Swordflight NWN

Developed by Rogueknight333 the award-winning Swordflight (2008-2022) is an ambitious series of NWN modules built for BioWare's cRPG of 2002, Neverwinter Nights 1.

Set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting familiar to all, Swordflight is notable for its reactive questing, explorative aspect, and traditional/old-school approach to puzzles, dungeoneering and combat encounters.

Swordflight offers something for everyone. One can enjoy its dialogues, characterizations, Realmslore and storytelling just as much as they can its combat encounters, dungeon-delving and resource management.

Swordflight	Release	Level Range	Hours	Quests	Zones	Companions
Chapter 1	2008	1-5	12	19	21	1
Chapter 2	2012	5-17	50	80	215	10
Chapter 3	2016	17-25	30	47	160	7
Chapter 4	2018	25-33	35	20	104	2
Chapter 5	2022	32-34	35	36	130	5
Chapter 6	tba	tba	tba	tba	tba	tba
Totals (1-5)	15 years	1-34	162	202	630	25

Swordflight is well-rounded in that it places a sensible degree of emphasis on the various aspects of cRPGs that make them distinctive from other genre. It does not mainly throw words at you like Planescape: Torment, and it does not mainly throw monsters at you like Icewind Dale 1. Instead, it could be said that it pays homage to Baldur's Gate 1 which is the middleground that fans of the genre have grown to appreciate. Swordflight is also not without humor, parody and other light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek moments.

cRPG itemization, dungeons and encounters are impeccably balanced and yet still interesting. That in itself is a remarkable achievement that demonstrates a deep understanding of rules and mechanics.

Chapters 2-5 also employ custom content in the form of tilesets, placeables and monsters.

Swordflight is highly replayable because it supports -- and is reactive to -- varied NWN builds and playstyles. Play what you like and how you like: more than most cRPGs out there, you will feel like your character matters within the gameworld.

15 years in the making, and with one chapter still to come, the total gameplay hours for the series currently stands at a whopping 160, depending on playstyle and cRPG experience.

In Best cRPGs as of 2024 Liluran commentary ranked the Swordflight campaign 3rd, behind only genre-defining masterpieces:

One of the startling things about Swordflight is that it isn't turn-based or big on party-based tactics, yet it gives me a more authentic D&D experience than cRPGs that are. This is due to its traditional principles of design that have been honed much sharper than tradition itself managed.

Swordflight Chapter 1

Released in 2008 Chapter 1 of Swordflight introduces the player to Rogueknight 333's refined game design principles, such as reactivity, resource management and dungeon strategy. When I first played it I was surprised by how eerily similar it felt to tabletop/PnP gaming. As well, I was humbled by its attention to resource management and rest restrictions.

As a disciple of Fallout, Arcanum and Baldur's Gate, I didn't know campaigns could be so balanced and yet still maintain the interest levels. In fact, I found myself reassessing what constitutes good cRPG design -- and that, a full 20 years after I first played the classics from Interplay, BioWare and Black Isle Studios.

Once I got over the initial shock Swordflight won me over.

This introductory adventure takes first level characters to about fifth. It features one companion (Zarala), 19 quests, 24 areas and takes about 12 hours to complete. The highlight of Chapter One is its polished multi-level dungeon crawl (the Buried Ruins), which features traps, puzzles and many combat encounters.

Swordflight Chapter 2

Released in 2012 Chapter 2 of Swordflight is widely regarded as the best Chapter in the series. This is primarily due to its massive size and scope along with its non-linear questing and open-ended exploration of the city of Calimport, the dungeons beneath it, and its varied wilderness outskirts. 

Reminiscent of Baldur's Gate city Chapter Two sports 50 reactive quests, 200 areas, 200,000 words of text, several companions and an approximate level range of 5-17. This massive adventure takes about 80 hours to beat, depending on playstyle. Chapter Two is the best NWN module on the Aurora platform, and one of the best cRPG campaigns ever.

It is a masterpiece of cRPG campaign design.

Swordflight Chapter 3

Released in 2016 Chapter 3 of Swordflight starts the player off on the high seas en route to the city of Zazesspur. Chapter 3 features divergent racial paths and epic combat encounters in the form of sub-bosses and massive mobs.

While not as large as the second installment, this module still offers 47 quests, 160 areas, several companions and about 30 hours of gameplay within a level range of 17-25. That is to say, it's still huge and better than any non-Swordflight module.

Swordflight Chapter 4

Released in 2018 Chapter 4 of Swordflight is an epic march through the Underdark. Characters start off at about 25th and end at around 33rd. This module, which pits the player against myriad denizens of the Underdark, offers two companions, 20 significant quests, 100 areas and about 35 hours of gameplay. Again, while not as good as Chapter 2 the 4th chapter still stands as one of the best modules for NWN.

The meat and potatoes of Chapter 4 is accessed from an Underdark market hub. The vast majority of the quests can be taken in any order, and exploration is largely non-linear.

The western caverns constitute a non-trivial lead-up to the hub. Once in the hub, the north leads to an Illithid Stronghold, the south to Beholder Warrens and the east to Azoophun's Kuo Toa Stronghold. There are many other regions such as Xerxkatun's lairs (a lich) and the Planes as well as random areas packed with Underdark monsters which are drawn randomly from preset pools.

Swordflight's Underdark is truly vast, dark and foreboding. You can't tell from the map screencapped above because I turned off area lighting in the toolset (otherwise, we wouldn't be able to see much).

Cool new monsters, Kuo Toa:

An upgrade to elemental summons:

Swordflight Chapter 5

Swordflight Chapter 5 was released in October 2022. The fifth installment features 36 quests, 130 zones and 5 companions, making it the third largest Swordflight module to date. Back in May 2022 the module seemed polished when I completed a playtest, so I would assume the uploaded release squished any of the nasty bugs (if indeed there were any to begin with).

When I have the time I'd like to comment on the module more. But for now, I can just say that fans of the series won't be disappointed with this latest installment -- especially if they are also Baldur's Gate fans!

Don't forget to comment on, vote for and report any bugs in C.5 on the Vault!

Swordflight Chapter 6

Swordflight Chapter 6 is planned, but its release date is as yet unknown.

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My Swordflight Coverage

• Part I: Contains my initial reaction to and coverage of Swordflight
• Part II: Contains notes on my playthrough of Chapter Two
• Part III: Contains commentary on alignment-based reactivity
• Part IV: Chapter Three coverage/review
• Interview with Rogueknight 333
• Swordflight Walkthrough

Swordflight Mod Compatibility

Make sure you're running Swordflight from a pristine 1.69 CR NWN installation. Popular mods such as CPP, PRC, ACAP, Tony K's and Project Q can cause issues, so I don't recommend installing them.

Note also that Enhanced GUI is NOT compatible with the respawn menu in Swordflight; the game crashes immediately upon our death. In short, I would advise against employing mods of any kind unless you know exactly what you are doing.

I personally run Swordflight with ACAP and NW Shader, without issue.

Swordflight Quest List

I have listed the quests in order to show how many there are. Have fun checking them off as you play and replay the series.

Swordflight Chapter 1 Quests

1. Adventurers Wanted
2. Caravan Guard
3. Desert Ruins
4. Door to Lower Ruins
5. Gaduish's Slaves
6. Ghost in the Ruins
7. Missing Brooch
8. Mysterious Protector
9. Quirixea
10. Rajar
11. Rats
12. Resting Safely
13. Restitution for Damage
14. Searching for Water
15. Searching the Sewers: Bunglo
16. Searching the Sewers: Tarshal's Treasure
17. The Tome of Zataroth
18. Veteran's Advice
19. Zarala

Swordflight Chapter 2 Quests

1. Amateur Smithing
2. Animal Control
3. Barazh
4. Basement Investigation
5. Bats in the Attic
6. Blimfin's Machine
7. Bounty Hunt: Darkshadow Assassins
8. Bounty Hunt: Mejalash Sebar
9. Bounty Hunt: Nadchar Neneb
10. Chelys
11. Collapsed Basement in the Slums
12. Dryads under Duress
13. Dwarves Unwelcome
14. Enhancement Rune
15. Fetching Oaken Planks
16. Find a Seagull Feather
17. Gadaran's Garb & Gear
18. Galhadr Guard
19. Goblins of the Forest of Mir
20. Hamad's Quests: Assisting Kalomas
21. Hamad's Quests: Consuming Fire Order
22. Hamad's Quests: Humanoid Armies
23. Hamad's Quests: Meet with Radazal
24. Hamad's Quests: Temple of Ilmater
25. Hamad's Quests: The Sword of Zefad
26. Hamad's Quests: To the Spider Swamp
27. Haunted House
28. Hidden Treasure in the Sewers
29. Hrangarak and Gunkruzelle
30. Imp Infestation
31. Kelem Ishadin
32. Magical Reagents
33. Master Iram's Training
34. Mazar's Golems
35. Missing Tools
36. Nasirak's Quests: Defeat the Titans
37. Nasirak's Quests: Mysterious Disappearances
38. Nasirak's Quests: Search for Kelem Ishadin
39. Our Story So Far
40. Package for Bamot Harojan
41. Poems of the Rathac Mar
42. Querzat's Hideout
43. Revenant's Ring
44. Ring of Tyr
45. Sacrificing a Slave to Shar
46. Sahuagin Beneath the Docks: Aranea Letter
47. Sahuagin Beneath the Docks: Corpse's Necklace
48. Saman's Shipment
49. Searching for Aladar Hasin
50. Seeds from a Desert Plant
51. Seginda's Ring
52. Shadow on the Wilderness
53. Shakam's Gloves
54. Sharks in the Basement
55. Siege of Fort Akhaz
56. Smithy Materials
57. Snajagh
58. Spying for Olim Khachar
59. Talu
60. Tavern Performance
61. Temple of Selune
62. The Cult Book
63. The Zekar Tower's Planar Trap
64. Thieves' Guild
65. Thieves' Guild Quests: Assassinate Kam Saitef
66. Thieves' Guild Quests: Assassinate Sarojal
67. Thieves' Guild Quests: Assassinate Naruaz
68. Thieves' Guild Quests: Healing Chalice
69. Thieves' Guild Quests: Magical Cloth
70. Thieves' Guild Quests: Serkhad Scarab
71. Thieving Servant
72. Troll Hunt
73. Tyrrans in the Sewers
74. Undersea Artifact
75. Wererat Trap
76. Wererats and Trolls
77. Wererats in the Sewers
78. Zagash
79. Zarala's Quests: Find a Martial Instructor
80. Zarala's Quests: Journey to Candlekeep
81. Zarala's Quests: Letter to Inas Senkhar
82. Zarala's Quests: Letter to Kadzia
83. Zarala's Quests: Sword Lore
84. Zarala's Quests: The Lightning Lute
85. Zataroth's Hidden Laboratory

Swordflight Chapter 3 Quests

1. A Book for Candlekeep
2. Ancient Dwarven Puzzle
3. Ancient Elven Tower
4. Ancient Tomb Puzzle
5. Assassination of Veric Arnsar
6. Bandits and Broadfoots
7. Bardic Performance
8. Battle on the Plane of Air
9. Beetle Infestation
10. Bounty Hunting
11. Celestial Crime
12. Cursed Dwarven Ruin
13. Dark Knights
14. Dryads in Distress
15. Dwarven Ghosts
16. Find Ben Kenemen
17. Fire Giants to the East
18. Halfling Vampire
19. Haunted Village?
20. Helping Out
21. Lost Dog
22. Lost Toy
23. Magical Reagents
24. Mercenaries vs. Monsters
25. Missing Papers
26. More Pirate Hunting
27. Our Story So Far
28. Pirate Hunting
29. Pirate Treasure
30. Portal at a Price
31. Rats in the Basement?
32. Red Wizard Elimination
33. Restitution for Damages
34. Ronar Raythan's Debts
35. Secret Door in the Sewers
36. Subterranean Serpents
37. Summoning Lore
38. Temple Tithe
39. The Dark Orb
40. Trouble on the Wave Runner
41. Troubles at a Roadside Inn
42. Upgrading the Lightning Lute
43. Warehouse Clearing
44. Zekar's Assassins
45. Zemquin's Machines
46. Zorak's Revenge

Swordflight Chapter 4 Quests

1. Abyssal Portal: Duergar Mine
2. Abyssal Portal: Grey Watcher's Quest
3. Abyssal Portal: Lost Shrine
4. Abyssal Trap
5. Assembling Storm Thrower
6. Crafting Anvil
7. Defiled Shrine
8. Drider stealing Holy Symbols: Eilistraee
9. Drider stealing Holy Symbols: Lolth
10. Escaping the Underdark
11. Escaping the Underdark: Map Route
12. Escaping the Underdark: Planar Path
13. Hidden Stronghold
14. Kuo Toa Key
15. Maghaurezh's Beholder Band
16. Magical Reagents
17. Mercenary for the Duergar
18. Mysterious Merchant
19. Orb for the Kuo Toa
20. Our Story So Far, Part 1
21. Our Story So Far, Part 2
22. Planar Disturbances
23. Planar War: Slaying Valendur
24. Planar War: Slaying Vartakor
25. Puzzle Clues
26. Reagents for Research
27. Rescuing Zarala
28. Ruined Svirfneblin Town
29. Schnabar's Arm
30. Schnella Shadowsneaker
31. Searching for Svirfneblin
32. Summoning Lore
33. The Elder Brain
34. Trapped in Illusions
35. Xerxatun's coded message?
36. Xerxatun's Lairs

Swordflight Chapter 5 Quests

1. Abyssal Portal: Orcus' Realm
2. Abyssal Portal: Yeenoghu's Realm
3. Alchemical Machine
4. Bounty Hunt: Daer'Ragh
5. Bounty Hunt: Gra'azha'ukul
6. Bounty Hunt: Kadigar
7. Bounty Hunt: Laguron
8. Bounty Hunt: Shadow Thieves
9. Bounty Hunt: Tughaur
10. Bounty Hunt: Werewolf Raiders
11. Fey Factions
12. Ghostly Reader
13. Gorzhun's Treasure Vault
14. Gund and the Goblins
15. Harper Plot
16. Idol of Kozah
17. Journey to Candlekeep
18. Magical Reagents
19. Missing Deva
20. Orb of Sathras
21. Our Story So Far, Part 1
22. Our Story So Far, Part 2
23. Planar Prison
24. Reforging the Sword
25. Return to Calimport
26. Rift Raphen's Cards
27. Tarakondazum's Locks
28. Tarakondazum's Prisoner
29. Tazakar's Challenge
30. The Blackguard's Throne
31. The Master of Slimes
32. Tomb of Dezhakor the Swift
33. Tomb of Gorzhun the Terrible
34. Tomb of Narzhan the Mighty
35. Tome of Necromancy
36. Vitiare the Pickpocket

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