Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
System: PC
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Teen
Designers: Bioware
Publisher: Atari
Price: $29.99
Rating: 9 of 10
Review by Brutilus
Following the fall of mighty Undrentide, your name and the tale of your deeds
spread like wildfire. Everywhere you went, you were met with a hero's welcome.
Soon, you discover that this is due in no small part to a kobold bard named
Deekin. His book garnered widespread praise and popularity.
Somehow, you never saw so much as a copper for any of the hundreds of copies
of the book that have sold.
With your fame waning and your wanderlust growing, you receive a message from
the city elders of Waterdeep. They aren't specific as to the nature of their
emergency, but they sound desperate.
 So, pack in hand, you head off for adventure once more...
Overview
The Neverwinter Nights saga continues in grand fashion in the second expansion, Hordes of the Underdark. With a storyline equal to the original Neverwinter Nights story,
Bioware has a new hit on their hands.
Hordes of the Underdark provides an epic-level adventure for your characters from Neverwinter Nights & Shadows of Undrentide. Characters must be a minimum of 15th level to begin Hordes. If your character has not yet reached level 15, it gives you the necessary levels automatically.
 Six additional prestige classes have been added. They include Pale Master (arcane master of the undead), Shifter (shape-changer extraordinaire), & Red Dragon Disciple (powerful & wise carriers of dragon blood).
All existing prestige classes have been upgraded to include epic-level characteristics. These can include increased hit dice, new feats, and new class abilities.
There is also a bonus for players who are pack rats. There is a shop in the second chapter that allows you to build your own magical weapon and armor. By holding on to as much gear as possible until this point, you can build a small fortune as the 5000 gold cap on the sale price of items is lifted in this area.
New monsters, tile sets, skills, & feats are included as well, but the story is the shining gem in this expansion...
A Tale of a Fateful Trip...
 In Forgotten Realms (the setting for Neverwinter Nights), Waterdeep was a rather large and cosmopolitan city. Being the location of the mad wizard Halaster's treasure-filled labyrinth of death, the Undermountain, Waterdeep has become a center of trade and learning for those who wish to make their fame and fortune in the Undermountain. Most of these fools don't survive, and of those that do survive, few come out whole.
Unfortunately, the monsters seem to have lost control and are now invading the city. Halaster's influence and control seems to have disappeared altogether and the entire city is a war zone.
 Your character is brought in to settle the matters of the rampaging monsters and Halaster's disappearance. This quest leads you into a war amongst the Drow (dark & evil elves), through the plane of Hell reserved for betrayers & mutineers, and into direct confrontation with a major demon.
Bioware ties in the original tale of Neverwinter Nights through your interaction with several of the original available hench-beings as well as a certain lovely, yet tormented soul.
 This is the first foray into the Outer Planes by Bioware. I found them accurately represented and well described to the uninitiated in the mysteries of the Planes of Hell.
In the current socio-political climate, it's surprising that the folks at Bioware and Wizards of the Coast pull no punches when talking about unsavory extraplanar beings and places. I would advise anyone desperate to keep their children's mind's free of such sacreligous ramblings and ideas to keep them far away from this game as it will undoubtedly lead them down the dark path to Satan.
(Of course, I don't expect any of those kinds of narrow-minded people to be reading this article, but better safe than sorry.)
 The developers spent quite a deal of time bringing to life the character of Nathyrra, a drow who comes to your aid in the Underdark. The only other character Bioware spent this much time building up was that of the Lady Aribeth de Tylmarinde from the original story.
The conversations can be a bit long, but much of the plot is meted out during your conversations. I haven't finished Hordes yet, but even after a solid 15 hours of gameplay, I'm still excited by the prospect of playing and finding out where the story will lead.
Summary
This expansion offers you one Hell of a ride. It provides an excellent story and enough new enemies to make it worth the 30 bucks.
New characters, classes, and abilities offer plenty of new challenges and opportunities to both new and returning players.
Once again, Bioware has done a magnificent job!
Get in the adventure by buying your copy of Neverwinter Nights:
Hordes of the Underdark at Amazon.com.
All images are property of Bioware. Article copyright 2004 MillionairePlayboy.com
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