Neverwinter (game)

Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter is a Free2Play MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) developed by Cryptic Studios and published by Perfect World Entertainment. It was released on the 20th of June 2013.

The game deals with the after effects of an attack on the city of Neverwinter by Valindra Shadowmantle and a dracolich. Several factions and individuals attempt to take advantage of the chaos caused by the attack.

The Battle of Sleeping Dragon Bridge
Washing up on the beach in 1479 DR after their ship was sunk by the dracolich, the player is thrust into battle against Valindra's undead minions to reach the relative safety of Neverwinter's walls. The player is joined by Private Wilfred, a Neverwinter graycloack, who is killed by Valindra when he attempts to confront her directly. Meanwhile, a tiefling warlock named Makos dispatches the dracolich and uses his magic to prevent its soul from returning to its phylactery to regenerate.

The Crown of Neverwinter
During an investigation of the vaults beneath the Hall of Justice, the player discovers that the Nashers managed to sneak into the vault during Valindra's attack and steal the Crown of Neverwinter. After tracking down the Nasher rogue Honor Reigh, whom the player saw stealing the crown with another Nasher, clues point to a Nasher base in the Blacklake district. While in the Blacklake district, which has been overrun with Nashers, the player soon finds out that the other thief they saw has been kidnapped by the Dead Rats. Down in the sewers beneath the city, the player locates the other thief, Gothwan, who claims that his leader Karzov left him to die and gladly gives up Karzov's location which should also be where the Crown is being held. The Nashers set fire to their safehouse when the Player arrives and Karzov escapes to their headquarters, an old warehouse, where the player kills Karzov and brings the Crown back to Protector's Enclave. A side plot involves helping an alchemist investigate the faintly magical sludge bubbling up from the Blacklake itself, discovering the cause to be a Chosen of Ghaunadaur living in the lake.

Orc Invasion
After clearing out some kobolds that have been boiling up from the sewers, the Player is informed that some orcs from Many-Arrows have invaded the Tower District. While battling the orcs, it is discovered that whoever is behind the attack has sealed themselves within the Cloak Tower. When the shamans maintaining the wards are defeated, it is then possible to enter the Cloak Tower and defeat the orc leader, Vansi Bloodscar.

Spellplague
Dorothea, wife of Neverwintan soldier Joseph Linkletter, was spellscarred and transforms into a monster when emotional. The Player is asked to see if there's a way to help her without invoking the Protector's Law. A wizard named Rhazzad has been giving the woman medicine to keep her sane and under control but her condition is worsening. To keep her out of Helm's Hold, Rhazzad asks the Player to escort the woman through the sewers to his tower, fighting through Dead Rats along the way. When the player reports their actions however, suspicions about Rhazzad are raised.

A rumour points toward another wizard - Tualo the Bright - but upon reaching Tualo's home,the Player learns that monsters have been coming out of the house and killing people. Inside, the Player finds Tualo's apprentice who says a ritual scroll given to his master by Rhazzad opened a portal to the Far Realm which has to be closed. In an effort to rescue the soldier's wife from whatever Rhazzad is doing, the Player discovers that Rhazzad has sacrificed all of the spellscarred people that he's kept out of Helm's Hold to fuel a deadly magical explosion. A full assault is ordered on Rhazzad's tower before he can complete whatever plans he has for the Spellplague energy he has at his command. Against orders, Joseph Linkletter rushes ahead of the main force and is transformed into a massive foulspawn by Rhazzad, who intends to use him as a testbed for his own transformation. Joseph is subdued and manages to regain his sanity alongside his plaguechanged wife, while the player confronts Rhazzad. It turns out Rhazzad was communicating with unnamed "masters" within the Chasm, who promised to grant him unlimited knowledge and power in exchange for his help. Though Rhazzad successfully completed his own transformation into a plaguechanged monstrosity, he was slain before he could fully achieve his goals.

Blackdagger Bandits
North of Neverwinter years ago, a pair of pirate brothers from Luskan, Malus and Traven Blackdagger, set up a bandit kingdom surrounding a fortified keep. The Player is put in contact with the local Harper cell to put a stop to the Blackdagger Bandits who operate out of the ruins of the former Cragmire noble house and are disrupting trade along the High Road. Along the road a old man named Old Lenn will need help with several tasks like knocking holes in several boats and kill some bandits and then lead the player to the harper. But also he wants an old chest with all his letter from Rohini back from his sailing days.

The player and their Harper contacts start by putting a stop to the wrecking operations the Blackdagger Bandits are performing along the coast. This leads them to Melkhor Goldseeker, who has recently opened some mines as well as unearthed some ancient ruins. The Blackdagger Bandits kidnapped his niece for ransom and took over his mines. After rescuing Goldseeker's niece, the Harpers put the player in contact with their spy in the bandits ranks who eventually informs the player that their actions have caused the leaders of the Blackdagger Bandits to come out of hiding. The player then tracks down Malus and Traven Blackdagger - revealed to have been transformed into undead by the Thayan necromancer Kallos Tam - and destroys them, putting a stop to organized banditry along the High Road and earning the friendship of the Harpers.

Necromancers in Neverdeath
Undead are apparently rising out of their graves in Neverwinter's graveyard and the priests of Kelemvor who watch over the place seem to be overwhelmed. Some Red Wizards of Thay are using the undead to lure unsuspecting Doomguides into their clutches to create even more powerful undead monstrosities and collecting relics for similar purposes. The Thayan leader, Xivros, hoped to raise Arleon the Unforgiven, a nigh unstoppable ogre warrior in life, as his undead servant.

In another region of the graveyard, the Cult of the Dragon was searching for something. It turned out they were interested in the Waterclock Guild Crypts, in which a former high-ranking guild member and secret dragon cultist had secreted the blue dragon Azharzel and the ritual of the dracolich upon the occasion of his death. Unfortunately, Valindra Shadowmantle and her Thayan allies were also seeking the crypts, and when the Cult of the Dragon broke in Valindra killed them and claimed both the dragon and the ritual as her prize.

The Corruption of Helm's Hold
The cathedral of Helm's Hold outside of Neverwinter had been used by the Lord Protector to care for victims of the Spellplague, under the care of a holy woman known as "The Prophet." However, she revealed herself to be a succubus named Rohini, and the cathedral was quickly overrun by devils and Ashmadai cultists. The army of Neverwinter has been besieging the cathedral, but with little success.

The player aided the Neverwinter guard and the survivors from Helm's Hold in fighting back against the Ashmadai and slaying Rohini, before entering the caverns below the cathedral to slay the mad green dragon, Chartilifax.

The Undead of the Ebon Downs
For generations, the villagers of Grimhollow have watched over the Ebon Downs burial grounds. Then, the dead suddenly rose from their graves en masse and attacked. The Doomguides discovered that the attack was being orchestrated by a powerful Netherese necromancer named Idris, who had made a bargain with the Barrow Lords for an undead army to attack her Thayan enemies. With the player's help, the Barrow Lords were defeated and Idris was ultimately slain, allowing the dead to be lain to rest once more.

The Forsworn of Vellosk
Within the Neverwinter Woods, Netherese agents began recruiting the Uthgardt barbarians back into their empire for the purpose of making war against their Thayan enemies. While much of the Gray Wolf tribe accepted, some did not wish to be under Netheril's heel once more; these barbarians were exiled and became known as the Forsworn. Now, their former brethren, who have turned to the worship of Shar, are hunting them down under Netherese orders. In addition, the Netherese are seeking to raise the ruins of the floating city of Xin'kar. With the player's help, the Netherese are defeated and the leader of the Gray Wolves slain.

Sky Pirates
Meanwhile, the Halruaan Skyship owned by pirate band Company Yargo docked with an earthmote north of Neverwinter known as Pirates' Skyhold, after a band of sky pirates that once raided the Sword Coast from it. Company Yargo sought to salvage the wreckage of a skyship, but found that the earthmote was infested with both lizardfolk and undead pirates. Moreover, both the water and air had been fouled by some sort of corrosive poison. It turned out that the sky pirates once captained by Bartholomew Blackdagger had tried to capture the black dragon Garrundar the Vile, but failed spectacularly. When they fled back to the earthmote, Garrundar followed them and made it his new lair. After taking control of the lizardfolk that lived there, he weaved a powerful spell that cursed the pirates into undeath and bound them to the earthmote. With Company Yargo's help, the player slew both Garrundar and the undead Captain Blackdagger, ending the black dragon's curse and gaining two additional skyships for Captain Yargo.

The Forge of Winter
A century ago, the god Thrym gifted an artifact known as the Winterforge, which channeled the power of the icy realms within the Elemental Chaos, to a frost giant named Lakkar. Armed with the Winterforge, Lakkar led his tribe in a bloody war of conquest across the Sword Mountains, all in Thrym's name. When the Icehammer Dwarves of Icespire Peak challenged him, he absorbed the Winterforge into himself, growing to an immense size and declaring himself a god. Thrym was furious and stripped Lakkar's defenses, allowing the dwarves to kill him. In death, his titanic body was frozen solid atop Icespire Peak.

Recently, the descendants of the dwarves who slew Lakkar uncovered the Winterforge within Lakkar's corpse. But in doing so, the artifact's magic reawoke and called all the frost goblins, frost giants, and ice trolls to itself. The Winterforge was quickly claimed by a frost giant named Hrimnir, who intended to use its power to renew Lakkar's war of conquest. However, with the aid of the Icehammer Dwarves, Hrimnir was slain and the Winterforge destroyed.

Symphony of Madness
When Mount Hotenow erupted, the resulting cataclysm tore a rift in southeastern Neverwinter. From this rift erupted massive gouts of Spellplague, followed by armies of plaguechanged creatures. The Chasm is now guarded by Scar Company, made up of those spellscarred citizens of Neverwinter who chose to a life of service over the Helm's Hold Sanitarium. Recently, the Order of Blue Fire has taken a particular interest in the Chasm, claiming large swaths of it in the name of their mysterious new master. The player assisted Scar Company by descending into the depths of the Chasm, fighting plaguechanged creatures and blue fire cultists alike. As they descended, they discovered that the Spellplague had weakened the barriers between the Material Plane and the Far Realm, allowing aberrations to seep through. When they finally reached the bottom, they discovered that the true identity of the Chasm's master - the same master that had earlier aided Rhazaad in unleashing the Spellplague on Neverwinter - was a powerful aboleth overseer named A'Drx'l. After a mighty battle, the monstrosity was slain.

The Xorlarrin Slavers
In Rothé Valley, drow slavers from House Xorlarrin suddenly emerged from the Underdark and began attacking the farms, killing or enslaving everyone in sight. Curiously, rather than a quick raid for slaves to take back into the Underdark, the drow instead began building a city on the surface, calling it New Xorlarrin. From this settlement, webs of dark magic began to creep out into the sky, slowly expanding outward. The player investigated and, finding that the web was part of Lolth's attempt to take control of the Weave in Mystra's absence, put an end to the ritual.

The Fury of Mount Hotenow
When Mount Hotenow erupted, an exiled fire giant who dwelt on its slopes felt the power of the primordial Maegra. Dedicating himself to her, he formed a cult of fire-worshiping creatures, seeking to full reawaken her so that she might set all of Faerûn ablaze. So great was Gommoth's might that he even gained an alliance with the red dragon Karrundax, who made Mount Hotenow her lair. Ultimately, the player slew both Karrundax and Gommoth, preventing Maegra's return.

Whispers of the Underdark
After their defeat in Rothé Valley, the drow of House Xorlarrin retreated to an area of the Northdark known as the Whispering Caverns, reclaiming the abandoned city of Zesraena and mounting a search for the lost dwarf city of Gauntlgrym. Though they found the Doors of Delzoun, they were unable to open them, and were defeated by the player.

In doing so, however, it was discovered that the drow had made an alliance with illithids, receiving weapons in exchange for guarding the mines operated by the illithids' duergar thralls. Since the illithid had never been known to frequent this part of the Underdark, it drew considerable scrutiny. Further investigation revealed a massive, disturbing structure known as the Iron Heart that appeared to be their objective. Venturing inside the bizarre, unsettling structure, the truth was finally revealed: it had been created thousands of years ago, when the duergar first rose up against the illithid, to imprison the illithids' Elder brain itself. Known as Yshiggol, this horrific creature very nearly knew freedom once more until it was slain by the player.

Module 1: Fury of the Feywild
Valindra's reach extended even beyond Toril. She made a deal with the fomorian king, Malabog, in the Feywild. In exchange for destroying New Sharandar, Valindra gave to him a blue dragon named Fulminorax. Malabog's dark fey army quickly overran much of New Sharandar, and even corrupted a moon elf named Celadaine. With the player's help, however, the Iliyanbruen were able to retake New Sharandar and slay both Malabog and his dragon.

Module 2: Shadowmantle
While the elves of New Sharandar were busy dealing with Malabog, Valindra's Thayan armies established a Dread Ring within the Neverwinter Woods. There, she sought to raise the ancient black dragon, Lorragauth, as a massive dracolich. Neverwinter raised a massive army, known as the Neverwinter Vanguard, which penetrated the Dread Ring and set up a base camp to fight back against the Red Wizards. The Neverwinter Vanguard also received unexpected aid from a group of Red Wizards known as the Thayan Resurrection. Led by Rath Modar, this group of Red Wizards was exiled from Thay for speaking out against Szass Tam. With the player's help, the Thayans were defeated, and Valindra herself was destroyed.

Module 3: Curse of Icewind Dale
Meanwhile, in Icewind Dale, a mysterious substance known as black ice was discovered. This substance could be forged into extremely powerful weapons and armor, but prolonged exposure had a side effect of driving people into violent, murderous rage. Nonetheless, its high value resulted in both the Ten Towns and the Arcane Brotherhood fighting over it.

Meanwhile, the undead army of the long-dead wizard Akar Kessel began to rise once more, now empowered by black ice. The substance also drove the local Reghed barbarian and frost giant tribes into a frenzy. Ultimately, it was discovered the Akar Kessel himself had returned as an undead wight and was rebuilding his forces to continue the conquest he had begun before his death. Fortunately, the player was able to destroy him once more before he could lay waste to the region.

Module 4: Tyranny of Dragons
Back on the Sword Coast, a rift had developed within the Cult of the Dragon. A new faction, led by the wizard Severin, had come to believe that the future lay not in dead dragons, but in live ones. In the Neverdeath Graveyard, they began searching for the tomb of the famous elven adventurer Belast Messandar, intending to wrest from his spirit the location of one of his former companions, a barbarian named Cruven Gantara. They believed that Cruven's spirit could give them the location of a portal to the island of Tuern. The green dragon Charthraxis aided them in this endeavor. Though the player hampered their efforts, they ultimately learned that the barbarian was buried somewhere in the Ebon Downs. Recruiting the black dragon Vartilingorix, they began a concentrated effort to find the barbarian's burial mound that was greatly hindered by the player.

Along the slopes of Icespire Peak, the Cult enlisted the aid of the white dragon Merothrax to help them plunder the mithral mines of the Icehammer Dwarves. The player worked to hinder them, discovering that the mithral was somehow key to their plans. In the Rothé Valley, the Cult had forged an alliance with the drow of House Xorlarrin slavers in the area in order to gain unhindered access to the blue dragon Venfithar who lived there. The Cult was using the mithral from Icespire Peak to forge special jars to contain Venfithar's lightning, intending to use it to power some sort of cloud giant artifact. After gathering what they needed, the Cult relocated to an area of the Northdark near the Crags known as the Whispering Caverns. There they sought to unearth the ancient hoard of a dragon named Saphirax, and summoned the dracolich Vilithrax to guard the site. Though the player destroyed Vilithrax, the Cultists got what they wanted from Saphirax: the location and activation sequence for portal to Tuern.

In an unprecedented move, the Harpers joined forces with the Order of the Gauntlet, the Emerald Enclave, the Lords' Alliance, and even the Zhentarim to stop the Cult of the Dragon. They ascended the slopes of Kelvin's Cairn to the portal's location and opened it, hoping to secure a foothold in Tuern, but were betrayed by Rath Modar, who was secretly working with the Cult and granted Severin and a large number of cultists access. The five factions quickly secured their end of the portal, and sent the player through to Tuern to follow the Cult. There, they discovered ancient draconic ruins in which the red dragon Lostmauth had made its lair, as well as native barbarians that worshiped dragons as gods. Though they slew Lostmauth, they were unable to prevent Severin from obtaining his true goal, the Red Dragon Mask.

The Cult's activities came to a head with the Siege of Neverwinter, in which they launched a massive assault on the city, breaching the walls with the aid of several dragons including Eziderax the Caustic, Kazlotar the Mordacious, Halectrizar the Storm Eater, Zavarak the Thunderous, Toxicallus the Despoiler, Venitaxis the Pestilent, Akregon the Pyre, Phlagethax the Cremator, Glaxenheim the Pale, and Ikzinfraxis the Glacial.

Module 5: Rise of Tiamat
It soon became clear that the Cult of the Dragon's ultimate goal was to summon Tiamat herself from the Nine Hells. Unfortunately, it was also clear that it was too late to prevent this; the only solution, therefore, was to try and push her back before she fully entered Toril. Led by Elminster, the Harpers, Zhentarm, Lords' Alliance, Emerald Enclave, Order of the Gauntlet, and Iliyanbruen banded together and traveled to the Well of Dragons to assault Tiamat's Temple itself, which had already erupted into the world. There they were joined by Linu La'neral, as well as a member of the original Cult of the Dragon who disagreed with Severin's new direction. There they faced opposition from not only the Cult of the Dragon and Thayan forces, but the five chromatic dragon heralds of Tiamat: Glycamerax, Rogrotus, Volzakaris, Kradazuur, and Hohengroth.

After defeating Tiamat's heralds, the alliance ultimately led an attack into the Temple of Tiamat, where Severin and Rath Modar were in the midst of summoning Tiamat from the Nine Hells. Though the summoners were slain, they were too late to stop the coming of Tiamat, who began emerging into Faerûn. Fortunately, Linu La'neral was able to channel a spell to weaken her enough for their allies to defeat the dragon goddess, pushing her back into the Nine Hells and putting an end to the Cult of the Dragon's plot.

Module 6: Elemental Evil
After the Blackdagger Bandits were defeated, trade increased on the High Road. The Emerald Enclave began guiding travelers, and the Neverwinter Guard garrisoned the lighthouses on Raven Cliff Beach. However, a sudden tidal wave devastated the region and was swiftly followed by an invasion of aquatic monsters and cultists of Olhydra. The Harpers soon arrived to aid the Emerald Enclave at what had now become known as the Drowned Shore, where they were joined by sea elves who had been similarly impacted by the tidal wave and the cultists who followed behind. With the help of the Hero of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, they dealt a heavy blow to the Cult of the Crushing Wave before entering the sea caves where they had created a water node - a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water itself. There the hero faced down and defeated their leader, the prophet Gar Shatterkeel, as he attempted to sacrifice a sea elf to Olhydra. She revealed that her sacrifice to Olhydra would have appeased her enough to grant him a devastation orb, with which the cult could have created another tidal wave. In saving her, the hero had in truth saved thousands.

Meanwhile, following the death of Rohini, the Black Earth Mercenary Company offered to help defend the reclaimed Helm's Hold, even offering to build their own fortress nearby. Though the council was wary, Lord Neverember vouched for their leader, a Waterdhavian noble named Marlos Urnrayle. Once the god Helm returned, however, the mercenaries revealed themselves as the Cult of the Black Earth, fanatical devotees of Ogrémoch - and Marlos himself was revealed to be a decadent medusa. As the cultists turned against the people they had been hired to defend, the council holed up within Helm's cathedral, the one place the cultists seemed unwilling to go, while outside a towering stone fortress known as Reclamation Rock erupted from the ground. When Lord Neverember learned of what had happened, he sent Neverwinter's ranger corps along with the Hero of Sleeping Dragon Bridge to reclaim Helm's Hold. After securing first the Watcher's Forest and then the city itself, they entered the earth node that Urnrayle had created deep below the earth and struck down the prophet himself before he could succeed in making a devastation orb.

Within the newly-discovered dwarven city of Gauntlgrym, the dwarves had found the task of rebuilding the city to be too great an undertaking to accomplish within their lifetimes, and ultimately agreed to hire a company of artisans skilled in dwarven craftsmanship to aid them. No sooner had they rebuilt the Great Forge, however, than the artisans revealed themselves as the Cult of the Eternal Flame, crazed worshipers of Imix, and drove out the dwarves. Working with both the Harpers and the Lords Alliance, the dwarves put out the call for adventurers to reclaim their ancient home. The call was answered, and the adventurers delved deep into Gauntlgrym, where the cultists had created a fire node and intended to awaken the primordial Maegera and use her power to create a devastation orb to set the entire Sword Coast ablaze. When the cultists captured Delzoun-blooded dwarves to shut down the water pumps keeping Maegera asleep, the adventurers knew they had to act fast. Though they defeated the cultists' leader, the tiefling prophet Vanifer, she swore that she would return. With the dwarves rescued and the cultists routed, however, the immediate threat had passed.

After the devastating tidal wave that turned part of the High Road into the Drowned Shore, the Order of the Gauntlet began tracking elemental cultist activity across the Sword Coast. Though they quickly located the water, earth, and fire cults, it was some time before they found the base of the air cult. High above the Neverwinter Wood, cultists of Yan-C-Bin had allied with a family of cloud giants to erect a series of floating towers from which they could rain devastation upon the Sword Coast. Unwilling to let them accomplish their terrible goals, Harper wizards created portals to reach the towers and help the Order of the Gauntlet cast down the cultists.

Class and Race Quests
It seems that every zone has quests that are given to the player depending on the character race. Tieflings get quests related to their families' old relation to Lord of the Lies. These quests are usually related to disallowing the false Ashmadai to affect the world around them. In Blacklake District, the main character must put up posters to warn the gangs of Blacklake about the Ashmadai whom are trying to influence them. Halflings have quests that relate to helping their own community, like finding housing in Blacklake and requesting the aid of the Ghostwise.

In game references
In Protector's Enclave, there is a street named "Deekin Street," a reference to the kobold bard Deekin Scalesinger of the Neverwinter Nights series. Later, in the Well of Dragons, Linu La'neral makes a direct reference to the events of the first Neverwinter Nights; specifically, her involvement in battling the Wailing Death.

Side Quests
There are many side quests in the game that are tangential to the main plot. One of the more notable quests is "A Lich's Lament" in Neverdeath Graveyard. The player finds a phylactery of a Lich named Zarifrax, who has tired of his endless plots and schemes and now just wants to find a nice, quiet place to rest for all eternity. After rejecting several potential locations and railing against Kelemvor ("Now Jergal, there was a god of death! Of course, Bhaal and Myrkul had their qualities, too."), Zarifrax decides he doesn't want to "unlive" on this planet anymore and asks to be given to Kelemvor's Doomguides to be destroyed. When Doomguide Volahk says that they have a protected vault to seal the phylactery away forever, Zarifrax laughs; the Doomguide simply believes he has gone insane.

Characters

 * Sergeant Knox: A squadron commander for Lord Neverember's guards. As the 'adventurer liason officer', he is the main questgiver in the game.
 * Karzov: An uthgardt barbarian, second in command of the Nashers faction of the Sons of Alagondar.
 * Valindra Shadowmantle: A former member of the Arcane Brotherhood now working ostensibly for the Thayans but chiefly serving her own, occasionally deranged goals. She is an elven lich and primary antagonist during Module 2.