Calling Stratos

[Albromor]

Stratos, my friend, you were 100% correct about the Nether Scrolls being a throughly good module. I finished it in the wee hours of this morning and let's just say I was glad my Cleric hung on to the Planar Mace. I don't know if you ran into any issues or bugs but there was one of each that I was wondering if you found the same thing. (Spoiler Warning for those seriously thinking of doing this Module as a bridge between SoU and HotU)
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1. When I was in the sewers I got the quest from the Sun Temple to go and get their relic back. But before I did so I stumbled across the stairs that led to the Magmum Elemental and eventually the Spider Queen that had the jewel to set him free. So I place the jewel in the chest and the next thing I know I am watching the elemental smash a pillar and light returns to sewers.

The only problem is I can't return and finish the quest. So I decide to reload a saved game prior to when I placed the jewel in the chest. But this is where it gets weird. I go to the room with the elemental only he isn't there. Only cobwebs are there where he once stood.

Even stranger is that I could go and finish the quest BUT the sewers remain in the dark and I can't access the Library! I even attempted to load an even earlier save, but the same thing happened. So, it seems once you trigger the main quest to be able to access the library the game actually influences previous saves and there is no turning back.


2. I never came across with what I was to do with the 5 Riddles that each had a stone statue of a sphinx inbetween. I thought of it too late to use the stone to flesh ointment on the statues. What did you do?


* All in all though I was most pleased with the quality and I accomplished what I set out to do: Move from 12th level to 15th level in anticipation of HotU. I just did not want to gain 3 levels of experience without earning it.

I would say the only glaring flaw, IMO, was how to get out of the library once you got the book in hand. I can understand why people think there is a BIG scripting bug.

[Stratos]

Urghhh, you called.

SPOILERS!
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1. I only played NS once and my memory is a bit foggy, but I'll try to help.
I never encountered the problem you described and managed to solve both quest , but I found the relic one tricky and I had to look at NWVault for the answer. Did you know how to solve it, and if so, were you unable to finish it?

2. This quest suffers from a bit of poor design and the solution isn't obvious. You have to solve the riddle and then use the Shout command to shout out the answer in front of the statue. This will give you an item, but I don't remember ever using the items for something. I believe my HotU character still have one or two of them, but I don't know what happened to the rest.

BTW how did you like the choice you get in the end? To recreate your character from scratch was like a gift from the gods for my poorly designed character at the time.

[ 02-20-2004, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

[Albromor]

Thanks for the quick reply, Stratos. Spoiler...
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1. I had to eventually go to the NWN Vault to get it figured out. But like I said it was impossible for me to complete due to some wierd bug as I mentioned in my previous post under #1. And I *hate* not being able to complete quests, especially if it means helping out the "good guys." (I can never play evil)

2. As for the Riddle one, I, again went to NWN Vault, but I never found who I was to first "Shout" and then type in an option. Nothing, and I mean nothing, came up that allowed me to carry on.

All in all, though, this was a very good laymen's module. I read an interview given by Papermonk and he said he only had a month to do it! Imagine what he can do with time on his hands.
With some of his poor designs I guess as creator even he suffers what I found a lot of DM's have to contend with when designing a campaign/adventure: It seems so logical and understandable, but it isn't until PCs get involved that you realize it is as clear as mud. I speak from personal experience as both a DM and a PC in P&P D&D.

I chose the "Remain as I am" choice. I like the way my Cleric has developed. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the starting from scratch. Tell me, please, what you could do with the starting from scratch option. How did you make it work, i.e., what changes did you make?

[Stratos]

1. Well, the completing the relic quest doesn't exactly give you a happy ending regardless and I don't remeber getting anything but XP, so it's not a big loss.

2. It's the Shout command you use to communicate with other people online. On the lower left corner of the screen there should be the words 'Talk'. By clicking on Talk, you select other means of communicating such as the Shout command. Again, it's not a very well designed quest.

If you choose the other option you get all your XP and levels taken away and then given back the XP again. You are now a level 1 character able to level up to your level prior to your level drain.

I started SoU with a Bard planning on making him a Dragon Disciple, as I had HotU installed as well, but never got that far. Somewhere in Ch. 1 I figured I needed some more melee power and took 1 level of Fighter instead. I continued to level up as a Bard with the occasional Fighter level until I, of some unexplained reason, decided I wanted Ranger level by the end of the Nether Scrolls. Strangely enough, it was just before the part where you get to choose to stay as you are or redo. The Ranger/Bard is who I'm working myself through HotU with right now.

[ 02-20-2004, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

[Albromor]

Could you please explain what you mean by "the relic quest doesn't exactly give you a happy ending"? Now I am real curious!

[Stratos]

SPOILER!
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The Sharran priestess has fiddling with the relic, so it kills all the skeletons. The room goes dark and the priestess shows up at the entrace babbling something about how the skeletons finally have had their wish come true, to be released of their undead form.

[Albromor]

Okay, thanks.

[Zolair]

This sound like a great module. Can anyone e-mail me the file? Where I am at I cannot access NWN Vault to d.load it...damn firewall...

My e-mail is ryan.lampien@us.army.mil

Thanks...