Hearkenwold Beta

[Dorateen]

July Update

OK, now that the Halls of Hamhock adventure is wrapped up, I can continue working on the main Hearkenwold campaign.

Something that I have been slowly implementing is the inclusion of class specific guilds for the characters to join. This will be accomplished by first meeting a sponsor, one of six NPCs scattered across the expanding gameworld. In fact, I have four of them that can already be encountered. A couple of examples are:



and



As you can see from the context of their conversations, the guilds they represent are related to specific player classes. Thus, I still need to add two more NPCs for the party to find.

From there, the player will have to access a sort of board or committee (called the Sphere of Guilds) and when prompted for the name of a sponsor, the keyword parser will pop up requiring input of the appropriate name. However, there will be quests attached to the application for membership, and this is a big part of the work I have to do. All the content, including encounters and conversations and new maps, will further broaden the scope of the gameworld.

Something else I am excited to explore is the Factions system that was implemented in IceBlink. I believe this can fit nicely with the idea of joining a guild, and once the player completes the requirements for an organization, they can be assigned to a "faction" representing the guild, with all the advantages accordingly.

Another important purpose for these guilds is how it is linked to the overarching adventure. In order to gain audience with the King, characters will have to be a member of one of the prestigious guilds. It's not necessary for all the members of the party to gain such distinction, but the option is therefor each character.

Right now, I have started with the Cleric guild content. I expect, as has been the pattern, it will likely occupy me for the next twelve months to get all six guilds and quests up and running. I might release updates in between, so there will be some partially implemented in the future.

[youngneil1]

Wow, the guild system is a really intruiging prospect ! It will be a perfect fit for Hearkenwold and add even more depth to the whole gameworld. I already love how you present the first two contacts and it should be great fun to have each party member follow up with their own guild quest line. It is especially fittig for the open world structure as the player will be able to decide when and which of the guild quest lines to follow.

I also appreciate that you tie in the parser based input - it will make the player feel more like he truely achieved something (by finding the information, pinning it out down and then remembering it in the right conext). Testing out the faction system is most welcome, too. It is quite powerful, but yet largely untested in practice... so I fear the one or other bug might lurk there, but we squashed so many of them together in all these years that I am hopeful we will sort it out in the end .

[Dorateen]

[Pongo]

It's a pleasure to see this one grow and grow. I like your ideas for the factions, and parser text definitely opens up some intriguing possibilities. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

[Dorateen]

Hey pongo, good to hear from you. I did a recent run through the campaign, up to the point I am at now, which is obtaining the first guild quest. This weekend, I will post a small update.

[Dorateen]

August Update

To follow up on the previous post, here is a small update on some of the work I have done last month. Approaching the door to access one of the guilds, the party will be stopped and questioned for the name of a sponsor. Each guild being connected to a specific NPC who will recommend the characters to the Order. This brings up the keyword input window, and the player will have to enter the name accordingly.



Of course, that is only the first step. As party members who wish to join a particular guild will need to complete a designated assignment. These adventures will be placed in new areas as the overworld of Hearkenwold continues to grow in scope. I have below, a section of forest which some of the earlier maps now link to, with the promise of mystery and danger. What could await in this lonely cave tucked between the trees?



I would like to get a new updated version of the module available once I have the first guild quest finished. This should be by the end of the summer.

[Pongo]

Looks great! Will there be limitations on how many guilds you can join in one playthrough (eg because they have competing objectives etc?). Or will you be able to join all of them as long as you know the keywords? Either way this will add an enjoyable reward for proper exploration.

[Dorateen]

[youngneil1]

Intruiging to see the guild system take shape and grow . This cave I shall enter valiantly once the time has come, harf !

[Dorateen]

September Update

This is an important update, as I have a new version of Hearkenwold available to download. I was made aware this week that Clerics and Paladins were not using Wisdom to affect their max spell points, but rather intelligence. I have now fixed this and the 164.1 file can be downloaded here:

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

As always, saves will transfer over from previous version. Anyone who has an ongoing game can copy the "Hearkenwold" folder in the saves folder of the IBBeta version they are using, and paste it into the saves folder of the new IBBeta 164.1 folder.

The wisdom bonus fix will work retroactively. Here is our party's cleric who has a 17 wisdom, and now benefits from that +3 bonus. At level 6, the 60 SP total now increases to 78.



I have been cleaning up some earlier areas. One thing I did is change the stones that surround Odysserime the druid to more standing stone-like images. These appeared in a later location with standing stones, so it makes more sense to be consistent and use these in place of the old rocky circles that been used.



As I was in the middle of adding the content for the Cleric guild quest, there are some new maps containing some new encounters with monsters not yet seen before. Here, the party is attacked by stirges.



I was hoping to have the quest content finished by the end of summer, that is right before the autumnal equinox. There is another map I need to do, as well as some more work on the new areas. Plus I have to set up the whole guild membership/faction system. It will probably take me a few more weeks, so it might be ready by October.