Hearkenwold

[Dorateen]

To continue updating progress on the Hearkenwold campain, the current version uses build 176 of the IceBlink engine, and is available to download here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

Here are some screenshots of some of the newest content:











I am presently getting a lot done with the Thief Guild adventure, starting on the next level of the dungeon complex today. In a couple of weeks I will make a status report with the aim of releasing a new version by the end of February.

[slowdive]

Awesome! I'm still playing through on my iPad (part of testing IBx) so maybe I'll be caught up by the time the next release is ready

[Dorateen]

Thanks! If you come across any bugs in the module, just let me know. I try to do a lot of testing across versions, but it is always helpful to have another set of eyes on this kind of project.

[youngneil1]

Nice to see Hearkenwold made the transition to the new form, time for regrouping

[Dorateen]

Nice to see Hearkenwold made the transition to the new form

One door closes, and another opens.

[Dorateen]

Sneak preview time. I just tested this big battle and party got wiped...



Now before we panic, this is with characters of 5th and 6th level. The way I test balance is when I see such a party get slaughtered, it tells me that a player will likely need to be stronger and have more powerful equipment to survive. To be fair, this adventure as part of the Thief Guild quest should be for more advanced characters. I have a 7th/8th level party in another test file that might very well have an easier time, or even cut through the enemy like butter. So the challenge level is probably right where I want it. I will still run the encounter many times, and see if lower level characters could pull out a victory through better use of tactics.

[slowdive]

That sounds and looks great! Looks like a tough group of creatures there. I hope my adventures will be ready for them.

[Dorateen]

The close quarters fighting got me, with opponents falling right on top of the party. Looking at the initiative bar, our wizard acted last. He was able to fire off a sleep spell, but then was pinned down by a duergar in round two. That took a lot of potential options off the table, and things went bad from there...

[youngneil1]

That's a really cool looking battle setup there . Freing oneself from being surrounded like this or at least shielding casters somewhat is challenging and fun indeed. Dimension door, area slow effects or crowd control hold spells as well as a sneak/shadow trait on a caster can help, but most importantly does knowing about AI behaviour when it comes to choosing targets. Then again, the different AI types (go for nearest, most wounded, most sp possessing or being a caster type with different cast percentages and thresholds for healing spells) mix this up, so it's imporant pay attention to AI running each opponent. The upcoming little combat revamp (it's so many little details stacked on eahc other, work on optics as wells on gamepaly when it comes to effects/vulnerabilties/creature types) will emphasize such thinking/gameplay even more (or so I hope).

It might be nice to have some kind of aggro traits for fighters to lure cretaures onto them, overriding what their AI would normally tell them to do. Then again, messing with the AI is very tricky subject (that I will have to revisit anyway one day as the non-stadnard AI types, especially with larger creatures, somteimes skip attack opportunities without a real reason).

[Dorateen]

There are so many variables that play a factor, for example something as simple as initiative order has big effect on one's fortunes in battle. Another thing I enjoy a lot is unpredictability in combat and adjusting to the enemy's tactics. The second troll is a shaman, and I have had it cast group damage spells, hold person and heal its allies during the fight. This is all with the default Ai. So I think it can do a pretty good job to create a challenge, even before using the Ai overrides, which I have done in some other instances.

I genuinely enjoy talking encounter design. This particular one has a good mix of ranged, melee thumping opponents, and that one caster, which makes it tricky to decide what targets to prioritize. It is also possible to avoid this confrontation so in no means is it forced to win to complete a mission. Still, I found the showdown to be a fun test for the mid-level party that I use as a measuring stick.

[slowdive]

I played some more the past few days on my phone and I have come across a few new areas to me. They had some “too tough for my party” encounters so I think they are meant for later. Back to searching for the inn. Most of my party of five is now level 3. I’m playing through with IBx v182.

[Dorateen]

That is great! Those new areas are probably good for a party 4th level and up.

[slowdive]

Okay, I’ll come back to them after the inn/tavern quest. They were the areas north of the old tavern path areas.

[Dorateen]

February Update

Happy to make the first official update for Hearkenwold on the new forums.

I have been busy hammering out the new adventure for the Thief Guild, and I'm on the last level of a dungeon complex. I think I mentioned before, I decided to use an old NWN2 module as a blueprint, one that I pretty much finished but never released. It was supposed to be part of a community project with different authors submitting individual adventures. However, that project fell apart, and I've had this module sitting on a backup hard drive since 2011. Until now!

As I was rebuilding it in IceBlink, I found it to be very appropriate for the thief class mission. Overall, it sort of has the feel of an asylum, with some NPCs that are lunatics and operating with their own agenda. I also made a little more use of skill checks here, owing to the fact this was originally created for the 3.5 D&D ruleset.

I want to point out, unlike the other two class-based content, this one will be completely accessible for all characters. With or without a thief in the party, and whether or not the guild sends you to this location. Nevertheless, I think a low level party will struggle if they come here too soon, and might put off until later in their adventuring career.

Here are some screenshots, including a new wilderness area that opens the way to this dungeon. I have been making extensive use of the animated waves prop on all water tiles throughout Hearkenwold. I think it enhances the area to be much more atmospheric.



In keeping with the idea of an asylum, this dwarf the party will meet is more like the beleagured warden.



Map features including a bridge, chasms, and an underground waterfall.



Some encounters will be possible to avoid if you have a thief in the party, and if the characters listen to him.



I know I have posted this deep fire beetle battle a few times. But it's a nice showcase of one of the new creatures this dungeon will introduce. And this time, I added the 50% fire resistance, as indicated in the newly implemented mouse over stat block.



All this only scratches the surface of the dungeon environment. Each level is constructed from multiple, varied maps packed with content. I should have everything done in a few weeks, and I think a release before the end of the month is very achievable. At that point, I will reveal the next class guild quest that I'm waiting to start on.

[slowdive]

This looks great! Use of skill checks is always welcome. I also like the idea of having different ways to pass an encounter or challenge. The beetles and their fire breathing looks fun

[youngneil1]

Amazing work, Dorateen! Hearkenwold is so rich in stories and adventure content by now, it is really a joy to behold. The new areas look very interesting and varied, feeling the tickle to start a new campaign and experience it all again (and much of it for the first time).

Oh, animated props are big fun. We will have many more as time goes on. They work on the encounter screen , too, now.

[slowdive]

Oh, animated props are big fun. We will have many more as time goes on. They work on the encounter screen , too, now.

That cave waterfall could use an animated version

[Dorateen]

I wonder how it would work if I put the waves prop on that waterfall tile. I can try it.

Those fire beetles could be overwhelming if not handled carefully. The extra fire damage starts to add up. Hold, sleep and even web are valuable spells in that scenario.

[slowdive]

I wonder how it would work if I put the waves prop on that waterfall tile. I can try it.

I'll look into how animated tiles/props are made and I think I'll make a scrolling downwards water fall for that tile.

[Dorateen]

I wonder how it would work if I put the waves prop on that waterfall tile. I can try it.

I'll look into how animated tiles/props are made and I think I'll make a scrolling downwards water fall for that tile.

That would be perfect. Other effects like water spray would be good, as well as clouds and smoke.

[slowdive]

See if this works...

t_waterfall.png (30.79 KiB) Viewed 66764 times

[Dorateen]

Not sure if I did it right. I placed the .png as a tile, and it shows as all six boxes high. I did not see any animation. Might be that I am using the old method of importing a single map, rather than the all tile system.

[slowdive]

Are the water ones that you have used already considered props and not tiles? Maybe this has to be used as a prop? I'm not familiar with the animation system so maybe Karl can offer some direction here.

[slowdive]

I tried using it as a prop and that worked. I used the following settings to get it to look okay. I think it has an illusion of going up instead of down. Probably should add a more distinct pattern that moves down.

Capture001.PNG (10.71 KiB) Viewed 66760 times

[Dorateen]

Hey, that's great. I figured it should be a prop, but I never used those settings before. It now works beautifully. Thanks! I also have a waterfall in another different outdoor area, and I swapped that with the new animated falls.

I need to learn how to capture .gif files so I can show animated images like this.

[slowdive]

I need to figure out how to make gifs and make sure they post to the forums if possible. That would help show case some of Karl’s hard work with the engine and animations.

[youngneil1]

Wow, it's really amazing to see you brave and clever guys tackle the prop animation system without a proper documentation! Keep the new animated props coming. We can work on making the system better once you got a bit hands on experience... I am certain there's room for improvment . Ah, you should also be able to make animated and the same time moving props. Also, all the props can be used on combat screen, too.

And while your in painting mood, maybe try your hands on a five frame prop for a creature/pc (vertical strip, each frame 100x100 for noral sized pc/cretaure: normal, attack, walk, breathe, idle... iirc).

For walk just imagine exactly the middle of a step - > midstride. Looks nicely if you add slightly shifted hair, weapon position, flying coat etc.
For breathe I have shrunk the ribcage a bit, lowered shodulers ever so slightly, a subtle variation is more than enough for the effect.
The only idle I tried is a flex muscle move...

You don't have to set anything concneirng timing/fequencies/etc., the engine takes such a 5-frame-prop and just runs with it (make sure the prop is set to be a mover though on main map). In battle and on main map, it is quite relevating to see them in action (or so I like to believe). I have only one stick man here (the blue crossbow fighter from goldbox, with new, rather quickly sketched frames created by me from its two default frames; he is part of the tutorial moduel so you can use him directly).

[Dorateen]

That's good information, youngneil1. I was able to make a .gif by capturing video and then converting that file into the animated image. The quality is better in-game of course, but here is that wonderful new waterfall.

[slowdive]

That looks great! On a side note, my party decide to explore around a bit near the tavern. We wondered into the mountains and came across an interesting creature which quickly produced a party wipe I think I'll come back and give it a go in a bit. Most of my party is level 4 or 5 now.

[Dorateen]

We wondered into the mountains and came across an interesting creature which quickly produced a party wipe

I think that is one of the encounters the party has a choice to stand their ground or flee. Discretion is the better part of valor.

[slowdive]

Yes, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try... think of the wonderful tales we could tell at the tavern is we survived

[Dorateen]

Here is a little treat for Valentine's Day. This is a dwarf the party will meet on their way into the Halls of Hamhock, and it can lead to some side content about romance and a lost love.

[youngneil1]

The picture fits the dialogue perfectly. There's a shyness about that dwarf looking down that is properly reflected in his uncertain/insecure choice of words.

[Dorateen]

Thanks. He is a young dwarf, so I don't mind the short beard. I agree the posture is appropriate for his personality.

[Dorateen]

The newest version of the Hearkenwold campaign is now available to download, using build 184 of the IceBlink engine.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

The adventure for the Thief Guild is included, a dungeon crawl that appears on a new outdoor map. Difficulty ranges from mid to high level, and some of the monsters encountered are not messing around. Nevertheless, if the party is brave enough, some unique treasures await. And of course, thief characters will have a special motivation.



This is the head of the thief guild, known as the Midnight Shadows. She is not messing around either. But if party members can succeed at achieving their objective, they will get the stat boosting strait, and the journal entry that records guild membership.



The latest version of IceBlink introduced a slight idle animation for enemy creatures, and smooth movement in combat. Here is a gif file to showcase these features, in addition to giving an example of the flow of battle.



Next up is going to be the paladin quest. I have already started working on this adventure, and I will have a lot to share in the next update.

[slowdive]

Downloaded yesterday and updating my iPhone and iPad to Hearkenwold v184. The GIFs work great now on the forums for seeing animations and IB in action

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. I wish the quality of the gif was better, but I edited the origianl mp4 of the video capture and saved it as a smaller resolution for the conversion into the animated image. Still, good enough to get the point across, I think.

Also, forget to mention here, I activated the "Battle Regeneration" trait in the toolset, making it available in Hearkenwold for characters at different levels. There are a few other traits that are in there but not set up yet, which I plan to incorporate in the next version.

[youngneil1]

The battle gif is really cool, great fun to watch it . More traits to spice up things are always welcome - I look forward to what you come up with. When watching the gif of the battle you set up and skillfully composed, I realize the long way we have come together. Very proud of our little crew here.

[Dorateen]

The battle gif is really cool, great fun to watch it

Yes, combat in IceBlink feels very comfortable and fun to engage with right now. It is amazing to think how flexible the systems are, and there is potential to get even more creative. So far, I have picked specific instances to branch out and include things like the assassination victory condition, or surviving x number of rounds. Having enemies appear as reinforcements in later rounds is another way I've spiced up certain encounters.

[Dorateen]

Here's a super secret sneak preview from Hearkenwold. In another thread, I had talked briefly about trying to get a PC ally to join a battle. This works by using the IBscript "summonAlly" in the properties of this encounter. However, in order to add multiple unique allies, I needed to modify the default IBscript. It took a bit of trial and error, but I finally got it. I'm very satisfied to see it trigger as intended. As shown in the combat log, the four guys up top are friendly NPCs who appear to help the party in this fight.

[slowdive]

That looks awesome! Will be lots of fun to have the help. I have a similar type encounter at the very end of Lanterna, but I had to use the addCharacterToParty function back then so it is good to hear that the new summonAlly script works in this situation.

[youngneil1]

Great work on getting multiple allies in! The ibscript system is amazing - when all the dust has settled, it will be a cornerstone (but also huge) task to adjust its scope to all the new fucntionalities of the engine.

[Dorateen]

Yes, the engine scripting is quite powerful. In this case, I was working off the "add temporary allies to this encounter" ga script. In the IBscript to summon allies, I needed to add three additional lines to account for the other NPCs, and increase the paramters up to parm 11. All the data was input on the single line in the encounter property. Looks like a builder could customize the script have any number of NPCs join a battle in this way, all under the player's control. Makes for some interesting combat possibilities.

[Dorateen]

March Update

I have been diligently working on the paladin guild adventure, which I mentioned in the last update would be next in line to appear in Hearkenwold. The sponsor for the order, called the Holy Zephyrs, was in fact the first such NPC I inserted to discuss the guilds, when I was developing the idea for class specific content. When found, he is your typical smiter of evil decked out in armor and with fiery rhetoric. Thus, in contrast, I decided to make the head of the guild a man of more simple demeanor. Although he has an interesting backstory himself that he will gladly share with paladins seeking membership. This is the Guildmaster:



For the quest, I am making a return to Asherim, which was the two desert maps I added to the campaign a few years ago, as a sort of a side adventure. This left the content rather unresolved, as the party then would make its way back to the lands of Hearkenwold. Thus, the completion of that arc is weaved into a paladin's objective. Going over those couple of maps, I switched out a new tile for the walls of the desert canyon, using golden sands and rocks. This might be a clash with the original texture, however I still want the ground to reflect the burning red sands of Asherim.



A new area has opened up north of the desert canyon, finally allowing the party to reach the Hills of Asherim. While there is a waterway that feeds the oasis, the land itself is still barren.



And just as uninviting.



There is plenty of more work to be done. This new map for example, contains entrances to new locations, and there are yet further areas for a brave party to explore in pursuit of their goal. Progress is going well so far, and although I do not think I will have it all finished by the end of the month, a new version of Hearkenwold in April should be manageable.

[slowdive]

Looks great! I haven't made it Asherim in my current play through as of yet. It be nice to have the updated maps if they are ready by the time I get there... No rush of course as I am moving slow these days (work audit time, happens every three years).

[Dorateen]

The paladin quest can be started, so one of the new maps is present in the game. It is possible to leave Asherim and return later. But if a player wants to do it all in one go, I'd say a few more weeks and I will have Asherim completely finished.

[youngneil1]

These are some really nice and meaty screenshots there . I love the waterway shaping the terrain on it's way from the oasis, especially the cliff side looming over it. The new desert mountains fit the burning grounds well, no need to worry. Hehe, and a grappling hook made from a gallows rope is surely a unique piece of equipment, for sure - might be a favoite of the party's assassin, if present .

[Dorateen]

Thanks, youngneil1. It is fun playing with the height and different tiles such as the water. And of course, the animated waves prop.

[Dorateen]

April Update

I downloaded and started working with build 188/189. The big change for me was how the status, or debuff, effects are notated on characters and creatures in battle. In the sample below, it shows combat with monsters who are under the effect of a hold spell and a sleep spell, as well as characters who have been poisoned. You can see the little purple image or the blue "z's" just above, while the green markings for poison appear in the top right corner of the token, as well as on the character portraits.



I would like to hear more feedback about this change. Personally, I think the addition of the status effects on the portraits are a good idea. However, on the combat map, I really miss those hold, sleep, and web spells engulfing either player characters or enemies. I forgot to mention, one of the Death Dogs was also webbed. It seems to me the new smaller icons on the combat map are just not visible enough at first glance. In fact, at first, it was not always easy for me to tell spells had landed successfully. Besides, it is just fun for me, if I create a web spell, I want to see that black sticky stuff all over the monsters on the map. Likewise, for holding creatures in place or under the influence of sleep. The same goes for player characters. I want that immediate feedback of seeing the effect smothering the affected token.

For comparison, here is an old screenshot with a beetle put to sleep. There is no mistaking that spell worked and the bug went nighty-night. Very satisfying.



And here is that witch battle, with the characters who have been webbed. It is communicated very clearly and immersive that they are stuck in webbing.



I don't want to suggest something that is not feasible in the engine, but it would be nice to have the option as a builder to maintain the larger status effects on characters and creatures in battle. Again, the icons on the portraits are fine. But I think the new method on how they display in combat is too small.

Now, some addition new screenshots from Hearkenwold, here is a new area, the Fields of Night.



A barrow location that the party can enter. Maybe digging their own grave.



This is all work that I'm doing to finish the guild adventure for paladins. It is almost complete, I just have a final dungeon level and the climactic encounter with the main antagonists. Then it is a matter of tying it all together, post-adventure stuff like returning to the guild master in Hearkenwold. All of it should take me a few more weeks, so I am hoping I have have a new version of the campaign available before the end of April.

[youngneil1]

The gold pile/gold nuggets(?) in the last screen look dangerously tempting ...

I will add an option to display the effect icons full size again, maybe even as an individual setting for each effect. The icons on the death dogs likely look a bit misplaced (too high) because the death dog is using a large creature size setting (2x2) while the death dog drawing itself more fills a wide creature space (2x1). Or that's my guess, at least.

[Dorateen]

The icons on the death dogs likely look a bit misplaced (too high) because the death dog is using a large creature size setting (2x2) while the death dog drawing itself more fills a wide creature space (2x1).

Yes, that's right. The creature is using a 400x200 token, but the image is in fact wide. If you can add a toggle to switch to the effects to display larger, that would be great. Thanks!

[slowdive]

I will add an option to display the effect icons full size again, maybe even as an individual setting for each effect. The icons on the death dogs likely look a bit misplaced (too high) because the death dog is using a large creature size setting (2x2) while the death dog drawing itself more fills a wide creature space (2x1). Or that's my guess, at least.

I agree that it would be cool to add a toggle button so that players can choose which effect size style to use (have large effects be default). I will probably use the small effects most of the time, but toggle every once in awhile if a combat background is a color/texture that makes it hard to see the smaller effects.

[Dorateen]

I will add an option to display the effect icons full size again, maybe even as an individual setting for each effect. The icons on the death dogs likely look a bit misplaced (too high) because the death dog is using a large creature size setting (2x2) while the death dog drawing itself more fills a wide creature space (2x1). Or that's my guess, at least.

I agree that it would be cool to add a toggle button so that players can choose which effect size style to use (have large effects be default).

Yes, a toggle would be fantastic. It seems to be a matter of personal preference.

On a side note, I have a battle I've been testing. It absolutely wipes 5th/6th level characters. Tried it a couple of times this weekend using a 7th level test party with better equipment, and it was tough but winnable. I'm hoping some of the treasures found over the course of the adventure might enable a lower level group to squeak by.

[slowdive]

Sounds like a fun challenge. My son and I came across a battle at a bridge which resulted in a fast party wipe . We had no business being there, but my son was running through areas fast and came across this

[Dorateen]

My son and I came across a battle at a bridge which resulted in a fast party wipe .

That bridge battle is a good measuring stick for party strength. When they can handle that encounter, they should be able to deal with the other content beyond.

[slowdive]

Well, we failed miserably
I’ve since went back to the areas that we should have been visiting first and I am moving through those quests first. I’m helping a hermit on a hill at the moment looking a for an item that reminds him of his daughter.

[Dorateen]

May Update

A new version of Hearkenwold is ready to download, this one using build 193.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

This continues and concludes the adventure in Asherim, should the player have a paladin in the party and seek membership in the Order of the Holy Zephyrs. They will be sent on a special mission, exploring maps with various points of interest.

An ominous looking tower:



A forgotten temple:



A rather uninviting dungeon:



If the party survives, and can achieve their objective, paladins should return to the guild master. He will award those characters the distinction of being named a Holy Zephyr, which adds the guild trait increasing two attributes accordingly.



I have been wanting to add more mechanical features to Hearkenwold, more traits and spells and such. I noticed there are quite a few in the tutorial module that is included with IceBlink, I just need to build them into this campaign. Recently, I introduced the Battle Regeneration trait that is available to all characters at different levels of advancement. Now I am including the trait Sweep, that can be gained by Fighters at 4th level, Paladins at 6th level, and Rangers at 8th level. It was very fun testing it and seeing it in action. The trait will appear for selection retroactively. So for a game in progress, when those martial characters train next, if they are at the appropriate level, they can choose the new trait.



Next, I am going to start on the Fighter guild quest. I will have more on that adventure next month.

[youngneil1]

Thank you very much for the meaty update and the beautiful screenshots, Dorateen. As always it's very inspiring to me. Adding the new gameplay mechanics via traits is awesome and will enrichen the enocunters for sure.

[Dorateen]

June Update

Presently, I am working on the Fighters guild adventure. I have gotten a lot done the past few weeks, so things are looking good for an early July release. To review the concept behind the class specific guilds, the idea has always been that the party would find a sponsor who then recommends them to their respective organizations. There were already present NPCs for the Cleric, Ranger, Thief and Paladin guilds, which is why I tackled that content first. Thus, when I prepared to start on the Fighter quest line, I had to create a new NPC and additionally, a new map for the party to explore. Once they meet this sponsor, then they can access the guild of Fighters known as the Magnificent Blades. Here, the Guildmaster will address Fighters in the party and tell them about their mission. It should not be a surprise, that it involves a lot of fighting.

Here is the Guildmaster himself, giving direction to candidates for the Order.



And this is a sample screen from the plains. There are more than a handful of maps all interconnected, which the party will have to navigate.



One of the features of the area is a special trainer the characters can find, who will teach Fighters how to be a Barbarian. In the broader scheme of things, I have thought about expanding the classes available in Hearkenwold, in an attempt to make the game mechanics more meaty. However, the way the adventure is set up, I think it would be easier for me to stick with the six original classes. But using the trait system, I modified the "Hard to Kill" trait, and made it into the Barbarian trait, which can then be learned by fighters.



This combat screenshot shows Dorateen, after acquiring the Barbarian trait, making an attack on a monster, while blinded by rage. I think the -2 to hit penalty is a good trade off, along with a hit to charisma. The benefits being the increase in Max Hit Points, and the very fun ability to pop back up in battle if knocked below 0 hit points. I was very pleased get that working as intended.



So far, I have all the pieces in place for Fighters to meet the objective of this adventure. I would say it is probably one of the more direct guild quests, which to me makes sense. Fighters are pretty direct characters, they go out and fight. Now I just need to add some more content to make the Plains not so empty.

[slowdive]

The fighter’s guild quests sounds great. I really like the use of a trait for transitioning a fighter to a barbarian class. That’s a cool idea that could be used in many ways to develop a character further.

[Dorateen]

I really like the use of a trait for transitioning a fighter to a barbarian class. That’s a cool idea that could be used in many ways to develop a character further.

Thanks, slowdive. Another idea is for example, a wizard prestige class. You could make a magic specific trait that enhanced the character's spell casting abilities. Call it "Sorcerer" or "Warlock", or whatever, and have it learned by wizards from a trainer or a book or any other conversation trigger. I see it as a way to add some flavor to the base classes.

[slowdive]

I like you thinking there. It really does sound like a super cool idea for adding some character development flavor. I like the idea about the wizard class as well.

[Dorateen]

Just before the end of the month, I've completed the Fighter guild adventure, and it is now part of the Hearkenwold campaign. The updated module uses build 196 of the IceBlink engine and can be downloaded from the link below:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

As I discussed in the previous post, the adventure involves sending the party to a new area of grassland called the Ephghan Plains. It is also freely accessible to the party at any time, if they are strong enough to survive making the journey, and the dangers that inhabit this land. Like dinosaurs...



However, fighters in the party will need to have spoken with the Guildmaster of the Magnificent Blades, and received the quest from that organization, in order to interact meaningfully with the antagonists of this region. Once they achieve their goal, then Fighters can return to the guild and get their rewards. Like the other class adventures, it includes a trait that will boost two ability attributes, and notation scribed into the player's journal.



Also, I have added a new trait into the mechanics. Trip allows a character to render a targeted melee enemy prone for a couple of rounds. It counts as a free actions, meaning a character can attempt to trip, and then make a standard attack on the same turn. In order to balance this, and hopefully prevent spamming the trait every attack, its use comes with a cost of 5 spell points. Trip is available to be learned by Fighters and Thieves at 4th level, and Rangers and Paladins at 6th level.

This is an active trait, unlike most others that are passive and happen automatically when conditions are met, such as Cleave or Sweep, or Two Attacks, which simply grants an extra attack. Instead, the player must USE the trait by selecting the "u" keyboard command in combat, and selecting Trip accordingly, from the screen below:



And finally, I am ready to begin the last guild adventure, the one for Wizards. I will talk more about it in the next update. But it will use a conversion of a pen and paper module, which I think will fit nicely into the context of Hearkenwold.

I have updated the image of the "World Map" showing how the overworld all connects together. Nothing fancy, but shows how it is starting to fill in the pieces.

[slowdive]

Awesome! I love the use of the active trip trait. That sounds like it will be fun to use and adds additional strategy to combat.

[Dorateen]

the use of the active trip trait. That sounds like it will be fun to use and adds additional strategy to combat.

Thanks, slowdive. I hope it is not too overpowered. In testing, I had one battle that the only reason our party won was because our ranger went around tripping monsters. But it depleted his spell points, and in the normal progression of a game, that could be a consideration as well.

[slowdive]

That’s true, you’ll have to choose wisely and conserve those SP. many of the fighter types that can afford to roam around don’t have a lot of SP to waste either. I think it will balances out nicely.

[Dorateen]

July Update

I have a smallish update, because I just released a version of Hearkenwold a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I have started on the guild adventure for wizard party members, which will allow them opportunity to join the illustrious Wands of Wonder. One thing I did not mention with the previous update, I switched out the picture used for an early NPC the party meets in the Castle. This change goes back to when I made Hearkenwold as a module for FRUA. At the time, I picked one of the female shopkeepers to represent Xemne, and I have always found that this image better captures her personality and mannerisms. So now, this is how Xemne appears in the IceBlink engine.



In the ruins of a keep, the party will fight on difficult terrain, ground that is strewn with rubble. To realize this in battle, I am using one of the encounter settings that restricts character movement to one square.



That should please the Stag Beetles, a new monster type for the party to content with.



Finally, I wanted to share a peek at one of the dungeon levels. This is only a glimpse at the map, and as I have designed others, it will connect and expand across additional screens. So even though an individual local map is a 12 x 12 area, together they stitch to form a decent sized dungeon to explore.



I am hoping to complete this adventure by the end of August. With the next release of Hearkenwold, all the guild quests will be available to appropriate members of the party. And then the real fun begins!

[slowdive]

Awesome work! I always knew there was more to come from Xemne ever since the first alpha version

The battle encounter with the rough terrain and one square movement sounds great. Karl definitely added some great combat features for builders to use. I’m curious how the larger dungeon level will turn out, sounds like it’ll be interesting and add a new feel to the typical design.

[Dorateen]

I’m curious how the larger dungeon level will turn out, sounds like it’ll be interesting and add a new feel to the typical design.

Thanks, slowdive. Some of the later content includes dungeons that I designed as "continuous" using the method of linking multiple maps. For example in the dungeon above, the green transition bar indicates the hallway continues south, onto a new map. But it is still considered part of the same dungeon level. By doing this with 4 maps, it makes a 12 x 12 area now 24 x 24.

[Dorateen]

August Update

I am almost done with the Wizard Guild adventure, working on the last two levels of a tower. Of course, after that, I still need to wrap up everything with the guildmaster, when reporting back, but that should not take too much time. That the party will explore a wizards tower was probably evident. And the location provides some new challenges for the player in terms of tricks and traps. Here is one example from this particular dungeon crawl:



Naturally, there are still plenty of monsters to fight. One of the things I like to do is add new monsters into the ever expanding catalogue of creatures, especially D&D classics like the Gelatinous Cube.



When the wizard guild quest is finished, then all six class-related missions will be available to the player. This is an important milestone, and a defining moment for the overarching adventure. As I have mentioned, before the party can receive audience with the King of Castle Hearkenwold, at least one member of the party must belong to a guild. So players will not be able to access any further content until they have accomplished this achievement.

I am going to be spending some time on a related project, recreating Hearkenwold in the recently released Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. It's remarkable how mostly compatible the two platforms are, which so far has proved promising. At the same time, I want to give a ton of credit to slowdive and karl, because in comparison the IceBlink engine is much more intuitive and user-friendly for a builder. Really, IceBlink is an amazing engine. In fact, the main thing KotC has going for it, and why I was interested, is because it has a more robust system of game mechanics already in place. Now I firmly believe that everything in KotC, from races and classes to skills and spells, could be more or less created in IceBlink. But that will take some effort. For the time being, it will interesting to place Hearkenwold in this environment and see what happens. Obviously the opportunity to attract new players is also appealing.

Still, Hearkenwold will remain forever an IceBlink adventure first and foremost. When the time comes for me to resume the adventure, post guild quests, I will be building in the IceBlink engine. Really, I would expect that to be somewhere around the first half of 2021.

Finally, I have had the chance to start a continuous play through of the guild content. So far, the party has done the Paladin, Cleric, and Ranger adventures. Our Thief and Wizard have made it to level 9. And reaching that point, the wizard selected his last spell available. So going forward, definitely need more spells! This will be a good gauge for a higher level party, and help me to design new content accordingly.

The next build of Hearkenwold for IceBlink should be available by the end of this month.

[zach_holbrook]

The amount of progress you've made and content you've produced is inspiring. I think straddling the two engines seems doable. I played Knights of the Chalice a while back and there are certainly some overlaps.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, zach. The more I work with the KotC engine, the more I am surprised how compatible it is with work done in IceBlink. Probably because they are both starting from a similar point, generally speaking. (Top down, turn based D&D style game.)

IceBlink is definitely stronger in construction of complex conversations that branch.

KotC is good with its systems and how smart even the basic AI behaves. That has really been my interest, seeing how encounters will play out in the new engine. (A couple fights are a lot harder for a low level party).

Here is an example of one Hearkenwold outdoor map rendered in the KotC2 engine.

[zach_holbrook]

Very cool -- easy to see the overlap! I like how KotC renders the party. How much control do you have over the AI?

[Dorateen]

It seems to be pretty customizable. You can work from creature templates, and edit lots of properties. There is a screen that has a list of routines and percentages that can be adjusted. I haven't even touched this, as I am trying to work with templates that are consistent with creatures in Hearkenwold. Even still, using a druid package for one goblin shaman, I was surprised to see it cast call lightning in the middle of battle. Abilities, special powers and feats can all be removed or added, but I like the potential for extra tricks.

In some ways, the creature editor reminds me of NWN2.

[Dorateen]

For a better illustration, this is the tab for Artificial Intelligence when editing a creature. There are options to adjust a creatures behavior in combat. And this is just one screen for customizing a creature in the toolset, in addition to stats, feats and equipment.

HearkKotcAI.jpg (280.29 KiB) Viewed 54282 times

[zach_holbrook]

Wow, that's great! Endless fine-tuning possible, looks like.

[Dorateen]

Not sure if there will be much interest in following the Hearkenwold KotC conversion, but here's a couple of more screenshots.





I am almost finished with the Wizard guild adventure in IceBlink, just adding a few more details and then the conversation upon returning to the guilmaster. I think I can have it all wrapped up next week, but still want to go through more play testing. So looks like an end of August release is on schedule.

[zach_holbrook]

Looks great. (I want to know more about the wildebeest quest!). How does line of sight work in KotC? Do you manually place it as in Iceblink?

[Dorateen]

There is a tool that lets you Add Cover by placing lines around the squares you want to block line of sight. In the combat example above, I was not able to see the enemy to the left of the one targeted, because the lower outcropping of rock provides visual cover.

The engine allows you to load pre-made map images, which is what strongly appealed to me for this conversion project. The maps use a grid of 64 x 64 squares. At one point, IceBlink was building with the same dimensions, before switching to 100 x 100 sizes. In fact, the old tilemap maker utility creates 64 x 64 square images, so it is easy for me to transfer the Hearkenwold maps.

The KotC editor also has a brush to paint squares as impassable, as well as set Altitude of different squares, selecting the height.

[slowdive]

I haven't played KotC before, but the Hearkenwold screenshots look wonderful. If, while making the conversion, you think of any ideas on how to improve the IB toolset and engine, please share them. I'm still busy with RL stuff right now, but when the time is right, I'll be digging back into the code again.

[Dorateen]

If, while making the conversion, you think of any ideas on how to improve the IB toolset and engine, please share them.

Hi slowdive. Both engines have their strengths. It is a pleasure to write conversations in IceBlink. While, in the KotC example below, you can key dialogue responses to certain conditionals, it is not the same as selecting characters like the party chat system. But it is close to the general idea.



What KotC has going for it is the incredible depth of systems and smart AI behavior. This is what Knights of the Chalice was famous for, tough encounters due to the enemy making intelligent tactical choices. But beyond that, I would say the advantage the KotC toolset has is that all these spells and feats and special abilities are already present, ready to be applied to player characters and monsters alike. I think a lot of what is here could be replicated in IceBlink. But different builders like to focus on different things. I enjoy world building. But others like to focus on systems and mechanics. I recall Pongo had made a bunch of new spells available in the Eldarin Stone, I haven't gotten around to see if I could import them over. I think a big boost to IceBlink would be to include as many options for creature blueprints as possible. Creatures should also be able to access the same traits as player characters, if possible, like going stealth and performing sneak attacks. Again, there exists right now the ability for a builder to adjust the AI in IceBlink in a limited capacity. But it is not programmed to have a monster break away in a fight or switch targets mid battle to neutralize a threat. This is all combat related, of course, and not really fair to compare with Knights of the Chalice which was hailed for its tactical combat engine.

Ultimately, I think both toolsets are great and compliment each other well.

[Dorateen]

I have a new version of Hearkenwold available to download. It is still using the 196 build of IceBlink, but to designate this update, I have named it 196.1

If players already downloaded the previous version, they need only copy over the Hearkenwold module folder from the extracted download.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

The purpose of this update is to introduce the Wizard guild adventure, the final mission available to player characters. For a little background, Xemne gives information about the types of mages in the gameworld.



Significantly, if the players explore thoroughly, then a wizard in the party might find a way to gain a trait associated with one of the four orders.



Not to be too confusing, but this is separate from the guild itself, which is known as the Wands of Wonder. Rather, these traits function as a bonus to further customize a wizard character, much like the way Fighters can pick up a Barbarian trait from a certain trainer. The party will need to complete the overall objective of their mission to be able to march back to the wizard guildmaster and be granted membership accordingly.



As appropriate for wizard themed content, I have added a new spell into the magical arsenal, available at 6th level. Disintegration is a single target cast, that can possibly do enough damage to kill most creatures. In fact, it is a d100 roll, with a further fortitude save allowed. I hope the spell's high cost, and chances for success being hit or miss, will balance it out.



Finally, this battle with Hook Horrors showcases the Disintegration spell in action. Instead of capturing the moment of destruction, refer to the log that indicates, the monster failed its saving throw and took a massive 81 points of damage. No more Hook Horror.



With the completion of this guild quest, all organizations are available for player characters to join, respective of their class. In the course of the adventure, there will come a time when the party will seek counsel with the King of Astaria who resides in Castle Hearkenwold. And there must be present a member of the guilds among their ranks. But that is for a future update.

On a side note, I also completed a playthrough of all six guild adventures. Our Thief finished at level 10, and wizard was level 9. The rest of the party was 8th level. Accordingly, the next chapter of Hearkenwold will steer more in the direction of higher difficulty. Still, there are always earlier areas of the map, which I will return to and sprinkle with level appropriate content.

I'm going to be working on the conversion of the module into the Knights of the Chalice engine. But feedback on the IceBlink version is always appreciated, and I will give attention immediately to any design issues that are found.

[slowdive]

Congrats Dorateen on hitting this milestone. Downloading now.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive!

September Update

For this progress report, I just want to give an overview of how the Hearkenwold campaign is structured at this time. Rather, than using the term "chapters", I like to say it was built up in stages. These are sections of the adventure that have content designed around a defining feature or objective for the characters.

• Stage 1 involves the investigation of the attack on Kelton Manor
  Stage 2 includes the return to the Manor itself
  Stage 3 is the journey to Relmfur and its civil unrest with the city of Skardale
  Stage 4 contains the six class related guild adventures

Now because Hearkenwold was designed with the principle of open ended exploration in mind, it is entirely possible for a player to move through these "stages" as freely as long as they able to. For example, the guild quests could be opened up before setting out to Relmfur. Or the party could in theory reach Skardale without ever bothering with the Kelton Manor angle. The concept of stages came about due to the natural chronological order of putting this all together. Now that everything is present, the player is welcome to have at it and tackle the gameworld however they choose.

One a related note, I am almost done with the building of Stage 1 in the Knights of the Chalice engine. That should be finished in a few weeks, and then I will be working on Stage 2 in October, and so on. If I can continue to make good progress, I estimate I will be onto the guild quests by the end of the year. That means an early 2021 release of the KotC version, for those interested, and then back to designing new content in IceBlink.

Here are a few screenshots from recent work done in the KotC engine. Anyone familiar with Hearkenwold will recognize some of these scenes.

[Dorateen]

October Update

I am making good progress on the conversion of Hearkenwold to the KotC2 engine. It would be great to finish by the end of this year, but I think I will be working on the guild adventures early in 2021. After that, I can return to designing new content for the IceBlink version.

Here is a few screenshots to keep track of things













Anyone who has played through the module, will probably have an idea of whereabouts I am in rebuilding the adventure.

One thing I wanted to mention, in terms of possible refinements between IceBlink and KotC. In several of the screenshots above, you can see the area of effect targeting as a red circle that can hover over the map with effected creatures highlighted. I think it is very helpful to mouse over the field this way in order to get precises targeting for spells. In IceBlink, when a spell such a sleep or fireball is cast, the player has to click on the map, being aware of the range of squares for a particular spell. Then the targeting box is drawn. If the location is not correct (getting some allies in the box, or wanting to reposition) the player has to click again, or escape the spell and try again. I think this could lead to potential mis-clicks, and unintended targeting at least for new players unfamiliar with IceBlink. I'm not sure if this is coded in such a way, but it would be more comfortable to draw the targeting box for AoE spells, and let the player move that around the map, and THEN click to fire the spell when it is in the correct position.

edit: I probably did not describe the AoE targeting properly. I was reviewing a video, and basically when casting a fireball for example, IceBlink automatically draws the targeting box centered on the caster. The player has to click on a different spot on the map, in order to move the 5x5 square box. I think what is less fluid, is that usually a mouse click is associated with executing a command. It could be tricky to click to place the box, and then click again on the screen to cast the spell. With potential to click too soon, or activate the spell when you are trying to move the AoE target. It's not a problem, but I have watched it happen, and is something you get used to. It is just a comparison with KotC where you mouse hover over the area, freely seeing what characters are in range and affected, and then the player clicks to activate the spell or ability.

[slowdive]

Looks like you are making some great progress there so far. Having a targeting system based on hover-over rather than click would work great for PC, but I'm not sure how that will work for touchscreens. I had that same problem with the hover-over text on props for touchscreens. I think for the PC version, your suggestion makes more sense and is more intuitive. For the touchscreen versions, we may need to have a fall back option of touch once to place target and touch again to confirm. Maybe there is a way to add a player toggle for switching back and forth between the two options or have an auto detect looking for devices without a mouse.

[Dorateen]

You're right, I was not thinking of touch screens. After playing IceBlink for so long, I get used to how everything works. But with all the similarities to KotC, the one thing that jumped out at me was the smoothness of its targeting system.

[slowdive]

I agree, I think we need to change the default targeting system on PC to use hover-over to look for a target and then a single click to do the action. For touchscreens, we can set the default to be the two click option. We could then add a toggle (to the list of other existing toggles) to switch back and forth between the two targeting systems.

[Dorateen]

November Update

I want to keep giving a status report of the KotC Hearkenwold conversion project, as once this is completed I will be looking to resume the adventure with new content for IceBlink in 2021.

I wrapped up stage 2 of the campaign, which generally includes Asherim and the return to Kelton Manor. Over the past few weeks, I have at the same time been uploading into the editor maps for stage 3, which would be characterized by the road to Relmfur, the Fortress and the city of Skardale. That is going to be a big task recreating those areas, as they are fairly content dense. I'd like to finish before the end of the year, and then I will only have to add the six guild quests.

Here are some KotC screenshots from Kelton Manor. What isn't captured here, I am using a windy soundtrack in lieu of area music, which greatly enhances the atmosphere of desolation.

[slowdive]

Looks great! The use of a wind track should fit very well with the manor areas. It looks like you are making some good progress with the KotC conversion!

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. Slowly but surely I'm getting there.

[Dorateen]

December Update

Just some screenshots from Relmfur and surrounding areas. This is firmly in "Stage 3" design territory, meaning I aim to finish this month and then start on the guild adventures in January. I was working on those at this time last year, and I anticipate the recreation in the KotC engine to go quickly. I am also currently working on the Village of Hamhock. A nice place to spend the holidays.











I am starting to plan the next part as well, once I return to building in the IceBlink engine. Of course with the guild missions completed, the party will have a chance to receive audience with the King of Hearkenwold Castle (finally!). From there, the main adventure progresses and will open up new areas to the east. It would be easy to follow a linear path at this point, but that is something I want to avoid doing. Instead, I expect to include new maps that will eventually connect with existing content. Again, allowing the player to access these zones even if the stray from the more structured path. It's a challenge, but there is a lot of room to fill in the game world map.

[slowdive]

Looking good and more good progress made. I saw that KotC is on sale on GOG... I'll need to look into that so I can play Hearkenwold once ready. Our family was playing Grounded for a couple of months, but we got bored with it as they are still in early production and we ran out of things to do.

[Dorateen]

That's right, the original Knights of the Chalice was recently released on GOG. The official release of KotC2 is supposed to come to steam and GOG as well, but no definite date yet. I would love to have the Hearkenwold conversion project finished in time so that it will be another module available to players.

[slowdive]

Is Hearkenwold for KotC1 or KotC2? I haven't played KotC so I am not very knowledgeable. What will I need to play Hearkenwold in the KotC engine?

[Dorateen]

Hearkenwold is using the KotC 2 engine. That was a kickstarter earlier this year and was funded in July. I was a backer, so I was able to get the game, which includes the module editor I've been working with. I believe people could contact the developer if they wanted to get a copy through his site now, but he is still fixing some bugs.

Knights of the Chalice 2 is more of a module creation kit, with the first official release being "Augury of Chaos". He plans to release more adventures along the way.

The one thing about KotC in general is that combat can be brutal, mostly due to the reactive AI. I am finding the same encounters in Hearkenwold playing out with more challenge, but because Hearkenwold is more open by design, players should have the opportunity to explore, level up and grow more powerful to take on tougher enemies.

[zach_holbrook]

I've been refreshing the GOG page for KotC2 since the first one came out--I'm eager to try it out, and I hope I'll be able to play Hearkenwold in it soon!

[Dorateen]

The last KotC2 update included the release of the guide book or Augury of Chaos (330 pages). That was a big step, so I think the game could be available first quarter 2021.

[Dorateen]

Today I downloaded the latest build of Knights of the Chalice 2 on the laptop I sometimes use, which means I was able to capture some video!

This part of Herakenwold sees the party exploring an optional tower location. Just a quick sample to show off some basic interactions and of course, combat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBPCcR ... e=youtu.be

[slowdive]

Thanks for the video, that helps me see what KotC is like and how Hearkenwold plays in the engine. My 6 yr old boy and I watched the video and he was impressed with the wraith's level drain and wanted that for his PC. I said you will need to become undead first and he was okay with that

[Dorateen]

Interestingly, KotC2 comes with a Death Knight class, which has a special ability called Life Drain. Not exactly the same as level drain, but does let the character siphon hit points from an enemy and add them to his own.

[youngneil1]

Hey Dorateen,

it's so impressive that you are rebuilding Hearkenwold in the KotC 2 Engine! That video was impressive to watch, especially when it comes to the full implementation of all the combat features of D&D.

It woule indeed be awesome if Hearkenwold would accompany the official launch of the KotC2 engine - there would be quite the audience then and Hearkenwold so much earns to be played by more people.

Keep the good stuff coming !

[Dorateen]

Thanks, youngneil1. I'm looking forward to returning to IceBlink as well, and hearing more about your new project.

[Dorateen]

January Update

I started to work on the Guild Adventures, which is the final stage of the Hearkenwold campaign as I look to wrap up the conversion project into the KotC2 engine. Of course, once incorporated, these missions can be tackled as soon as the player unlocks the Guild access. Although some of the areas are definitely for higher level characters.

I'll post a few screenshots as I was finishing up the Relmfur Fortress and surrounding areas to close out the year:







Now we will see if I completely underestimated how long it will take to recreate the class specific content. I am projecting to near completion by the end of March so there can be a 1st Quarter release. It's always possible work could go a little past that. Once this version of the module is released, I am ready to return to working in IceBlink as the broader scope of Hearkenwold continues to expand.

[slowdive]

March is right around the corner and your progress has been swift. The KotC2 conversions is coming along nicely.

[Dorateen]

I don't want to think of March being right around the corner! I am hoping three months gives me enough time to do everything I need to do. Going to stagger work on all the guild quests over the next several weeks, so that I can have them all more ore less finished in that time frame.

[youngneil1]

Thank you for the update on development ! The new screenies in KotC2 look fresh and shiny. Yeah, time flies, especially when you do something you are really into. So this is a good sign that you are on the right track with bringing a full blown Hearkenwold into the light of the world.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, as I've discussed in this thread, I enjoy working with both engines. I might explore some new tilesets for the next part when I return to IceBlink. It will sort of be like a fresh start.

[cartons]

Just wanted to tell you I'm really enjoying my first playthrough of Hearkenwold! The writing is sensitive and intelligent, and the fight setpieces are all the right kinds of challenging

Yesterday, in a cave, I walked in on a trio of Shaman Trolls and got thoroughly whupped (I barely scratched one of them!). Decided to explore in another direction and ended up getting kidnapped by slavers. After catalyzing a rebellion and escaping (some magic items richer; levels and skills wiser), I charged back into that cave and wiped out those Shaman Trolls without taking a single hit! Very satisfying.

Right now my party is levels 4-5, at the foot of the barricaded Dwarven Moutain. Stepping forward seems like a pretty huge commitment for now, and I'm still on the trail of Wrathack, so I decided to trudge back down to the plains for now. I'd like to keep my eyes open for a shovel too...

Thanks for making such a fun, engaging adventure. I'm neither a minmaxer nor a completionist, but I'd like to explore as much of your world as my poorly constructed band of adventurers can handle! Looking forward for the next installment!

[Dorateen]

Thank you very much for the feedback, cartons. I am delighted to hear about your experience with the trolls, as this module was designed so that the player might get themselves into difficult situations and need to come back when their characters are stronger. If you find yourself stuck at any point, or encounter any bugs, please let me know.

[cartons]

Having backtracked a bit, I noticed that I may have tackled some harder challenges earlier than the narrative required, so some of the current headway I'm making is a bit easier than it would have been other (open world working as intended - and a welcome breather!)

A bug, a typo, and a suggestion:

a bug:
I noticed the quest to deliver a poem from Castle Hearkenwold to the travelling bard (sorry, her name escapes me) occuring twice.
The first time round, I delivered the poem to the bard, but didn't follow up with any subsequent actions. I also did not, at this time, finish the quest of retrieving the musical instruments from Rork's goblin troupe. I later meet the bard again in Skardale. Returning to Hearkenwold, she appears again in usual position outside the castle, and inside I am offered the quest to deliver her the poem a second time.

typo:
Sly, in castle Hearkenwold, tells me about a secret 'passsage'.

a suggestion:
I wished the guild sponsor I met in Skardale would have pressed me more explicitly to remember their name. I hadn't written it down, I suppose, because I expected to offload that memory task to the game. I have been in the habit of taking notes here and there, and don't mind this being a function of getting into the guild either, but I would have appreciated a line like "No really, remember my name!" (and if there actually was a line like that, and I forgot, then sorry!)

[Dorateen]

Yes, the interactions with the bard Lady Madrigal have vexed me for a while, with the different variables and stages when she can be met. I will take a closer look and fix that.

I anticipated there might be an issue with remembering the sponsor names. I'm thinking about placing a book or document in the gameworld that the player could find, and it would have the name of the six sponsors for reference. In the meantime, I'm always around to give hints or answers needed to continue.

(Highlight the line below to see the spoiler)

SPOILER
The name of the sponsor in Sakrdale is Soufara Ebonwind
SPOILER

All the sponsors have a first and last name, the guild doors will accept either or the full name.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[cartons]

A little update on my progress.

SPOILERS:

I'm levels 7-8. Tracked and finished Wrathack, and am siding with Skardale against Relmfur. I haven't yet initiated active dissent, but I did purge a vampire or two I might go campaign in the dwarf mountains for a bit, or try to finish off some guild quests before advancing the plot.

This is my second visit to Skardale; the first time I'd stumbled upon it from the East and had heck of a time with the encounters within and without considering my party's level. Relmfur, and the parts south of Hearkenwold were relatively unexplored outside of Khyn until recently. I found a lot of really good items I wished I'd had (and evidently were intended to be found) earlier!

Some considerations:

I had a little trouble proving to the ghost that I'd met Elena. Would it be possible for her to accept numerical answers?

Also, when I started the game, the ruleset stated that in this campaign Strength counted for HP, and Intelligence for SP regardless whether you were a Mage or Cleric. I balanced my party accordingly, only to regret feeding my Con and Wis stats anemically. Is that guide information out of date?

Lastly, thanks for your help with getting into the Cleric's guild! My initation is complete and I've since run into guild patrons for Fighters, Rangers and Wizards in quick succession (demonstrating again maybe my idiosyncratic exploratory paths).

[Dorateen]

That is indeed fantastic progress! Thank you for the feedback. It seems like you now have several viable paths open for you. There are pretty good items to be found around the Skardale/Relmfur area. Hopefully you will need them if you run into more dangerous enemies. I do enjoy hearing the round-about way these locations are discovered. I hope that players are led in exploration by curiosity, although the party can very well get in over their heads early on.

I checked the conversation with Elena, and there is room to add the number option as long as the parser accepts numeric values. I think all the keyword entries have been alpha only. But I will test it and see.

Sorry about the misleading ruleset guide. In fact, I made the change about a year ago to have Wisdom be the defining spellcasting stat for Clerics (and paladins). I thought this was more in line with D&D. Intelligence still affects SP for wizards and rangers.

[slowdive]

You can always go into your last save game file. It is in the "saves" folder and then the module's folder and look for the slot number that corresponds to the save file you want to edit. In the save file (it is just a text file, json format), do a search for "baseWis" to get to the players list of your characters and then change the "baseWis" and "baseCon" to something more appropriate. The game should automatically recalculate the new max HP and max SP for your PCs when you load up that save game.

[Dorateen]

February Update

Last month I was able to get the first four guild adventures started, the ones for Clerics, Paladins, Rangers and Thieves. Over the next two weeks I will set up the Fighter and Wizard guilds, respectively. At that point, I will have roughly a month and a half to try and finish everything for this conversion. I suspect that I will get most of the content in place, but I will probably need to go into April for a final pass from start to finish. We'll see.

In the meantime, here's a few guild related screenshots:

The Paladin quest


The Ranger quest


The Thief quest


I have also just uploaded a new video to showcase a tough encounter with a rival party. The characters here are 5th level, and managed to survive with a bit of luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bCPR7ic1gQ

[slowdive]

Making some great progress! The encounter with the competing party was fun to watch and you held up well against them (minus the bleeding part ). There sure are a lot of options to choose for your combat actions. It was a little overwhelming, but I guess it gets easier with time

[Dorateen]

There sure are a lot of options to choose for your combat actions.

Besides combat maneuvers like trip and disarm, there is also a lot of tactical consideration. In hindsight, I might have been able to make things easier if I tried a hold spell. But enemy spellcasters are such a threat, the initial instinct I have is to silence them. The problem is they can still move out of the area of effect unless they are pinned down, and I paid for it. Oh well, in the end, their party's wizard ate a critical for his trouble.

[slowdive]

trip and disarm traits sounds like fun... hmmm, maybe we need that in IB (unless someone already created traits for those).

[Dorateen]

We have a trait for Trip in the Iceblink PC version. I do not think there is a disarm. These are a pain in KotC because every time a character stands up or rearms, they provoke an attack of opportunity.

[cartons]

SPOILERS

I had an excellent time dungeoneering through the old dwarven halls and mines; great worldbuilding, and I enjoyed the hints of the greater metaphysical threats to come.

I'm back in Skardale and ready to set some sparks, but I feel like I've hit a wall. The nobleman in the bar at Theives' Alley said they'd like to begin using the Courthouse as a base of operations. When I try to go in, however, the text says there's nothing for me to do there and sends me away. What am I missing?

[Dorateen]

Hey cartons, I am looking in the toolset right now. After the conversation in the tavern with the nobleman, it should set the global int Havan = 2
The response that sets the int value is: "Then we will regroup with you there. Fare well.

When you go to the court house, after seeing the narrative text, there should be a CONTINUE followed by:

But the gates have now been shattered, and you can hear fighting coming from inside the building. Steel on steel, the shouts of men and cries of desperation.

This will then give you option to enter the courthouse, or remain outside. If you did not get this, I hope it doesn't mean the script did not fire at the end of the Tavern conversation. I hate to ask, but do you have a save prior to going into the tavern? What happens if you go back to the tavern? If it is still showing as Havan = 1, then you should get the interaction again.

There is a debug command, hitting the letter "b". If you read the log on the left it should indicate if the scripts are searching for integers and cannot find them.

[slowdive]

You can always go into the save file and just change the GlobalInt from 1 to 2 for Havan if needed. Just open the save file (in saves/Hearkenwold/) such as "slot1.json" (or whichever is your last save) in a text editor and search for "moduleGlobalInts".

[cartons]

I've turned on debug and when I trigger the courthouse it gives me:
"Replaced Havan with 1
checkGlobal: Havan = 2
returning false"

Checking the tavern (he is no longer there), I get:
"Replaced Havan with 1
checkGlobal: Havan = 1
foundGlobal: Havan == 1"

It's worth noting, one thing that may have triggered this bug...The first time after speaking with Havan, before going to the courthouse, I went back to speak to the Viceroy, which triggered the first conversation tree where he asked me to seek out Havan again. It did not, however, make him reappear at the Tavern. Further conversations with the Viceroy do not appear to be bugged this way.

I checked a previous save (unfortunately one from a significant number of quests and events ago) and reinitiated the quest with Havan at the Tavern. This time I went straight for the Courthouse and it triggered the continuation just fine. My guess is it was the interval where I went to go speak to the Viceroy that confused things.

--

Thank you for the tip, slowdive. I didn't take you up on your suggestion to alter my party's sad misattributed stats, but I'll do so here!

[Dorateen]

Thank you very much for hunting down this bug! I found the error. Indeed, when returning to the Viceroy, it only checks for Havan = 1. So after speaking to Havan at the tavern, it would then trigger the initial converation again. Problem is, the conversation at the tavern, I flagged to show only once per game.

I will clean up this sequence of events, so it won't bug if players return to the Viceroy after speaking to Havan.

[cartons]

Just wanted to write again to say how much I enjoyed this module. I'm looking forward to revisiting it again!

I guess I'll leave off on a couple of questions:

SPOILERS

Is it supposed to be obvious when I've run out of narrative road? Skardale is now overrun by goblins and bugbears, and it's not clear what I should be doing next. I chalked it up to [Unfinished], but I may have just missed something. If there *is* more, I'd love an opportunity to dive back in. There are a few quests I've left undone, including the trapped Halfling and the tracking down the beast for the Ranger guild quest.

I've been fiddling under the hood to see how you got certain things to work, and I was wondering if you could tell me about certain timed elements. For example, how did you get the Fancy Shirt seamstress to work? I noticed there's a 3-state variable, but I'm not sure what moves the variable from a 2 to a 3. Is there a time? And how does the one year timer to pay back the bank load work? Is it something encoded in the Promissory Note?

[Dorateen]

First, thank you very much for playing the module.

Skardale does end on a To Be Continued cliffhanger, with the situation unresolved. One of the last dialogues with Corwyn Khas back at the castle should mention speaking to Sly, which is a nudge to look into the guild quests. Of course, these can be initiated by the player at any time once a character is third level. But the guild adventures can be considered post-Skardale content. This is because when I pick up the narrative later this year, it will involve having an audience with the King. In order to do that, at least one member of the party must have completed one of the guild quests.

The seamstress is indeed done with different variable states. The first time you agree for her to make the fancy shirt I use a gaSetGlobalInt script "Fancy" and set to 1. Then when you return the next time, I use the same gaSetGlobalInt script to set the Fancy variable to 2. The next time you visit her, and get the shirt, I set the Fancy variable to 3, which is the final state that closes off the exchange. I use global integers to keep track of most of the reactivity. These are placed as an Action on the player response, and then checked as a conditional on a NPC node.

For the loan, there is no special coding involved. I do plan to implement a group of bank representatives approaching the party to demand interest payment somewhere else in the module (with the option to fight them) but I have not decided where to place such an event. As far as paying back the loan, well, with the city overrun by goblins I'm afraid Skardale Savings and Loans is out of business!

[Dorateen]

March Update

I am trying to finish the conversion of Hearkenwold into the Knights o the Chalice 2 engine this month. I fully expect to be able to release the module in April. That means I plan to once again pick up with the continuation of the adventure in IceBlink. The party has been waiting a long time to meet the King, and they will finally have the opportunity to do so.

In the meantime, I have spent the past few weeks recreating the guild quests. One of the interesting distinctions between the two versions will be how membership into these Orders is recognized. In IceBlink, I added a journal entry for when the party completed a guild's mission, as well as granting a special trait to the appropriate class character. In KotC2, each character sheet has a tab for awards, and I used the function to assign an achievement for the guilds.





Here are a couple of battles that use different terrain features. The first has elevation on part of the map that represents a floor reached by stairs, where the enemy holds the higher ground. The second screenshot adds a couple of pit traps, and with the combat maneuver Bull Rush, it is possible to push the enemy into the pit, making them fall prone and take damage. It requires a lot of patience to get into position and of course the player must succeed the attempt, but it's very satisfying.





And here's is one more screenshot, just an interaction I enjoy for its adventure-y qualities. Always remember to pack a rope.

[Pongo]

Good work Dorateen! Nice to see some KotC2 mods underway, it's a great engine with loads of potential. Have to admit to totally rage quitting the Augery of Chaos mod though, with various failed party compositions . I'll try again at full release, it's a fun challenge.

Looking forward to giving Hearkenwold a go. The AI Pierre has developed is fantastic, it will be interesting to see what you make of it. Some challenging encounters I imagine! Of course, I'm keeping my dwarf party ready for the next Iceblink update as well.

[slowdive]

Looks great! Ready in April sounds like a challenge, but I'm confident you can pull it off

[Dorateen]

Thank you Pongo and slowdive. It is a challenge, but what I see happening is all the guild stuff will be done by the end of this month (already completed cleric and ranger quests) and then maybe one more week to finish off whatever other parts are remaining. No way this goes past April...

The advice I would give to any module builder is to do some work on your project every single day, no matter how little. It will keep you immersed in the toolset and you'd be surprised how much can be accomplished when you look up after a month's gone by.

[Dorateen]

April Update

This is the month I am planning to release Hearkenwold as an Adventure Module for Knights of the Chalice 2. I've made a thematic trailer to mark the occasion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgrclpsiPp0

A realistic expectation is that I need next week to finish up some content, and the following to clean up some details I have put off to the end. if I can have it done sooner, I will upload the module to the Nexus vault. And then I can begin discussing a return to IceBlink.

[Pongo]

Looks nice! Will definitely be giving it a go.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo. Just a heads up, I have been e-mailing Pierre and there is an issue that cropped up in the latest build of KotC2 version 1.12

I might have to wait until the next update to make sure Hearkenwold runs properly. But if I finish everything sooner this month, I might make it available with a disclaimer to use build 1.11

[cartons]

Very cool! Will wait for the greenlight to revisit Hearkenwold with all the new mechanics this system allows.

[Dorateen]

The combat systems are the primary reason I wanted to try and recreate this module in the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. I still like the conversation interface of IceBlink better. But the possibility to run a party with all those different classes and feats and spells, should be fun.

[Dorateen]

May Update

Version 1.13 of Knights of the Chalice 2 was posted yesterday, and I was finally able to upload Hearkenwold to the Nexus page. Here is the link below, for those curious:

https://www.nexusmods.com/knightsofthechalice2/mods/5

An interesting note about the development cycle for this project. I knew going into the end of last year, I would need the first quarter of 2021 to finish everything. So I had projected a deadline of March 31, expecting I would need a few days into April for testing and fixing bugs. It turns out, two more weeks were necessary as the final area I was working on was the Halls of Hamhock. But there was an issue with the engine, which prevented me from releasing the module sooner as I had to wait for the next update. This was a good thing as it allowed me more time to play through the late game content, and catch things I had missed. It was the plan to get this campaign out in April, and looks like I did it last night with just a few hours to spare. Not bad.

Really, none of this would even be possible without the IceBlink engine as a foundation and the platform that I was able to use to construct the Hearkenwold campaign. I'm now looking forward to jumping back into the IceBlink toolset and continuing the main adventure arc. While it is much too soon to estimate any kind of timetable, I would love to have a new IceBlink version with new content out by the end of this year.

I should be able to share some new screenshots in next month's update.

[Pongo]

Great news, congratulations Dorateen! I saw 1.13 had come out, I was hoping it fixed your issue. I'll download later.

Edit: Pierre's website is down - might be tomorrow now.

[Dorateen]

Thanks Pongo, yes Heroic fantasy games is having trouble with the download limits. I'm amazed I was able to sneak in and download on Friday night and on a different computer yesterday. I guess it will improve after the weekend.

So far, 1.13 appears to working fine, no issues with the module. One thing I caught was that there are four new difficulty settings to choose from, and by default, the game starts on the easiest I think. Furthermore, a player can adjust the specifics to these settings in the configuration menu. Pierre has done a lot of tuning to make the game approachable for Augury of Chaos, but one new feature is automatic recovery of hit points after each encounter. Naturally, I think this should be changed to 0% in the difficulty settings.

[Pongo]

Finally managed to download it. I had a quick look tonight, mainly spent in character creation. For information, the game defaulted to normal difficulty at the start for me rather than easy, but normal still gives you a 25% HP boost after each encounter so I bumped it up to hard where you get 0% as you suggested. I haven't gotten far yet, just killing goblins, but the difficulty is good and everything seems to work fine. Its really interesting to get to explore Hearkenwold in a different engine. I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the later parts sections out. And I can't imagine the work that must have gone into converting all the convos into the KotC editor - it must have taken you ages! Good work, Dorateen - it'll take me a while to play through it, I'll send you some thoughts when I have.

[Dorateen]

The conversations were probably the most tedious part of this conversion. A lot of cutting and pasting. But it really made me appreciate how powerful the IceBlink conversation editor is, and IceBlink has more flexibility in this area. One thing with regard to conditional based dialogue options, in IceBlink, they only appear when available for the designated character and the player has to select them, which makes it feel more like that party member is interjecting. In KotC2, it is really just a list of the responses available based on the type of characters in the party. The end result is pretty much the same.

[youngneil1]

Like a fine clockwork, Dorateen - very impressive. You have gone the whole distance and it is a pleaqsure to see Hearkenwold up and running on Nexus Mods (using KotC2). Big congratulations !

[slowdive]

The conversations were probably the most tedious part of this conversion. A lot of cutting and pasting.

I can probably make a conversion tool (like I did for NWN1 and NWN2) that converts the IB conversations to KotC2 format. I would just need to figure out the KotC file format and then it should be easy from there.

[Dorateen]

The conversations were probably the most tedious part of this conversion. A lot of cutting and pasting.

I can probably make a conversion tool (like I did for NWN1 and NWN2) that converts the IB conversations to KotC2 format. I would just need to figure out the KotC file format and then it should be easy from there.

Oh I don't think that's necessary. Just a minor gripe I had. I'm actually not a fan of automated systems, because doing it by hand gives me a chance to make corrections I might have missed, even working with convos I had written years ago. No doubt a tool like that would be helpful, I just don't think it is a priority.

[Dorateen]

That was pretty easy. I added the "autumn" weather to the properties of a new area, and have a nice fog rolling in from the west with raindrops falling on the halfling's head. I can't wait to try the winter season in mountain areas, as well as the desert setting on the Asherim maps.



These changes will be in the 198 version, when it's released.

[Pongo]

Looks good! Nice to see it works with map pictures as well as tiles

[Dorateen]

June Update

This is an important update as I have been working on the continuation of Hearkenwold in the IceBlink engine after a slight detour to make the module available for Knights of the Chalice 2.

The last thing I been building was the separate guild adventures available to the corresponding player classes. I have talked about before how it would be necessary for the player to join at least one of these guilds, for when the moment arrives to advance the central narrative. And this is why:



Yes, the King is having a council and only highly respected individuals are allowed. Or at least characters who completed one of the guild quests. Each party member who has such affiliation will have the option to express their credentials and thus enter the council room.



I am using some of the floor tiles from DungeonCrawl Soup that were made available and Pongo posted about in the other thread. I'm not sure if it is too much of a clash with the quality of the other graphics, but I think it looks nice.

Naturally, the new content I am putting together will feature new opponents to fight. Here is an example of a gargoyle mage, a monster with the toughness of a standard gargoyle, but the ability to cast spells on the party.



The tricky part is going to be due to the module's non-linear approach to design. I want to be able to create challenging encounters for high level parties, but there will also be areas that mid-level characters could access as well. In the end, there will be a mix of both. And if powerful parties stumble upon weaker foes in some places, that is just the nature of growing strong enough to dominate the enemies.

I was still working with builds 198/199 up to this point. But I will grab the latest version of IceBlink so I can start working with more of the new additions. I did however copy over the two weapon fight traits. To showcase this, I had our party's paladin pick up the trait at sixth level and then equip a short sword in his off hand.



I also started using the weather effects settings. Just the deafults, which seem perfectly suitable for the outdoor areas. I made a gif to cycle through a few different zones showing rain, snow and a sandstorm.



The version of Hearkenwold that I upload next will be focused on continuing the main adventure path, as well as including one multi-level cavern dungeon. Again, some content will be exclusively post-guild adventures, but will then link up with the rest of the module. And other areas will be available to players who have not yet started the guild quests. I am hoping to finish by the end of the summer, although as always, these projections tend to slip away. I have so far created many of the outdoor maps and critical encounters. This month I started on the cave dungeon. If I can finish that, then it is only a matter of filling up the surrounding areas with content.

[slowdive]

Looks great! I think the new floor tiles fit just fine and look nice. The gargoyle mage looks tough. I think once we are able to add more smart casting (I don't think IB has it and IBbasic doesn't) that should add more complexity. Casters will be able to decide which of their spells would be most effective at the moment. The two weapon fighting for the Paladin looks good. Anyone can equip a second weapon in the off hand, but will take a huge hit to attack if they don't have a trait (light weapons also help). I love the GIFs (I need to learn how to make those). The weather system that Karl created is such a nice touch and looks wonderful as well plus all the animated tiles like water. It sounds like the progress on Hearkenwold is going well. Look forward to hearing more as things progress.

[cartons]

This is looking great! What levels do you expect a 6-member party would reach by the end of the next expansion?

[Dorateen]

Thank you, slowdive and cartons.

Hard to say yet what final levels will be obtained. The most advanced character I have is a level 10 thief with 18,185 experience. This is after completing all the guild quests. It takes 22,000 xp to reach the next level. So I think for other characters, it will probably be around 9 and 10.

[Pongo]

Nice update! The Dungeon Crawl Soup floor tiles look great, and the weather effects are nice as well - I hadn't seen the sandstorm one before, it's pretty atmospheric.

I'm looking forward to trying to get the confidence of King Ravencrown. One of the things I particularly like about Hearkenwold is the way you're not thrust immediately into epic events, you've captured the fun of lower level adventuring and exploring really well. When I finally get to see the king it's going to be pretty satisfying - I'll feel like I earned it!

[Dorateen]

you've captured the fun of lower level adventuring and exploring really well. When I finally get to see the king it's going to be pretty satisfying - I'll feel like I earned it!

Thanks, Pongo. Low level D&D is something I enjoy, so it is fun building up those areas. It is interesting that after all the years working on Hearkenwold, the player will finally get to see and speak to the King for the first time.

[DorateenIceblink]

I had to register a new account, as the password somehow got changed and I couldn't receive any emails to reset the password.

In the meantime, I uploaded a couple of new videos showing some more combat from Hearkenwold in the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. This one has the party fighting a trio of witches and their animal associates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAPXkjfAAok

[slowdive]

Saw both videos (since I subscribe to your YT channel) and they are great!

I think all the passwords are messed up at the moment. It may be a PHP version issue which I'll need to look into.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, I am back in now under the old account. So it was DorateenIceblink had a short run of just one post.

Glad you enjoyed the videos. I'll be posting an update for Hearkenwold in Iceblink next weekend.

[slowdive]

That’s great! I’ll try and have some bug fixes out before then… at least the crashing type as part of a hotfix.

[Dorateen]

July Update

Last month, I was working extensively on the underground dungeon complex that will be the Khrystos Caverns. To give a little background lore, this is the cave system that the Dwarves of Hamhock excavated hundreds of years ago. They set up a mining colony here, not far from their Mountain Halls. However, it was these caves where they unwittingly awakened a demonic spirit, which sent fiery destruction upon the Dwarf-King and his people. And while over the centuries, the dwarves did win back their mountain halls, the caves remained infested with monsters, a stronghold of the enemy.

I am trying to capture the sense of twisting tunnels, and a menacing atmosphere. It is a cross between former dwarven territory that has been taken over and occupied by gargoyles and goblins. In terms of design, the caverns are multi-leveled with over a dozen interconnected maps. I'm balancing it around a 5th/6th level party again, but some fights especially with the new features, are possibly harder and could be fun for more advanced characters.

Here is a screenshot that shows some old statuary, and a not so pleasant well. A number of directions are available for the party to go from this location.



One of the new monsters I am introducing is a Giant Lynx. It is a spell caster, and a beefy back up to more melee orientated enemies.



As I have been working with build 200 of IceBlink, the critical hit mechanic is in. Always fun when our party does the extra damage. Not so fun, when an ogre smashes our paladin, as indicated in the combat log below.



I have been merging a bunch of spells from the Proving Grounds test module, which are a much welcome addition. Working my way alphabetically, so I have gotten from Barkskin to Haste. Although I also added Vampiric Touch, because I really wanted that effect for a new creature. And I finally have Dimension Door as a special spell that only wizards can learn by completing a task.

I am also copying over the neat, more pixelated spell icons. Here is a look at a wizard's spell selection screen.



And finally, here is the Entangle spell in action.



Just to recap, the next release of Hearkenwold is built around two paths. There is the continuation of the main narrative, after the guild quests and kicking off with the King's Council. Then there is the Khrystos Caverns, which can be accessed at any time, although lower level parties should be advised to tread carefully this domain. I think I will have the Caverns complete this month, and then it is filling up the surrounding areas for more interesting exploration. The summer doesn't end until mid-September, so that is what I am targeting to finish this upcoming chapter of the campaign.

[slowdive]

This looks so good Dorateen. I'm sorry to hear about your Pali , but I guess it is only fair that they get luck sometimes too. The maze looks fun and I suspect I will get lost a few times . I'm not sure about the giant lynx, shouldn't we try talking to it first (I remember that cartoon from MM1 as well)? All the new spells and combat features will be very welcome. Do you have two-weapon fighting traits, light weapons, and finesse weapons set-up in Hearkenwold? If not, no problem, I can modify the relevant files after the next version of Hearkenwold is available. Yeah for September-ish.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, yes I have the two weapon fighting trait in. I still need to do the finesse trait and light weapon properties. I'm sure it will be no trouble, I just need to get around to it.

[slowdive]

Thanks, yes I have the two weapon fighting trait in. I still need to do the finesse trait and light weapon properties. I'm sure it will be no trouble, I just need to get around to it.

I was talking more about finesse weapons. Finesse weapons use dexterity instead of strength for the attack roll modifier. All items are defaulted to false, so you don't have to have any weapons use the finesse system if you do not want to use it. There is also the ability to have traits that allow you to use dexterity for attack and damage if it is greater than strength, but that ignores the weapon's finesse setting. So there are a few options depending on what you want to use.

[Dorateen]

I was talking more about finesse weapons. Finesse weapons use dexterity instead of strength for the attack roll modifier.

Yes! I went through the weapon list yesterday and set all daggers and rapiers to light and finesse. Those will make great off hand weapons now.

[slowdive]

Awesome! Who will have two-weapon fighting traits and at what levels? I also had a trait called "two-weapon defense" that increases AC when using two weapons, kind of a parry type thing I guess.

[Dorateen]

What I ended up doing is this:

Thief and Ranger characters get Two Weapon Fighting (L1) at level 2 and Two Weapon Fighting (L2) at level 4.

They are are earliest, because I think these archetypes fit the concept of dual wielding most.

Fighters get the feats at levels 4 and 6, respectively. And Paladin gets it at 6 and 8.

Two weapon fighting is not available for Wizards or Clerics.

I have Two Weapon Defense in as well, and the traits follow the same structure for availability.

[slowdive]

That sounds great! I am looking forward to making another run through Hearkenwold with all the new features. I'll probably stream my play through since, so far for me, that seems to be easier to do than recording and uploading.

[Pongo]

Looks and sounds great, Dorateen. I like the idea of the dozen map interconnected maze - looking forward to exploring it. The tileset your using for the maze is really nice, the shadows on the wall tiles make them crisp and clearly differentiated.

I think I'll make a new party for my next playthrough, my all-dwarf party was great but would miss out on some of your cool new features. I now have a hankering for a dual wielding finesse rogue (and to shake up the rest of the party a bit!).

[Dorateen]

the shadows on the wall tiles make them crisp and clearly differentiated.

Thanks, Pongo! The shadows are from the height mapping system in the toolset. On these 2D images, they are a big help to separate wall tiles and floor tiles. But it only works on the adventure maps, not on combat maps.

[Dorateen]

August Update

It's the first of the month, and I have some new progress to report. I've been working on the Khrystos Caverns over the past several weeks, and it is just about finished. I'm happy with the way it turned out and it offers a nice tie-in with the Halls of Hamhock adventure. As I mentioned previously, these are the caves presently held by the Khrystos Horde, the enemy that has plagued the dwarves for centuries, in one form or another. A bit of exploration will also reveal some further insight about the larger conflict enveloping the Hearkenwold campaign.

Two combat screens display new monsters the party can hope to encounter. Spectral spiders inflict vampiric touch upon each hit, and the green slimes are deadly for their ability to cause disease. Not to mention, the slimes can't be hit by normal weapons.





With the Caverns finished, I have to go back to the outdoor areas that the player must pass through to reach this destination. All the maps are in place and traversable, what remains is filling up the encounters and points of interest. One NPC is going to offer the party a chance to fight in an unusual dungeon. Another former guard of Relmfur who was stationed in Skardale will ask characters for help dealing with local problems.



After all this fighting and adventuring, what could be better than relaxing in a comfy chair by a fireplace. Unless that chair happens to belong to a long-lived, powerful wizard.





I just found that amusing, the way the halfling looks on the tile with the chair prop, and the NPC's reaction. Always room for some levity, even in the face of dire events.

One other aspect of the module I want to point out, the world map is coming together nicely. The new wilderness exploration will connect previous content with the Dwarf Village. So it is feasible now for characters to walk there on foot, although the other two means of transportation are still faster and safer. But it makes a location feel more grounded in the game world now.

I am hoping to have all this done by mid-September, or close to it. The next release of Hearkenwold should be pretty exciting with all the new features. Again, it won't be as large as everything up to this point in development, but rather continue to expand and make the overall campaign more robust.

[Pongo]

Looks great, Dorateen. Those Spectral Spiders look pretty nasty, especially as the party's starting position in that fight is not ideal for the squishies at the back. I see you've added in the vampiric touch spell as well... nasty!

You have the convos set up so that you can choose the character that responds - how have you done that, is it straightforward? I have some race/class triggered convo lines, but at the minute they get a bit lost unless you happen to have that character as the party leader (the party character icons are missing so you can't select which party member responds).

[Dorateen]

I find it pretty straightforward. I have the Party Chat Style checked under the Conversation Properties. For each race/class/attribute conditional always use -1 in the Parameter 1, this is what designates the specific character to be recognized. And to avoid the scenario where certain character types are not available in the party, I always make the first dialogue option a generic line without any conditional, so the player always has at least one option to click.

[Pongo]

ah, perfect - thanks. I hadn't realised that was what "party chat function" did. Makes sense!

Edit: works perfectly and has 100% made my day

[slowdive]

Nice review of Hearkewold KotC2 here:
https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthr ... 490&page=3

comment #59
https://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showpos ... stcount=59

[Dorateen]

Thanks, always nice to read about people enjoying the module. What I'm wrestling with right now is balance for higher level characters in an open world design. I think this goes for both systems, although KotC2 does give the player many tools (the different classes and abilities) to grow quite powerful. At the same time, I also want players to feel a sense of accomplishment where encounters that were tough with an earlier party, could be revisited and handle them better. As long as people are having fun, that's the most important thing.

[slowdive]

It is so hard to make a module well balanced. I tend to try for a challenging module/campaign that may take a couple "restarts" to fine tune your party. I don't want it to be too easy where it gets boring, but if it is too hard, people may give up. I'm okay with the less interested players giving up, but I don't want the interested players to get too frustrated. It is a balancing act.

[Dorateen]

Just for fun, I uploaded a video of when I made part of Hearkenwold in the FRUA engine. That was around 2015, so this is the first time I recorded anything from that design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r8If5s7Gw

This is the same encounter as the fight against the mummy and wraiths in the KOTC2 version, which I uploaded earlier in the year. I also wanted to compare how combat plays out in each engine. There are less options available in AD&D Gold Box games, but it can be just as dangerous due to the importance of winning initiative and powerful enemy abilities like causing fear, disease and level drain.

It's also fun to walk around Hearkenwold in first person perspective.

Just to follow up on the comments above, I think this goes to show how a mid-level party can enjoy challenging fights, but the same battle approached by higher level characters would have an easier time. The original IceBlink version of the module is more open, so it is conceivable a player could hold off and come back later if they found these undead too difficult.

[Dorateen]

I was testing build 203, and decided to upload a new IceBlink video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxtbtckZZ-4

This one shows some of the weather effects as the party is exploring the wilderness and runs into a potential problem that needed to be eliminated. The content is a preview of the continuing adventure in Hearkenwold, and characters here are 8th/9th level, capable of handling such a threat.

[Pongo]

Nice - I really like those effects. Your use of fog is subtle, it makes it feel less static. It's a good touch.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, I like having the weather animations. I think it adds to the sense of adventure, braving the outdoors. Some of the settings include lightning strikes, which can be quite dramatic.

[slowdive]

I noticed that when going through the inventory to see the feathers, it seems that the yellow frame that is supposed to show which items are equipped is showing on all pages in the inventory and not just on page one. Another bug it looks like

[Dorateen]

I think that might have been a display glitch. Notice the pages jumped from 1 to 6, and the yellow frame carried over. I was testing just now, and when I went into the party inventory, the yellow frame did not appear on the top row of items. On the other hand, I think I have seen that behaviour before, so it could be something. Let me know if you are able to reproduce this bug.

edit: Correction, when I tested yesterday, I was still using the 200.1 version. The video is from build 203. So perhaps the issue popped up again in the latest build.

[Dorateen]

September Update

I am nearing completion of the next version of the Hearkenwold campaign, which will include all the new updates and areas. Last month I was working on the wilderness maps, featuring new points of interest between the Dwarf Village of Hamhock and the town of Burdun. These include:

A battle with giant leeches.



An encounter with a colony of myconids



I also have an arena like optional area, in another part of the gameworld, comprised of multiple levels for the party to fight through. These are populated by groups of monsters that will be seen for the first time, such as the many tentacled Wyndlass, who gets eleven attacks on its turn. Ouch.



And powerful, dangerous items can be found.



I have five of the levels complete so far, and that is halfway finished. So I should be done with this area by the end of September. By that time, all the rest of the content will be in place, and I expect to release the updated module shortly thereafter.

Here's one more screenshot from the Khrystos Caves. I just happened to like the possible directions available to explore, and the curiosity about what lies behind the next door. Even I forget sometimes, as the caverns stretch across dozens of maps, on multiple levels.

[slowdive]

Looks great (minus the 11 attacks part )! Looking forward to the October-ish release date. Which version of IB will be packaged with it? Is Hearkenwold at a good place for me to start a Let's Play? So far, when I stream a play through, I often find engine bugs and they are recorded so I can make a note to go back and fix them

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. I have been mostly testing on build 200, which has been pretty stable. But I will probably post the module with the latest build, 203.

The version currently available to download doesn't have the weather effects and new spells yet, so it would probably be better to wait for the update next month. I want playing it to feel fresh, especially going through the existing content again.

[slowdive]

That sounds like a plan, I'll wait for the next update before starting a Let's Play. I still need to finish up the General Caster AI in IBbasic and add it to IB as well. I also hope to have some of the bug fixes on the todo list done as well by the end of the month.

[Pongo]

The Khrystos caverns sound great - I love a big dungeon map. Look forward to exploring them, and dodging the Wyndlass - those eleven attacks do some proper damage!

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo. I'm pleased with the way the Khrystos Caves turned out. It's one of those dungeons made up of interconnected maps, so the player never sees the whole layout in one glance. That might be a little disorientating at first, but is designed to create the sense of being lost while exploring underground tunnels.

Funny story about the Wyndlass. First time I recall fighting one was in Death Knights of Krynn. I don't remember if they were in other gold box games. But that thing scarred our party for life, just thinking about its never ending attacks on a character.

[Dorateen]

October Update

Finally, I have the next part of the Hearkenwold campaign available for download! The file can be found here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

When I last left off, it was in August of 2020, and I had just completed the sixth guild adventure, the one for wizards. Now players can advance the main narrative arc once events in Skardale have transpired, and as long as one party member belongs to a guild. This will open up new, dangerous areas on the map. But there are also new wilderness locations, ranging between the Dwarf Village and the town of Burdun. The Khrystos Caverns can be discovered, awaiting exploration by a daring band of heroes. In particular, this dungeon was designed for a range of 5th to 8th level characters. Some things lurk in the darkness that are best left undisturbed by weaker parties.

On the engine side, this update includes the weather effects that are animated on outdoor maps. There are some new spells, new weapons and items, and of course new monsters to fight.

Here is one example of an encounter with the characters:



I also have an updated image of the overworld map, showing how the individual maps connect together. Some of the new areas are only accessible after the council with the King. However, there are other new places the player can reach before those events.



Next week, I am going to start back on the conversion of the new content into the Knights of the Chalice 2 module. I anticipate that will take a few months. The updates will continue as the module progresses further.

[slowdive]

This is great! I am almost finished adding the last parts to IBbasic from my todo list and then I will focus on IB. I will want to add some of the IBbasic features to IB before I start my Let's Play of hearkenwold like the new Caster AI, more save slots, d20 screen, and maybe the encumbrance system with option to place items in containers.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. Sounds good. I'll want to catch any bugs that might come up in the meantime, and when there's a new IceBlink build I will post that to the Vault.

[Pongo]

Awesome, well done! Good excuse for a proper replay. This time with a party that doesn't just consist of dwarves. I have a few updates of content to catch up on this time, my last full playthrough was about two years ago I think.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo. I am hoping that a new run will feel like a fresh experience for anyone who played the content previously.

[Dorateen]

Halloween Update

This update will suffice for November as well. Since I have begun working on the conversion of the latest build of Hearkenwold into the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine, I just want to post some initial screens. I am going to try to finish by the end of this year so that I can return to IceBlink in 2022. Yes, there is still more of the adventure to play out, as the campaign continues to expand.

Back on page 15 of this thread, I posted an image of the party arriving at the council room of the King. For comparison, here is the same scene displayed in KotC2:



One of the recent updates to KoTC2 allows builders to choose a color/tint setting on individual maps. The values by default are keyed to times of the day such as morning, evening and night. Here I used this on a map the party has arrived on at twilight. I also use the Night setting in a couple of other places, and in the new cavern dungeon, which is pretty cool as it simulates the semi-darkness of those underground areas.



Finally, here is an encounter appropriate for the season:





This is all content already present in the latest IceBlink version available for download. Now it is a matter of reconstructing everything in the other toolset.

[slowdive]

Looks great Dorateen! The tinting feature is a nice addition. When do you think KotC2 will be officially released? Are there any tools you would need to help with the conversions from IB to KotC2 (image or data conversions)?

[Dorateen]

He just released version 1.19 to backers last week. In the update he said the official release could be December, or January at the "latest". The developer did call the first module Augury of Chaos "content complete", so he is just preparing to get it on steam/GoG for the release. I would love to have the full Hearkenwold module available if that's true. I guess we will see.

As far as conversion, it is pretty straight forward, I don't think any tools are necessary. In fact, it gives me a chance to review the material again and I have caught a few small typos, which I've corrected in the IceBlink version.

[slowdive]

December/January release for KotC2 sounds great! I use GOG so that is good he is releasing it on GOG. I'm hoping to have IBbasic ready for an official release in November. It is pretty much done for what I wanted in the initial release. I just need to play test it a bit more since I added the 3d/first-person view system added back in.

[Pongo]

Looks great Dorateen! I had a look at your current KotC2 version a while back and enjoyed it, it's a great engine. Have you added extra content like dialogue options for the additional races/classes etc available in KotC, or is it best to generate a party around the ones available in IB? I didn't get far enough to check really. In any case, I'm going to stick to iceblink for my next run through - need to get that party rolled.

[Dorateen]

Have you added extra content like dialogue options for the additional races/classes etc available in KotC

A few here and there, but it is still mostly built around the core IceBlink races and class. If a player wants to use more exotic party members like half salamanders and psychic warriors, they are free to do so. These characters can still get dialogue responses based on attributes and alignment.

[Dorateen]

I have added a new video to showcase some of the content that will be in the next version of Hearkenwold for Knights of the Chalice 2. Of course, this is already part of the latest IceBlink build that is available for download.

Here, the party is making their way through the Ephghan Plains, when they are jumped by hostile warrior women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf2Yqu-z1c8

[Dorateen]

December Update

Here's just a few more screenshots of the conversion work I'm doing for Hearkenwold in the KotC2 editor. Again this exact content is currently present in the IceBlink version available for download. These screens are all taken from exploration of the dangerous Khrystos Caverns.









Finally, I wanted to post this exchange, which made me laugh thinking about Pongo's recent comments about his sighing NPCs.



I'm trying to get the KotC2 update finished this month, so then I can go back to IceBlink early in the new year.

[Pongo]

Good to see I'm not the only one with sighing NPCs!

I've just started a new run on Hearkenwold - I haven't played it for a couple of years so there's a load of new content I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to it! Last time I took a party of dwarves, but this time I'm going for a more traditional mix.

[slowdive]

Looking great! Sounds like you have the conversion process down pretty well if it only takes a month or so. Is everything done manually in the conversion? Is KotC2 tile based or are the maps a single image?

[slowdive]

I've just started a new run on Hearkenwold - I haven't played it for a couple of years so there's a load of new content I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to it! Last time I took a party of dwarves, but this time I'm going for a more traditional mix.

Make sure to record it so we can watch

[Dorateen]

Is everything done manually in the conversion? Is KotC2 tile based or are the maps a single image?

I would say it is a manual process, with a lot of copy and pasting. Yes, the maps also use a single image. The dimensions of tiles are 64 x 64. If you recall, the IceBlink tilemap maker used those same dimensions and I produced 1024 x 1024 maps for each area. I am able to take those original map files and upload them into KotC2.

Pongo, thanks, and no pressure! I know time is limited when you have your own project you are working on. I hope you enjoy the new content.

[Pongo]

I'll be playing it slowly over a few weeks I think - its a nice break from working on Pescua! I've only just cleared out the goblins and started heading east to the tavern, so early days. I just hit level 2 - Prayer looks like a great addition for my cleric, I don't remember that from last time. Its nice to try out two weapon fighting as well!

[Dorateen]

Prayer looks like a great addition for my cleric, I don't remember that from last time. Its nice to try out two weapon fighting as well!

Yes, I added a number of new spells including Prayer. I perhaps should have made it available later, but then I guess the trade off is your character can only choose one spell on level up so you might pass on another selection to get a great spell like Prayer.

[cartons]

I've been itching to replay this over the holiday. Are we still expecting a definitive version to land within a few weeks, Dorateen?

[Dorateen]

I've been itching to replay this over the holiday. Are we still expecting a definitive version to land within a few weeks, Dorateen?

Hi cartons, the IceBlink version that is available now greatly expands the module. It advances the narrative past the events in Skardale and guild quests, and adds new wilderness locations. As well as using the weather effects system and the new spells.

What I'm looking to finish up in the next few weeks is the Knights of the Chalice version, which will include all this playable content.

[cartons]

Ah, thanks for clarifying! I'll go ahead and jump in.

[Dorateen]

I'll go ahead and jump in.

You should be able to copy the Hearkenwold saves folder into the newest module and continue with those characters, if you want. Unless you want to start with a new party.

[Dorateen]

Merry Christmas from Hearkenwold! Here is an animated gif showing the snow weather effect, just outside the Halls of Hamhock.



Starting to really come down out there. They better let us in.

[slowdive]

Saw that on the Codex, very festive indeed and I do hope they open those super cool golden doors for us! Maybe there is more of that gold inside that they could spare

[Dorateen]

January Update

It's a new year, and I've just posted the latest version of Hearkenwold for Knights of the Chalice 2 on the nexus page.

https://www.nexusmods.com/knightsofthechalice2/mods/5

This brings both modules now into alignment. And here are a couple of more screenshots showcasing higher level content.





Now the question becomes, where do I go from here with returning to the IceBlink engine. I've been giving the matter some thought, and while the obvious answer is to just keep building where the last update has left off, I also had the notion to rebuild the NWN2 module I made called "Edinmoor", and place it into the Hearkenwold campaign. It's an adventure designed for 7th to 9th level characters, if I recall, and I would have to make some adjustments to fit the custom setting. But the advantage is, the content would be able to be accessed by players at anytime as soon as they stumble across the associated areas. On the other hand, if I continue the main adventure arc, which I do have plans for, that represents content only available for players who have made it so far and reached that point. I also found that it feels a little linear to some degree, following the story branch. Where as an inclusion of Edinmoor into the campaign would just be more content as part of an open world. It also has the advantage of letting me work from a blueprint, a preexisting campaign that I have already finished, and would probably be something I can have out this year. But to continue the adventure into new areas, will likely take me longer, even though I have a rough outline about what I want to do.

So I haven't made a decision yet. I will most likely being fixing bugs over the next couple of weeks. But I think by the end of this month, I'll have a firm idea about the direction to take Hearkenwold. Of course, I would appreciate any feedback: would players want to have new adventure available sooner, which their party can tackle as soon as they are ready? Or would it be better to keep pushing the main narrative forward?

[slowdive]

Congrats on the KotC2 update! I for one would love to see Edinmoor incorporated into the Hearkenwold campaign so I would vote for that option. I remember well when it was released for NWN2 and I believe you had a turn-based version as well, right? I did create an import tool that imports a NWN2 module (also imports an IB module) into IBmini, but I need to update it to IBbasic format. I could probably do something similar to IB if there was enough interest, but I know that you prefer doing it manually as this allows you to do checks and review the content in detail.

[Dorateen]

Good memory, slowdive. I had been playing around with a turn-based mod for NWN2 and was attempting to use it in what would have been a sequel called "Sons of Edinmoor", but that project didn't get too far.

Another consideration is for the past few weeks I had been testing battles against much more powerful enemies, which can be brutal in KotC. It is fun, but I find 7th level encounters to be more of a sweet spot I enjoy for D&D. So I'd welcome the opportunity to go back to that scale of difficulty. I'm leaning closer to having a look at Edinmoor as a keep and surrounding areas that would be placed on the eastern fringes of Hearkenwold, near the mountains.

[Pongo]

Well done Dorateen! I'm always impressed with how quickly you make progress, given you're building in two separate engines.

I haven't caught up with the new content yet, but for what its worth I'd also vote for Edinmoor to build on the open world feel.

[Dorateen]

Thanks! Edinmoor it is, then. One final consideration for me was that the keep of Edinmoor functions as a settlement of sorts, with merchants to interact with and new leads for the player to follow, or not, if they choose.

[Dorateen]

I'm in the middle of a blizzard today, so I decided to upload a new video of Hearkenwold in Knights of the Chalice 2. This one is from the paladin guild adventure, where the party will run into a rival party of gnolls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ald_amEnrM

I will post an IceBlink update about the Edinmoor content next week.

[slowdive]

Great video! That was a tough battle and one of the nastier gnoll encounters I've seen. Stay safe in that blizzard and I hope the power stays on.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. All good here.

The key to how that encounter plays out comes down to initiative and party positioning. Some of the gnolls can cast web and stinking cloud, and if they can get those off before the player has a chance to move, it is pretty much game over.

[Dorateen]

February Update

As promised, I've been busy working to convert the Edinmoor module I made for NWN2 into new content available in Hearkenwold. I had started building Edinmoor shortly after finishing the Storm of Zehir expansion, and one of main objectives was to dig into the new party chat style conversations. As I have been working through these dialogues and how they were constructed, some of them go fairly deep with branching options based on character attributes, and they can take encounters with NPCs into wild directions. I even started to wonder what I was thinking, when the first chat with a local merchant could cover a variety of topics.



The original Edinmoor adventure was designed for a 7th level party and finishing around level 9 or so. In Hearkenwold, it will be accessible much earlier, leaving it up to the player how far they want to investigate leads and if they can handle the dangers. For example, the wolves near Edinmoor are of the Dire variety.



Here is a first look inside the keep, also referred to as Edinmoor Court. The place is described by the locals as a "lyrical" hold, a settlement welcoming of artists and musicians. Of course, the hook for the adventure suggests something sinister has happened disrupting the peace.



Another merchant is a tailor who sells fine clothes. I've had to stock his inventory with suitable merchandise, although most adventurers would probably not be interested in the selection. Still, these outfits could be a viable alternative to wizard robes, until such characters find something better.



And one more screenshot, this has a couple of new enemies: Dark Dryads with the ability to cast barkskin, and entangle as well as sleep.



I will be trying to finish up by June in order to release the next version of Hearkenwold for IceBlink. I've got a few more dungeons and an outdoor area to build. Projecting to take about a month for each. As always, it is just an estimate, we will see how it goes.

[slowdive]

Looks like you are making great progress with Edinmoor already. I like the idea of lots of branching options as a player, but it is a ton of work as a builder My wizards will be happy with the robe selection there. I also like the idea of having the option to enter the Edimoor content a bit early, but I probably won't do that (just like I don't go down stairs in castle hearkenwold to visit that party )

[Pongo]

Looks great Dorateen! Looking forward to this. Those Dark Dryads look pretty nasty...

I just found the hook horrors on a fairly early map east of the castle - were they there in the last build? Wonder if I missed them. They made short work of my lvl3 party though ha, I'm not trying to get past them again until I have a few more levels under my belt...

[Dorateen]

Thanks Pongo! The hook horrors are part of maps that were added around the time I started on the guild quests, so it was a somewhat later build. Definitely an unpleasant surprise for a young party.

slowdive, hopefully it will be a risk reward type thing. There might be some early opportunities for characters to find interesting items, if they can survive.

[Dorateen]

March Update

I have been doing more work on bringing the Edinmoor adventure into the Hearkenwold campaign. I think I mentioned in the previous update, that the module was built around three dungeons, with outdoor locations between. Last month, I completed the first dungeon and now I am starting on some mountain wilderness maps. I don't think this will take much time, so I should be able to concentrate on the second dungeon later this month. However, it is the final culminating area of the game that will take the longest, so I still expect to finish by June.

I captured some new screenshots to share. The first is a battle with an enemy party, comprised of fighters and multiple spellcasters. To make this confrontation more tricky, the player characters begin up on a stage, and they will have to make their way down to get at the goons in the back.



When coming across a door with a potentially nasty surprise behind it, a party member with low constitution can express hesitation. This sort of thing is one of the ways individual character personalities can manifest themselves in a group, chiming in with little comments. And sometimes, the words of a nervous elf might just offer advance warning.



Finally, I've always enjoyed this exchange. It still makes me laugh. A dwarf merchant was attacked by treants, and he calls them "were-trees", like a shape shifting lycanthrope. Of course, our more learned wizard tries to correct him.

[slowdive]

June sounds great! The encounter looks tricky with getting off the stage in single file. Also, making some good use of attributes and the party chat is great fun. silver should work just fine on those were-trees, I'll try it out just to verify

[Pongo]

When coming across a door with a potentially nasty surprise behind it, a party member with low constitution can express hesitation. This sort of thing is one of the ways individual character personalities can manifest themselves in a group, chiming in with little comments. And sometimes, the words of a nervous elf might just offer advance warning.

Triggering convo options with low ability scores is a really nice touch! Having text that reacts to character weaknesses and not just their strengths definitely adds to the individual character personalities. Good stuff!

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo. I think I have used Low Constitution the most as a way to simulate cowardly (or let's just say cautious) party members. In a few places, I have Low Intelligence options, because that's always fun. Oh, and lots of Low Charisma choices for characters who want to mouth off at NPCS or act generally unpleasant.

slowdive, Exactly! The party can still be targeted while they are up on the stage, so it might be risky to wait it out for the enemy to come to them.

[Dorateen]

Knights of the Chalice 2 releases officially on Steam and gog this Friday, March 25.

I have uploaded one more video to showcase the Hearkenwold adventure module. An encounter in the Dwarven Halls of Hamhock, when the party stumbles across a group of conspiring monsters.

https://youtu.be/MzrRohMFl1Y

[Dorateen]

April Update

I must have been motivated last month, because I was able to get a lot done in the recreation of Edinmoor as part of the Hearkenwold campaign. This includes two maps of mountain wilderness as well as the second dungeon featured in the adventure. I am starting on the concluding areas, but this will probably take some more time. I still aim to release the next version of the module by June, which gives me plenty of room for testing and tidying up loose ends.

This is a section of the tower known as the Soth Tarnel. It has been called a once mighty fortress that is now a tomb for the fallen defenders of a forgotten town. I also used the height mapping tool extensively, with some maps containing three layers. In the screenshot below, there is a sunken watery area, with stairs leading up and then another set of stairs approaching the door to the next level.



The party will have to contend with Frost Giants for the first time. Pretty beefy enemies, that can hit often for a lot of damage, in addition to having cold immunity. At least they are vulnerable to fire.



I thought this was pretty interesting. I created a trap that will cast Energy Drain if triggered, targeting the party for loss of spell points. Each character still gets a saving throw, but it could be a headache for clerics and wizards. Ideally, I would have liked to zap everyone's spell points like we have a gaPartyDamage script, but this works well enough.



And here is a view of the mountain area I mentioned above. Referred to as the Canyon of the Dead. Not exactly a tourist attraction.



As I have been doing with the previous module releases, once I finish Edinmoor and make it part of the Hearkenwold campaign in IceBlink, I will then resume copying everything over into the Knights of the Chalice 2 version. This will be like a stand-alone adventure, which a starting party could have the misfortune to stumble upon. Or the player could launch a saved game with mid-level characters and tackle the new content.

[slowdive]

Sounds like some great progress there! Are you using height maps for shading purposes or does it block movement as well? I haven't dug into that part of the code as of yet. I may need to have some toggles to use a more basic system or the more complex system as I try to debug some of the issues that are deeply rooted in the work Karl did and that I have a difficult time understanding and don't want to make worse

Frost giants, yeah! That should be fun... or not

I could add a "gaPartyEnergyDrain" script easy enough if you wanted that. It would just be changing the modifier in the "gaPartyDamage" to be "sp" instead of "hp". So copy/paste/edit kind of thing.

Looking forward to finding and exploring Edinmoor!

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive! I like the shadow effect of the raised tiles, because on a 2d map, it helps distinguish walls from floors. However, the height mapping does have collision, and when you make bridges or balconies, players have to access those higher (or lower) tiles via a ramp or stairs. The one small glitch is that the height variance does not respect collision with regard to triggers placed on adjacent tiles. So you could be standing on a square of a higher height, and "bump" into the trigger on an adjacent tile even if it is a lower height. But keeping this in mind, I just avoid placing triggers next to the height map.

A gaPartySpellPointDrain would be perfect. Exactly like the damage script, except it would take a set amount of spell points, or random depending on the parameters, from all characters. I figured that would be simple.

[Pongo]

Looks great Dorateen, that's an impressive amount of progress! Soth Tarnel looks like it will be a fun challenge.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo. I was testing yesterday, and there are some fights I think can get pretty challenging. As is the nature of an open design, a big factor is the level of the party when they enter this area. No shame in characters finding themselves in over their heads and running off to come back later.

[Dorateen]

May Update

I am in the middle of finishing up the Edinmoor adventure, which will soon be incorporated into the Hearkenwold campaign. The final dungeon is being built, and if the party can escape, I'll have a few NPCs they can converse with and get some additional dialogue. At that point, it is just epilogue type stuff and testing, running through encounters from start to finish. I am planning to release the new version of the module by June.

Here, the characters get an explanation about the nature of the Anvil of Time:



This is a dungeon constructed of interconnected maps, and multiple levels. There are some unique features to the area, as the screenshot below shows.



Naturally, there is going to be some fighting. Although there are opportunities for the party to avoid combat, sometimes depending on choices they have made. But when diplomacy fails, you end up in a brawl with winged lizard-like monstrosities. I gave them enough spell points to cast a barkskin spell on their first turn (+4 AC) and then they attack four times per round.



Here is a look at a new type of ammunition, with a thematic flare. Because these arrows trigger an AoE spell upon hit, they are best used situationally so as not to catch other party members.



If everything goes according to schedule, the next post will be about the release of the module for download. Again, Edinmoor works as a stand alone adventure, which the player can stumble upon if they are launching a new game from the start. Or loading up an existing save, characters can try to tackle the new content as a diversion.

[Pongo]

Looks great! Good to hear you're still on track.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo! I'm working on the final level of the dungeon. Most of the conversations are finished. Just a few more fights/encounters, and I should be good to go.

[Dorateen]

June Update

I have a new version of Hearkenwold available to download. This now contains the Edinmoor adventure as part of the campaign.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

This still uses version 203 of IceBlink, so players with the engine already downloaded only need to copy and replace the Hearkenwold module folder from the new compressed file above. Saved games will carry over as well.

Edinmoor is optional side content the party can stumble upon whenever they wish, and should they choose to follow the threads of exploration. There is no overarching quest in the main campaign to visit Edinmoor, it is only tangentially connected to the rest of the story (At least on the surface level. There might be deeper implications down the road.) but a couple of NPCs who can be found elsewhere in Hearkenwold will make an appearance. Like this one:



I also made a change to the Amethyst Road, which runs through the Village of Hamhock and up to the Dwarven Halls. Using the excellent Dungeon Crawl Soup tiles made available, I swapped with this darker shade of purple.



Finally, as mentioned, starting a new game players will have to travel a bit to find Edinmoor, and should probably have a few levels under their belt. Those who have already ventured in Hearkenwold, a point of reference is the Slaughtered Lamb Tavern near the mountains, and moving directly west will open up the new maps.

Here is the updated world map that shows how additional overland areas connect.

[Pongo]

Good stuff! Its awesome to see how this is coming together. Look forward to continuing my playthough and now exploring Edinoor.

[slowdive]

Yeah for the June update and the new version of Hearkenwold. I guess I didn't get IB v204 done in time for the recent release, haha. Maybe IB v204 will be ready for the next release of Hearkenwold though which I assume will be some time after KotC2 receives the Hearkenwold update as well.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, Pongo and slowdive.

The moment build 204 becomes available and I have a chance to test it, I will release a new version of the module, even if it does not add any new content.

Right now, I am working on the KotC2 Edinmoor conversion, and plan to finish by end of summer. Then I will be working in IceBlink again with fresh ideas. I'll write more about it in July.

[Dorateen]

July Update

After the recent release of Edinmoor in Hearkenwold, I have been working on building this new content into the Knights of the Chalice 2 version of the module. I've got nearly all the maps loaded into the campaign. Now I just need to finish conversations, and encounters, which of course includes creating new creatures and items. Projection for release remains end of summer.

Here are two screenshots that show how Edinmoor Court appears in the KotC2 engine:





There was an update to Knights of the Chalice previously, which added an alternative dialogue interface. Rather than having NPC or narrative text on top, and Player responses on the bottom of the screen, this merges both into one text box, as shown in the first example.

I am using the token display of characters here, which is always an option for the player. The module is still designed with the original Knights of the Chalice sprites in mind, and this is toggled back with the option to display characters as animated sprites.

In June, someone did a very extensive playthrough of Hearkenwold and helped me with a lot of useful information. There will be fixes and improvements in the upcoming KotC2 release.

Finally, to return to this to IceBlink, I have given thought about where I will take the adventure in the fall. One of the objectives will be to continue the main arc, with the party pursuing leads that were introduced if they had made it to a certain cliffhanger encounter. However, I was looking at the map, and I would also like to expand the outdoor areas along the River Astar. This will likely require the party to gain access to a boat, and there already exists a boatman NPC who can help the heroes from Hearkenwold. Of course, they will probably have to do something for him first.

But that will be for another day, and another update.

[slowdive]

Looks and sounds great! It also sounds like you are making good progress and maybe slightly ahead of projected schedule. I like the new conversation layout. Is it a module setting or a player setting for choosing the convo layout?

[Dorateen]

The conversation layout is an option in the main menu, under Display Options. It can be toggled between the two by the player, at any point during the game. It also affects the big image narration screen as well.

Regarding progress, if I wanted to be optimistic, I think I could finish by the end of August. But some of the branching conversations are quite long (KotC2 does not have the feature to link to previous nodes, like IceBlink or Neverwinter Nights) and I want to leave enough time to complete everything. If I go three weeks into September, it's still the end of summer!

[Dorateen]

August Update

I am in the middle of finishing up the Edinmoor conversion into the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine, and just uploaded a new video to give a peek at some of the upcoming content. Here, the party is making their way through a Villa/Estate of a minstrel, and run into some of his unfriendly associates. The battle did not go well on account of the enemy spellcasters getting their turn before our cleric could silence them or even finish them off. Still, our paladin was able to pull out a win as the sole survivor, but the casualties were high.

I would have re-fought this encounter, however I think it serves as a good demonstration of what the enemy AI is capable of, if not kept in check.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxY0MVKqe9U

In addition to new content for Hearkenwold, the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine has been getting numerous changes by way of class upgrades to Barbarians, Rogues and Monks. These have been incorporated into the module, so in the next version, enemies of such class types will be tougher.
Here are a couple of screens from elsewhere in the module showing barbarian bugbears that now have access to "Spirit Animals" (a feature that grants different special abilities) and have a sonic breath weapon.





Finally, one of the puzzles that appears in the Augury of Chaos module is a type of coded message. The kind where you have to figure out what letter of the alphabet a rune represents, and try to solve it. Sometimes the player gets a couple of words as a starting point, and you can work it out from there. I was able make use of this in the upcoming Ednmoor adventure, where a particular document was written in code. It will be up to the player to figure out the message.



Edinmoor should be complete in the next few weeks, although I still need to do some testing. And there are other fixes or improvements to the Hearkenwold module I am adding after receiving great feedback from players. So I am still aiming for an end of August release, but if it happens to slip into early September, that still counts as summer!

[slowdive]

Looking great! That was a funny video. The casters were not messing around

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive. I should mention that of course, all this content is in the IceBlink version of the module already. It is interesting that the IceBlink counterpart of the mages also have web, stinking cloud and fireball in their spell selection. Or at least they should. I will make sure to check that.

[Pongo]

Loved the video! Those spell casters were proper nasty. I enjoy all the race/class specific convo options you add in as well, helps set a good tone for the adventure.

[Dorateen]

Thank you, Pongo, I appreciate the feedback. I think the different character dialogue choices are a big part of the experience. Some times, they are just one-off comments, which help give a little personality to a party member. And in more drawn-out conversations, these options can lead to varied responses.

[Dorateen]

September Update

I just released a new version of Hearkenwold for Knights of the Chalice 2, which now includes the Edinmoor adventure. I also took the opportunity to make a lot of fixes and improvements based on feedback I have received. If anyone is has KotC2, the module can be downloaded here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/knightsofthechalice2/mods/5

A couple of screenshots featuring new interactions with NPCs.





At this point, I am ready to go back to working Iceblink. As I alluded to earlier, I need to continue the main adventure arc, which is definitely for higher level characters. And I will also add some other content as part of the larger map. I'm not certain how much I will get done this month, but hope to make at least a start, and have something to show in the next update.

[slowdive]

Sounds great! I have been doing some coding on the weekends as time permits and streaming coding sessions on Sunday afternoons when I can. So some progress on my end, but slow

[Dorateen]

I have been doing some coding on the weekends as time permits and streaming coding sessions on Sunday afternoons when I can.

I caught some of the coding stream on youtube. Always interesting to see. It's a good idea, I've often wondered what it would be like to make a video of building a module, the sort of under the hood work that goes on in producing content.

[Pongo]

Dorateen, I'm always impressed by how quickly you get content done, especially as I don't imagine copying the convos over is straightforward - this is looking great!

[Dorateen]

Thanks! Regarding conversations, the text itself is a simple matter of copy/pasting from one program to the other. But there are some things that require manual input, such as the conditionals for characters like [Intelligence] or [Dwarf] need to be inserted by hand, then there are variables needing to be set for those lines. So it isn't that straightforward.

But I can mention something funny and a little embarrassing: as I was finishing up the Edinmoor conversion, I just learned in the KotC2 editor there are commands to Create Label and GoTo Label, which are used to call back and reference lines in a conversation, especially long ones. I guess this is standard for coding, but I did not realize these commands existed, and they will make things a whole lot easier going forward!

[zach_holbrook]

But I can mention something funny and a little embarrassing: as I was finishing up the Edinmoor conversion, I just learned in the KotC2 editor there are commands to Create Label and GoTo Label, which are used to call back and reference lines in a conversation, especially long ones. I guess this is standard for coding, but I did not realize these commands existed, and they will make things a whole lot easier going forward!

Nice... I'd be lost without conversation links!

[Dorateen]

October Update

I have a big update to share, as I've started work on the continuation of the Hearkenwold module in IceBlink.

In planning out the next version to be released, I have three primary objectives:

1. I need to continue the main adventure past the climactic encounter the module presently builds up to.
2. I want to include a river adventure, with new maps along the River Astar.
3. I want to include a Psionicist themed adventure.

Advancing the central narrative will take me the longest to complete. It also means content for higher level characters, likely in the 10th and 11th level range. And of course, only players who have gone this far will even see how everything unfolds. It requires a bit more motivation to build in this direction.

In the meantime, I have been designing the river maps and encounters. These are more suitable to mid-level parties, and can be reached much sooner. The catch is, they need to discover a way to traverse these waters. Already in Hearkenwold there is a boatman, probably a good person to speak to.



Now here is something I am excited about. I was playing around with the scripts to toggle the party token on the adventuring map. If the player is able to secure the boatman's services, and then choose to hop on the river, the token will be switched to a little river boat to move around the water squares. I love it! Here is an animated gif to give a preview:



I have to mention, it is not exactly a smooth ride. Not all the water tiles are accessible, because those that border land need to remain unwalkable, like a buffer. The entering and exiting the river is conversation/script driven so it is not a seamless transition. This means there is a little bumping around the map as you move in a given direction. On the other hand, it also fits in with a rough wild river, requiring a boatman's help in the first place.

And I must not forget, where there are river adventures, there are bound to be sahuagin:



For the past month, I have been setting up encounters and NPCs, which the party will get to meet as they explore the region around the River Astar. There is a little bit more to do in these areas, but I'm going to start on the Pscionist adventure in October. In Hearkenwold, Psionicists are creepy individuals who manipulate people's minds, so I am going for a horror atmosphere.

The idea to include this content actually came last year, with the release of Knights of the Chalice 2, which has its own dedicated Psionicist class (three to be exact) and the suggestion I include some kind of special guild content for these characters. Right now, I have them lumped in with arcane spell casters. But I did take that inspiration, and even make reference elsewhere in Hearkenwold to a seventh guild that was cast out because of their mind experiments. In the next version of the module in IceBlink, the party will visit a location and perhaps meet such a mentalist, who can offer an alternative path for wizard characters.

Finally, I mentioned the continuation of the overarching story arc will by far take me the longest. I do have design ideas sketched out, but it is a bit more free form. I'd like to be able to start this last part by the end of the year and going into next. If the past release schedule is any indication, I should have the new content included in the module by next summer.

[Dorateen]

November Update

For the past few weeks, I have been working on the new Psionicist adventure that will be built into the Hearkenwold campaign. I had hoped to have this knocked out in a month, but I fell a little behind schedule. The plan is to finish up this month and then I will return to the wilderness content I had been designing around the river areas. All of this should be completed by the end of the year. That will give me a fresh start in 2023 to begin the continuation of the main adventure arc, pushing the party deeper into the mess they've gotten involved in, should they make it that far.

Here is one of the new outdoor maps. I like the height mapping used to create a crag surrounded by water.



As I mentioned, previously, the Psionic adventure will serve as an alternate guild quest for wizards in IceBlink, and has more of an atmosphere of horror. It should be disturbing at the least.

[slowdive]

This looks great and haunting. Will you be adding new psionic spells/traits?

[Dorateen]

Will you be adding new psionic spells/traits?

Thanks! Unfortunately, at this time, I had not planned on new psionic spells or traits, although given the release schedule, I can probably work something in. I have to give that some thought. In the gameworld, Psionicists are wizards who have more of a focus in mental manipulation. In fact, there is already an order called the Mages of the Mind. So these would be individuals who take that particular study to the extreme.

In Knights of the Chalice 2, however, there is a dedicated Psionicist class, which plays different than traditional wizards, complete with their own specialized spellbook. Instead of selecting spells, they have a pool of power points to work with. It is really this adaptation, which led to some interest in creating an adventure tailored to these characters. Since IceBlink already uses a spell point system, it is not as easy to differentiate with other mages/clerics, at least in regards of mechanics.

[slowdive]

It should be interesting however you are able to fit it in to the story and within the restrictions of the engine. Looking forward to it.

[Dorateen]

December Update

For this month’s update, I decided to write a retrospective covering the ten years I’ve been working on Hearkenwold.

Part 1: Design Blueprint

This module is a project that goes back to the earliest Alpha build immediately following the successful Kickstarter for the Iceblink engine and toolset in November of 2012. I was very interested in the idea of a 2D/Old school platform for making party-based computer role-playing games (with turn-based combat!). So of course I wanted to jump right in and start working with the program, but what to build?

From the most basic level, the concept I had was about a group of friends or companions who would be staying as guests at a Castle. In fact, I originally called the project Castle Hearkenwold, before going with just the one name. And by “guests”, I meant the characters would be seeking shelter at the fortress after fleeing a horrific attack. That would serve as the hook for this adventure.

I should mention that at this time, I had been reading the 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons supplement called “Monsters of the Nentir Vale”. This is where I first encountered the name Harkenwold, although I would change to the more archaic spelling. The name resonated with me, and felt like it fit the medieval atmosphere I would be going for. This adventure would have no connection with the 4th edition content, it was simply the name as a starting point that would take on a life of its own. The same can be said of Kelton Manor, the feudal location that was the site of the attack, which was derived from Kalton Manor, again the spelling modified to something I thought sounded better.

Also around this time, I had a copy of the Pathfinder resource text called “NPC Codex”. This would prove to be in invaluable source of ideas for characters and adventures. For example, Corwyn Klas was the name of a sample first level fighter known as a superstitious mercenary. I would take the creative liberty of altering the name to Corwyn Khas, and made him into a grizzled commander of knights at the Castle, while keeping the superstitious personality trait.

And here it is important to recognize what Hearkenwold represents: a home brewed dungeons & dragons style campaign, where players could take a party of adventurers through an expanding game world and freely engage with a variety of content. Thus I had a library of role-playing resources available to add breadth and depth to the setting. At its core, the module serves as a kaleidoscope of separate adventures, woven together by an underlying thread. The Halls of Hamhock, the assorted guild quests, even the recently included Edinmoor, are all stand-alone adventures that could be fit into a greater backdrop.

Regarding that backdrop, or the background narrative, for this I went to a fantasy novel I had written while in college. It would become another cornerstone design principle for the module; that I would create a role-playing scenario set in the fictional world I had created. But rather than use the device of linear storytelling, the player would be given a great deal of agency to explore the world and follow up content in whatever sequence they wish. This is to underscore, the story exists as a stage, something part of the scenery, but not forcing the player down a particular road. Also a core element of the group dynamic is the use of the “party chat” style conversations that would be implemented into IceBlink. Inspired by the NWN2 expansion Storm of Zehir, this interface allows dialogue options to be flagged by conditionals such as race, class, ability scores, etc. displaying for only those characters accordingly.

To circle around again, I had made reference to both Pathfinder and 4th edition material. However, the vast amount of detail regarding locations, lore, characters and events, history and even cosmology, comes from the original fiction I authored many years ago. One NPC the party meets early is the Abbot Thespar Wordsmith, a religious authority figure who rules the city of Khyn. While he has some inspiration based on Claude Frollo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the character also has echoes of Silas Barnaby from March of the Wooden Soldiers. Thespar Wordsmith was written to be a staunch legalist, a miser for power who uses the law to secure his control in the Kingdom. I think the module truly picks up once the player reaches Relmfur and surrounding areas, and the conflict with Skardale. Those dramatic episodes bring the weight of the foundational fiction to the adventure.

[Dorateen]

Part 2: Early Stages of Development

Looking back at the actual construction of the module, the IceBlink engine has undergone many changes and versions over the past decade. Hearkenwold was started before we even had a tilemap maker, and when tile and token sizes were 50 x 50. Without many art assets to work with, I had opened up Paint Shop Pro and began playing with some of the built-in graphics. I already knew about the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA) hub, that would eventually become the source of almost all things art related, but at first I was only going to use the character icons. I did not even know about transparency and alpha channels at the end of 2012, although I would quickly learn how to use the .png optimizer to make proper images for IceBlink. I also had a library of fantasy and D&D pictures, which would serve for portraits.

I created the first map for Castle Hearkenwold using a 16 x 16 grid. This is because the computer RPGs I grew up with and loved often implemented uniform 16 x 16 maps. I wanted to recreate that sense of exploring a screen, searching for an exit to move onto the next connecting screen. Pool of Radiance is built this way, with the city of Phlan consisting of “blocks” or areas, which the party clears as they explore. Dungeons too, were all designed on 16 x 16 maps. Later on, the game Dark Sun: Shattered lands would feature areas that were connected by traveling from one screen to the next, not seamlessly, but by finding specific exit/entry points on the map. This approach appealed to me, and is what I have used for Hearkenwold. It makes for somewhat smaller, compact maps that can be filled with lots of content, and then stitched together to form a more massive world.

I also picked a marble border from the Paint Shop artwork, and used this as an overlay on the first map I designed. The idea was to replicate the stylistic frames that often divided the adventuring screen as part of the GUI in older computer games. Unfortunately, I did not factor in that the marble border in Hearkenwold took up 2 tiles on each side, thus rendering maps to 12 x 12 in practice. Still, those dimensions allows for a lot of content density on any given map and each one is a piece of a much larger puzzle.

The later development of the IceBlink tilemap maker was a big breakthrough for me. It allowed maps to be designed in this program first, and then imported into the actual toolset. It was from here that I started to move toward using all tiles from the FRUA (Gold Box style) catalogue, helping to create a little more artistic cohesion. As of right now, all the wall and floor tiles in Hearkenwold come from FRUA, with only a few exceptions, including some from Dungeon Crawl Soup, which also mesh pretty well with the 2d graphics. The IceBlink engine would get further refined to include “height mapping”, and animated props, even weather effects. All of this is now present in the current version of the module.

Initially, the first Alpha release of Hearkenwold was made up of three maps of the castle’s ground floor, and a few surrounding outdoor maps, including a goblin cave. The first quest of the central narrative was in place, but did not go much further. From there, I was looking to expand the map of the game world to the east. I was working from a hand-drawn map I had designed for the fiction I mentioned earlier, and the module would have the player starting in the northwest corner. The intention at this point was to add more “side-quests”, so the idea of optional content around a main story arc could start to take shape. More NPCs began to populate the slowly growing world, new monsters and a couple of new cave locations.

A year and a half after starting this project, I released a new demo, which now featured area music. I had received big help with the generous contribution from Islet Sound, who composed tracks that I would use throughout the module in wilderness areas and castles, and the familiar deep underground bass for any dangerous dungeons. Personally, I also selected a track to use in a couple of key locations, “Pat a Pan”, which is a medieval instrumental carol and has a nice adventurous flare to it. From there, I began putting together the city of Khyn and surrounding areas. When the next version of the module was released, it included a new music track by Islet Sound for the city.

Afterward, I began work on the Asherim content, a distant desert land that would later expand into a broader adventure, accessible to Paladin characters seeking guild membership. But the introductory areas were part of an abduction divergence, which would sidetrack the party. I recall at the time thinking this felt like an expansion to the module as it represented a new adventure isolated from the main quest. Of course, it would all come together as the campaign continued to grow. It was during this time that a new version of the engine was released called IceBlink 2 for the PC, while the Android version was in development. IceBlink 2 was a big step forward, bringing the module closer to its present form in terms of presentation and mechanics.

Kelton Manor followed, an important point in the narrative as its destruction was the catalyst for the entire adventure, and here the player would at last have a chance to visit this location of haunted ruins. By the end of September 2016, I was able to release an updated Hearkenwold for IceBlink 2, which included the Asherim and Kelton Manor content as well as other new scenarios. I had done a full playthrough of all the content at this time to test the new spells, character traits and leveling systems.

[Dorateen]

(First two parts of this retrospective are on the previous page.)

Part 3: The Last Five Years and Beyond

Starting the new year in 2017, I prepared to work on what I would call Chapter III of the module. This would include the Fortress Relmfur and surrounding outdoor areas, as well as the city of Skardale. The content would emerge as a focal point of the adventure, making the investigation of Kelton Manor essentially a hook, leading up to more important events. How the party would reach this point, and how they resolve the conflict, would be left up to the player. It would be a very large update and add the Dwarven Village as well, as a prelude to the Mountain Halls, releasing in June of 2018.

Naturally, the next step would be to work on the Halls of Hamhock adventure. This was the first of several older NWN2 projects I had started or completed, which would find inclusion as part of the Hearkenwold campaign. Other examples are Broken Vessels and Places Deep that would be used as separate guild adventures, and the most recent Edinmoor. Interestingly, while going through the dwarven halls is optional for the player, there is quite a bit of lore tied up in this location. Bits of the game world’s history would be presented in pieces throughout the module, and this was one of those depositories. I would have a new version available halfway through 2019.

I then started on the guild quests, which were class specific, so there would be six in total. Working on one at a time, I would release subsequent updates to the module as each was finished. Beginning with the Cleric quest, followed by Ranger, and then the Thief adventure to kick off 2020. This was followed by the Paladin quest and a return to Asherim, while the guild mission for Fighters required new outdoor maps for the Ephghan Plains. Finally, by the end of August, I would have the Wizards guild adventure in place. These separate quests tailored to each player class would be critical to the ongoing continuation of the module. Another key design principle that went back to early development was the idea of one of the characters needing to fulfill conditions in order to meet the King of Hearkenwold and advance the main story arc.

Thus, the next module update I would make would do just that: allowing the party to join the royal council, as long as one guild member is present. And then taking the adventure past the events in Skardale, which would lead to a climactic confrontation. However, this would only open up a new path for the heroes who would be at a higher level by this time, should they choose to take up the challenge. At the moment, this is as far as the Hearkenwold campaign has reached.

Yet there would be still one more version released back in June of this year. Edinmoor is now part of the game world, providing some additional content to test players. It should be mentioned that throughout the development of the module, I had made partial conversions into the Dungeon Craft editor and the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures construction kit. And of course, a thorough fully complete port as a Knights of the Chalice 2 adventure module. These escapades into different toolsets would often give me ideas that I would later incorporate into the definitive IceBlink version of Hearkenwold.

Moving forward, I am right now in the process of building new content, which will further the adventures of the party. As I wrapped up a Psionic-focused dungeon, it is something that will exist as a random location waiting to be explored, or an optional guild for wizards to join, while even tying into the main quest. There should be an update available later in the New Year.

Here are a couple of screenshots to end with, showing some interesting reading material the characters might discover. The stanza shown is one part of the poem.

[Dorateen]

If anyone is interested, I have uploaded a video of Hearkenwold from the Knights of the Chalice 2 version. This encounter comes from the recent Edinmoor adventure, also present in the IceBlink module.

Here, the battle map uses a Fog terrain feature that limits movement. Notably, the tactical five foot step is disabled, making it a big risk to move away from level draining undead. Our party's ranger took a beating here, reduced to 1 hit point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NqQ18rqWEg

[slowdive]

I really enjoyed reading the history, development, and inspirations for Hearkenwold. Some of it I was already aware of, but some I had not heard before so it was an amazing read. Thank you for the write up and for sharing it with us! It is crazy to think that it has been 10 years already, it seems like it was almost yesterday

[Dorateen]

Thanks! I probably should have gone more into some of the different gaming influences, but I think I rambled on long enough. I'm glad you enjoyed the read. Ten years have gone by fast! Looking forward to the next...

[Dorateen]

Happy New Year from Hearkenwold

I did more work on the Psionicist adventure, as well as river encounters, during the last month. I've almost finished both, but there are still some details I will need to return to. One thing I added is a new location the player can find, if the party choses to get off the boat and explore along the shores of the river. I enjoy off the track diversions like this, that are divorced from the main campaign, just something that characters can discover on their own. There are some references to previous content, as the place is still firmly grounded in the gameworld. But it will be an optional area of interest for the characters.

One of the creatures that will be encountered elsewhere are a race of interdimensional bounty hunters. I try to avoid using uniquely Dungeons & Dragons monsters, but sometimes it is unavoidable given the material's strong influence. Here, I hyphenated them as Gith-Yanki, and they have their own lore as part of the Hearkenwold campaign.



Here is a narration scene used as the party is sailing along the River Astar.



And, as mentioned, if the player decides to pull into shore, then there is a chance of running into danger, such as river trolls. A character with high intelligence will point out that they are also known as Scrags.



Another encounter has the party battle a number of different monsters, including Drowned Zombies. Their first action is to release a noxious stench in the form of a stinking cloud, which makes this a challenging fight.



Now, into the new year, I must continue the main adventure path. Unlike the content talked about above, that can be reached really at any point in the game, the latter stage stuff obviously requires the player to have made a significant amount of progress. I also need to design encounters that will be appropriate for characters that will have completed some or possibly all of the guild quests. In the testing I have done, I am pushing 11th level. Although it is likely characters would stay around this range due to the way the experience table grows exponentially.

I have a starting point to work with, a not-so-friendly desert town. From there, the party will finally have a chance to continue their overarching mission. The target I have set for release is by June, but if I am realistic, I think some time during the summer is a reasonable expectation. All of this content will be available in the next version of the module.

[Dorateen]

I posted a new video from the Hearkenwold version in Knights of the Chalice 2. The latest update introduced a new feature, an additional combat maneuver that lets you attempt to throw an enemy. But first you have to make a successful grapple check. And then that character has to succeed a second check in order to throw. It took me a few tries, but our paladin was able to throw a bugbear to its death down a chasm, at the end of the battle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJJ6j7zD5mY

[cartons]

Love the off-the-beaten path content!

I first encountered the Gith back in BG2, which opened up the universe of D&D planes to me. Hope to learn more about the inter-planeary lore you've developed for your world.

I should also mark it down every time I catch an old hymn reference, hah!

[Dorateen]

Thanks, cartons! Just a quick summary of how I am handling the Gith in Hearkenwold, they are half human/half demons from another dimension. Full demons use them as bounty hunters, and on rare occasions will send them into the world for some nefarious mission.

And yes, those scrags are a real piece of work. Good catch. I further expanded their taunt with a reference to Mystery Science Theatre 3K's "row your MURDER ashore", which itself is a riff on "Michael, Row your Boat Ashore".

[cartons]

And yes, those scrags are a real piece of work. Good catch. I further expanded their taunt with a reference to Mystery Science Theatre 3K's "row your MURDER ashore", which itself is a riff on "Michael, Row your Boat Ashore".

A man of taste and sophistication!

[Dorateen]

February Update

For the next part of the Hearkenwold campaign, I wanted to create the destination of a desert town called Sinestra. This is actually referenced vaguely, much earlier in the module, if the party has visited the Asherim content. One of the NPCs makes reference to a trading town with caravans. This is that town. It is always exciting to build that connectivity with previous areas or concepts.

However, the town itself is not that friendly. Another reason I found the idea of continuing the adventure from Sinestra appealing is because of the contrast of a heroic party (or at least considerably successful by this point) with an atmosphere of distrust and contempt. In other words, this town won't exactly welcome noble characters as such.

The map itself is laid out with buildings on the sandy dune tiles. Some buildings can be entered to open up larger maps to explore. Here are a few new screenshots.









I am going back now to finish up the Psionicist adventure I started at the end of last year. I want to get this out of the way so I can turn all the focus on higher level areas beyond Sinestra. Although I still need to wrap up one location along the river, which I might get to in the next few weeks. Regardless, I want to have the module ready by the end of June. This means I will probably go as far as I can with the main adventure stuff and release what I have. This update will already contain a lot, so no sense dragging it out over the summer.

[Pongo]

Just catching up - I really enjoyed reading the retrospective a couple of pages back Dorateen! This really has been an impressive endeavor.

Also excited for Sinestra. I've always had a thing for desert adventures.

[Dorateen]

Thanks! Great to hear back from you. There is shaping up to be quite a bit of desert content, as this is an area the party has to contend with. It is fun working on thematic locations like this one.

[Dorateen]

I have the next monthly update for Hearkenwold coming out this weekend. But in the meantime, I just uploaded a new video for the Knights of the Chalice 2 version. The most recent build 1.57 added weather effects (rain, leaves falling, snow, etc.) and water animations. These elements are showcased as the party explores the map around a lake, and fights an Aboleth in the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmV57Ulsd-8

[Dorateen]

March Update

Last month was short but I was still able to finish off that Psionic adventure, which I had started at the end of last year. What I like about this particular content is that it serves dual purposes. The location could be somewhere for the party to explore, fight monsters and find treasure with the Guildmaster himself treated as an enemy. Or the characters might choose to ally with him, and join his exiled association. If so, it will open up a task just like the other guilds. And a wizard party member can return to learn their title based on current level.



In addition, I completed a new cave dungeon that can be found while exploring along the river. Here is one potential problem the party might need to overcome. Note, a halfling could have been a way to circumvent this obstacle, but he doesn't seem happy about it.







Here is a screenshot showing a battle with some Dire Rats. These are more advanced rats, and have the AI behavior to target characters with the worst armor class. They also have a chance to cause disease upon a successful hit.



The good news, with this stuff out of the way, I can concentrate fully one the rest of the campaign over the next few months. I will be looking to finish up around June, holding to the release schedule I had intended.

[Dorateen]

April Update

Last month, I continued with an area that is designed for higher level characters, awaiting players who are able to follow the main adventure path this far. I do enjoy world building and expanding the larger game map, and can now introduce a region called The Wild Plateau. Its more scholarly name is Hathgar Wiles, which has been translated as "Wild Highlands". This is an unwelcoming environment that starts just south of the elven Serion Forest. A chain of mountains marches along the east side of the plateau, one so fearsome even the elves dare not name it. Even more inhospitable, a cluster of volcanos rise at the other of the plateau, known as the Daemon Cones.





The region is the stage for warring factions of creatures including Mountain Lions. And the party is likely cross these blood thirsty beasts.



There are also Pyro Snakes to contend with, an entirely different hazard for wandering characters. I recall first seeing these monsters in the Gold Box game Pools of Darkness. Here they make another appearance, although toughened up to challenge a more advanced party. Note that a ranger has the conversation option to correctly identify the creature as well as warn there will be extra fire damage when hit.





I still have encounters to finish on these maps, and also as part of a cave system attached to the area. Something I have not talked about much, there is a broader, deeper narrative that is part of the Hearkenwold campaign, events taking place in the background. Some clues about the characters involved and the source of all this strife have been scattered throughout the module. But here, this is one of those looming moments where things get shaken up a bit. It is satisfying to see these treads of the underlying story come together.

However, in the meantime, I am going to spend the next few weeks starting a separate boat adventure. It is a multi-deck sailing vessel, which will be an alternative path for the player to explore. More on the later!

[Dorateen]

May Update

If nautical nonsense be something you wish, then this should be a good update.

I have completed work on a new location/adventure that will involve a voyage aboard The Crimson Cutlass. A mighty sailing vessel that can be found docked along the shores of the Sea of Venum. If an experienced party has progressed through the Hearkenwold campaign this far, they will just need to figure out a way to board this ship. Whether or not that is a good idea, will be up to the player to decide.



The maps I created for the ship itself combine abstract design with following a reasonable schematic for a boat's layout. So there are multiple decks and sections to visit, as well as a soaring crows nest. When above deck, the weather effects will persist and you can watch the waves rolling by.



Here is an example of using a "first person" backdrop image when the player is presented with some narration text. In these places, rather than just transition the party up and down the decks, I think it helps orientate the player and ground them in the setting, which is a ship in this case.



Sailors are a superstitious lot, aren't they.



Here's some equipment the party can be find. Might be helpful along this voyage.



I don't want to give away if bad things will happen while on the Crimson Cutlass, but this is a role-playing game, so naturally some adversity should be expected. Specifically, in the form of a band of sahuagin marauders. These aquatic creatures make their appearance for the first time in the upcoming Hearkenwold release, and they are featured in several of the new areas. However, to keep things interesting, there are different enemy types that include sahuagin rangers, priestess and the large four-armed baron with four attacks.



Over the next few weeks, I need to finish the Plateau caves I had started previously, as well as the last remaining parts of the desert town Sinestra. This is likely going to take me into June. But if I can get everything done and run through all the new content, then I should be able to post the updated module at the start of summer. Perfect time to hit the water.

[cartons]

I'll be there, cap'n!

[Dorateen]

I'll be there, cap'n!

Aye, hopefully the journey will meet expectations. I'm just finishing a few last things in the module, and aiming for a mid to late June release.

[Dorateen]

June Update

I should have the updated module ready in a couple of weeks. A few final things to take care of, and play through for testing. In the meantime, here is a video of the party sailing on the River Astar. The characters have already aquired a suitable boat, and the video picks up with the party on the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLx-x4UMq4

Note, the encounter, can be avoided with a successful dc check.

The new content will include dozens of new maps, new creatures, both foes and friends to meet.

[Dorateen]

I have just posted the lates version of the Hearkenwold module, now available to download. The file can be found here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

As always, if anyone has an existing saved game in progress, the Hearkenwold saves folder can be copied over and placed in the new saves folder. This is still using build 203 of the IceBlink engine, so for those who have been working with the latest build, only the module folder need be copied from the compressed file.

There are three primary purposes for this update as follows:

• Continues the main adventure, introducing a new desert town called Sinestra
  Adds a Psionic themed adventure, which also functions as an alternate guild quest for wizard player characters
  New wilderness locations introduced along the River Astar with associated conten

t

Altogether there are dozens of new maps, enemies and items that further expands the campaign.





I have also updated the world map. Empty white spaces have been replaced with a general terrain tiles, which represents what can realistically be expected to find in those areas. The framed, more detailed squares are the actual playable areas in game, including the new locations introduced in this update. The plan has always been to eventually fill the entire map with explorable content.

[Dorateen]

I have just posted the latest version of the Hearkenwold module, now available to download. The file can be found here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

As always, if anyone has an existing saved game in progress, the Hearkenwold saves folder can be copied over and placed in the new saves folder. This is still using build 203 of the IceBlink engine, so for those who have been working with the latest build, only the module folder need be copied from the compressed file.

There are three primary purposes for this update as follows:

• Continues the main adventure, introducing a new desert town called Sinestra

• Adds a Psionic themed adventure, which also functions as an alternate guild quest for wizard player characters

• New wilderness locations introduced along the River Astar with associated content

Altogether there are dozens of new maps, enemies and items that further expands the campaign.





I have also updated the world map. Empty white spaces have been replaced with a general terrain tiles, which represents what can realistically be expected to find in those areas. The framed, more detailed squares are the actual playable areas in game, including the new locations introduced in this update. The plan has always been to eventually fill the entire map with explorable content.

[Dorateen]

July Update

I am back working in the Knights of the Chalice 2 Module Editor, for the purpose of converting the most recent IceBlink content into that module. Looking back, I see that I did previously post progress in the other toolset here, and hopefully this should only take me about three months to complete.

Here are a few locations that I have started on. And of course, these are all presently available as part of the IceBlink campaign.





This is a view of Edinmoor Keep. In the KotC2 version, there are now streaming banners to add to the pageantry of this court.



What's cool so far, is that it looks like we will be able to get a toggle working, through script commands, to change the Party Leader's token into the river boat, when moving on the water. In Iceblink, this was very easy as there exists a script to change the image used for the selected character on the adventuring screen, back and forth. It will require some additional commands in KotC2 to get it working as intended, but we are getting there.

After I conclude this conversion, I will be back to working in the IceBlink toolset as more adventures await the characters from Hearkenwold.

[slowdive]

Looking great so far in KotC2. It is great that you were able to get a token swap working for the boat! The streaming banners look great too.

[Dorateen]

It's always great to get a little more animated props. Like how in IceBlink we have waves for water tiles, and also flame.

[Dorateen]

August Update

I have been continuing work on converting the most recent Hearkenwold content in IceBlink, into the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. One of the new areas that I have gone on about is allowing the party to travel the River Astar by boat. This would mean switching the party leader into a boat token while they are on the water. In IceBlink, there was already a simple toggle to make this change. But for Kotc2, I had help from the developer to create new script commands that would change the Party Leader into the boat token, and then back to the character's original token when returning to land. To further complicate things, KotC2 allows the player to display characters as animated sprites. We have implemented an override function just for an instance like this, when I need the player to be represented by a token, and then it switched back to a sprite. All told, there is a lot more scripting involved, but it now works the same as in IceBlink.

Here is a video to demonstrate what happens when the party sails on the river and goes back onto land, only to run into an angry elf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4FEQEmAxQ

Another difference between IceBlink and Knights of the Chalice, is the presentation of NPC conversations and text interactions. In IceBlink, we have a separate interface that is switched to, so the main adventuring map is never seen during these interactions. It is very convenient for times when an NPC was not required to be physically placed in the game world. For example, in the city of Skardale, the player clicks on the many different homes throughout that location, and is taken to the conversation screen with the occupant. But In KotC2, this abstract approach could be a little jarring. So I am going through the citizen dialogues and now using the large display image to occupy most of the screen, with the text box below. Here are a couple of examples to show what I mean:





It's definitely more stylistic, and helps ease the player back into the game after talking with these NPCs.

Anyway, I've got more work to do this month, and I should probably have the module conversion complete by the end of September. If all goes well, I can be working on the continuation of Hearkenwold in Iceblink this fall.

[Dorateen]

September Update

I am trying to finish up the most recent Hearkenwold conversion into the Knights of the Chalice 2 module.

I only have a couple of areas remaining to work on: the boat adventure aboard the Crimson Cutlass, and content on the region known as the Wild Plateau. There are some loose ends to tie up, and I will need to test everything. In the meantime, here is an example of one of the encounters in Sinestra. The map uses a fog terrain feature that limits mobility and targeting. It is a battle against fifteen kobolds, which includes spell casters, so they probably shouldn't be taken too lightly.





And this is a kindly old granny the party can find in the forest.



All of the above content is present in the IceBlink version of the campaign. I think I can have the Kotc2 version updated by the end of the month, or early October, which is what I had projected. Then I will write more about the next stages for the ongoing adventure.

[Articulatemis]

Can you message me the Lost Guardians sponsor name? I came across the NPC while doing the main quest but didn't realize that he would disappear after the dialogue, or that I would need to manually note his name to gain entry in the guild.

[Dorateen]

Can you message me the Lost Guardians sponsor name?

Hey Articulatemis,

I sent a message to you with the information.

Just a head's up, later on, I did include a couple of places in the module where the sponsor names are listed. I recognize that players might have missed the name from the initial dialogue.

Hope you are enjoying the module and thanks for playing!

[Dorateen]

October Update

I was able to release the updated version of Hearkenwold as an Adventure Module for Knights of the Chalice 2, at the end of last week. If anyone is interested playing the campaign for KotC2, it is available here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/knightsofthechalice2/mods/5

Here is a screenshot from the module.



For fun, I wanted to share the same scene as it plays out in the IceBlink engine:





Again, a difference in how the two versions are presented, in IceBlink conversations switch to a separate interface with the NPC portrait and the party characters selectable along the bottom of the screen. While KotC2 has a text box placed over the still visible adventuring map. Also note, in Iceblink, character responses for the dwarf and elf are only available by clicking on that party member. So there is no additional tag needed before the response. In Kotc2, these dialogue options (which do get different reactions from the Elf Captain, respectively) are more like a list that displays only if those characters are present in the party. I have maintained in doing this conversion project, that I love the combat and mechanics of KotC2, but I think IceBlink handles conversation interactions better.

One of the benefits of porting the module over is I can catch little things like typos that I missed the first time working in the IceBlink toolset. I have corrected a few of these that popped up.

Now, moving forward with the Hearkenwold campaign. The most recent update advances the main adventure path, and references the town of Saldanus as a desired destination. For the next content, I will be working on this location. Saldanus is an independent city-state outside the Kingdom of Astaria, where Hearkenwold begins. It is positioned on the coast, and its rumored riches make it a valuable target. There is quite a bit of history, which I won't go into just yet, but a local legend tells of the town's founding much like a Babel-esq story of hubris and powerful mages who would build a city that could reach the heavens. How much of this myth plays into the city's presents fortunes will have to be discovered.

This month, I am starting on the city maps. It will be laid out similar to Skardale, which was comprised of nine interconnecting maps. However, Saldanus is not exactly a place for the party to linger and shop and talk to a lot of NPCs. They will arrive at a tumultuous time, and there will be quite of bit of opportunity for fighting. Rather than trying to save the population, though, it is more likely the party just needs to get through the volatile streets.

I should be able to post some preliminary images as part of the next update.

[Dorateen]

As a special treat for Halloween, I have a new video of Hearkenwold from Knights of the Chalice 2, that shows a haunting encounter aboard a sailing vessel. Recently, we had new sound effects added for sea waves and wood creaking, which fit perfectly with this location.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpijmChtkas&t=99s

Also, the most recent update to KotC2 will allow the water animations to be resized. I can finally go back and adjust those on the maps that had water tiles.

This weekend, I will be making a post about new content being worked on in the IceBlink module.

[Dorateen]

November Update

As I mentioned previously, I am working on a new location in the IceBlink engine as a continuation of the Hearkenwold campaign. This is the port city of Saldanus, known for its rich resources and wealth. Anyone who has played through the module in its present form all the way to the end, will know the significance of the town. However, there are a few NPC interactions that have already alluded to the city.

Saldanus also has a founding fable, which tells how it was originally raised by powerful wizards seeking to reach the heavens. That is why it is constructed in the form of stepped tiers, leading up from sea level like a giant staircase. I'll share a snippet of the lore, likely to be discovered somewhere while exploring.

The third step, a level soaring one hundred and fifty feet above the sea, took the Folk but ten years to finish; just one decade until the last arches were raised and the eternal ascension continued. Then the Enchanters strode forward to celebrate their glory. Before them stretched the wide world blazing red in the glow of the setting sun. Nothing stirred down in the open land between the horizons, nothing that could hinder their boundless dreams. Very soon the mysteries of the universe would be theirs, secrets, which they alone could relish. Behind the Enchanted Ones, the Folk danced and feasted for on the morrow they would begin work on the next level. After that, a new plateau would be reached and then another; forever and ever without end. Each step following another, climbing, reaching, soaring, ascending... grasping for a higher reality that was only beyond the lip of the Next Step.

That was when the mountains fell. 

Now this of course is only folklore and legend. It will be up to the party to discover if there are any grains of truth, or not. In the meantime, here is a glimpse of part of the city. One of the features of the map is that the elevated tiles representing building walls and roofs and be accessed and walked on.



Here is a descriptive narration as the party transitions between the different tiers.



And finally, this screen shows some combat with a half dozen black pudding. These dangerous blobs crawled out from the sewers. Nasty! It's also a tough fight, because the monstrous oozes are affected by very little and they can potentially paralyze a character on a successful hit.



Speaking of the sewers, there will be a sprawling network of levels beneath the town as well. So while Saldanus will be the primary focus of the next update, it is a big city and will contain a lot of content to explore.

If everything follows the same release schedule as the past couple of years, I hope to have a new version of the module ready by June.

[Dorateen]

December Update

Heading into the end of another year, I am continuing the work on Saldanus, the city adventure that will be the focus of the next version of the module. At the moment, I am setting up encounters outside on the streets of town, which the party can freely wander and engage with. The intention is to balance content here for a party with level ten characters. Based on recent feedback from players who went through the Knights of the Chalice 2 version, 10th level seems to be where the current adventure leads to. That tracks pretty well with IceBlink, where the test party I am running has a level ten thief.

One of the things I like was a new encounter that gives the player a chance to pick up an Efreet bottle. This bottle can then be used to summon a mini-efreet as an ally in future battles. Where this comes in handy is the black pudding encounter I mentioned previously, against monsters who are resistant to almost all forms of damage... except fire. Because exploration of the city is non-linear, they party may or may not have this item at the time. On the other hand, if a player is having trouble with the black puddings, the efreet bottle will serve as a possible help to overcome the challenge, if it can be found.

Here is a screenshot of the fight with the efreet.



And here is a later battle with Hill Giants, showing the summoned efreet. He's a little smaller since PC tokens have to be sized 100 x 100. But our new buddy here does cast fireball and flame fingers, which is nice. The bottle itself has 5 charges.



Finally, here is a more seasonal screenshot showing the weather effect of snow falling. Saldanus is a northern clime location, so there will be intermittent snow showers while outside.



After the encounters are set up outdoors, I am going to move into the buildings that are available for the party to enter. I am looking finish up with the underground sewer level, that will likely span the same amount of the exterior city maps. All told, Saldanus is going to introduce dozens of new explorable maps. I'm still planning to complete everything by June.

[Dorateen]

I was stuck indoors yesterday due to stormy weather, and decided to record another video from Hearkenwold in the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. This shows an encounter with orcs at a desert oasis. Dorateen had a bit of a rough time in this battle, but got the last laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AS0JS5zD8c&t=54s

The scenario is part of the Asherim content that can also be found in the IceBlink module.

[Dorateen]

January Update

It is a New Year for Hearkenwold, and I am continuing work in the coastal city of Saldanus, with expectation of releasing updated versions of the module for both IceBlink and Knights of the Chalice 2, later in 2024.

By now, the party is probably thinking why did they even come to this place. Hopefully there will be enough points of interest as the characters further their exploration. One such location is a multi-level bell tower. This is what I have spent the past couple of weeks on. I plan to finish up this area and start building other interior maps for the rest of the month. I'd estimate that these buildings will occupy the first quarter, before turning attention to an expansive sewer level.

Here's a screenshot taken from the belfry.



Previously, I talked about the target level for this content being around 10th level. The test party I'm running does have a level ten thief, and other players have reported reaching that level as well, in the KotC2 version. Interestingly, IceBlink uses an AD&D style staggered leveling system where different classes advance faster or slower than others. The thief I mentioned of course is the fastest to reach level 10. So in IceBlink here, I've actually got a mix of 8th and 9th level characters as well. But I think it is a decent measure of ability when crafting encounters.

I do want to challenge such experienced parties, so here is one optional fight for the characters to stumble across. It is a "wave" encounter with Lightning Bugs. Three monsters appear at the start of combat, and then three more arrive in Round 2. If the battle continues, another three appear at the start of Round 3. This can get quickly out of hand, and the party will need to take every bit a precaution and a little bit of luck to survive. Imagine the ignominy of dying to Lighting Bugs.

Here is a screen of the encounter set up:



And here is the start of Round 2, where three more bugs show up, and half the party is unconscious and bleeding. Not good.



The purpose of this fight, again, is to provide a challenge to test more advanced characters. The idea being, what doesn't kill them, will make them stronger. I want to make Saldanus a worthy destination for the party, as it also advances the main adventure.

[Dorateen]

February Update

During this short month I am working on the interior locations in the city of Saldanus. This is going to be the module's focus in the next version of the Hearkenwold campaign. Last time, I talked about a bell tower. And here is an inn available for the party to visit. It is called The Glittering Fountain, with carpeting awash in the color of the sea and mountain streams.



Unfortunately for the party, there is a chance they can run into some unpleasant people. The enemy types in this encounter include fighters, magic-users and clerics. The map is also an example of a closer "zoomed in" look at what was the lobby area when the battle started.



Elsewhere, I have been adding new tiles to the combat maps that take place upon building rooftops. The entry narration describes the tiles as an imbricate style, those with an overlapping wavy appearance.



These tiles will be seen when the party climbs on top of a roof, and if they are lucky enough to get attacked up there. Maybe by manticores and their wizard riders. The screen below demonstrates the red tiles along the perimeter, while I kept the main area of the battle map the lighter shade of squares because it would be easier to view during combat.



After spending the next few weeks on the indoor maps, I'm going to turn attention toward the sewer level that is planned. Since it will sprawl the same number of maps of the city, this will likely take me most of the spring to complete. I am hoping to have the module with Saldanus as a location ready by the end of June.

[Dorateen]

March Update

This year seems to be flying by fast. It's another month, and I am about to begin work on a sprawling sewer system constructed underneath the city of Saldanus. The adventure is the next destination of the Hearkenwold campaign, which I am hoping to have ready for a new release by the end of June. Last month, I was still setting up encounters inside the various buildings that are accessible. Here is one example of the party using magic to bypass an obstacle. Brute force is also an option, but mages seem to like a more refined approach.





The dialogue option to choose either a fireball or flame fingers would only appear for a character who has those spells available. I like how this further individualizes the members of the party.

Here are a couple of combat screenshots. The first is with a wizard and his minotaur bodyguard, who also brought along a couple of gorgons. The gorgons have a hold spell used to simulate their petrifying breath attack. And the second battle is with a pair of weretigers, a new enemy appearing in the module for the first time. These creatures can cause disease on a successful hit.





Somewhat of a short update, but I plan to have more to share next month. The sewers will be using a new tileset, and should be a location filled with interesting things to discover. Not necessarily a pleasant experience. If I can finish those areas by the end of April, I will still be going back to previous content to complete any areas left open. I would very much like to stick with the early summer release schedule.

[Dorateen]

April Update

I am excited to share some work on the Saldanus Sewers, which will be an extensive area that complements the city's multi-map exploration. It's interesting that I had not yet included any sewer maps anywhere in the Hearkenwold module, since it is a pretty standard environment encountered in most cRPGs. But now this will be a new thematic location for the adventure.

Here are some screenshots:



The green rock walls are a new tile, and I use the green water squares to represent the slimy waters. There is also a dark green floor tile, but I went with the lighter stonework because of easier visibility and also to provide some contrast. Lore wise, Saldanus is an old and elegant city, so I can envision the original architecture would have been more pleasing. But now hundreds of years later, the area is marked with traps and secret doors to discover.



There will be lots of nasty critters to fight too, including vampiric crocodiles. What is going on down in the sewers, anyway?



This part opens to a large whirlpool waiting to suck the characters into who knows where. IceBlink comes with a height mapper in the toolset, allowing tiles to be raised or lower. Here, a spiral depression is created two levels deep, with a dark hole in the center.



I am planning to finish the sewers this month. I just need to add the remaining encounters. Then in May, I will return to areas of the city that were left uncompleted. I would still like to be testing everything by June, and release the updated version of the module later that month.

[Dorateen]

May Update

So close, I'm almost there. I spent last month working on the Saldanus sewers, which will be a sprawling dungeon of interconnected maps. I only have a few last encounters to finish, but I also need to return to areas in the city above. Hopefully everything for this adventure will be completed by the end of June.

Some more screenshots. To begin with, the party will discover secret passageways as they explore the tunnels. In this instance, our thief notices something funny about an adjacent wall.



Wandering into the control center of the sewer complex. Always an opportunity to break stuff.



There will be strange or unexpected things found down here, like some valuable artwork.



And here is a battle with an enemy party that includes an elven vampire.



She has high initiative and was able to act first, using her turn to cast a summons spell, and plant a skeleton right between our wizard and cleric. Because characters casting while next to enemies causes an attack of opportunity, this is rather inconvenient.

I should have the sewers finished early in May, but I am going to be working on the remaining content at the same time. In this way, I plan to have everything tied together over the next several weeks. This should still give me enough time to run through the entire Saldanus adventure, and make the updated module available on schedule.

[Dorateen]

June Update

The next version of the Hearkenwold campaign is almost ready, I am hoping to have the module available to download by the end of this month. With the focus of the adventure turning toward the city of Sadanus, I've wrapped up the sewers and now I am finishing work on the last interior map locations. These will be buildings the party can enter and get into all sorts of trouble.

Here is one house that contains an unsettling discovery.



In another house, the party meets this threatening wizard.



A couple of screenshots from the following battle. This content is being designed for higher level characters, so enemies will hit hard and often target spellcasters or weaker characters. Our cleric was already knocked unconscious in the first round. Then the enemy wizard cast a stinking cloud, while our wizard counters with a fireball. Things get messy from there.





I read a message a from a few weeks ago, that there was some trouble getting IceBlink or the Hearkenwold module to run. If anyone has technical issues or bugs to report from the current version downloaded from the neverwintervault, please let me know. This would be a good time to make fixes or correct problems, in anticipation of a new module file going up soon.

[Dorateen]

July Update

Just a quick post, to mention the release schedule for the next version of Hearkenwold is going to be pushed back a little. Had some things come up last month that took me away from time in the toolset. The module is still very much near completion. But I am also going to start working on the conversion to the Knights of Chalice 2 module. I think between the two, I can still have the IceBlink version ready later this month.

As soon as I have the file ready to download, I'll be making another post.

[Dorateen]

March 2025 Update

First update of the new year, and I think I have some good news. I have been steadily working to finish up the new content that will continue the Hearkenwold campaign. At the same time, since last July, I have been converting the new content into the Knights of the Chalice 2 engine. This has caused a longer delay than I would have liked, but I am approaching the end.

I think I can have the module updated by the end of this month, possibly releasing in April at the latest. Here are some new screenshots to share.

The maps for the city of Saldanus now include the red imbricate tiles to represent the roofs of buildings. I had posted last year that these were only shown along the edges of combat maps for roof battles accordingly. But I think it is good to feature on the exploration map as well.



This battle introduces a new monster type: the Pheonix Harpy. They are much more dangerous than the regular harpies who join them. The party will need to have adequate fire protection, or deal with the Pheonix variant quickly.



Here is a fight with five gargoyles, including four mages that are set up in the corners of the map. Meanwhile, an assassin seeks to make things difficult for party. With smart tactics, the heroes of Hearkenwold might prevail.



Hopefully I will be making an announcement soon about the updated module available to download.

[Dorateen]

It has been for a while since I updated the Hearkenwold campaign. I finally finished the city of Saldanus, which is the next destination for continuing the adventure. The content is designed to test higher level characters, and the new module file is available to download here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

This is still using the latest build 203 of the IceBlink engine. The compressed folder includes the full IceBlink and the Hearkenwold module. If a player already has been running build 203, then really you need only copy the Hearkenwold folder and place it in the modules folder. Existing saves are compatible, so a player can pick up again and access the new areas.

Here are some screenshots from Saldanus:





Also, there is a big fix I needed to make to the Gust of Wind spell. The reflex saving throw was not being applied correctly, giving enemies no save at all. Now it functions as intended. Also, I changed the area of effect to a three square straight line. Here is an example of our party's wizard casting Gust of Wind at a couple of dumb duergar. The warrior makes his saving throw, but the sergeant was not as lucky and receives the prone condition for two rounds.





From here, I am going to be working on a new dungeon that I will insert into the module. I'll have more information in a following update post. The idea is to include some higher level content that the player could access as a side adventure, since Saldanus was part of advancing the narrative. I don't think it will take me long, and then I will return to continuing the events of the main campaign.

[Dorateen]

May Update

More like end of May update, but the good news is I am nearing completion of new content that will soon be added to the module.

I am working on a new location, an infernal Salamander Temple. The area is annexed to an already existing dungeon. Anyone who has played the module far enough, will likely know where to find it. Otherwise, this is new content waiting to be discovered.

It is entirely under the category of side-quests, which I think is the life pulse of a computer role-playing game, fleshing out the gameworld and providing more rabbit holes for the party to fall down. In this case, since the last update was for higher level characters but only reached by following the central narrative, the Salamander Temple is meant for an advanced party, however the location can be reached at any time. As long as the characters are strong enough to survive.

Here are a couple of screenshots:





In the above battle screen, a pair of salamanders are joined by their Azer buddies, those fire-based creatures that look like dwarves, but they're not dwarves. Still pretty tough, and can be dangerous when they gang up on a character in greater number.

This area goes quite deep, and right now I am putting together the lowest levels. I think I can finish the whole dungeon and release the updated module by the end of June. After that, the next work will be on continuing the main adventure again.

[Dorateen]

August Update

I have a new version of the Hearkenwold campaign available to download, build 203.5

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

As before, this includes the latest version of IceBlink 203. Anyone who has already been using this build need only copy over the module folder.

Appropriate for the end of summer, the purpose of this update is to add a new multi-level dungeon to the adventure, the Salamander Temple. The area is annexed to an existing location. Players who have reached this far, will probably have an idea where the entrance is. Otherwise, it is now waiting to be discovered. Content is designed for a party of 8th level characters, but it is certainly possible to visit earlier, if looking for a challenge.

Here are some screenshots:







I'm going to be recreating this dungeon in the Knights of the Chalice 2 version of Hearkenwold. When I return to work in IceBlink, the next stage will be continuing the adventure where the party can finally reach the Wizard Towers.