Free NWN ex-Premium Module, Darkness over Daggerford

Atari sure didn't win any popularity points when they cancelled the Neverwinter Nights premium module program a few months ago, but at least one of those once-Premium modules has now been released as a free pack, called Darkness over Daggerford. This is a huge, 25-30 hour adventure, crafted by Ossian Studios - a team of professional devs based in Vancouver, Canada, and headed by former BioWare producer Alan Miranda. Here are a few words from Alan about their module:

"Work on Darkness over Daggerford has been going on for a little over a year. It was formerly a Premium Module before the PM program was cancelled. From the initial discussions with the BioWare Live Team, through the various development phases, and to the current phase near final release, it was one of the biggest and best kept secrets in the NWN community. Few people knew about it, and even fewer had played it. It would only be released when we felt it was ready and when we felt confident that its quality level was high enough - that time is now.

Among the many cool things we've developed for the game are a new world map system and a player stronghold system, which will make any player of the classic Baldur's Gate games feel right at home. With these kinds of features, Daggerford should be a perfectly tantalizing lead-in to NWN2!"

There's a full interview with Alan over on BioWare's website, talking at length about Darkness over Daggerford, and also offering this brief list of new features:

- Over 100 new placeables made specifically for the game

- 3 new creatures

- 5 new music tracks by Premium Module composer David John

- 3 new TNO tilesets from DLA

- 1 new lizardfolk interior mini-tileset

- A random encounter system integrated into the world map

- The option to customize your stronghold

- A custom spawning and leveling system for creatures to always ensure the game is challenging for any level of character

- A custom rest system where your character and henchmen require sleep to be in peak form

- An influence system for henchmen

Weighing in at over 200 MB, Darkness over Daggerford is huge enough to stand as its own expansion pack, and fans of BioWare's long lasting RPG are sure to enjoy this free NWN module. To download it, of course, run down to the Vault. Be sure to have both NWN expansions (SoU & HotU) installed, though.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)