The Demonforge - Ch1: The Empty Hand

elfwad

Name: Ch1: The Empty Hand (was Sword of the Drow)
Short code: NW-DPEO4HH48
Type: Story, Combat - Heavy combat, moderate dialog, minor explore
Difficulty: Choose Easy, Medium or Hard.
Players: Solo, or possibly Duo for Hard mode and higher levels.
Time: 15 - 50 min. - depending on familiarity, class, conversation path and difficulty mode.
Features: 3 Conversation Paths for roleplaying and speed-running.
Author: @elfenstein

Description: Yesterday, four Neverwinter citizens went missing. Today, a mysterious drow merchant brings word that they're being held in some caves nearby. Fortunately, she can get you there. Unfortunately, these caves are known to be used for unsavory rituals - Lord Honeybottom and the others are likely in imminent danger. Meet Sgt. Knox at the home of Merchant Meran to help with their rescue.

~ Screenshots ~


Hi-res


Hi-res


Hi-res


Hi-res

elfwad

Version 1.1 update notes:
- The boss area has been redesigned as a temple with walls, stairs, pillars, etc.
- All indoor areas now have custom lighting.
- Some mobs have custom animations (the rest are coming).
- A number of other environmental improvements.

New screenshots are still incoming.

elfwad

VASTLY IMPROVED screenshots have been added to the original post.

elfwad

Waves of adds have been added to the final boss fight in version 1.16 to make it more interesting and challenging.

phoenicianson

I am going to run through your quest today, and post my notes... please reciprocate and run mine: 26 to 35 minutes, depending upon whether you engage in the optional dialogue content. Here is a link:

Fall of the City of Grumura

COMPLETED QUEST:
That was different! I thoroughly enjoyed the playthrough, and I thought that the initial DM NPC who explains the dialogue options was very insightful, as well as the manner in which you structure your dialogue and the response selections.

The difficulty slider was also very intuitive, as it describes what exactly you encounter based on the slider offering a more informed choice.

The use of the ANIMATIONS for encounters was also a nice touch... as well as the names for amost every encounter. I think you should name the encounters in the final chamber as well rather than using non-descript names like, Summoner, just to keep it consistent. The final battle was challenging, and the humor was well integrated. I particularly liked the Dial-A-Fiend chain, very funny.

The only suggestion I have is that I was playing this on my laptop, which is a powerful computer, but it is the middle of the day right now, so the glare was making it very difficult to navigate through the caves. I strongly suggest you consider adding, without impacting the ambient atmosphere, a few more braziers throughout the caves. Especially, the areas where there are cliffs or walls that are difficult to see and navigate around.

Great job, and I look forward to the next installment! Can you please play mine, I provided the link above in this post, thanks! :cool:

elfwad

Thanks for the in-depth review! Much appreciated. I will get to yours as soon as i can.

ephiroll

That was fun. I'm not big on running through caves, especially looking for something, but this wasn't too bad since the objects you looked for were lit pretty good. The encounter names and costumes were well done. The only thing I'd suggest is a bit more detail in the cave to make it look lived in. Good luck with it!