Posted May 13, 2011
high rated
Thought to list a bunch of my favourite modules and would appreciate if a few others would do the same. The idea being, if I list 3 of your favourites and one you don't know, you're probably going to like that one too. But if my recommendations are all crappy, you'll know what to avoid! In general, I value roleplaying, plot, consistency, believability, character interaction, stuff like that. I don't value tactical gameplay, big battles, powergaming or massive amounts of loot.
NWN Vault's voting system is all nice and good, but very much broken. There are a lot of modules and one angry vote can drop something out of top 100. And these are personal favourites. Pretty much everything in the Hall of Fame is pretty good, in one way or another. But there's like 500 modules in the hall of fame, you're not very likely to sample them all.
Shadowlords, Dreamcatcher, and Demon campaigns
This starts a bit slow, Early Shadowlords episodes are… average. But it improves all the time. The story is a good one, henchie interaction & romance exemplary. But what really sets the series apart is the custom content, amazing inventive stuff you just don't see anywhere else. The full demon cards trading card game built into Demon is just superbly wonderful. Sometimes this content breaks up a bit and you'll have to reload, but it's worth it. DO NOT pass!
The Aielund Saga and Tales of Arterra
I always mix these up. Both are slow starting and rising to epic proportions before the endgame. Epic not meaning "epic arrows +5", but intense action with the fate of the world in line. High quality fantasy RPG's. Both of these are similar in tone to NWN official campaign, simply better in both plot and action! Plot twists and surprises. Action and romance.
Stuff by Stefan Gagne
One of the Big Names in NWN module design, likely the most famous, deservedly.
Elegia Eternum is probably the best built module for NWN, voice acting, superb plot. Twists and turns, journey into the psyche. There's action, but it's not the point here. The dark, twisted story continues in Excrucio Eternum.
HeX coda, the great unfinished trilogy. Open source magic vs corporate magic in a wonderful story full of action, suspense, romance and great humor. You might think it pointless to play the 1,5 episodes available, knowing there's no ending. But think of it like any given great movie trilogy, the first one does not require the later episodes to be enjoyable!
Penultima Series and Penultima Rerolled.
Penultima 0: Penultima City These are all about humor! Thinking about Discworld novels might give and idea that's not so far off. Rerolled is much, much better, but plain penultima has it's moments as well. Though rerolled is a sequel, it's not completely necessary to have played the original series first.
A Tangled Web
Unlike most other builders, Bruce Laplante has not relied on new content and hackpacks, only the base game is required. This is about the plot and ingenious use of raw materials. A slow starter in realistic world, moving towards high fantasy.
Bastard of Kosigan series. Realistic, grimy, down to earth, sexual content. Bastard is set in an alternate history france where magic was real. The plot and telling of the story are top notch.
The Cave of Songs + Honor Among Thieves + Prophet are probably not meant to be played as a series, but nevertheless work as such. Cave has fine moments, but is pretty average overall. Works as a way to gain a few levels for Honor among Thieves, which might be the best rogue module ever (rogue skills required). In The Prophet you are driven mercilessly towards the horrible vision you have foreseen.
In all of these, Baldecaran paints a realistic, gritty world, where high magic exist and can be really terrifying. You'll probably end up doing some pretty nasty stuff in order to survive.
A Dance with Rogues
Probably the best rogue module out there… You play the part of a princess (female), and have to have rogue skills, might just as well use the supplied character. Falling from grace, you'll have to survive in a slimy low magic world. And it takes some adjusting. Superb plot, nasty business, sexual content.
Ravenloft modules by Firestarter, "I found myself in a world sliding ever closer to Ravenloft." I was hooked right there, in these dark modules full of vampires and evil stuff. The first episode is weaker, the second one an absolute masterpiece. I don't like horror or vampires or stuff like that, but this is just great!
The Wanderer is an extremely slow starter. A colonist in a frontier town, you have basically nothing and have to crawl your way up to wealth and fame. There's a good story, bunch of stuff happening, a town full of people. But this is about a vast wilderness full of beasts and dangers. There's plenty to do all the time, yet you are in charge of your actions. If you like realistic down to earth low level gameplay, this is your thing.
... yes, I've played much more modules than is healthy for anyone...
_____
Edit. The old NWN Vault I linked to has been down for a good while and not coming back up.
Most of the modules are now to be found at the new vault: http://neverwintervault.org/
NWN Vault's voting system is all nice and good, but very much broken. There are a lot of modules and one angry vote can drop something out of top 100. And these are personal favourites. Pretty much everything in the Hall of Fame is pretty good, in one way or another. But there's like 500 modules in the hall of fame, you're not very likely to sample them all.
Shadowlords, Dreamcatcher, and Demon campaigns
This starts a bit slow, Early Shadowlords episodes are… average. But it improves all the time. The story is a good one, henchie interaction & romance exemplary. But what really sets the series apart is the custom content, amazing inventive stuff you just don't see anywhere else. The full demon cards trading card game built into Demon is just superbly wonderful. Sometimes this content breaks up a bit and you'll have to reload, but it's worth it. DO NOT pass!
The Aielund Saga and Tales of Arterra
I always mix these up. Both are slow starting and rising to epic proportions before the endgame. Epic not meaning "epic arrows +5", but intense action with the fate of the world in line. High quality fantasy RPG's. Both of these are similar in tone to NWN official campaign, simply better in both plot and action! Plot twists and surprises. Action and romance.
Stuff by Stefan Gagne
One of the Big Names in NWN module design, likely the most famous, deservedly.
Elegia Eternum is probably the best built module for NWN, voice acting, superb plot. Twists and turns, journey into the psyche. There's action, but it's not the point here. The dark, twisted story continues in Excrucio Eternum.
HeX coda, the great unfinished trilogy. Open source magic vs corporate magic in a wonderful story full of action, suspense, romance and great humor. You might think it pointless to play the 1,5 episodes available, knowing there's no ending. But think of it like any given great movie trilogy, the first one does not require the later episodes to be enjoyable!
Penultima Series and Penultima Rerolled.
Penultima 0: Penultima City These are all about humor! Thinking about Discworld novels might give and idea that's not so far off. Rerolled is much, much better, but plain penultima has it's moments as well. Though rerolled is a sequel, it's not completely necessary to have played the original series first.
A Tangled Web
Unlike most other builders, Bruce Laplante has not relied on new content and hackpacks, only the base game is required. This is about the plot and ingenious use of raw materials. A slow starter in realistic world, moving towards high fantasy.
Bastard of Kosigan series. Realistic, grimy, down to earth, sexual content. Bastard is set in an alternate history france where magic was real. The plot and telling of the story are top notch.
The Cave of Songs + Honor Among Thieves + Prophet are probably not meant to be played as a series, but nevertheless work as such. Cave has fine moments, but is pretty average overall. Works as a way to gain a few levels for Honor among Thieves, which might be the best rogue module ever (rogue skills required). In The Prophet you are driven mercilessly towards the horrible vision you have foreseen.
In all of these, Baldecaran paints a realistic, gritty world, where high magic exist and can be really terrifying. You'll probably end up doing some pretty nasty stuff in order to survive.
A Dance with Rogues
Probably the best rogue module out there… You play the part of a princess (female), and have to have rogue skills, might just as well use the supplied character. Falling from grace, you'll have to survive in a slimy low magic world. And it takes some adjusting. Superb plot, nasty business, sexual content.
Ravenloft modules by Firestarter, "I found myself in a world sliding ever closer to Ravenloft." I was hooked right there, in these dark modules full of vampires and evil stuff. The first episode is weaker, the second one an absolute masterpiece. I don't like horror or vampires or stuff like that, but this is just great!
The Wanderer is an extremely slow starter. A colonist in a frontier town, you have basically nothing and have to crawl your way up to wealth and fame. There's a good story, bunch of stuff happening, a town full of people. But this is about a vast wilderness full of beasts and dangers. There's plenty to do all the time, yet you are in charge of your actions. If you like realistic down to earth low level gameplay, this is your thing.
... yes, I've played much more modules than is healthy for anyone...
_____
Edit. The old NWN Vault I linked to has been down for a good while and not coming back up.
Most of the modules are now to be found at the new vault: http://neverwintervault.org/
Post edited December 02, 2015 by Jarmo
