Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide

Shadows of Undrentide was an expansion pack for the Neverwinter Nights game produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames Entertainment (now Atari). It was released in June, 2003.

Neverwinter Nights is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that uses the Third Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, with minor revisions. This expansion scenario pack added new features to the core game engine and a complete game scenario. The new game features include:


 * 5 additional prestige classes &mdash; Arcane Archer, Assassin, Blackguard, Harper Scout, and Shadowdancer.
 * 16 new creatures
 * 31 new feats
 * 50 new spells, divided more or less evenly between arcane and divine.
 * additional scripting abilities for those who use the Aurora toolkit.

By the time this scenario is completed, your character will typically have reached 12th level or higher. The story begun in this scenario is continued in the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack.

Chapter 1
The main character begins as an apprentice of the dwarven wizard Drogan in the small village of Hilltop, in the Silver Marches. The game begins with a kobold attack on the village and Drogan himself, leaving him poisoned and barely alive. During the attack, certain valuable artifacts are stolen.

At the start of the game you only have two possible henchmen: Xanos the half-orc sorcerer/barbarian, and Dorna the dwarven cleric/thief. Each has a unique personality and interacts with the main character at irregular intervals throughout the game.

The first task is to clear out the kobolds infesting the village. This involves some side quests that you learn by talking to various villagers. You then must journey out of the village in an effort to recover the stolen artifacts. Beyond the village is an old elven crypt where some of the kobolds have holed up. Once you clear out the kobolds from this dungeon, you obtain a Mummified Hand, one of the artifacts. This hand will then point you in the direction of the other artifacts.

One of the artifacts has fallen into the hands of a dragon in a cave full of kobolds, and the other is in the possession of the rival sorceress J'Nah. Both are difficult opponents with many allies, but opportunities exist for exploiting their rivalry. With all the artifacts gathered and Drogan nearly restored to health, you are sent out with a halfling caravan across the vast Anauroch desert to find the person behind the plot to steal the artifacts.

Interlude
In the desert caravan, an additional henchman is added to your available choices. This is a kobold bard named Deekin.

Along your journeys into the Anauroch, you have the opportunity to rescue your kidnapped guide from a warren of scorpion-men, and to restore a cursed oasis back to life. Finally you end up at an encampment of a religious cult, with an archeological dig nearby. By travelling into these ruins in the Valley of the Winds, you make your way to the site of an old Netherese magical portal. (The Netherese is a now-extinct empire of powerful wizards.) The woman who led the plot to steal the artifacts is also here, and she escape through the portal just as you arrive. But Drogan joins you here, and you determine how to reactivate the gate and follow her through.

Chapter 2
Passing through the gate, you finally meet up with a woman named Heurodis, whom you have been chasing. Unfortunately you discover too late she is a medusa and you are turned to stone. (There is no way to escape this fate&mdash;it is part of the plot.) In your stone state, the woman finds it easy to take the gemstone, one of the artifacts. This was the key to her entire plan, and it is now in her possession.

You awaken to find yourself inside the buried netherese city of Undretide. There is a magic slave collar around your neck, and you find yourself the property of Ashtara, a merchant. The structures around you keep shaking periodically, and you discover that you are inside an ancient flying city. The gem you unfortunately provided to Heurodis is the key to powering up the city, and she is trying to shake it loose from the desert sands.

You spend some time exploring Undrentide, and collecting the implements you need to enter the Temple of the Wind in the middle of the city. Once you do so, the city breaks loose from the sand and begins to rise. The hero must ascend the tower, overcome the obstacles, and have a final showdown with Heurodis.