Neverwinter Nights 2 Neverwinter Nights 2 ( NWN2 ) is a computer role - playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by . It is the sequel to ' s " Neverwinter Nights " ( NWN ) . Where NWN was based on the " Dungeons & Dragons " 3rd edition rules , NWN2 is based on " Dungeons & Dragons " 3 . 5 edition rules ( also known as the Revised 3rd Edition ) , changed to adapt to real - time gameplay . It was released in North America on November 1 , 2006 . Reviews of " Neverwinter Nights 2 " have been generally positive . Gamespot and IGN both rated the game favorably . Official campaign . Comparable to the first NWN , gameplay starts by creating a character . Options include choosing the character ' s gender , race , class , appearance , and name . The player can also customize statistics and abilities . The official campaign in NWN2 provides a pool of 12 NPCs who would join the player ' s party . In addition , the player can now gain or lose influence with party members , which will dictate outcomes to certain quests or even set strife inside the party . The crafting system from the original " Neverwinter Nights " has been revised , and players can now craft weapons , shields and armor , mix up potions , or create magical items with special " workbenches " scattered in towns and shops . Players will also be able to acquire a stronghold during the course of the campaign . The game ' s locations include the city of Neverwinter , a new village named West Harbor , and the Mere of Dead Men . New NPCs include Jalboun of the Two Blades and the King of Shadows ; Lord Nasher Alagondar returns from " Neverwinter Nights " . The official campaign is set around the city of Neverwinter , although it will not be a continuation of the NWN campaign . It has been stated that a character playing through the official campaigns of NWN and its two expansion packs will have reached around level 30 , so there is little that will be a credible ' challenge ' to those players . In the NWN2 campaign , players start from level 1 , and there is a level 20 maximum and the option to multiclass the player ' s character up to 4 classes ( 3 regular classes in addition to 1 prestige class ) . The official fact sheet says : Plot summary . Prelude . The main plot of " Neverwinter Nights 2 " centers around a powerful force of evil named the King of Shadows and an artifact that can ultimately defeat the arch - foe . The protagonist starts out as a resident of the tiny village of West Harbor , which long ago served as a titanic battleground where the King of Shadows was thought defeated by most . The player character ' s fate is intricately tied to this historical battle , where the character ' s parents were killed , resulting in the infant character coming under the foster care of the elven ranger Daeghun . As the game begins , these events are long in the past , and the infant has grown to a young adult , never having left West Harbor . Act I . The plot kicks off with the sudden invasion of West Harbor by extraplanar creatures called Githyanki and their hordes of minions . The Githyanki seem to be searching for something , and through cryptic exposition by the player character ' s foster father Daeghun , we are given to understand that there is something special about a particular silver shard found years ago at the King of Shadows ' defeat , and that this object should not fall into the hands of the planar creatures . Daeghun sends the protagonist away from West Harbor with the silver shard , ostensibly to remove the object of the invaders ' search from the village and thus prevent any further invasions . The player character , the " shard - bearer " , embarks on a journey from West Harbor towards the city of Neverwinter , where Daeghun ' s brother possesses a similar silver shard , which might hold the answers as to why these shards are so important . On the way to Neverwinter , the player character needs to go through a number of minor quests , and during them meets the first three companions - - Khelgar is a dwarven fighter who wants to become a monk , Neeshka is a self - interested tiefling rogue , and Elanee is an elven druid discovering that evil is spreading over the land and destroying her druidic circle . These three will be the player ' s only ( and mandatory ) companions until the party reaches Neverwinter , at which time the player gains more control over the party composition . Ultimately , these early quests are completed to such a point that the party arrives at Neverwinter and talks with Daeghun ' s brother Duncan , which moves the plot forward by introducing a number of minor plot elements , most importantly the necessity of talking to Aldanon the Sage , who might be able to divine more about the nature of the silver shards . Unfortunately , Aldanon lives in a quarantined district , and in order to gain access , the player has two plot avenues open - - choosing to join the City Watch , or to work with the thieves ' guild . Both routes have a number of minor quests before access is gained to Aldanon . During the Watch / Guild quests the party continues to be pursued by the Githyanki and their minions who wish to retrieve the silver shards , and additional NPCs / potential companions are introduced and join the party . Eventually , the party works their way through to Aldanon , and discovers that a key character to unlocking the secret of the silver shards is one Shandra Jerro , a farm - woman the party met briefly on a minor quest prior to Neverwinter . The Githyanki , however , are one step ahead , kidnapping Shandra and using her as bait to lure in the player character . This sets the stage for the final confrontation of Act I , where the party ventures to the Githyanki lair to save Shandra and defeat the Githyanki once and for all . In this final confrontation it turns out that the silver shards are fragments of a powerful weapon , and it is discovered how the player character is tied to the shards in a very special way . With the Githyanki defeated once and for all , Shandra rescued , and a greater understanding gained of the silver shards and the player ' s part in them , Act I concludes . Act II . Some weeks later , Shandra joins the party , as it has been decided that since she still holds a key to unlocking some further mysteries regarding the shards , she remains in danger , and she will be safer with the party than without them . She becomes a mandatory party member for most of Act II , expanding the party size to five - - the normal party of four , plus Shandra as well . This act is perhaps the least combat - intensive of the three acts . With the Githyanki threat routed , a new enemy now becomes evident - - a more insidious one , as the Luskan ambassador to Neverwinter , one Torio Claven , frames the player character for the massacre of a Luskan town . By low justice , a commoner accused of such a crime would be extradited to Luskan to face trial in that evil city , but the authorities of Neverwinter concoct a plan for the protagonist to become the squire of a Neverwintan knight , thus becoming subject to high justice and able to hold trial in Neverwinter . A significant part of Act II is taken up by non - combatant investigation as the party gathers evidence to prove the protagonist ' s innocence , leading up to a very lengthy trial sequence heavy with social skill rolls . The investigation and trial sequences heavily showcase the party member Sand , a sarcastic intellectual elven wizard who for personal reasons takes enjoyment in foiling the Luskan framing plans . Torio ' s scheming is ultimately undone , the protagonist is cleared , and the plot moves on to chasing down Torio ' s master , the evil wizard Black Garius who is in league with the King of Shadows . The party barely manages to interrupt a ceremony where Garius planned to betray the King of Shadows and take the evil entity ' s power for his own . Garius is thus defeated - - seemingly so , at least - - and the protagonist is awarded Garius ' stronghold , Crossroad Keep , by the Neverwintan ruler Lord Nasher , making the player character a landed noble . Continuing with Act II ' s emphasis on non - combat matters , the protagonist goes on to spend significant time rebuilding the keep and pacifying the lands around it . Act II then races towards a conclusion , with Garius and his minions Torio and Lorne all defeated . Shandra ' s subplot now picks up , as the party heads to a hidden stronghold of Shandra ' s ancestor Ammon Jerro , where Shandra ' s blood should theoretically open the way into the haven , where answers could be found regarding the silver shards . In a way , this indeed works , however upon entrance into the haven , Shandra is separated from the rest of the party , and discovers the haven to contain a number of trapped demon s . This climactic sequence features Shandra , guided by the suspiciously altruistic demons , discovering her ability to teleport within the haven , and trying to learn to control it . At the same time , the party races against time to try to make their way to Shandra before the demons get what they want out of her and the proverbial shoe drops . Alas , the party instead runs into the master of the haven - - Shandra ' s ancestor Ammon Jerro , whom the party may assume to be working for the King of Shadows . The confrontation turns volatile , with the party fighting Ammon , who is at the peak of his power within the haven . He is about to slay the party , when Shandra chooses to free the demons who were Ammon ' s power source . Bereft of vast power , Ammon becomes vulnerable , flees from the party , and slays Shandra in retribution , only realizing that she is his descendant when she is already irrevocably dying . Act II concludes with Shandra ' s death scene at Ammon ' s hands , and Ammon subsequently surrendering to the party once he realizes what he ' s done . Act III . Act III picks up with the party ' s composition finalized . Many party members are in shock from Shandra ' s death , and some desire vengeance upon Ammon Jerro , however this cannot be fulfilled as Ammon has completed a ritual which makes his presence mandatory if the King of Shadows is to be defeated . Thus , Ammon takes Shandra ' s place as a party member despite most peoples ' loathing for him . The main antagonist of this act is the King of Shadows himself . A darkness is spreading across the land , undead minions rise , forming a growing threat , and this final act consists of recruiting help against the King of Shadows . Improving Crossroad Keep , finding allies and convincing them to join arms against the King of Shadows are the main thrusts of Act III . Ultimately , after enough power - gathering quests have been done , the enemy lays siege upon Crossroad Keep and has to be rebuffed . With the siege defeated and the enemy ' s army on the run , it is finally time to take the battle to the King of Shadows himself . Armed with the reforged Silver Sword of Gith , the protagonist and the entire party invade the dark stronghold of the King of Shadows , where the entity is finally confronted . Some ill - treated party members might be enticed by the King ' s offers of power and might turn on the party during the final battle , and even the protagonist himself or herself may be tempted to join up forces with the darkness . Whether light or darkness ultimately prevails , depends on the protagonist ' s choices in this last encounter . Races and subraces . The following races and subraces appear in the official campaign : Companions . Companions are listed in the order in which they join the party . Index . Notable characters . Black Garius • Fenthick Moss • King of Shadows • Nasher Alagondar • Nolaloth Notable locations . Realms : Illefarn Regions : Sword Coast North Settlements : Arvahn ( ruins ) • Ember • Fort Locke • Highcliff • Neverwinter • Port Llast • West Harbor Landmarks : Crossroad Keep • Vale of Merdelain • Weeping Willow Inn Geography : Duskwood • Glowstone Caverns • Mere of Dead Men • Mount Galardrym Notable creatures . bear • black dragon • bugbear • crystal dragon • demon ( balor , imp , succubus ) • dire wolf • duergar • dwarf • elf • fire giant • ghast • ghoul • githyanki • githzerai • gnome • goblin • golem • lizardfolk • lizardling • ogre • orc • pixie • shadow • shadow reaver • spider • spirit • tiefling • troll • umber hulk • vampire • wolf • zombie Notable organizations . Bonegnasher Clan • Church of Lathander • Church of Malar • Church of Tyr • Circle of Blade • Circle of the Mere • Clan Ironfist • Cult of Arval • Eyegouger Clan • Many - Starred Cloak • Red Wizards of Thay Features . Game client . As with the original NWN , NWN2 supports multiple players . Players are able to control parties with up to 3 non - player characters . The party system has been revised to include ' companions ' rather than ' henchmen ' . Claims for character creation include advanced character customization , scaling of characters and monster , and deeper equipment customization . The game supports subraces in addition to the primary races . Static 2D portraits have been replaced with 3D avatars . All of the base classes from NWN are present , and the Warlock base class has been added . Characters can choose up to four classes , up from the three supported in NWN . One of the four classes is reserved for a prestige class . All prestige classes from NWN are present in NWN2 except for the Shifter . New prestige classes include Arcane Trickster , Neverwinter Nine , Shadow Thief of Amn , Warpriest , Duelist , and Frenzied Berserker . More closely following " Forgotten Realms " terminology , Champion of Torm has been renamed Divine Champion and Harper Scout is now Harper Agent . Characters are limited to 20th level . NWN2 provides some form of support for many of the deities based on characters alignment , race and class . NWN2 has a more complete crafting system based on appropriate skills than NWN . This system can be used to customize the visual appearance of weapons and armor , but only when the item is created . Exclusions . The following features are not in the initial release . It remains possible that some or all of these features may be added in future expansion packs .