Ravenloft Beyond the Gate Quest Journal
I found myself in a world sliding ever closer to Ravenloft.
In a place called Stone Leigh I first encountered the pull of Ravenloft. It tempts me with power and quick advancement in exchange for a little of my soul. Others here that I see have succumbed to the temptation and the results are plain to see; evilness, madness and disfigurement.
By fair means or foul I have fought against the power of Ravenloft in Stone Leigh. Some of those most effected have been killed or banished. A would-be Lord has been destroyed. But the land still draws toward that nightmare realm and I have made enemies, one in particular: a dark witch called Silktong.
There is a Gate in Stone Leigh. They say it leads into the heart of Ravenloft. Evil seeps out of it and my enemy has escaped through it. I will not wait for her to return but shall chase her down and confront the powers on their own ground. I will travel Beyond the Gate.
Ravenloft Beyond the Gate
Creator’s: Firestarter
Expansions Needed: NWN 1.68 SoU and HotU
Setting: Ravenloft.
Gameplay Length: 30 hours.
Starting Level: Level 7-8.
Classes: All classes.
Races: Any.
Alignment: Any.
Link To Module Download at NWVault
Author’s Notes
In this module the player has just finished Return to Ravenloft and finds themselves at the bottom of a dungeon complex called The Dark Well. Silktong’s history is revealed and the coven of witches that she manipulates must be confronted. Ultimately the player will decide the fate of Stone Leigh. Will it be freed from the clutches of Ravenloft or will you fight to become its Lord?
Tested Version: 12 Final
Journal
I found this module years ago but was NOT impressed at all! I didn’t like the level design of the first few areas nor did I like the encounters. Shame really because little did I know that years later I would not only play it to completion but immediately play it again with another character.
While it’s true, the first few areas are disappointing, they give the impression that you go from one area to another with no immersion factor killing a few MOBS here and there, however it’s charm grows on you exponentially, leading to it’s zenith at Castle Ravenloft, a deviously twisting set of corridors, stair wells and hidden passages.
I’ve seen a few other modules with Strahd’s infamous dark stone towers but none captured the feel of Ravenloft as this module did and the truly powerful will kick your behind and having you running to the Misty Borders with your tail between your legs no sooner than you can say “How do I get out of this mess?”.
There is a fair amount of backtracking to be done in this module however with the returnal mirror you start off with it is actually fun! The mirror itself can take you to places you’ve been before, recall henchmen to your location and a fair few other tricks that will prove invaluable to any hardy adventurer, in fact it’s so good it’s hard to take it for granted.
There’s also a lot of nice little touches added to this module and it’s incredible to realise that it does NOT use any custom content, it uses content intelligently and that fits within the theme of the module very nicely. If you have henchmen they will make vocal notes on anything of interest, there’s the obligatory romance thread that any decent epic module should have, opponents that actually have the advantage over well equipped adventurers and much much more.
Resting isn’t restricted but you might not necessarily be able to rest successfully and rest in the wrong spot and you could find yourself rudely awoken. In Immol village the inhabitants lock their doors at night and although frustrating there is a quick way to skip to dawn as I have seen in a couple of other modules.
The dialogue is pretty fluid too and I only noticed a couple of spelling mistakes and while not professional professional like you’d expect from a premium module, I mean, hey! it’s pretty darn good, which pretty much sums up everything in the adventure. There’s a lot of polish for which all intensive purposes is an amateur creation, I guess what they say is true, an amateur built the Ark but professionals built the Titanic.
The game is thoroughly enjoyable and the longer you delve into it the more enjoyable it becomes. The end creeps up expectantly with tingles of anticipation and you either feel an overwhelming urge to conquer the evil that is impending and free the innocent at risk from harm or dominate the evil that opposes your rise to power and crush the innocent beneath your wicked (and growing) heel.
The module also rewards roleplaying or at least dialogue exploration and your alignment is at risk if you do not play in character, so if you are a paladin in for easy gold it’s yours to have, easily, but at a price.
I’d definitely recommend this module to anyone looking for a module that will take time to complete and in some places, tactics to survive, while I found the majority of it a little less than challenging there are some moments that will make a power player weep, even if it’s unfairly but then, what do you expect from Ravenloft?
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