Part III: Western Farmlands, Darkness Over Daggerford Walkthrough

Part III of Darkness Over Daggerford Guide. Darkness Over Daggerford (2006) is a NWN Module for Neverwinter Nights 1 (2002).

With the escapee slain and the lockdown on the gates lifted, the party is free to explore the outskirts of Daggerford. The travel book that we found in the encapsulate library gives a rundown on the sights to be seen outside the city.

In readiness for the overworld, the party heads to the Caravan gate in the west of the city.

We decide to venture forth to the Western Farmlands, a two hour hike from Daggerford.

The World Map: Daggerford & Surrounds

Western Farmlands

A flowering rural region presents itself, with three of five locations accessible at this stage: Maxillian Manor, Peredus' Well and a cave. Note: We will visit the other two locations in future posts, when we gain quests for them! This post and the next will cover side quests: they are not interwoven with the main quest.

Maxillian Manor

This is an amusing quest - and well-scripted.

A father and son are spotted standing outside the manor, Jonas Sr. and birthday-boy Jonas Jr. They will invite you into their home for hot cider and birthday cake (Quest: Birthday Present). Examine them to realize they are extremely muscular and sport damage reduction, despite being dressed in what amounts to rags...

Follow them into the home and Jonas Sr. will greet you and invite you to sit down. The boy is looking forward to receiving his birthday present...

Funny comment by Raegen, here

Small-talk ensues and you will learn they are hunters. Partake of the cider and Jonas Sr. will announce that a "game" has begun called Only the Strongest Survive. You will realize the cider has been spiked and then pass out, falling to the floor.

Maxillian Chase Maze

You will awaken locked in a cell of a maze-like dungeon, groggy and dressed merely in underwear. Your belongings have been stripped from you and Raegen and Purfin are locked in another cell, oddly silent. Pettywick Wocket, a gnome held in an adjacent cell, will give you the lowdown on what's going on here: the family of this manor are in fact werewolves and you are the latest prey for their hunting game that takes place down here, in the maze. Pettywick will kindly inform you that the exit lies to the north, at the end of a long corridor.

Your captors will then enter the dungeon and Jonas Sr. will tell you the rules of his sick game: basically, they will release you into the maze as a countdown begins, starting at 20 seconds. When it expires Jonas Jr. will shapechange to werewolf form and sniff out and slay his "birthday present" as it explores the maze in a desperate attempt to escape.

The countdown begins!

The maze is filled with doors, dead-ends and chests holding standard loot: nothing you can use to bypass a werewolf's damage reduction. I was able to avoid or slay the werewolf by means of spells (invisibility, evocations), but I recommend you waste no time running north in order to escape through the fissure, even if you have such tricks at your disposal.

The path of least resistance

Jonas' Den

You may safely rest here to heal your claw-slashed self. A passage in the den leads back to the maze, but first you need to find your stuff! Loot the dresser for a random item and then head upstairs, back into the manor. Gravia will meet you here, a non-evil werewolf and the mother of the family. She will solemnly request you slay her husband and son, handing you the key to the storage room that holds your belongings.

Once you are re-equipped and prepared to face the hairy beasts, head down to the den and back through to the Chase Maze.

Pay back time! The father and son will be blown away that you managed to survive, turning into werewolves to rectify that. My concealment, damage reduction and elemental resistance protected me as I unleashed evocations to quickly drop them.

(Jonas Sr. +297 Exp, Jonas Jr. +210 Exp)

I shall singe thine fur!

Pull the two floor leavers to release Pettywick and your companions from their cages.

The companions had nothing to say...

My quarterstaff enchanted with Flame Weapon

Return to the mother in the manor to cap off this quest (Completed Quest: Birthday Present, +750 Exp).

First Level Up

I take my ninth level in Wizard, choosing Greater Spell Focus: Evocation and breaking into fifth circle spells. Raegen takes her eighth in Fighter, choosing Blind-Fight and increasing her Strength to 18. Purfbin takes his eighth in Rogue, increasing his Dexterity to 18.

[Second Companion Banter]

Peredus' Well

We are here to meet Burnas Tellrot in order to procure the sword of Peredus the Great. The well is located in the southwest corner of the farmlands.

Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers - so fragrant!

The halfling will lower you down the well - and then pull up the rope, to no surprise.

A spectre hovers in this first chamber: the Spirit of Peredus will request you retrieve his bones from possession by a black dragon, that he may no longer haunt the well.

Pass through the second chamber en route to the dragon's lair. I suggest you buff the party before entering..

Mage Armor

The party attempts to parley with the dragon, but in the end it seems a fight is inevitable.

An ILMS bombardment and Raegen's inflamed weapon put the beast in its place. At Near Death the beat-up dragon will surrender and you can either release it or slay it.

(Young Black Dragon +367 Exp)

There seems to be no reward for releasing it; I would have thought it give you a magical item to swim to the Lizard Marsh, but no.

Hitting the dragon below the belt

Loot the bone-pile for the Bones of Peredus, Sword of Peredus (+2, +1d6 positive energy, good/neutral only), Chainmail +2, Tower Shield +1, Magic Bag (weight -60%), emerald and amethyst.

Corpses x3: Amulet of Natural Armor +1, minor static treasures.

At the end of the tunnel is a mist-covered pool of water that I was unable to swim through due to its depth. I would assume this leads to the Lizard Marsh area, mentioned by the spectre and dragon...

Return to the second chamber and drop the bones into the glowing pool of water.

The Spirit of Peredus will be grateful and reveal a way to escape the well, before dispersing (Completed Quest: Peredus the Great, +600 Exp).

Take a dive into the pool into which you dropped the bones, and swim towards the western rock face.

You will emerge from a cave to find yourself back on the western farmlands; the halfling nowhere to be seen..

If you return to the Happy Cow Tavern Burnas will not be there.. instead, a drunken elf (Dalia) will be mumbling about how Burnas tried to send her to her death, how she snuck past a dragon and fought a whole army of lizardfolk, and about how she stabbed Burnas in the guts and floated his body out to sea. Damn, that's what WE wanted to do. Such closure is hardly satisfying..? Meh..

Just to your north is another cave.

Darkness falls

Cave

Someone, or something, calls out for help from within a chest. Buffed with Stoneskin for DR, I was able to sustain blows as the combo of Mestil's Acid Sheath and Elemental Shield passively slew the two grizzly bears guarding it.

(grizzly bears x2, +75 Exp ea)

As you can see, I have no Animal Empathy

Speak with the thing inside the chest. It turns out to be the familiar of Delfen, the wizard at Sorceller's Encapsulate who hinted at a future quest by mentioning his missing "friend". It also seems that this is the missing chest Erik the Fin at the Docks sent you to find (Quest: The Missing Chest). Lug the talking chest along with you.

I love Raegen's stalwart shield

Daggerford

Hike back to Daggerford and deliver the talking chest to Delfen at Sorceller's Encapsulate. Delfen will break the ward and release his loyal familiar, Sujit. You will be rewarded with +400 Exp, a Wand of Lesser Summoning (Summon Creature II [3] single use) and a Potion of Heal.

It seems Erik the Fin was employed to kidnap Sujit by the evil wizard, Mogdor. In replacement of his familiar Delfen adds a special surprise to the chest and requests you deliver it to Erik, as normal.

Daggerford Docks

Return to Erik and inform him that you have the chest. Simply giving it to him results in  400 GP and +200 Exp, but curious players may like to accompany him by boat to deliver it to its owner, Mogdor.

Sunset on the docks

Cave (Eastern Farmlands)

If you take the latter course you will end up in a cave of the Eastern Farmlands, where Mogdor will gleefully accept the chest and magically open it, to his dismay finding that a floating skull is inside: Extallimix the demi-lich. This epic undead will then execute Mogdor with death magic, on the spot. There is a Persuade check here that is impossible to pass (so why put it in there?) Anyway, the demi-lich will become distracted by some nearby power and hurriedly bob away, leaving you to breathe a sigh of relief: it seems curiosity did not kill the cat, this time 'round (Completed Quest: The Missing Chest, +750 Exp).

If you like, return to inform Delfen of Mogdor's fate, but it's just to share a giggle at Mogdor's expense.

Take your leave of the cave to emerge in the Eastern Farmlands, another pretty locality carved by gently flowing streams and punctuated by a mill complete with creaking water wheel..

Darkness Over Daggerford Part IV.

Part III of Darkness Over Daggerford Guide.