FRUA: Neverwinter Nights - 1

Today I will regale you with a tale of a world parallel to that of the Forgotten World. Our heroes are young adventurers who have come to seek fortune and fame in the great city of Neverwinter, jewel of the Savage Frontier.

This is grabbed from the original game

Our adventurers include Kylie Tor, a human ranger, Ahriman a human paladin, Lilith, human cleric, and Augustar, human mage. They had come forth from the more arid southern lands.

 They arrived mid night, standing before the abode of the Lord of Neverwinter, who the guards at the gate to the city had recommended they pay a visit to.

Lord Nasher was even less helpful than the curt Lord Bartholomew.

"We were a bit distraught that Lord Nasher was so short with us, especially after we had been asked to seek him out. However, it was late into the night, perhaps that was the reason for his demeanor. We headed into the bustling town square, which was still quite busy even at this ungodsly hour. Feeling practically naked without a sword at my belt, we immediately took to the supplier and inn that were located in the town square. They were thankfully open."

Neverwinter Square

"We took our time purchasing basic equipment. I attempted to wield a trident, as I'd heard they were an underrated weapon. I found it too heavy to wield in one hand, and therefore decided to go with a tried and true long sword. We all purchased slings as well, even our wizard Augustar found he could use one effectively after a quick lesson."

"The square, as I mentioned, was quite busy. There were townsfolk, a man playing a guitar, merchants, and all manner of adventurer looking folk from the length and breadth of the Realms. Apparently we looked a little conspicuous because we were approached by a somewhat seedy, barefooted fellow with hairy tufts on his feet. A halfling. I immediately clutched my coin purse. Lilith whispered in my ear 'Relax, not all halflings are thieves.' The little fellow bowed and introduced himself, 'Good eve to you adventurers, my name is Milkbottom, a rogue of sorts.' I glared at Lilith. 'Perhaps' he continued,'I can give you some tips?'"

"He gave us a quick rundown of the services available in Neverwinter, and suggested we start looking for 'adventure' (said with a glint in his eye) at the wharves to the East of the square. This area had only recently been overrun by evil humanoids and other ne'er do wells. After a long chat with him, and an introduction to his companion Alianna, we had warmed up to him a bit, and decided he was trustworthy. Not too surprisingly, after all this set-up Milkbottom asked if the two of them might accompany us. We conferred amongst ourselves for a bit, and eventually decided we could use their help. Our party now numbers six."

Compared to Forgotten World, survival is much easier in this module because of the benefit of having a full party. Also, Forgotten World randomizes the enemies HP, which is a cool feature. However, the same enemies that have 4hp in NWN may have 8-15 in FW which can make it tough!

Treasure from two orcs in FW

 FW has the enemies overloaded with coins with little to spend it on, and NWN has them completely the opposite, generally with a few platinum pieces each. A balance would have been nice, as in FW money has rarely been a concern at all, while in NWN many times I've reached enough XP for a level up and not had the cash on hand. I suppose, between the two I prefer the latter though.

 When money in a game is overflowing, it makes the motions of spending it seem more like busy work than a game. One would assume the same couldn't be said about real life, but then, who knows? Perhaps if we had an unlimited supply of money, life would lose some of it's luster, everything seeming like it took little effort. Or, I guess a better example would be imagine you had a ton of money, but nothing to spend it on.

Whether you have a ton of coin, or very little, may you always enjoy This Bard's Tales!