Neverwinter Nights Neverwinter Nights ( NWN ) , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames ( now Atari ) , is a third - person perspective computer role - playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons rules , set in the Sword Coast , centering around the City of Skilled Hands , Neverwinter . An expansion pack , , was released in June 2003 , and a subsequent expansion pack , was released in December 2003 . In October 2005 , , an expansion pack that includes three new modules was released . On October 31st ( US ) / November 3rd ( EU ) , 2006 a sequel , Neverwinter Nights 2 , was released . Description . Play centers on the development of a character that becomes the ultimate hero of the story . In the original NWN scenario supplied with the game engine , the player is single - handedly responsible for defeating a powerful cult ; stopping an insatiable plague ; thwarting an attack on the city of Neverwinter , and many other side quests . The first and final chapters of the story in the official campaign deal with the city of Neverwinter itself , but the lengthy mid - story requires the player to venture into the countryside and then northward to the city of Luskan . Neverwinter is a city on the Sword Coast of Faerûn . It is part of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting . Plot . The story begins in 1372 DR with the player character being sent by Lady Aribeth to recover four monsters needed to make a cure for the Wailing Death , a plague that is sweeping the city of Neverwinter . With the help of Fenthick Moss , Aribeth ’ s love interest , and Desther , Fenthick ’ s friend , the player character is able to retrieve the monsters . As he is collecting these monsters , he is attacked by mysterious assassins from the cult that is behind the spreading of the plague . As the cure is being made , Castle Neverwinter is attacked by Desther ’ s minions . He takes the completed cure and escapes the castle , with the player character and Fenthick in pursuit . When they catch up to Desther , he surrenders after a short battle . Desther is sentenced to burn at the stake , and Fenthick , despite being unaware of Desther ’ s true intentions , is sentenced to hang . The player character meets up with Aribeth and they begin searching for the cult responsible for the plague and the attack on Neverwinter . With the help of Aarin Gend , Neverwinter ' s spymaster , the player character retrieves diaries of dead cultists and letters from a person named Maugrim , which convince Aribeth that the cult ' s headquarters are in Luskan . Aribeth goes ahead to Luskan , and the player character follows after speaking once more to Gend . After arriving in Luskan , the player character hears rumors that Aribeth is joining with the cultists . These fears are confirmed when he finds her meeting with Maugrim and Morag , Queen of the Old Ones . They seek magical relics called Words of Power . The player character retrieves all of the Words of Power except for one , held by the cult . He discovers that the words open a portal to a pocket world inside the Source Stone , where Morag and the other Old Ones are . He confronts Aribeth , and depending on how he handles the meeting , she either surrenders to the player character or he is forced to kill her . He then confronts Maugrim for the final word . He uses the words to enter the Source Stone and battle with Morag . After Morag ' s death , he escapes the stone as the world inside it implodes . Gameplay . The actual game is lengthy ( original NWN has three CDs , while the expansions each add one CD ) . Following a small prelude , there are four " chapters " in the original game , with each chapter consisting of a general storyline ( the first chapter , for example , deals with a mysterious plague in the city of Neverwinter ) , and within each chapter , there are many quests , subquests , and mini - storylines . The game ' s actual mechanics are based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition rule set – most important actions ( fighting , persuasion , etc . ) are based on a die or dice roll . Multiplayer . The robust multiplayer component separates Neverwinter Nights from previous Dungeons & Dragons games , as there are many servers for players to choose from . Each server , depending on hardware and bandwidth , can support up to 72 players or more in the same module . NWN game modules run as a variety of separate genres and themes , including persistent worlds ( which are similar to MUDs ) , combat arenas ( player versus player modules ) , and simple social gatherings similar to a chat room . The campaign included with the game can be played with friends , for example , or a team of builders can build a virtual world similar in scope and size to commercial MMORPGs . The big difference is that BioWare insists these persistent worlds be free of charge . Many persistent worlds are still actively run with updates and improvements . Servers can be linked together as well , allowing the creation of large multi - server worlds . Two early examples include A Land Far Away and Confederation of Planes and Planets . Because Neverwinter Nights lacks a global chat function aside from the supported Gamespy , players typically join " pickup " games through the game ' s multiplayer interface , or schedule games in advance with friends . Matchmaking sites , such as Neverwinter Connections , facilitate scheduling of games , and the experience is much like traditional Pen - and - Paper roleplaying games . Persistent worlds do this work for them by inviting players to visit their website and continue to roleplay there . Custom content . Neverwinter Nights ships with the Aurora toolset , which allows players to create custom modules for Neverwinter Nights . These modules may take the form of online multiplayer worlds , single player adventures , character trainers or technology demos . Additionally , several third party utilities have further expanded the community ' s ability to create custom content for the game . Custom content creators are known as builders in the Neverwinter Nights community . The Aurora toolset allows builders to create map areas using a tile system ; the appearance and surface textures of the area are defined by the area ' s selected tileset . Builders can overlay placeable objects onto areas , and use the built - in scripting language NWScript to run cut scenes , quests , mini - games and conversations . NWScript is based on C + + . Third party utilities allow builders to create custom content for most aspects of the game , ranging from new playable races and character classes to new tilesets , monsters and equipment . Custom content is added to the game in the form of hakpaks . Builders have used the Aurora toolset in combination with hakpaks to create playing experiences beyond the scope of the original campaign . Despite the game ' s age , the Neverwinter Nights custom content community remains active . The Aurora toolset is not available for the Linux and Macintosh versions of Neverwinter Nights . The open source project never number of prestige classes the original game had . It also adds dozens of epic spells , and many normal spells that make better use of Bioware ' s Aurora engine . These include : Teleportation , Transposition , Mazes , Summoning Houses and more . As well , psionic powers have been included , which are essentially spells , but done with " power points " , akin to the sorcerer class . This " expansion " can be found at nwn - prc . com , along with documentation . There are many excellent additions to the game , however , portions may have bugs , so beware . Premium modules . In late 2004 , BioWare launched its online store and started selling what it called premium modules as part of its digital distribution program . This initiative was spearheaded by BioWare ' s Live Team Lead Designer , Rob Bartel . Though technically not expansions , these smaller - scale adventures introduce new storylines and gameplay . They often include new music and art that BioWare claims will be integrated into future patches and updates to the core game . The most recent patch , 1 . 69 , includes a great number of the art and music that you find in the premium modules . According to BioWare , the revenue generated is used to support their fan community and provide ongoing updates and improvements to the popular game . Unfortunately the modules that are sold for download require internet access to play even though they are single player only . The modules in the Kingmaker expansion were stripped of this requirement but are only for Windows . The modules included with Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition do not require Internet access to play . Sequel . A sequel to Neverwinter Nights , Neverwinter Nights 2 , was developed by Obsidian Entertainment , a company which had long been working with BioWare . According to BioWare , the change of developer is due to BioWare ' s business with other titles , such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age . The game was released in late 2006 , and is set around the city of Neverwinter and the Mere of Dead Men . Index . Notable characters . Aribeth de Tylmarande • Klauth • Maugrim Korothir • Morag • Nasher Alagondar Notable locations . Regions : Sword Coast North Settlements : Beorunna ' s Well • Charwood • Luskan • Neverwinter • Port Llast Landmarks : Fort Ilkard • Green Griffon Inn • Helm ' s Hold Geography : Cold Wood • Moonwood • Spine of the World Ruins : Charwood • Illusk Notable creatures . bugbear • creator race • goblin • dragon ( green , brass , blue , gold , red ) • giant ( hill , fire ) • nymph • ogre • orc • slaad • troll • werewolf • yuan - ti Notable organizations . Arcane Brotherhood • Church of Helm • Church of Tyr • Elk Tribe ( Uthgardt ) • High Captains of Luskan • Order of the Many - Starred Cloak • Ship Baram • Ship Kurth