Legacy of White Plume Mountain Walkthrough Guide NWN2

Legacy of White Plume Mountain NWN2

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Overview

Legacy of White Plume Mountain is a NWN2 module for Obsidian's cRPG Definition of 2006, Neverwinter Nights 2. Legacy of White Plume Mountain is an ambitious treasure-hunting sandbox campaign notable for its overland map employment, foraging mechanic and inclusion of third-party custom content (including unique areas, monsters and items). The campaign, which is a conversion of the famous PnP Greyhawk module, also features a large amount of sidequests (23) to go along with its three-phase main quest, tons of dialogue skill checks, and big battles staged on a variety of sprawling sculpted terrains (some sporting environmental hazards such as "fetid sulphurous water" that slows movement rate and inflicts disease).

The vast majority of the main quest, and almost all of the sidequests, focus on the acquisition of artifacts. Most of the time is spent exploring the OLM in search of specific locations, raiding the approach/dungeon, killing a boss deep within, and coming out with treasures that usually include lots of magical items and a powerful artifact (I found about 20). One then returns to the hub of Soubar in order to vendor their gear and craft items before venturing forth once again. Rinse repeat until OP!

LoWPM is pretty polished and fun to play (even though it's too easy). It employs about 40 custom content creation sets so it's also a great showcase for the community. I think this mod could inspire someone to do a better job in regard to balancing itemization and encounter design. I would like to see someone with the skills of Rogueknight 333 come along and make NWN2 modules because the current, extant campaign builders don't seem to value such things?

LoWPM has been called a masterpiece on the Old and New Vaults (on the New Vault it's got 9 votes of 9/10). Yes, it's good. But Obsidian's own Mask of the Betrayer remains the only masterpiece for Electron. One could call LoWPM "a mere framework that cobbles together areas from various custom content creators", but that would be too cynical. It does have a coherent story (lifted from the PnP module) and it is fun for a while until you realize that it imposes almost no challenge, and then it gets a bit ho-hum if you're a fairly experienced player. That said, I wouldn't be able to write so much about LoWPM if it sucked, so give it a whirl, but keep in mind that this is a marathon, a big campaign like Storm of Zehir, that requires a lot of time investment. You won't beat it in one sitting. I beat it over a period of a week, playing three hours each evening.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Visuals

LoWPM is a beautiful campaign to gawk at. The terrain sculpting is A1, top-tier. Complex, undulating, multi-tiered and vast. Possibly, on par with Bedine and Harp & Chrysanthemum (Maerduin's Castle Joyous map is employed, actually). All of the maps are good. The lighting is great and the fiery shimmers, boiling mud and noxious gas VFX are awesome (the screencap below does not do the VFX justice). One might think such complex terrain and visual effects would cause framerate dips, but I didn't notice many. The unique creatures are also great: the slimes, puddings, worms and fungi; the boulder-hurling hill giants, goblin worg riders and rust monsters. Very, very cool.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Aurals

There are no original tracks in the OST but Wyrin has wisely utilized the coolest MotB tracks. There are not enough warcries during the battles, though. It would have been nice to have more in order to liven things up a bit. Even generic ones would be better than nothing. The ambiance in the swamp areas is multi-layered and realistic; it actually sounds like a swamp and I paused just to listen. Impressive.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Level Range

The campaign is supposedly balanced for a party of four starting at seventh level and reaching about 16th. Balanced for a faceroll, maybe! :P Also, why not balance it for a six-person party since that's what people want? I mean, the option is there for six-person already. I don't get it.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain OLM

Please refer to my OLM write-up for the basics. Against roaming foes Hide/Move Silently are not as effective on the LoWPM OLM. Even with scores of 22 my OLM Rogue failed against an EL 7 Small Worg Pack. In my last run of SoZ, I don't remember failing a Hide check - ever. Also, there are no treasures to be found on the OLM, not a single gold piece. SoZ OLM checked for Spellcraft, Lore, UMD, Spot, Survival etc. to find treasures. No such treasures and checks to spruce things up makes exploration of a sprawling OLM far less interesting. In fact, it's tiresome after a while. Instead, such checks are implemented in dungeons and their wilderness approaches. Thus, be on the lookout for hidden doors and hidden stashes. The feedback window does not report the skill being checked but I would assume it's either Search or Spot.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Foraging & Herbalism

This unique mechanic works as follows. You find flora in the gameworld and must succeed in both Craft Alchemy and Survival in order to harvest a specimen. If you fail, the specimen is utterly wasted and lost forever. Thus, I recommend a Druid in the party because they have access to both skills. Note that Inspire Competence and Greater Heroism will boost skill levels and increase your chances of success.

Legacy of White Plume MountainTraps, Locks and Environmental Hazards 

As is the case with most user-made modules, traps and locks are pretty trivial. I think the hardest DC I went up against was 36. Some traps will remain after being tripped, which is good. Why? Because then everyone in the party takes the hit if the player is too lazy to disable it. However, it is more likely that the environmental hazards will get you down. For example, fetid sulphurous water dramatically reduces movement speed and inflicts disease.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Mount / Pack Horse

You can purchase a horse from Khralver the hostler in Soubar (haggle: 200 GP). The horse will then be added to your party as a proper party member. You can tie it up, let it graze and dismiss it from the party at any time. Most importantly, the horse can carry a lot with its 25 Strength and saddlebags. That said, I never needed it because I don't loot everything and party members have access to their own containers, anyway (Bags of Holding).

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Merchants

LoWPM has no shortage of merchants and the merchants have no shortage of powerful gear on offer. Check out the vendor itemization - it's insane! Soubar is home to several vendors trading in specific gear. The Underdark Bazaar is the same. Each merchant will only buy wares that they deal in. But there are four exceptions or "General" vendors found in remote areas; namely: Thingizzard, Witch of the Fens (Thingizzard's Hut), Wyrin D'njargo (Merchant Camp), Kneeling One (Loviatan Monastery) and Henri (lizardfolk merchant, Nix's Domain). Three of these merchants can be aggro'd. Thus, you should be done with them as vendors before doing so. Note that Appraise checks are implemented when vendoring.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Party Composition

Experts don't need to read this; this is just for the newbies or people who just want to compose a reliable party with each member having clearly defined roles. First and foremost, you need an OLM character such as a Rogue/Ranger. This character must have Survival and Stealth skills (Hide/Move Silently). A Rogue must have Search, Open Locks and Disable Device. You also need a Tank, a Healer and a Bombardier at the very least. Throw in a Druid for foraging/herbalism (+extra healing) and a Bard for the cool factor (songs are great). Note that while social skills (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate) are not important, you might as well get them because they result in more XP and flavor. You may even bypass a battle by employing social skills, which is always cool. Lore and Spellcraft add lots of flavor to the OLM and dungeon/wilderness exploration. There are also some checks based on class and race such as stone cunning (dwarf) and tracking (ranger/druid). So yeah, pay attention to what your party members say about their environment. They can give you clues as to what's coming up.

Whereas in SoZ dungeons are small but populated with powerful denizens such as super-buffed yuan-ti abominations, in LoWPM dungeons are expansive (sometimes also with sprawling wilderness approaches), multi-leveled and contain many more but much weaker enemies. Relatively speaking, I didn't encounter anything like the super-buffed yuan-ti in the Samarach segment of SoZ. Yes, there are yuan-ti but relative to your level they don't pose the same kind of threat. The mobs are one step up from mooks, too. Still, I can't say you won't get a chuckle out of mowing them down.

Basically, with the exception of some of the bosses, I plowed through each and every sidequest dungeon with one conventional tank holding back the aggro and everyone else firing projectiles (Rapid Shot, Rapid Reload, Zen Archery). Yes, I was firing elemental ammo from mildly enchanted bows, crossbows and slings (+2 and 1d6 acid), but still, it shouldn't be this easy to win the day with such basic builds as were in my party. For the tougher enemies such as pit fiends, horned devils and coiled cabalists, and bosses such as Serpent Sybil, Aspect of Yeenoghu and Dragotha the Dracolich, I simply spammed the I WIN button known as IGMS. Otherwise, I barely bothered to cast spells! It was disappointing that I was able to succeed by employing such basic tactics. That said, there are some surprises and the final battle requires a decent amount of preparation. It's not all a faceroll, just mostly. Really, there is so much potential for LoWPM to be a great module. Any modders want to overhaul it?

A typical sprawling wilderness approach:

Custom foes KillJoy, Dracolisk and Brix and Brax are fire-enchanted enemies that will regenerate after having been defeated. Think "trolls" - with the only difference that you will need to inflict cold damage in order to vanquish them utterly. Note that they will detonate upon being vanquished, possibly wiping your party out. OTOH, certain enemies can only be damaged by fire. These include certain slimes.

Fire-enchanted KillJoy:

Do not delve dungeons without an abundant supply of healer's kits, Coins of Life and ammo. You don't want to run out halfway through a dungeon. As with SoZ, the Heal skill and Healer's Kits are indispensable. Not only do they heal a ton of HPs but they also cure poison and disease (though not already-incurred effects - for that you will need restoration potions and spells). I would pump this skill on both Cleric and Druid.

Bugs and typos. There are many lazy typos. Even the journal entry for the finale has a blatantly obvious typo. There are walkmesh issues on sloping terrain, too. What happens is, you target an enemy and you can't attack for an interval or two. Even your ranged attackers run right up to them instead of firing from a distance like they are supposed to. It's not a huge deal but it's annoying when it happens. I cursed it more than once. Quite a few items can't be sold due to 0 GP value.

Make sure you apply the separate, unofficial patch before playing. It doesn't fix all the bugs and typos but it's a good start.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Walkthrough

Ok, now to the guide/walkthrough:

OLM of High Moor & Serpent Hills

(Map annotated by yours truly.)

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Side Quest Walkthrough

Side Quests are covered in order of "difficulty" (EL value). There are 23 sidequests/locations. By delving the dungeons you will usually yield a useful artifact. I have probably missed a few artifacts because I didn't fully explore all areas. I recommend doing many if not all sidequests before undertaking the main quest, though it's enitrely up to you how you go about things, the campaign is a non-linear sandbox.

Most of the dungeons are straightforward and self-explanatory. Thus, there is no need to cover them in-depth like I normally do. I may add some key info on the areas in the future but only things that are not blatantly obvious. Most of the sidequests are acquired from NPCs in Soubar and when you stumble upon them on the OLM.

• Devil's Cellar (EL 6-8). Quest is acquired from Kizakii, a black marketeer, in the Soubar market. I found no artifact in this dungeon. There are four yuan-ti to slay: Nssai, Stri'isn, Nesthasha and Venomblack.

• Green Welcome (EL 7-9). Quest is acquired from Ceelix, seller of arcane and alchemical weaponry, in the Soubar market. Explore the Spriggan Caverns and slay the spriggan, Rakeri (1,500 XP). You can also save some gnomes from the Apotheosis Apparatus.

• Dead Gnoll's Eye Socket (EL 7-9). Quest is acquired from Irviir, a hunstman of the wilds, and Otus Hilltopper, in the Soubar market. Descend to the Pit of Yeenoghu and face off against Rezwal, high priest of Yeenoghu, along with the Aspect of Yeenoghu (1,500 XP + 500 XP). Optionally, you can free the Sembians on the third level and take on Dmitria, a Red Wizard of Thay, in the Strange Structure.

ARTIFACT: Triple Flail of Yeenoghu: flail, EB +3, Negative Energy +3, Keen, Extra Slashing Damage, Massive Criticals 1d6, on-hit Stun DC 20 33% 2 round, Animate Dead 10.

• Hammer Hall (EL--). "Quest" is acquired from Irviir, a hunstman of the wilds. I think this is just a place where you can rest up and heal. There are only a couple of enemies and hidden stashes to find.

• Loviatan Monastery (EL 7-9). Kneeling One is a merchant. 1,500 XP for clearing the place out. You can find the Thumbscrews of Exquisite Pain here.

• Coiled Cabal Outpost (EL 7-9). This dungeon is covered in my SoZ "Holiday" Expansion Project walkthrough.

• Fall of Castle Mukos (EL 8-12). Quest is acquired from Menin, an armorer, in the Soubar market. Slay the Marsh Dragon for 2,500 XP. You can sell the Mukos Family Shield to Menin for 20,000 GP + 500 XP. ARTIFACT: Tail of the Marsh Dragon.

• Thingizzard's Hut (EL 10-12). Quest is acquired from Tynah, peddler of healing and protective magicks, in the Soubar market. Note that Thingizzard is a merchant. Slay the Witch of the Fens and her Bog Golem for 2,000 XP. ARTIFACT: Frost Razor.

• Worg Warrens (EL 10-12). Get lost in the Undermoor. End up in Hark level 2. Where am I? Fuck this place.

• Keleidsa Mythal (EL 11-13). Quest is acquired from Peoril, an arcane scroll merchant, in the Soubar market. Slay the Drow: Quamara, Scion of House Keleidsa, and Trizeen, for 2,500 XP. The Mythal can be sold to Peoril back in Soubar (50,000 GP, Bluff: 70,000 GP).

ARTIFACT: Keleidsa Estate Mythal Key: AC Dodge +2, Bonus Feats: Arcane Defense: Divination, Spell Focus: Divination, Greater Spell Focus: Divination, Freedom of Movement, Lore +6, Spellcraft +6, Banishment 15, 1/day, Dismissal 12, 3/day.

• Abandoned Quarry (EL 11-13). I think you need to slay a Death Tyrant to get the artifact. Anyone know where the Zhents are hanging out? ARTIFACT: Storm Star.

• Dungeon of the Hark (EL 11-13). Hark is a Halfling cursed with lycanthrope. Slay the wretch.

• Underdark Bazaar (EL 11-13). Seven merchants. Make your way to the Drow Outpost and slay the High Priestess of Lloth in the Temple of Lolth. ARTIFACT: Fang of Lolth.

• Great Petrified Serpent (EL 12-16). Quest is acquired from Tynah, peddler of healing and protective magicks, in the Soubar market. Yuan-ti madness! Slay Ssenstyr Sresshin to cap off the quest (2,500 XP). ARTIFACT: Naga Crown.

• Treasures of Bright Mountain (EL 13-16). Quest is acquired from Woozil, assistant to crafting materials merchant, in the Soubar market. Slay the elven druid, Carradoc (2,500 XP). You can also slay Rulinthix, draconian guardian of the Tree of Life. If you strip the tree of all the riches you can carry (Emerald x20, 20,000 GP), then you will have to make your escape through hordes of elder earth elementals and galeb duhr. ARTIFACT: Rulinthix's Heart.

• Cave of Salvatore (EL 14+). Side with Drizzt's crew, side with Jarlaxle's crew or take both crews out. ARTIFACT: Charon's Claw. ARTIFACT: Aegis-Fang.

• Dungeon of Swords (EL 14-16). Quest is acquired from Khulmar, weaponsmith, in the Soubar market. Beware the Gnomish Mining Automatons! Watch out for their electrical detonation. Slay Xzyntiblack, a deep dragon/balor half-breed (4,000 XP). Watch out for its negative energy detonation. ARTIFACT: Skin of the Dragon Fiend: AC Bonus Deflection +2, Bonus Feat: Alertness, Damage Reduction 2/Metal [Cold Iron], Charisma +2, Intelligence +2, Immunity: Mind Affecting, Regeneration +1, Fire resistance 10/-, Cloudkill 9, 1/day, Poison 5, 3/day, Chaotic, Evil, Lawful Neutral only.

• Halls of the Hammer (EL 14-16). Quest is acquired from Khulmar, weaponsmith, in the Soubar market. Slay several Dwarven Watchghosts in order to get their keys. You will have to venture into the mines to get one of the keys. Slay Ghour in the Tomb of the Dwarven Kings. Finally, loot the ancient hammer to spawn the Dwarven Watchghost King (3,000 XP). ARTIFACT: Kelabrix, Fist of the Fallen.

• Tomb of Bajack Thunderfist (EL 14-16). Slay Waterveiled Assassin and slay Cauchemar, Angel of Death. Crawl through a trapdoor under an ornate carriage and pierce an illusion to face off against Vampire Warrior, Vampire Warlock and Bajak Thunderfist (4,000 XP). Lastly, return to and slay Teverak Silversmith (2,000 XP). ARTIFACT: Darsam-Tor-Ews.

• House Orogoth (EL 12-16). Lay waste to Wastirek the black dragon in the Ruins of House Orogoth. ARTIFACT: Helm of Orogoth.

• Dragotha's Lair (EL 14-18). Quest is acquired from Tardalus the Inquisitor in the Winding Way Inn in Soubar. Cult of the Dragon: Klaram and Naergoth are High Cultists that need to die. Slay Angdol and the Sentient Flesh Golem, too. Then enter Dragotha's lair and take on the Dracolich! Might as well take out the Greater Mummy, too.

• Lost Tribe (EL 16-18). Enter the Forgotten Ziggurat and slay everything that moves. Especially the Aspect of Demogorgon (4,000 XP). Watch out for the boiling mud! ARTIFACT: Shadow Pearl.

• Risen Empire (EL 16-18). Beware of the horned devil, Paeliryon, and the pit fiend. Finally, slay Serpent Sybil, the offspring of yuan-ti abomination and marilith demon.

ARTIFACT: Will of Sseth: morningstar, EB +5, Fire 1d8, Extra melee damage: Piercing, Keen, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +5.

Legacy of White Plume Mountain Main Quest Walkthrough

The main quest consists of three phases: Missing Weapons (Whelm, Wave and Blackrazor), Return to White Plume Mountain / Keraptis Lieutenants (Nightfear, KillJoy, Mossmutter, Spatterdock) and Ex Keraptis Cum Amore (Rod of Stars, Gem of Souls, Stone of Life).

The overall object of the main quest is to track down Keraptis and slay him.

Phase One: Missing Weapons: Whelm

This quest is acquired from Riickan Dack in the Winding Way Tavern in Soubar. Riikan requests that you retrieve this weapon from White Plume Mountain. In addition, Luxor Thebes of Umberlee assigns the retrieval of Wave to a rival adventuring party led by Elise, Cleric of Waukeen, and the Harper, Tom Vargess assigns the retrieval of Blackrazor to another rival adventuring party led by Taron Rastin, Cleric of Lathander. However, you will be acquiring these two weapons in White Plume Mountain as well. This will annoy the rival adventuring parties, who will eventually ambush you.

◦ Make your way to the Wizard's Mouth Cave on White Plume Mountain. Inside, a beholder named Etrusca will pose three riddles that you must answer in order to gain entry to three parts of the complex: North (Moon), East (Coffin) and West (River).

◦ In the Northern Complex, you must loot Whelm from a chest guarded by a Monstrous Crab.

Whelm: EB +3, Massive Criticals 1d8, EB vs. Giant +5, EB vs. Goblinoid +5, Disintegrate 1/day.

◦ In the Eastern Complex, you must wrest Wave from the cold dead hands of the dwarf, Ctenmiir (500 XP).

Wave: EB +3, Drown (15) 1/day, Dehydrate 1/day, Extract Water Elemental 1/day, Freedom of Movement.

◦ In the Western Complex, you must expose Fenseq as the Ogre Mage, Qesnef, loot the key from his corpse, and then loot Blackrazor from the footlocker.

Blackrazor: EB +3, on-hit Level Drain DC 16, Vampiric Regeneration +3, Enervation (7) 1/day.

◦ Once you have acquired the three weapons, you must return to the entrance as the cavern begins to cave in, and speak to the efreeti, Nix. In the Wizard's Mouth Cave, you will be ambushed by the rival adventuring party led by Taron Rastin. Back in Soubar, you will be ambushed by the rival adventuring party led Elise. After that, you can either hand the weapons in or keep them for yourself. If you keep the weapons, Riickan Dack, Tor Vargess and Luxor Thebes will ambush you in the market. So ends Phase One.

Phase Two: Return to White Plume Mountain / Keraptis Lieutenants

You acquired this quest from Nix as you fled the collapsing complex. When you return, Keraptis will have transformed the complex into one reminiscent of the pre-Netheril age.

◦ The complex is basically a non-linear megadungeon (filled with all manner of aggro) consisting of four domains overseen by four guardians/Keraptis lieutenants: Nightfear (gnome), KillJoy (efreeti), Mossmutter (giant worm) and Spatterdock (ogre mage). Nix, your ally, also oversees a domain. The object is to track down and slay each of the lieutenants and recover a key fragment from each. You must then place the fragments into the control panel of a gondola (located in KillJoy's Domain) in order to descend to the Heart of White Plume Mountain.

◦ In the Heart, in order to activate the portal to the Shadow Dungeon, you must "sacrifice" three artifacts by placing them into the Obelisk of Summoning. However, there is a trick you can employ. Before placing in the third, remove the other two. It will still register as you putting in three. So ends phase two.

Phase Three: Ex Keraptis Cum Amore

Now in the Shadow Dungeon, read the scroll to acquire this final quest. You need to find three components that will allow you to reassemble the Infinity Wand.

◦ These components are found in the north, east and west of the dungeon, respectively. The Rod of Stars is guarded by an Umber Hulk Golem, the Gem of Souls is guarded by a Dracolisk, and the Stone of Life is guarded by the Baelnorn, Daetas. As is usual, you will need to find keys, answer riddles and slay myriad monsters in order to progress.

◦ Once you have acquired the three components, simply activate one of the components' special powers on Self. The Infinity Wand is reassembled. Now, activate the Infinity Ward's unique power on Self in order to be teleported to the Arena of Devastus, where Keraptis awaits.

◦ It is now a "simple" matter of slaying Keraptis along with Brix, Brax and legions of Shadow Warriors, Priests and Wizards led by the imaginatively-named Shadow Leader. This is a three-phase battle. Be ready for Fear, Silence and the boss' DC 25 Petrification Gaze. Note also that Brix and Brax are fire-enchanted; thus, they need to be finished off with cold and will detonate upon being vanquished (don't stand nearby). Upon your victory, loot the Devastus Sphere from Keraptis' corpse and activate it to return to the land of the living. So ends the campaign (10,000 XP).

There is a surprise waiting when you return to the Heart of White Plume: Leviathan, an epic balor. It drops the Girdle of Holy Might (bonus Cleric spell slots: 5, 6, 7).

Return to Nix in his domain for 50,000 XP and 20,000 XP.

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