Campaign Spotlight: Heartstone Saga

Thanks to Greywolf McGrowler for answering questions about the campaign!

What is the inspiration for the development of your campaign?

That kinda requires a long answer, but it all started about 10 years ago when Everquest first came out. There was a group of people of about 12 or so that wanted to start some player made quests that were made by players for the players. The project was called the Heartstone Saga. We had our own website and a few sponsors that backed the project. It involved at least a few guilds, spanned a few servers, and included lots of stories and quests that were put together by those that were involved in the Heartstone project.

Well after some time we found it more and more difficult to do the things we wanted to do. The GM's could only help us very little to none at all. So slowly more and more key members of the project started to leave till I was the only one left. I kept it going as long as I could, but as just myself it just took too much of my time. So it ended altogether about 3 years after it all began and I just became another player in the world of Norrath.

Finally, NWN came out, and I was just thrilled. I could now tell the story, create the world and the quests of the Heartstone Saga the way it was supposed to be.

What is the Setting?

The setting is in the world of Toril (Forgotten Realms). Somewhere in the Moonshae Islands. You come by boat into a small town by the name of Heartridge that you soon find out has been cut off from most of the other towns on the island by goblins. The goblins usually don't cause much of a problem, but lately they seemed more organized and are up to something.

It all comes down to an epic creature of evil rising up that could change everything in the world as you know it.

I thought I would go with the world of the Forgotten Realms since it was the D&D type world I grew up with.

Can you give us an overview of the campaign?

This is the third time I've ran the campaign since NWN came out. The first time was kinda a trial run cause I really didn't know what I was doing since the game came out. Imagine the first map 32x32 with everyone running around fighting and setting off triggers doing this and that. It wasn't pretty at times, but I changed it after the first week. The first campaign was more like a world up on Gamespy three to four days a week with a DM a few hours each day. It ran for about 3 months before it was all said and done.

The Second time the campaign was ran was in 2004 - 2005. That time I started to put the story into chapters and make a module for each chapter. I also began using Neverwinter Connections to sign up for my campaign instead of just waiting for people to join from Gamespy. The Heartstone Saga is a seven chapter campaign though at that time it only lasted for five of those chapters due to my life changing (baby being born).

Then earlier this year I had a few people ask if I thought of doing the campaign again. The biggest factor was I lost all my modules from Chapter three to seven due to my hard drive going bad, and if I redid the campaign I would have to recreate those five modules. After thinking about if for a couple of months I went ahead and started it up one last time.

Currently the campaign is on chapter two of the story which any new players start out at level 3 and can get as high as level 7. I use some of the features of the HCR (HardCore Rules), like bleeding before death., and resting restrictions. Each chapter handles death a little different. It starts as a respawn at the first chapter and gets harder as the story progresses to finally permanent death.

We play at least once a month so it gives me time to create the lost chapters making them better than before with the stuff that is out now. The game sessions usually last about 2 ½ hours, sometimes longer if I can manage to schedule it on the weekend or near a holiday.

Any Slots available for your Campaign?

Currently there is one opening, and I'm always looking for new players for the campaign. I like to have at least 4, and the most I call for is 6. There have been times that I have had 6 people signed up with one alternate, but come time for the game I always end up with at most 5 people. So if you see that the game is full don't be afraid to sign up as an alternate.

I always keep the game open application and I don't mind people that just come and sign up just for one game session. I think that if there is room come on in and join up. It may be what you're looking for in a game, or it may not be. In the long run I favor those that like to bring a bit of their character in the world with some background. Those that like to do a little bit of die rolling and roleplaying, but not afraid to just go out and kill something now and then.

Those interested send a message through Neverwinter Connections message system to Greywolf McGrowler and I'll send you a link to the next available game session.

Is there somewhere players can go for more information (website, Neverwinter Connections, NWN Campaigns, etc.)?

For more information on the campaign you can go to the Forum which tells you everything you want to know about the campaign and what has happened so far:
http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewth...

Does the campaign use any custom content (such as haks)?

The only custom content I use is the CEP version 2.1c which I think most people already have.

What is your background with D&D and/or NWN/NWN2?

I first started playing D&D about 20 years ago with a bunch of friends of mine. Though for some reason I was always the DM. I didn't mind at all cause I loved being the DM and to be able to create a story and a world to go along with it. My campaign lasted for about 3 years and what happens to all groups is people move on with their lives to other things.

I then joined the Navy and did a bit of D&D here and there. The Navy only lasted for about 4 years. Then I moved on to mostly CRPG. Then Ultima Online came out. One of my first MMORPG's which I helped run a guild in there. Then soon afterwards EverQuest came out and joined a guild and the Heartstone Saga Project. Then onward to NWN.

Can you describe your philosophy about what factors make a campaign enjoyable?

I would definitely say it's all up to the players when you're DMing a campaign. Beyond that I think it's how immersive the world and story is. Now when I say it's all up to the players, it's how they roleplay and what kind of a background they have for their character. If they say they are a prince from a dwarven kingdom then he could get some help later on from his father the king, or he might have some bandits or assassins after him for his head. Though if your character has no background, or you don't roleplay much for your character things may get kinda bland.

Now I talk a lot about a character's background which I think is important. Reason is in my campaign it changes or helps move the story. An example would be a simple quest I may have is to go kill the Shadowblade LT. Now someone gives me a background that I could use the shadowblades (a thief/assassin guild) to coincide with their background and that player ends up being captured and now has to be rescued. Now another player gives me yet another background that asks for a secret organization that her character might be interested in joining. I add the secret organization and now there is a spy in the Shadowblade who frees the player who got captured. In the end the quest asks for them to kill all the thieves in the area so the spy can continue his infiltration of the Shadowblades without the leader knowing that it was he that freed the player. Then the players get a short conversation from him (The DM) to find out what he has discovered while he infiltrated the Shadowblades to give the players a chance to learn more of the story or perhaps answer some questions.

Why is campaign play enjoyable, and how is different than other ways of playing NWN/NWN2?

I think what makes a campaign more enjoyable is you're a part of a story, and not by yourself, but with other people. You build and you grow and shape the story yourself and what the DM has to offer as the story moves along. It all comes down to an intriguing background from your character that slowly unfolds the more you play in the campaign. It may not be the main part of the epic storyline, but it helps move you along to get you there.

Do you have any suggestions for a new player looking to join his or her first campaign?

All I can say is if you see something that interests you then by all means send a message to the DM asking if there is room or if there will be an opening soon. In my campaign there has always been room for another person.

Another thing is always have some kind of a background for your character. DM's always enjoy having someone that puts forth a little time in creating background information on where the character came from or how they got to be where they are now.

Do you have any suggestions for someone looking to start or build his or her own campaign?

One of the things I've learned over the years is when you DM a campaign, always listen to the players. Your campaign is as much theirs as it is yours.

Now when building your own campaign then one thing I can tell you is it takes a LOT of time to do ( I hear even more so with NWN2). One of the first things you could do to help get started is get a prefab area from the NWN Vault and just build on to it.

Are there any tools, downloads, etc. that you find particularly helpful in campaign play?

There are two I've found useful in my campaign and that is the DMFI. I don't know how I would get by without it. The other is Lilac's Soul's Script Generator. It really helps make a lot of common scripts in the world. It can't do everything you may want to do in scripting, but it can help you do most of it.

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