Neverwinter Nights 1 Best Modules
Welcome to my cRPG blog on the best modules for Neverwinter Nights 1. Mods and modules are the reason NWN1 is ranked highly in cRPG History.
As of March 2024, Swordflight is the best module for Neverwinter Nights 1. Swordflight is not only the best module ever released for NWN1, but it is also the best cRPG campaign to come out in the last 20 years, whether amateur or professional, unmonetized or commercial.
And that is coming from someone who has covered the best cRPGs of all-time.
Neverwinter Nights 1 Module List
Swordflight NWN
Indirectly making a mockery of SCS BG2, the Swordflight Series is god-tier. Its second chapter alone puts on A CLINIC in cRPG Design with its refined, traditional design principles. Its second chapter alone offers more quality content than several other modules taken together.
From my testing, the Swordflight Series seems to be compatible with Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. There have been a few issues but as far as I can tell they have been quickly resolved on the builder's end by making modifications that bypass the causes, which stem from EE. Of course, more problems can arise with each EE update.
Thus, as with any module, Swordflight might break on EE tomorrow but won't on DE. The only way DE Swordflight can suddenly stop working is if DE itself stops working by means of OS or driver update. Which comes under User Error.
Aielund Saga
Bastard of Kosigan
Hordes of the Underdark
Conan the Cimmerian: Tower of the Elephant
cf. NWN2 Best Modules.
Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition Modules
It is funny to see that many people are searching for best ee modules, nwn:ee best modules, nw:ee campaigns and nwn:ee premium modules. As if the existence of an Enhanced Edition is suddenly going to result in high quality EE-exclusive modules. The best modules were made for Diamond Edition, not EE -- over 20 years of community history.
Please show me an EE-exclusive module that doesn't cut a poor figure when compared with the Swordflight Series, which has undergone 15 years of dedicated development. You think someone can come along, boot up the EE toolset and match THAT in the foreseeable future?
Most DE modules should work on EE without issues, but there have indeed been issues as of 2024. If the module-builder is still active in the community and is paying attention to player feedback, issues can usually be resolved quickly. But most module-builders -- and some of the legends -- are not around or are not interested in NWN anymore, so..? Something for the reader to ponder before they undertake 100 hour campaigns that haven't been tested under EE, but have been proven over 15 years to work on DE.
And while you think about that, think about this: problems have been reported with the official NWN modules, Steam Workshop modules and curated modules. Just because a module is on SW or has been "curated", does not mean it is the best. The absolute best modules for NWN are not on SW and have not been "curated".
There is also a DE-only wrapper that makes playing NWN modules 10 times better: NW Shader. But I don't care about the shader itself: what I'm recommending is its powerful and versatile camhack and fogless map-wide draw distance that makes the EE cam seem gimped in comparison. I can't imagine playing NWN without it, and I pity anyone who doesn't play NWN with it.
I have just completed the Aielund Saga (V.3.13), using NWN(E), V.86.8193.84.1 [b8d939f8], and encountered only two glitches.
ReplyDeleteFirst was that the game did not move seamlessly between each of the six main segments. This was not a problem, just an annoyance. At the end of each main segment, I had to save my character and then begin the next segment as a 'new' game, using the last saved version of my character.
Second was in Act 4, Part 1, when you have moved from Myrfell to the Front and find you have to fight the Archmage Auberon. Having beaten the Wizard twice and begun the dialogue with Black, I found myself in an endless loop in which I would tell Black to lead on to General Duquesne. At that point, I would gain 12,000XP and my henchmen would become disengaged from my party.
This can go on and on endlessly with your character getting another 12,000XP each time until no more levelling up is possible.
The way out of it was to have my henchmen join up again and to save my character after the first repeat of the loop, then exit the game and then begin Act 4, Part 2 as a 'new' game. You then enter the Tusone camp normally, can have your dialogue with General Duquesne and go on to the Battle of Bracksford.
Unscrupulous players can use this glitch as a quick route to maximum PC level, but they may find it takes a lot of challenge out of the game.
One comment on the Aielund Saga as a whole: It was an interesting, fun game, but lasted about one act too long.
I know we voluntarily suspend disbelief in playing these games.
But really? A giant Arachnid and easily dodged Golems for the last challenge after we have just vanquished the most power beings in the universe?
Oh, I forgot to add thanks for doing this blog.
ReplyDeleteI find it extremely helpful, after the fact, to determine what I may have omitted or done wrong when playing these games.