[Lawtan]

9. Neverwinter Nights (1 and 2)

Gods, I don't know where to begin. Firstly, Neverwinter entered thescene with AOL instant messaging - it was one of the first ever online games. When AOL closed it down (despite much anger) Bioware took the game and made it an unofficial "step up" from the Baldur's Gate series...

This game admittedly has bad graphics and somewhat monotonous fighting mechanics (think TERA without the graphics)...but the engine it was made on was one of the most flexible and freely moddable I've known, and the storyline...and the characters (though not as good/engrossing as Baldur's Gate/Dragon Age)...were lovely. Each additional release added a new, more engrossing story, and people have went wild on making mods and new stories to the game. I mean, you take a game that is essentially Baldur's Gate with +1 to graphics and a mobile camera...and you make a fully functional/visual Jousting tournament as a side quest to your story! You take a D&D based game, and make it a Science Fiction work where humanity is "contained" by other species, and make magic run like technology - Shadowrun Style...and the characters that you work with or accompany you are akin to the depth of Eschaton characters. Or a story where the Narrator is actually a god that uses/kills off heroes in order to tell his whimsical tales of adventure...BEFORE PORTAL! Or a story of an alchemist who discovered how to live past death...and it's curse. A game where a person who knows just 2 years of programming can take and make a rogue/assassin realm, or 12-year-old me could use to create a castle/port city that was a work of art, mixing medieval Asian and European influences. It is a great game and had a modding community I have never seen since (1998-2014 and still going despite Windows/Mac issues). And people borrowed elements from EVERYWHERE. A Mod that retell's Poe's Raven. Songs from Oblivion, Anime, Baldur's Gate, and Icewind Dale. Continuations of stories from such places (One mod tying in the Original Campaign to Viconia from Baldur's Gate). There is a comedy sketch machinima that ran 3 seasons using this game...and an hour long Machinima Movie!

Neverwinter Nights 2 is almost as good. The storyline for the initial campaigns were loads better; the expansion Mask of the Betrayer is...epic - a shorter story that rivals the depth of Dragon Age and Mass Effect. However, stories made in mods were a lot...less creative, this time around. People made up for it with new mechanics. Developing Characters that you could take on different campaigns by just adding one hak to the file, new spells and races, making this possible in the actual old campaigns!
Sadly, the Windows/Mac issues also have plagued this one (worse than the original) and I myself can no longer play NWN 2. It was overall more bugged, and so never left the same impact.

Recommended Modules:
1) The Aielund Saga
2) A Dance with Rogues (Rated M for Sexual Content and Violence)
3) Penultima & Penultima Rerolled
4) HeX Coda - it was so epic and grand, that the game was never finished. :-(
5) Lords of Darkness
6) Surviving Horror
7) Revenant
8) Ronin, Kensai of Kyoto
9) Bast*** of Kosigan (Rated M for Violence and Sexual Content)
10) Shadowlords/Dreamcatcher/Demon - These were the series that started it all for developed mods. It also has a little bit of everything.
11) The Raven - based on Edgar Allen Poe's poem... 'nuff said.
12) Vampire – Heaven Defied (Rated M for Violence and Sexual Content)
13) Tales of Arterra
14) Tortured Hearts - early attempt at a really open-world RPG with developed characters. Issue is that it can be incredibly confusing.
15) Aribeth's Redemption/Revival - Aribeth was likely the most developed NWN character...and people did not like Neverwinter's treatment of her. This corrected that.

Aribeth - My favorite character
Deekin - Snarky, cowardly. warm-hearted, loyal...kobold bard
Valen - Equal to Espy's Segiun...a Tiefling...the guy all the fan-girls love.

Other names: Six o'Clock, Polly the Parrot, Pandy (Pandora), Advent, Alanya, Aarin Gend, Nathyrra, Kaelyn the Dove, Taletha, Nishar, Neeshka, Elanee, Khelgar Ironfist, Garm, Black Garius, Okku, Safiya, Gannyeve (Gann), Bishop...