# Review of Neverwinter Campaign Setting by Wizards of the Coast



## Neuroglyph (Aug 25, 2011)

Few regions of the Forgotten Realms have received as much attention over the years as the city of Neverwinter and its surrounding countryside in the North.  Not only has it been mentioned extensively in older edition resources such as *The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier* and *Volo’s Guide to the North*, but it has been a major setting for two PC game series – *Neverwinter Nights* and *Neverwinter Nights 2*.  The computer games, written by Bioware and Cryptic Studios, spawned numerous expansion packs and adventure packs, nearly a dozen products in all, featuring the Neverwinter region as its cetral theme.


When Wizards of the Coast launched the D&D 4E version of the Forgotten Realms, Neverwinter was notably absent in the *Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide*.  Devastated by the Spellplague, and the great city of the North was seemingly written off by the authors of the sourcebook in just one single sentence: “_Port cities north of Waterdeep didn’t fare well in the years after the Spellplague; both Neverwinter and Luskan are now in utter ruin._”


But all this has apparently changed…


Neverwinter is now back in the Forgotten Realms, and riding high on what can only be called an all out, multi-media blitz!  R.A Salvatore has been tapped to write a new trilogy of Drizzt novels, starting with the novel _Gauntlgrym_, with the city of Neverwinter and the surrounding wilderness as a backdrop, not to mention another new novel by Erin M. Evans called _Brimstone Angels_ which is also set in the city.  A new Facebook D&D gaming app _Heroes of Neverwinter_, already in beta, is being heralded as one of the best games to hit the social networking site… ever!  Neverwinter has been featured in a worldwide game day, and is now the star of its own *D&D Encouters* series happening now at gaming stores around the country.


Of course, the centerpiece of all this attention is the recently released Neverwinter Campaign Setting, which finally puts the city of Neverwinter back on the map in the Forgotten Realms.  So the real question remains: _Is all this hype and excitement over Neverwinter really worth it?_

*Neverwinter Campaign Setting*


*Design*:  Matt Sernett (lead), Ari Marmell, Erik Scott De Bie
*Cover Illustrators*: Ralph Horsley (front), Adam Paquette (back)
*Interior Illustrators*: Dave Allsop, Scott Altman, Steve Argyle, Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai, Sam Burley, Chippy, Alberto Del Lago, Thomas Denmark, Jesper Esjing, Steve Ellis, Emrah Elmasli, Wayne England, Mike Franchina, Lars Grant-West, Ralph Horsley, Tyler Jacobson, Mazin Kassis, Howard Lyon, Slawomir Maniak, William O’Connor, Adam Paquette, David Rapoza, Marc Sasso, Mike Schley, Matias Tapia, Franz Vohwinkel, Tyler Walpole, Mark Winters, Sam Wood
*Publisher*: Wizards of the Coast
*Year*: 2011
*Media*: Hardbound (224 pages) 
*Retail Price*: $39.99 ($26.37 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Neverwinter-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958146/ref=as_li_wdgt_fl_ex?&camp=212361&creative=383961&linkCode=waf&tag=neurogames-20"]from Amazon[/ame]) 
 
*Neverwinter Campaign Setting* is a new D&D 4E role-playing supplement which offers detailed information regarding the city of Neverwinter and the surrounding region in the Forgotten Realms.  The book is a mixture of Player and Dungeon Master content, offering both character background options and themes, as well as detailed adventure setting information for DMs to use in running quests and encounters in the setting.


For D&D players, there are 13 new Character Themes for customizing character backgrounds, as well as detailed information on the Forgotten Realm racial variants for dwarf and elf characters.  In addition, there are four new Warpriest domains to add depth to certain Forgotten Realms deities, and a complete new Wizard sub-class, the Bladesinger, inspired by the setting’s 3.5 edition prestige class.


For dungeon masters, there is considerable new information regarding the history of the city of Neverwinter, as well as the factions and enemies plotting to obtain power in the region.  There are over a dozen of these factions, along with more than 30 new monsters, along with _encounter tables_, to assist DMs in creating monster and NPC groups appropriate for each faction.  There is a new monster theme, and a listing of monster traits which can be used to further customize monsters for the region, and create new variants.  And finally, there is an extensive gazetteer of the city of Neverwinter and the wilderness around it, details of Neverwinter’s Shadowfell sister-city called Evernight, along with a double-sided poster map depicting both cities to use at the gaming table.


*Production Quality*


The production quality of the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* is exceptional, with some amazing writing from its authors, and all the new content presented in a logical format which makes it very easy to access for the reader.  The formats used in the presentation are the standard for both character options and information, as well as monsters, and readily usable by D&D 4E players and dungeon masters alike.


The artwork and cartography are equally exceptional, and is plentifully used throughout the book to enhance the material presented by the authors.  The artwork is vivid and evocative, and can be readily used at the gaming table to help illustrate the dungeon master’s narrations.  The maps of Neverwinter and Evernight are beautifully rendered, and unlabeled, allowing them to be used as player props as the characters explore the region.  Smaller, page-size versions of the two maps are found in the book, labeled for the DM to use easily with the contents of the gazetteer.


However, there are two issues I had with the production that must be mentioned here.  First, I personally dislike having player content sitting side-by-side in a sourcebook along with extensive dungeon master content.  The first 85 pages of the Neverwinter Campaign Setting are devoted exclusively to players, while the remaining pages contain mainly dungeon master material for running the campaign setting.  Given that some of the material in the sections on factions as well as the gazetteer would be useful to players as background material for playing in the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting*, I think it would have been far more logical to have created a 125 page player book for players, and a 160 page book for the dungeon masters.  As a player, I don’t know that I would be happy to buy a book that I am only supposed to read about 33% of for my character development, and have to ignore the rest in order not to spoil my gaming experience in the setting.   As a dungeon master, I have no problem buying a book with player content, which I would want to be familiar with if it is used in my game, but I would be constantly worried about my players owning a book which contains pretty much all the secrets of the setting in the latter half of the sourcebook, and is essentially “spoilers” for any plots I plan to use in writing my adventures.


My second issue with the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* is the lack of an index of any kind in the sourcebook.  While the table of contents is certainly useful, the extensive information and content in the faction section and the gazetteer section make an index almost a necessity, and would save a lot of page turning by DMs as they work on creating adventures in the setting.


*The Campaign Setting*


The new material presented in the _*Neverwinter Campaign Setting*_ is extensive, but the authors do a decent job of dividing the contents up into four big chapters:


_Chapter 1: Jewel of the North_ – presents the history of the region before and after the Spellplague, and provides information on running a Neverwinter campaign.
_Chapter 2: Character Options_ – contains the new themes, racial variants, warpriest domains, and the new Essentials character class, the Bladesinger.
_Chapter 3: Factions and Foes_ – discusses the various factions, enemy groups, and threats operating both in the city and across the surrounding region which can be used in adventures for a Neverwinter campaign.
_Chapter 4: Gazeteer_ – details the city of Neverwinter, key locations in the surrounding region such as Helm’s Hold and Gauntlgrym, as well as important notes about the plots against the city, and the threat from the Underdark and Neverwinter’s twisted sister-city of Evernight.
 The first chapter of the book, _Jewel of the North_, is the smallest, and is mainly an introductory overview of the campaign settings features, a broad description of the surrounding area around Neverwinter, and a history-timeline of events in the city and region both before and after the Spellplague.  There is a list of nine key elements which the authors tried to strive for with this campaign setting, and one of them is that the campaign setting is aimed at _low level_ play.


Players can create characters for the setting and expect to move through the Heroic tier as the adventures unfold, although the content can also be used with Paragon tier characters with some modification.  I found this element a bit surprising, given the nature of the threats against the city, many of which come from the Underdark.  The *Underdark* setting was mainly designed for the upper Heroic tier, the Paragon Tier, and the early Epic Tier, and if feels like a major design shift to now make drow, mind flayers, and other major Underdark threats “dumbed down” for Heroic Tier characters.


And another major design shift is to make major villains slayable by Heroic Tier characters as well.  The authors even put a sidebar in regarding their concept to make “Killable Villains”, and remark that many of the threats to Neverwinter can be slain by heroes at the top of the Heroic Tier.  While on one hand I applaud the authors for stepping away from long, drawn out campaign arcs with major villains targeted for encounters in the high Paragon and even Epic tiers, I think that reducing too many of the major threats to Neverwinter to be within the reach of the Heroic Tier cheapens the “scariness” of these monsters and NPCs, particularly the Underdark factions.


The second chapter in the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* comprises _Character Options_, and is the second largest chapter in the book after the _Gazetter_.  The chapter opens with details about thirteen new Character Themes which are intrinsically tied to the city of Neverwinter or the surrounding region.  Written in the new style of the themes as seen in the recent DDI articles, as opposed to ones developed for the _Dark Sun Campaign Setting_, these themes offer set powers at 1st, 5th and 10th level, and then optional utility powers which can be chosen at 2nd, 6th, and 10th.  The character themes are richly detailed, and are designed to enhance a character’s background and history by adding new role-playing details and options.  



Most of these themes are deeply tied to both the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and the Neverwinter setting as well, offering players the chance to explore being a _Harper Agent_, and _Uthgardt Barbarian_, or even a _Renegade Red Wizard_.  A few of the themes are more general, and could be used with minor modifications in the Core D&D setting or in homebrew settings as well.  In fact, I have a player in one campaign that has come up with an interesting adaptation of the _Dead Rat Deserter_ for use with a character who originates in Gloomwrought.  The themes do, however, have extensive tie-ins in the latter two Dungeon Master sections, which allow them to provide adventure hooks and plotlines for both factions and enemies of Neverwinter, but also to certain regions and adventure sites.


Following the themes, the section delves into developing dwarf variants known to the Realms as Gold Dwarves and Shield Dwarves, and provides both role-playing “fluff” for character creation, as well as two new backgrounds and special benefits to individualize the races.  Elves and Eladrin are also given a new Forgotten Realms “facelift”, with two variants for Eladrin – Moon and Sun Elves – and two variants for Elves – Wild and Wood Elves.  Like the dwarven variants, these come with considerable role-playing ideas, new backgrounds, and special benefits to make each variant unique.


Warpriests in the Realms get a big boon in the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting*, with a table assigning specific domains to most of the major FR deities, as well as four new domains attributed to specific gods: Corellon, Oghma, Selune, and Torm.  The new domains are very well developed, and offer warpriests of those deities a variety of new and interesting powers.  I also like that several different Realm’s deities share the new domains, even though they are attributed to a particular god.  For instance, Bahamut and Garl are allowed to use the Torm Domain, which offers a bit more variety of protective spells.  On the other hand, dome deities such as Kelemvor and Tempus are just assigned the Death and Conquest domains respectively, which is common sense, but it’s nice to see a chart making “official” recommendations, especially for Essentials players new to the Forgotten Realms setting.


The Bladesinger rounds out the chapter, offering a new Essentials Wizard sub-class based upon the classic D&D prestige class from the Realms.  The Bladesinger is an arcane controller like its parent class, but has a few unique spells with a _Bladespell_ keyword, such as _Dancing Fire_, _Dazzling Sunray_, and _Frost Bite_.  In addition to some very unique spells, and class powers, Bladesingers gain the ability to take Wizard Encounter attack powers as Daily Powers in their spellbook, which can be changed after an extended rest.  This gives the class increased versatility, as well as a huge array of attack powers, and makes for a fairly potent controller who can also mix it up in a melee.


Chapter 3 discussing in great detail the wide variety of _Factions and Foes _that characters will encounter in the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting*.  The forces at work around the city and in the surrounding countryside range from political factions looking to control the city itself, to more dire threats from the Underdark, Netheril, Gauntlgrym, and Thay.  Some factions might start out threatening or at least neutral, but might later become allies, while other factions are thoroughly evil and will always be enemies of the city, and therefore the characters.  



Each faction entry includes plenty of background and role-playing information which can provide adventure hooks and plotlines for the campaign.  In addition, many factions include new monsters and NPCs which can be used to form encounters against the party of heroes.  And I really loved that the authors made specific tables of “monsters” for each faction, providing dungeon masters with a list of creatures, their level, and their source from which to create encounters appropriate to the quest they are working on.  For instance, if a party were to find themselves fighting against the rebels known as the _Sons of Alagondar_, a typical 4th Level encounter might use Town Guards (Level 3 Soldiers from Monster Vault), Dwarf Bolters (Level 4 Artillery from Monster Manual), and Raven Roost Harriers (Level 4 Skirmishers from Monster Vault: Nentir Vale) to make up a band of typical rebel rowdies.  The encounter tables make monster and NPC choices fast an easy, saving prep time or allowing him to “wing”  an encounter at the table.  Certain factions also come with powers to add into existing monsters to make them more akin to the faction, and there is a full blown new monster theme, _Plaguechanged Monster_, which can make ordinary critters into nasty ones with only a couple of additions.


Several of the factions also include theme tie-ins, allowing a DM to make automatic plots and adventure hooks relating from the faction (or foe) directly to a character using a new Neverwinter theme.  These tie-ins the authors make are great for getting the characters right into the action, and I think it was a brilliant way to link DM and player content together.  On the other hand, because much of the information regarding factions should not be well-known to the player-characters, it is a bit troubling that it is contained in a book that is one-third player content.


The final chapter of the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* is by far the largest, and like the chapter before it, be off-limits to players in order to avoid spoilers running the campaign.  The _Gazetteer_ contains a massive amount of information about the city of Neverwinter, as well as the surrounding countryside and special locations, such as the dangerous Underdark locales beneath the city, the strange happenings at Helm’s Hold, and the many secrets lurking deep in Neverwinter Woods.  There is information about major adventure site in all these locales, along with adventure hooks and potential encounters and plots.  Other adventure sites include the volcano Mount Hotenow and the ancient dwarf hold Gauntlgrym, with extensive descriptions, theme tie-ins, and potential quests there.  In many respects, the _Gazetteer_ and the _Factions and Foes_ make the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* into a gigantic adventure setting as well, not unlike *Vor Rukoth*, released last year.  



I should point out that the (in)famous drow, Drizzt and Jarlaxle make an appearance in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, and can offer characters who meet them a unique opportunity: grand master training!  Both of these weapon masters offer specific martial maneuvers to qualified heroes – at a price, of course – using the variant rules for _grandmaster training_ in the _Dungeon Masters Guide 2_.  For many players, having their character receive training with these iconic characters would make for an incredible and memorable role-playing experience.


Possibly one of the most fascinating pieces of the _Gazetteer_ was the connection of the city of Neverwinter to the Shadowfell, by its dark sister city of Evernight.  The authors give plenty of material regarding this nasty place, which is teeming with undead, and it plays a rather important role in one of the major plotlines within the Neverwinter setting involving both the Shades of Netheril and the Thayans!  Of course, gamers running a Gloomwrought campaign in the Shadowfell might also want to include Evernight as part of their setting, or use it as a way to bring in elements of the *Neverwinter Campaign Setting*.


*Overall Score*: 4.1 *out of* 5.0

*Conclusions*


The *Neverwinter Campaign Setting* is definitely a great new product for D&D 4E gamers, and it offers a ton of new content for fans of the Forgotten Realms setting.  The authors present a very complete campaign and adventure setting, designed in such a way that it give a great big “sand box” for DMs and players to explore.  The setting concentrates on providing a lot of role-playing material surrounding the many factions in Neverwinter, and offers a wide range of adventure styles, along with intrigues and plot twists, allowing Dungeon Masters to create a variety of adventures and encounters which best suit their players.  Players also have a wealth of new character development material, allowing for some very interesting new character concepts, backgrounds, and personal histories, all steeped in the lore of the setting.  



However, despite the many good points, I still have my personal misgivings regarding the mixing of player content with a book that contains a vast amount of DM information – much of it spoiler material if players read it – and the trend by the authors to put “training wheels” on Paragon Level threats from the Underdark and other sources to allow Heroic Tier characters to conquer them.  Overall, however, the Neverwinter Campaign Setting is a solid piece of work from Wizards of the Coast, and is so packed with new content, it’s priced to sell and well worth adding to any 4E gamers book shelf.


_So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!_

*Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)*


*Presentation*: 4.25
- Design: 4.0
- Illustrations: 4.5
*Content*: 4.0
- Crunch: 3.5
- Fluff: 4.5
*Value*: 4.0


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## R_Chance (Aug 26, 2011)

*Nwn2*

Just one thing; Neverwinter Noghts 2 was developed by Obsidian and published by Atari, not Cryptic Studios.


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## R_Chance (Aug 26, 2011)

Ahem. That's Neverwinter Nights 2, not "Noghts" It wouldn't let me edit the post. And it's still an Obsidian game


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## S'mon (Aug 28, 2011)

At $26 it's well worth getting.  At the more than £27 I paid amazon.co.uk I felt pretty ripped off, though!


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## Dedekind (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks [MENTION=85633]Neuroglyph[/MENTION] for putting the time in to write this. It definitely increased my interest.


However, I was a little surprised at your number score considering how generally positive you were about the content. It looks like "Crunch" really brought down the score. Was that mainly your disapproval of the Killable Villains design? Or did I miss some other points?


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## Retreater (Sep 2, 2011)

I picked up a used copy for $14 and thought I overpaid. Looking through it, I can find little to recommend. It seems a collection of undeveloped and uninspiring adventure hooks. Even the crunch seems a little off...like the dwarven racial background that trades off weapon proficiencies for a shield proficiency that most classes would already have anyway. (Reminds me of the Pathfinder Advanced Players Guide that gimps a character class for a minor flavor benefit.)


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## Neuroglyph (Sep 2, 2011)

Dedekind said:


> However, I was a little surprised at your number score considering how generally positive you were about the content. It looks like "Crunch" really brought down the score. Was that mainly your disapproval of the Killable Villains design? Or did I miss some other points?




Yes, exactly, my main issue with "crunch" was how major Paragon and Epic Tier content has been vastly scaled down to make it accessible for low level Heroic Tier adventurers.  Drow, aboleth, and other Underdark horrors were in the 8-12 level range in AD&D, and that's when the game had only 18-20 levels!  Those threats were, IMO, correctly interpreted in the Underdark setting as mid Paragon and low Epic Tier content.  But suddenly Neverwinter comes out, and we have a Mind Flayer Elder Brain at 9th level.  That's a massive restructuring of game content, and I felt needed to be be reflected in a lowered crunch.

[MENTION=42040]Retreater[/MENTION] - I'm not sure exactly what you would consider to be an inspired and developed adventure hook, but I guess you were looking more for a module than a campaign setting.  From what I've seen on Twitter feeds, alot of DMs have found amazing inspiration from the adventure hooks, and I tend to agree with them.  I think the beauty of the hooks are how they fit together and interact across the city and region, and that they allow a DM to scale the content for their party.  Of course, as previously mentioned, the more detailed content is scaled to Heroic Tier, with stat blocks for villains and monsters falling in the 8-11 Level range, and I'd personally rework some ooks to keep them in the Paragon Tier - like most of the Underdark ones!


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## Zaran (Sep 2, 2011)

I totally agree about the index!  What is a sourcebook without a way to look up specific items?   I think WotC should always ask themselves "Does it need an index?"  If the answer is "Yes" then it's a good sourcebook.  I still have fond memories of the FR box set with it's fine index and huge amounts of info.


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## fletch137 (Sep 3, 2011)

Can you tell me more about the adaptability of the content?  It sounds like it's all really good, but I don't play Forgotten Realms.

Would I be able to lift the content completely out of Toril and drop it into Nerath somewhere?  Could I even take the content and say that, instead of being Neverwinter, it's actually Fallcrest?


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## BoGGiT (Sep 9, 2011)

Dedekind said:


> However, I was a little surprised at your number score considering how generally positive you were about the content. It looks like "Crunch" really brought down the score. Was that mainly your disapproval of the Killable Villains design? Or did I miss some other points?




How is 4.1 a low grade?


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## Neuroglyph (Sep 9, 2011)

BoGGiT said:


> How is 4.1 a low grade?




The reference was to the low grade was the 3.5 I gave in the Crunch category.  Given that these are the guys that make the game, the expected score would have been 4.5 to 5.0 in crunch.

While what they did have was solidly crunchy, I knocked off a point or so for drastically changing the power level of certain Paragon Tier monsters.

Hope my explanation helps.


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