| Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Engine | Electron engine |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release |  September 27 2007[1] October 27 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (NWN2:MotB) is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It is an expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights 2. The game has been designated the codename NX1 by its developers. [2]
The player will start the campaign at level 18. Alternatively the player may import their character from NWN2. If the imported character is less than level 18, the player will be presented with the option of automatically leveling to 18.
The new classes and races may be taken through the original NWN2 campaign starting at level 1.
The level cap has been raised from 20 to 30, allowing for epic level characters.
Two camera angles are now allowed. The first is described as a "3rd Person" over the shoulder type camera where the mouse and keyboard control movement.
The second is described as an RTS style camera view, which allows the player to zoom out and control the characters as though they were units (using shift-click, dragging boxes, etc).
The story for Mask of the Betrayer is set immediately following the events in Neverwinter Nights 2. The main campaign is set in Rashemen near the kingdom of Thay. The Red Wizards of Thay are a driving force behind the campaign story.
Shortly after defeating the King of Shadows, the player found himself painfully lying inside a warded stone circle in an unknown cavern far from Neverwinter, not sure of how he arrived there. The shard in player's chest has been torn out. Immediately after the player's awakening, Safiya, a Red Wizard of Thay, appears and asks to escort the player to Lienna in the nearby town of Mulsantir. While heading out of the cave, they were confronted by various spirits who were disturbed by the player's presence. While player was initially weakened, he is able recover his strength during a strange discourse with a wolf spirit. During this discourse, an monstrous entity bursts out of the player's body, devours the wolf spirit, and replenishes the weakened player. Immediately before leaving the cave, player defeated Okku, a bear spirit god who resided inside the cave.
After arriving at Mulsantir, Safiya identify herself as an instructor at the Academy of Shapers and Binders. She explains that her mother Nefris, who is also the headmaster of the Academy, instructed her to bring the player to Lienna. They learned that Lienna works in the Veil, the local theatre. Much to their surprise, the Veil is under attacked by Red Wizards from Safiya's Academy. Defeating numerous hostile Red Wizards and venturing into the back room of the Veil, the party found a portal leading to Shadow Mulsantir in the Plane of Shadow. This plane of existence contained a shadow reflection of the Prime Material Plane. In the shadow Veil, player encounters Khai Khmun, an instructor at Safiya's school. Khai has just killed Lienna and tells Safiya that Araman, a master instructor, has started a revolt at the Academy and that Safiya's mother Nefris has perished. With player's help, Safiya defeats Khai and other Red Wizards who attacked the Veil.
Upon returning to the Prime Material Plane and exiting the Veil, player's party is confronted by the witches of Mulsantir. Witches are the authorities of Rashemen. They informed player that Okku the spirit god has brought an army of spirits to fight the player outside the city gate. After mustering enough companions, player's party confronts Okku and defeats Okku's army. After his second defeat, Okku reveals that the player is a spirit eater, a cursed being that hungers for and devours feys and elements. If the player ignores this hunger, he will ultimately be consumed by it himself.
After defeating Okku, the witches of Mulsantir release the Veil workers who were under their protection and custody. Madga the manager of the Veil gives player a key to a room in the shadow Veil. In that room, player finds four portals. While examining the portals, player meets a group of gargoyle like creatures. They reveal that their master Lienna ordered them to kidnap player from the Sword Coast. They also reveal that Lienna got this idea from the Sleepers. The Sleepers are the hag oracles of the Slumbering Coven located on Lake Mulsantir east of Mulsantir.
Arriving at Lake Mulsantir, the location of the Coven, player realizes that it is nothing but a sunken ruin. Waited for nightfall, player's party finds a portal leading to the Plane of Shadow just like in Mulsantir. In the shadow Coven, player found many beings from various realms queuing to consult the Sleepers. Player manages to become first in line to meet the Sleepers after dispatching all other visitors either peacefully or violently. However much to player's dismay, the hags perceive spirit eaters as threat and do not allow the player to meet the Sleepers. As such, they traps player's party in the Skein, a place where the hags banish those they despise. Player's party manages to escape Skein and consult the Sleepers against the will of other hags. Sleepers reveal that Lienna and Nefris are both involved in his current dilemma. At the end, the Sleepers told player to search the the Academy for Nefris' motive.
Arriving at the Academy using a portal in the shadow Veil, player found that the Academy is mostly under Araman's control. While guards and some of the students would attack player's party on sight, some of the faculties and golems would still assist the player's party. Soon after arriving, player learns that Araman is trying to scour every inch of the Academy ground for the Founder of the Academy. A door in Nefris' room still remain sealed to Araman. However, player's party is able to open this door with hints left behind by Nefris. Araman and his cohorts confront player as he opened Nefris' sealed door. Araman leaves the player be, while his cohorts engaged player's party.
After killing Araman's cohorts, the player's party venture through the door and find themselves in the Boneyard on Astral Plane. In that plane, the player's party meets Myrkul. Myrkul is the former god of dead who is supposed to have died after losing his power. Myrkul reveals that the spirit eater condition is his punishment for Akachi the Betrayer who started the First Crusade. The player received the condition after he was placed in Okku's barrow. Now Akachi's soul resides inside player's body and player's own soul is on the Wall of the Faithless in Fugue Plane serving Akachi's place. Player may also learn that Myrkul's true intension is to use this as a tool to sustain his power after losing his place. Myrkul also informs player's party that the Astral Plane connects two locations of the Academy, and during the conversation, Araman has lead a group of his follows through to hunt for the Founder.
After tailing Araman and defeating him, player's party meets the Founder. After meeting the Founder, Safiya immediately realizes that Lienna, Nefris, the Founder and she are splinters of the same soul: the soul of Akachi's lover. The Founder reveals that while Lienna, Nefris and she all knew their identity, this was hidden from Safiya for her own safety. The Founder also admits that she is responsible for player's suffering because she wishes to free Akachi from the punishment. The Founder returns the Sword of Gith to the player, which is the key that can open the Betrayer's Gate that leads to Wall of the Faithless and the Fugue Plane.
With the Sword of Gith, the player is able to open the Betrayer's Gate and travel to the Fugue Plane. There, the player must choose to either lead or oppose an attack on the Wall of the Faithless. At The Wall, the player meets Kelemvor Lyonsbane who allows the player to retrieve his soul from The Wall.
The player then enters a dreamscape where he must battle Akachi's avatar, The Faceless Man for control of his soul.
Kelemvor then narrates the ending, which changes based on the player's choices throughout the game.
Five companions are featured in Mask of the Betrayer, although only four may be acquired in any given play-through. Also, three companions at any one time can be brought along with the player character.
Also, should influence be raised to a suitably high level, each follower can grant a unique blessing to the player character through conversation.
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Mask of the Betrayer features all of the races from Neverwinter Nights 2, as well as introducing the wild elf, half-drow, and genasi.
There are four Genasi races representing the four elements, air, earth, fire, and water. "...basically humans with a touch of the elements." [3] All the genasi have the following racial traits:
In addition the particular elements have special abilities as follows:
Earth Genasi make a particularly powerful weaponmaster, due to their unique status of having a +2 to strength without an associated -2 to intelligence (intelligence being needed for the Combat Expertise feat).
In Mask of the Betrayer, the half-drow has been added as a playable race. Half-drow act as normal half-elves with darkvision instead of low-light vision.
The wild elf has all of the standard elf features, except as noted:
Mask of the Betrayer will contain 2 new base classes and 5 new prestige classes.[4] The game will retain Neverwinter Nights 2's limit of 4 classes max per character [5]
The following new monsters have been confirmed:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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