The Sanctum

Work on Sanctum Chapter 2 is proceeding apace, now that I’ve finally made a decision to continue building in NWN1. I’ve worked out and implemented several important features that will be used in the new mod, and thought that an update about some of them might be of interest to my readers.

• Module Transfer and Starting Options. Chapter 2 opens in the same "waiting area" with the talking portal where Chapter 1 ends. I want to encourage everyone to hold on to their final savegame in the portal room from "The Sight" (not from the placeholder module!), because that will enable a smooth transition to Chapter 2 – preserving information about your game state such as items, companion relationships, permanent abilities, and so on. If you don’t transfer from a Chapter 1 savegame, you’ll only retain your items (if using an exported character), but will have to accept default values for the rest of your game variables. Plot-related items will be re-created or upgraded automatically for you, if necessary.
• Configuration Interview. The portal will talk you through what you need to do to configure your preferences for Chapter 2, and includes an extensive "troubleshooting" interview if you encounter any problems when starting. It will also let you select a class for the sequel’s new companion, to enable you to better balance the game for your character and personal playing style.
• Character Upgrades. I learned a great deal about designing effective characters and levelup packages in the year since I built Chapter 1, which I wanted to incorporate into Chapter 2. The sequel will give you the option of "upgrading" Robin and Orion to take advantage of these new packages, which include improved class, skill, feat, and spell selections that are also optimized for Chapter 2. Robin’s build in particular (in keeping with my vision of her) is a little more "roguish," and includes a level of the custom "spy" package that I created for the series.
• Merging the Male and Female Robin Versions. I’ve now worked out a way to support Robin as a male or a female character in the same module, eliminating the need for two different versions. The configuration interview will give you the option to choose which version of Robin to play with or upgrade to – even if you played the opposite gender in Chapter 1.
• Travel. Chapter 2 will involve traveling significant distances across the eastern part of the World of Glorn. This in turn required me to develop an approach to making that extensive travel possible, both in terms of the story, and in terms of game mechanics. I’ve now implemented and tested a fairly elaborate system for this, which I think turned out to be surprisingly authentic and that players may get a real role-playing kick out of.
• Dialogues. I’m currently writing the early "extended dialogues" with Robin and Orion that I promised at the end of Sanctum 1. I just finished Robin’s, and at just over 6000 words, it turned out by far to be the most complex and ambitious conversation that I’ve ever written. And while I won’t spoil what you talk about, I will hint that it does include a long-overdue discussion (if you’re playing the romance) about what’s really going on with your relationship…

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After thinking carefully about the issues that I raised in a previous blog post ("A Builder’s Dilemma"), I’ve made a final decision to return to building the next installment of the Sanctum saga in NWN1.

I won’t rehash any of the reasons for that decision now, but those who are interested can find a good discussion of them on the Bioware forums (here and here), as well as on my blog and on the Sanctum I module page. I want to sincerely thank everyone who shared their thoughts and gave me feedback on my questions. That was invaluable in helping me think through the issue – and, I think, to make the right choice for the next chapter of the sequel. I’m still confident that with a little more time, NWN2 will mature into an awesome modding environment – so I will almost certainly be switching to the new game for the last two chapters (three and four) of the series.

I’m also thinking of changing how I’m structuring the series. My plan had been for the three sequel modules collectively to constitute "Sanctum of the Archmage, Chapter 2: The Miracle Worker," and to refer to each of the modules individually as "Acts" in the second chapter. This is similar to how Savant is treating the fourth chapter of the Aielund saga, "The Fall of Aielund." I’m now thinking that it might be better to stick to referring to each module as its own "Chapter," so that there would be four chapters in the series all told. The first half would be in NWN1, consisting of Chapters 1 ("The Sight") and 2 (which I’ll probably now call "The Miracle Worker" instead of "The Alliance"). The second half of the series would be in NWN2, consisting of Chapters 3 and 4 (names yet to be announced). I could refer to the two halves as "Acts," so that Act I would be in NWN1, and Act II would be in NWN2.

How does that sound? Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this?

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I just wanted to let everyone know that I was interviewed by Jay for this week’s episode of the Neverwinter Nights Podcast. We talked about my modules and fiction writing plans, some of my recent concerns about modding for NWN2, and a little about my thoughts on modding as a new medium for interactive storytelling.  

I was a little mortified to realize just how fast I actually tend to talk (probably goes with growing up in New York) and with how often I seem to pause and say "Umm" (going to have to work on that ). Other than that, though, I think it was a great interview!

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