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, with additional content updates (called Modules) releasing every few months thereafter.

The game deals with the aftereffects 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 Dwarven King questline for Module 8, Underdark, was written by R.A. Salvatore.

The Battle of Sleeping Dragon Bridge
Washing up on the beach in 1479 DR after their ship was sunk by the dracolich, several adventurers were thrust into battle against Valindra's undead minions while trying to reach the relative safety of Neverwinter's walls. The adventurers were joined by Private Wilfred, a Neverwinter graycloak, who was killed by Valindra when he attempted to confront her directly on Sleeping Dragon Bridge. Meanwhile, a tiefling warlock named Makos dispatched the dracolich and used his magic to prevent its soul from returning to its phylactery to regenerate. For their valor in defending the city against the undead, the adventurers became known as the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge.

The Crown of Neverwinter
During an investigation of the vaults beneath the Hall of Justice, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge discovered 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 they saw stealing the crown with another Nasher, clues pointed to a Nasher base in the Blacklake district. The heroes found the Blacklake District to not only be overrun with Nashers, but covered with a magical sludge that was bubbling up from the Blacklake itself. The heroes aided an alchemist in investigating it, ultimately confirming that it originated with a Chosen of Ghaunadaur living in the lake. After dispatching the Chosen, the heroes continued searching for the other thief and eventually discovered he had been kidnapped by the Dead Rats. Down in the sewers beneath the city, the heroes located the other thief, Gothwan Cooper, who claimed that his leader Karzov left him to die - gladly giving up Karzov's location in exchange for his life. The Nashers set fire to their safehouse when the heroes arrived and Karzov escaped to their headquarters, an old warehouse. The heroes followed and killed Karzov, bringing the Crown back to Protector's Enclave.

Orc Invasion
After clearing out some kobolds that have been boiling up from the sewers, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge were informed that some orcs from Many-Arrows had invaded the Tower District. While battling the orcs, the heroes learned that their leaders were operating from within the Cloak Tower. After killing the orc shamans maintaining the tower's magical wards, the heroes entered the tower and defeated the Many-Arrows' leader, Vansi Bloodscar.

The Spellplague
Dorothea Linkletter, wife of Neverwintan soldier Josef Linkletter, was spellscarred and prone to transforming into a monster when emotionally distraught. Despite the Protector's Law demanding all spellscarred citizens to be sent to Helm's Hold, her husband had been hiding her at home. A wizard named Rhazzad providing medicine to keep her sane and under control, but her condition was worsening. To keep her out of Helm's Hold, Rhazzad asked the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge to escort Dorothea through the sewers to his tower for more direct treatment. Sergeant Knox of the Neverwinter Guard understood Josef's actions, but was suspicious of Rhazzad and his motives.

He sent the heroes to investigate another wizard who had been working with Rhazzad - Tualo the Bright - but upon reaching Tualo's home, the heroes encountered foulspawn emerging from his house and attacking people. Inside, Tualo's apprentice told them that a ritual scroll given to his master by Rhazzad had opened a portal to the Far Realm. After closing the portal, the heroes hurried outside to inform Sergeant Knox of Rhazzad's true allegiances, but it was too late: Rhazzad had sacrificed all of the spellscarred people that he had kept out of Helm's Hold to fuel a deadly magical explosion, setting parts of the city ablaze with plaguefire. A full assault was ordered on Rhazzad's tower before he could complete whatever plans he had for the Spellplague energy. Against orders, Josef Linkletter rushed ahead of the main force and was transformed into a massive foulspawn by Rhazzad, who intended to use him as a testbed for his own transformation. Josef was subdued by the heroes and managed to regain his sanity alongside his plaguechanged wife, while the heroes confronted Rhazzad. They learned that 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
Years earlier, a pair of pirate brothers from Luskan, Malus and Traven Blackdagger, had set up a bandit kingdom north of Neverwinter. The Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge were put in contact with a local Harper cell to put a stop to the Blackdagger Bandits, who operated out of the ruins of the former Cragmire noble house and were disrupting trade along the High Road. The heroes started by putting a stop to the bandits' shipwrecking operations along the coast, leading to a meeting with Melkhor Goldseeker, who had recently opened some mines and unearthed some ancient ruins. The Blackdagger Bandits had kidnapped his niece for ransom and took over his mines. After rescuing Goldseeker's niece, the Harpers put the heroes in contact with their spy in the bandits' ranks, allowing the heroes to track down both Malus and Traven Blackdagger - revealed to have been transformed into undead by the Thayan necromancer Kallos Tam - and destroy them, putting a stop to organized banditry along the High Road and earning the friendship of the Harpers.

Necromancers in Neverdeath
Undead had begun rising out of their graves in Neverwinter's graveyard, leading the Doomguides who watched over the graveyard to call upon the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge lest they be overwhelmed. The heroes discovered that the Red Wizards of Thay were 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. Though he succeeded in raising the creature, the heroes quickly dispatched it.

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 laid siege to the cathedral, but with little success.

The Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge 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 had watched over the Ebon Downs burial grounds. Then one day 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 help of the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, 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. As a result, their former brethren, who had turned to the worship of Shar, began hunting them down under Netherese orders. In addition, the Netherese sought to raise the ruins of the floating city of Xin'kar. With the help of the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, the Netherese were 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. The earthmote was 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 old band of sky pirates, captained by Bartholomew Blackdagger, had tried to capture the black dragon Garrundar the Vile and failed spectacularly. When they fled back to their earthmote, Garrundar followed them and made it his new lair. After taking control of the lizardfolk that lived there, he wove a powerful spell that cursed the pirates into undeath and bound them to the earthmote. With Company Yargo's help, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge 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 surviving Icehammer Dwarves, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge slew Hrimnir and destroyed the Winterforge.

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 eventually came to be guarded by Scar Company, made up of those spellscarred citizens of Neverwinter who chose to a life of service instead of the Helm's Hold Sanitarium. The Order of Blue Fire took a particular interest in the Chasm, claiming large swaths of it in the name of their mysterious new master. Alarmed by this, Scar Company - whose ranks now included Josef and Dorothea Linkletter - called upon the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge to descend into the depths of the Chasm, fighting plaguechanged creatures and blue fire cultists alike. As the heroes 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge.

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 to the heroes: 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 heroes.

Castle Never
Having grown considerably in strength since their last encounter with Valindra, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge set out to finish what they started at the beginning of their adventure. Entering Castle Never, which had been taken over by the lich, the heroes battled through armies of undead and some of Valindra's most powerful servants. Though they succeeded not only in retaking the castle but also destroying the dracolich Azharzel, Valindra eluded them.

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 and a blue Orb of Dragonkind with which to control it. Malabog's dark fey army quickly overran much of New Sharandar, and even corrupted a moon elf named Celadaine. With the aid of the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, 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 renegade 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 help of their allies, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge defeated the Thayans and finally destroyed Valindra herself.

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 the 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge were 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge hampered their efforts, the Cult 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.

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 heroes 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 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge destroyed Vilithrax, the Cultists got what they wanted from Saphirax: the location and activation sequence for the 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge 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 Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, Harpers, Zhentarim, 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 Severin and the rest of the summoners were slain, the heroes 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.

The Tree of Elemental Balance
When Archdruid Morningdawn of the Emerald Enclave arrived in Neverwinter with word of a new threat rising in the Sword Coast, Lord Neverember took it seriously. With his permission, she erected the Tree of Elemental Balance to guard the city of Neverwinter. She explained that the currents of elemental forces had changed in such a way to cause dangerous concentrations of the elements, and that the tree would allow her to stabilize the flow. However, someone or something was interfering. The Emerald Enclave had reporting a building pressure of earth and water in the Ebon Downs, and while the great warrior Minsc had volunteered to investigate Morningdawn believed that more than his zeal would be needed and asked the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge to go with him. Deep in a cave within the Ebon Downs, Minsc and the heroes found cultists of elemental earth and water creating concentrated manifestations of elemental energy known as elemental seeds. When they brought the earth and water seeds back to Morningdawn, she concluded that the disturbance she felt was due to these elemental cults, who were apparently trying to create elemental nodes - two-way conduits to one the elemental planes.

She planted the seeds beneath the tree, dissipating their energy and easing the balance, then asked them to continue on to Pirates' Skyhold, where Zhentarim agents had noticed some suspicious individuals disguised as monks. Their suspicions were proven accurate, as Minsc and the heroes discovered them to be cultists of elemental air and fire seeking to create more elemental seeds. Though the cultists swore to destroy Neverwinter with a devastation orb, they were eliminated and their seeds of fire and air brought back to Archdruid Morningdawn. She explained that a devastation orb was essentially elemental energy held in stasis until unleashed in a devastation earthquake, firestorm, tidal wave, or whirlwind. As the heroes once more planted the seeds beneath the tree, the elemental cults - tired of their interference in their plans - attacked Neverwinter. Together, the heroes and Minsc fought them back. Though they retreated, they were far from defeated, and Archdruid Morningdawn tasked the heroes with eradicating the cults' presence along the Sword Coast.

The Drowned Shore
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 Heroes 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 heroes 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 the primordial enough to grant Gar a devastation orb, with which the cult could have created another tidal wave. In saving her, the heroes had in truth saved thousands.

Reclamation Rock
Meanwhile, following the death of Rohini, the Black Earth Mercenary Company had offered to help defend the reclaimed Helm's Hold, even going so far as 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 Heroes 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.

The Fiery Pit
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 by the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, who delved deep into Gauntlgrym. They discovered that the cultists had created a fire node, and intended to awaken the primordial Maegera to 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 heroes 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.

Spinward Rise
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, followers of Yan-C-Bin called the Cult of the Howling Hatred had allied with a family of cloud giants to erect a series of floating towers known as Spinward Rise. Disguised as a place of contemplation and learning, they lured many scholars and aesthetics before their true nature was revealed. Clerics of Shandakul, allied with the Harpers, the Emerald Enclave, and a clan of aarakocra, led an assault on Spinward Rise. There, they discovered that the cloud giants and cultists were creating devastation orbs, which they planned to unleash on cities all across the Sword Coast. After foiling their plans with the aid of the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, though, their encampment came under siege by a massive force of air cultists, cloud giants, and slaadi. At its head was the prophet Aerisi Kalinoth - the winged elf leader of the Cult of the Howling Hatred - but even her power was not enough to achieve victory, as both she and her cult were destroyed.

Module 7: Strongholds
When an abandoned keep was discovered northeast of the Neverwinter Wood, the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge claimed and fortified it against attacks by orcs and dragons, using it as their base of operations within the region.

The Dwarven King
The Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge were approached by Captain Belgold of the Neverwinter Guard, asking them to check out a mysterious fire at a nearby farmstead as they did not have the manpower to do so. There a terrified farmer told them that the drow had attacked in the night and killed his family. He was the only one to escape, and he set the windmill on fire to signal for help. The heroes slew the drow, but when they found the bodies of the farmer's family drained of blood in the basement, they realized they were facing not just drow, but vampires. When the heroes emerged from the farmhouse, they were met by Thibbledorf Pwent, who decided to check the place over while the heroes reported back to Captain Belgold. Belgold was glad the vampires had been dealt with, but remained suspicious of Pwent.

Belgold sent out some scouts, who reported back that Pwent had been seen attacking Ashmadai camps in the Neverwinter Wood. He asked the heroes to help finish off the Ashmadai, but also to see what information they could learn about Pwent's connection to the drow. The heroes met Pwent just outside the Ashmadai camp, who told them that the Ashmadai were controlling the vampire drow from the farm. Together they fought through the Ashmadai until they reached their leader, who claimed that the drow were actually Pwent's minions, and that someone named Candelaria would pay well for the battlerager's head. The heroes defeated the Ashmadai leader, but Pwent denied his claims and told them he was returning home to Gauntlgrym. Captain Belgold was less convinced, believing that Pwent must be connected to the vampires somehow.

Belgold sent the heroes to Gauntlgrym, where they found Pwent fighting off a band of Ashmadai. He told the heroes that the Ashmadai had stolen the helm of Bruenor Battlehammer, whose grave he was sworn to protect, and promised to "kill 'em to death in battle!" As they continued through the tunnels, they saw a number of disabled constructs. Pwent said he and Bruenor believed Moradin himself made them to protect Gauntlgrym, and remarked that when their quest was over he'd have to find a way to repair them. Further in, they encountered a number of vampiric drow who claimed that Pwent no longer controlled them, but Pwent continued to express ignorance. When they at last reached the throne room, they encountered Candelaria, a red wizard of Thay. When Pwent moved to kill her, though, she instead used Bruenor's helm to take control of his mind and forced him to attack the heroes while she fled. They battled him until he regained his sanity, at which point he confessed to them that he was undead; he fell in battle beside Bruenor a hundred years ago when a vampire slit his throat, but rather than kill him, the vampire turned Pwent into a vampire as well. Pwent eventually regained control of himself and continued protecting his king's grave, turning drow into his vampiric minions to help defend Gauntlgrym. Unfortunately, Candelaria and her Ashmadai minions recently appeared and turned the drow against him. The heroes agreed to track down Bruenor's helm, then returned to Captain Belgold to tell them what they had discovered.

Belgold's scouts soon located Candelaria's lair within Mount Hotenow, and the heroes wasted no time traveling there. Within the depths of the volcano, they faced down and slew the red wizard, reclaiming Bruenor's helm. Pwent was overjoyed at its return, and decided to place it on the Throne of the Dwarven Gods to let the power of Moradin, Dumathoin, and Clangeddin Silverbeard cleanse any lingering corruption Candelaria's magics might have left on it. Though the vampiric drow were still on the loose, he was confident he could deal with them. Belgold was less confident, though, and sent some scouts to keep an eye on the vampiric battlerager.

In the meantime, he had another task for the heroes. A member of the Neverwinter Guard - a dwarf named Bonnego Battleaxe - had recently gone missing in the foothills of Vellosk, after leaving without orders. With reports of orcs in the region Belgold couldn't spare enough soldiers to safely investigate, and asked the heroes to bring back word of Bonnego's fate. The heroes found Bonnego as a prisoner of the orc chieftain; he thanked them for the rescue, and said he'd be returning to reclaim the rest of his gear after healing up a bit. Belgold thanked the heroes for bringing him back, and told them that he'd chewed the dwarf out for going to Vellosk on his own.

Captain Belgold was worried that Bonnego planned to go off on an adventure regardless of what he said, and so asked the heroes to keep an eye on him; Bonnego was a good soldier, and Belgold didn't want to lose him on some reckless personal quest. Bonnego told the heroes that while his weapons were replaceable, the orcs had also stolen an important map that he needed back. Together, they journeyed to a nearby cave and battled through the Many-Arrows orcs dwelling within until they located Bonnego's map. They also found a number of documents suggesting that the orcs were planning a big raid, which they delivered to Captain Belgold. Belgold thanked them for keeping Bonnego safe, but feared the map would just lead him on another adventure.

Belgold soon got word that the orcs and their ogre allies had attacked the town of Shallow Waters at the edge of the Neverwinter Wood, and sent the heroes to aid in its defense; Bonnego had already headed out to defend the town himself, against orders as usual. Together they fought through the burning streets, killing the orcs and ogres and rescuing the citizens of Shallow Water. When the battle was done, Bonnego invited the heroes to join him on a quest he was preparing to undertake. Back in Neverwinter, Captain Belgold rewarded them for saving Shallow Waters, but confessed his unease about Bonnego's quest.

A short time later, Belgold told the heroes that Bonnego had resigned from the Neverwinter Guard to go on his quest. He was worried about what would make Bonnego throw away everything he had earned, and promised to reward them well for ensuring his safety. Bonnego told the heroes that the map led to the Throne of the Dwarven Gods within Gauntlgrym; when they told him they'd already been there, he appointed them as his guides. When they arrived below Gauntlgrym, they found their way blocked by ghosts iron constructs who deemed them unworthy of entry. Undeterred, Bonnego and the heroes destroyed them and pressed forward. One of the ghosts, upon his defeat, recognized Bonnego as his king. He confessed that they had failed to defend Gauntlgrym, and were driven mad by something lurking within the Underdark. When they reached the throne room, Bonnego sat upon the throne but was hurled off by some unknown force. Bonnego had little time to question why Moradin had rejected him, as they were suddenly beset by hordes of vampiric drow. They continued fighting them under Thibbledorf Pwent arrived, having mistaken them for graverobbers. Upon seeing Bonnego, however, he claimed that he had failed his king, and that he could not serve as a vampiric dwarf. Pwent then ran off over Bonnego's objections. Bonnego admitted to the heroes that he was in truth Bruenor Battlehammer, and that he had hoped to reclaim his throne. He didn't know why it rejected him, but he wanted to find out. Asking the heroes to keep his true identity a secret, they reported back to Captain Belgold that Bonnego was simply trying to clear the evil within Gauntlgrym and honor the name of Bruenor Battlehammer. Belgold understood his reasons, and hoped that perhaps their actions would be the key to finally reclaiming the city.

Bruenor eventually came to the conclusion that the throne rejected him because Pwent, his only loyal follower, was lost. In order to claim the throne, he would first need to save the battlerager. Together with the Heroes of Sleeping Dragon Bridge, Bruenor descended deeper into Gauntlgrym, fighting past a number of drow that had taken over the lower halls. When they found Pwent, he was surrounded by drow, their priestess ordering him thrown into a pit. Bruenor and the heroes leaped to his aid, but with her dying breath the priestess summoned a Nalfeshnee that knocked the two dwarves to the ground before going after the heroes. Though they quickly dispatched it, Pwent had disappeared. Vowing to save Pwent someday, Bruenor returned to the throne room. Though he had not saved Pwent, Moradin knew he truly desired to, and Bruenor was at last able to take the throne.

Rage of Demons
Before the heroes departed Gauntlgrym, Bruenor asked them to find Regis at the Driftwood Tavern in Neverwinter and tell him of Bruenor's return. The heroes found not just Regis, but Drizzt Do'Urden as well. Drizzt told them of an immense demonic invasion of the Underdark; though he didn't know the details yet, he did know that Demogorgon, the Prince of Demons himself, was part of the invasion. Drizzt intended to gather a force in Mantol-Derith to kill Demogorgon, and had already sent a message asking Bruenor to meet them there. Once they established themselves in Mantol-Derith, Bruenor told the heroes of a powerful tablet in Gauntlgrym that the demons were seeking. He had a Harper friend trying to secure it, but needed the heroes to help protect it from the demons. The heroes fought off a veritable horde of demons emerging from abyssal tears, until the Harper was able to decipher the tablet and learn that it contained the location of a powerful artifact that the demon lord Fraz Urb'luu sought. Bruenor decided that the first thing he would do upon returning to Gauntlgrym would be to destroy it.

There were more immediate problems to deal with, though. Not only were demons invading the surface world all across the Sword Coast, but Gauntlgyrm itself was under renewed attack by demons - this time accompanied by undead mind flayers targeting the Throne of the Dwarven Gods.

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.