Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide

Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide is an expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights produced by Floodgate Entertainment and published by Infogrames Entertainment (now Atari). It was released in June 2003.

Chapter One
In the small village of Hilltop located in the Silver Marches, the apprentice of the dwarven wizard Drogan studies alongside his fellow apprentices Xanos Messarmos, Dorna Trapspringer, and Mischa Waymeet. However, the peaceful studies would not continue, as a group of kobolds raid the village. Drogan was left poisoned and barely alive, and certain valuable artefacts were stolen from his laboratory.

Soon after the attack, Ayala (an elven Harper) arrives and uses her magic to sustain Drogan. She then reveals that she and Drogan are members of the Harper order and that Drogan was assigned by the Harpers to guard four magical artefacts: the mummified hand of a dead lich, the tooth of a dragon, a mask which once belonged to a high priest of the Lord of Shadows, and a statue of a tower that was found in a desert tomb. Being Drogan's favorite apprentice, he places his student in charge of recovering the artefacts.

As the search progresses, it is discovered that a mage named J'Nah desires to collect the artefacts on behalf of a mysterious hooded woman whom she serves. She had originally been in alliance with a dragon named Tymofarrar, who led the kobolds, desiring all of the artefacts, she had her gnolls attack the kobolds after they had left Hilltop in order to try to take all of the artefacts for herself. Upon the collection of all four artefacts, it is discovered that the tower statue, which was believed to be the least powerful of the artefacts, actually contains a crystal of tremendous magical power. Drogan, who has by now recovered from the effects of the poison, requests that the hero visit an archeologist named Garrick who is investigating some Netherese ruins in the Anauroch, believing that he may be able to identify the crystal.

Interlude
Upon Drogan's request, his student sets out across Anauroch with a halfling caravan on the way to an encampment of Ao worshipers at which Garrick is located. Upon meeting up with Garrick and showing him the crystal, Garrick reveals that it is a mythallar, a crystal containing incredible magical energy akin to those that were used by the mages of the Netheril to levitate their flying cities. He also mentions that he and a party of fellow archeologists were exploring some ruins to the north located in a certain Valley of the Winds when they were attacked by a mysterious hooded woman who led a horde of demonic creatures who was trying to open some kind of portal. The student takes this woman to be the master of J'Nah. After entering these ruins, the student sees this woman travel through a portal which disappears soon after. At this point, Drogan uses magic to teleport to the student's side and aids in reactivating the portal. After the portal is reactivated, it is discovered that the woman had placed some kind of trap on it which causes the ruins to begin to collapse when triggered. Drogan uses a magical shield to sustain the weight of the collapsing ruins long enough for the student to enter the portal, but Drogan himself is crushed soon afterwards.

After passing through the portal, the student emerges back in the desert and pursues the hooded woman to another area of ruins. Upon confronting her, she removes her hood, revealing herself to be a medusa and uses the medusa's petrifying gaze to turn them to stone. While the student is in this state, the medusa takes the mythallar from them and identifies herself as a powerful sorceress by the name of Heurodis, and claims to have sought the mythallar so that she could use its power to raise the ancient Netherese flying city of Undrentide, the ruins of which she is located on, and use it to gain power over Faerûn.

Chapter Two
The student returns to their normal form after Ashtara, an Asabi merchant and slaver who is searching the ruins of Undrentide for treasure, uses a magical potion to restore them. He afterwards clamps a magical collar around the hero's neck with which he can force them to do his bidding by sending electrical charges through the collar. Upon destroying the city's guardian golems who were preventing Ashtara's slaves from their search for treasure, Astara frees the hero, allowing them to search the ruins for Heurodis, who at this moment is in the process of completing a ritual which will restore Undrentide to the skies. It is discovered that she is atop a certain Tower of the Winds located in the center of the city and has used a magical force field to prevent anyone from entering the tower. By using three magical artefacts, the Wise Wind, the Dark Wind, and the Death Wind, known collectively as the Three Winds, the force field can be broken, however. Upon the hero collecting these artifacts, opening the force field, and climbing the tower, Heurodis has already succeeded in raising the flying city. The hero ascends to the top of the city, where they find that Heurodis, who is now a lich, has set up a circle of crystals through which the power of the mythallar flows in order to keep the city in the air. In the ensuing battle, one of the crystals is destroyed just as the mythallar's energy is passing through it, causing the energy to escape and the city to plummet. Knowing that as a lich, Heurodis might be able to survive the fall, the hero kills her with his/her own hands, and afterwards uses a magical mirror which was found within Undrentide to escape to the Demiplane of Shadow and avoid impending death.

Gameplay
The expansion scenario pack adds a new campaign and new features including five prestige classes: arcane archer, assassin, blackguard, Harper scout, and shadowdancer; new creatures, feats, and spells, and other nuances such as allowing the player to access and modify their henchman's inventory. The Windows version also included scripting options for the Aurora toolset.

Characters

 * Main: Drogan Droganson's pupil
 * Companions: Deekin Scalesinger • Dorna Trapspringer • Xanos Messarmos
 * Foes: Heurodis
 * Allies: Ayala Windspear
 * Other: Adam Blake • Arzig • Becka Hurst • Bethsheva • Birgen • Daschnaya • Farghan • Ferran Valiantheart • Fiona • Furten • Gilford • Gishnak • Glendir • Haniah Dales • Hurc • Isande • J'Nah • Karsus • Katriana • Kipper • Klonk • Klumph • Lodar • Mara • Nafeeli • Nathan Hurst • Nilmaldor • Nora Blake • Piper • Riisi • Rumgut • Szaren • Toli Hurst • Toman Bross • Torias • Tynan Blake • Urko • Veraunt Shuttlescomb • Yazka


 * Belpheron • Dmitra Flass • Eliak • Garg • Hephaestagon • Hol Halstrom • Jer • Kilrav Klugehose • Mung • Nashekk • Regis • Tymofarrar

Creatures

 * asabi • badger • bat • battle horror • bear (black, brown, cave, grizzly, polar) • boar • chicken • cow • crag cat • deer • dog • elemental (water) • faerie dragon • formian • gnoll • goblin • golem • hill giant • kobold • lich • manticore • medusa • mephit (earth, water) • minogon • ogre • orc • ox • rat (dire) • shield guardian • skeleton • sphinx • stinger • wolf (winter) • white dragon • white stag • worg • zombie


 * asp • tressym • troll

Locations

 * Buildings & Sites: Undrentide
 * Inns & Tavers: The Bubbling Cauldron
 * Settlements: Blumberg • Hilltop
 * Wilderness: High Forest • Nether Mountains • Oasis of the Green Palm • Rauvin Vale • Valley of Winds
 * Regions: Anauroch • Silver Marches
 * Planes: Material Plane • Plane of Shadow


 * Amn • Ascalhorn • Cormyr • Eltabbar • Moonwood • Neverwinter • Silverymoon • Thay • Zhentil Keep

Magic

 * Magic items: amulet of undead turning • cape of winter • cloak of resistance • Eliak's Vengeance • gem of brightness • gloves of appraisal • gloves of the balanced hands • golden chalice of Lathander • Ice Grinder • Katana of the North • Kilrav's Ring • monk's belt • Mystra's Hand • Valiantheart Longbow


 * Spells: acid splash • amplify • aura of glory • Balagarn's iron horn • bane • banishment • Bigby's clenched fist • Bigby's crushing hand • Bigby's forceful hand • Bigby's grasping hand • Bigby's interposing hand • blood frenzy • camouflage • continual flame • dirge • displacement • divine favor • drown • earthquake • electric jolt • entropic shield • expeditious retreat • firebrand • flare • greater magic fang • greater sanctuary • gust of wind • inferno • inflict critical wounds • inflict light wounds • inflict minor wounds • inflict moderate wounds • inflict serious wounds • Isaac's greater missile storm • Isaac's lesser missile storm • magic fang • mass camouflage • one with the land • owl's insight • planar ally • quillfire • shield • shield of faith • spike growth • sunburst • Tasha's hideous laughter • true strike • undeath's eternal foe • wounding whispers
 * Other: holy water

Organizations

 * Bedine tribes • Church of Ao • Church of Lathander • Dripping Fang • Harper • Ice Hound • Red Wizards of Thay


 * Grey Ash Order of Thieves • Purple Dragons

Religions

 * Ilmater • Mystra


 * Chauntea • Corellon • Cyric • Mask • Shar • Vergadain

Miscellaneous

 * Books: 101 Tales of Adventure • Influential Sorcerers Through the Ages
 * Languages: Common • Goblin • Netherese
 * Other: caltrop

Reception
Shadows of Undrentide received mainly positive reviews. GameSpot referred to it as "not the most memorable RPG with BioWare's name on it, but it's got plenty of good, new content to satisfy most any Neverwinter Nights fan", and praised it for the quality of its campaign.