Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker

Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker
Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker
Developer(s)	BioWare
Publisher(s)	Atari
Series	Neverwinter Nights
Platform(s)	Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release	Windows; November 10, 2004; Switch, PS4, Xbox One; December 3, 2019;
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker is an expansion pack released for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights that includes three premium modules: Kingmaker, Shadowguard, and Witch's Wake. Released in November 2004, Kingmaker won the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' "Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year" award in 2005.^[2]

Modules

Kingmaker

This module requires the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack and offers around eight hours of gameplay. It is available in lite and full versions, with the former lacking voice acting for the different NPCs in the module. The module can be purchased and downloaded directly from the internet for a price less than that of the expansions.

Plot

The module is set in a world that borrows many elements from Forgotten Realms and other Dungeons and Dragons settings. The story takes place near the Keep of Cyan, a northern part of the world. The player's goal is to win an election and become the Lord of the Keep. In order to do so, the player character must persuade at least four of nine guilds to aid him. Only then will the character have a chance to fight his nemesis, the Masked Man, a mysterious mage who uses a small army of creatures to conquer the Keep. On his journeys, the player character also has to reveal the mystery of his own nature and past. An unknown ally of great power also helps the character by granting him a sentient magical weapon with a friendly personality. The player can enlist help from two of four NPCs who traveled with him before the beginning of the game.

The official BioWare page described the module as follows: "In a party with a cowardly Wererat, a scarred Nymph, an exiled Rakshasa, and a quick-tempered Azer, you seem to be the only normal one... but are you? Embark on a journey to face your nemesis outside the embattled ramparts of the Keep of Cyan. It is a journey that will test your loyalties and cause you to question the very bounds of life and death. Evil lurks in the war-torn keep and it's up to you to unearth it. To learn the truth, you must win the throne".^{[citation needed]}

It is revealed later that the Masked Man is an Illithid, and the mysterious ally is the main character's grandmother, a demoness of great power who once fell in love with a man, thus making the player character part Tiefling. The Masked Man is also revealed to be the hero's brother. The game culminates with the player killing the Masked Man and realizing the truth about himself. After that, he becomes the rightful ruler of Cyan.

Shadowguard

Neverwinter Nights: Shadowguard is a premium module for BioWare's 2002 PC RPG, Neverwinter Nights. The module was sold at the BioWare store for $4.99, and comes with the "Witch's Wake" premium module for free. The module features a new adventure set in a unique setting.

Plot

The game is set in Abaron, a setting specially created for the module. The Sarakhan Empire is the most prominent force in this world, being led by a divine emperor named Rakha who wishes to unify the whole world. However, the northern lands are not willing to enter the Empire. A mysterious Crimson Prophet is believed to be the leader of the resistance. The story takes place in Ghaarak, an imperial city located near the northern territories' border.

The module itself is named after the organization featuring prominently in the game. The player is the son of Ocaris, one of the city's leaders, who is finishing his student time in the academy. The game opens with a graduation ceremony wherein the player is asked to choose one of three magical symbols, each of which confers certain bonuses. After the graduation, the instructor tells the player that a man named Markius is looking for them.

It is soon revealed that the character is meant to enter a secret organization, the Shadowguard, which protects the Empire from various threats. The story leads the player through a series of tasks given by Markius, the leader of the Shadowguard, and his friends. The tasks involve the player taking down a slaver syndicate and other criminal elements. The city of Ghaarak slowly falls into chaos due to the arrival of the Crimson Prophet, a mage willing to destroy the Empire who steals powerful artifacts and kills Ocaris.

A full-scale assault on the city begins, carried out by the northern people under the Crimson Prophet's instructions. The player must escape the doomed city along with the members of the Shadowguard. Battling their way to the docks, they encounter the Crimson Prophet again, but they are unable to defeat him. The module's story ends with the character escaping the city with the Shadowguard on board a ship, the Voyager. The story was meant to be continued, but no sequels were ever made.

Witch's Wake

Witch's Wake uses an original game setting created for the module, completely independent of Neverwinter Nights' Forgotten Realms setting. It is a dark, mysterious world featuring unique sub-races with their own special abilities.

Plot

The game starts as the player character (PC) awakens on a battlefield with no memories. A dying prince asks the PC to deliver to his father the message, "She is dead." Soon, the PC meets the Night Hag, a witch who is willing to help uncover the PC's past. She grants the PC passage to the Plane of Sorrow, a place where the living world collides with the world of the dead, Stygia. The Plane of Sorrow is inhabited by souls who are about to enter the world of undead, and Filchers, spirits notorious for their thieving nature. The player journeys through the world looking for answers, sometimes visiting the Plane of Sorrow. After several dangerous encounters, the player enters a dwarf village, Brogan's Arm. There, the PC discovers that someone has stolen the Cavanaugh Stone, a holy artifact of great importance. At the end of module, the player encounters a man named Caldrian, who finally reveals what happened.

The PC remembers that they were part of a witch hunter squad that battled a witch and apparently killed her. The squad was obliterated by her power, and the few survivors lost their memories. Just after the dialogue, a ghostly figure of a woman appears, writing a message: "The fields of battle lie in the hearts of men. . ."

A continuation module was planned but never made.