solve getting it back.
The quest to find Duke Diam's family can only be got from the Duke once you have gained entry to NewPort castle, and is tied in with the main plot of the module.
Quest is meant for a character of about 5th level and above.
The escape the castle quest is part of the main quest and is set from inside the castle by Illaya. Having got in to the castle you now have to break the magic holding the castle locked up tight.
Quest is for characters of 5th level and over.
This quest can be obtained from the NPC character "Peter", who is standing by a house to the right of the North gate in the Scrubs area just outside of NewPort City.
He will only give you this quest under pressure, or if you have managed to get 15000 XP. So for most this should be around 6th level.
The vampire hunt quest can be gotten from the NPC character "Chantel", who can be found in the NewPort City Sewer system.
The quest is meant for characters of over sixth level.
Author: Mike "Huntsman" Paddon.
Testers: Un-named Warrior, Wraith, and Lee
Special thanks to Prof, Eoweth, and Fendis for help with scripts when I got stuck on making the damn things work.
Also thanks to a couple of people I borrowed scripts from off NWN boards. Helpful, and saved me some time writing my own.
Thats it. Any questions, bug reports or hopefully praise can be sent to Huntsman at wizard@eclipse.co.uk