For the Player
This section contains links and information primarily for those playing, or wishing to play, Neverwinter Nights. This game can be played as a single player game, and/or a multiplayer game (over LAN and the internet). Any questions not answered here can usually be quickly gained at the NWN forum.
Quick Jump:
Installation: Critical Rebuild Patch
Installation: Various Operating Systems
Character Basics
How To: Play Online
How To: Install Extra Content
Links: Community Sites
Links: Common Hak Packages
Links: Game Enhancements
Links: Miscellaneous NWN Materials
Links: Community Sites - There are multiple web sites out there that offer a wealth of additional information and content for Neverwinter Nights. Each of these sites has something different to offer and are worth a look.
The Neverwinter Vault - THE new place to go to download new single-player modules, game enhancing overrides, hak files, character portraits, and practically anything else for NWN. A backup for the old Vault and a spot for new content.
NWNWiki - A great source of information for all features of the game, from class features to feats to spells to NWN creature statistics and beyond.
NeverwinterConnections - Find a regularly scheduled or DM's game to join.
Neverwinter Nights Facebook Group - A spot for those that enjoy both Facebook and NWN.
Neverwinter Nights Podcast - This podcast, running from 2006 to 2014, featured NWN, NWN2, and the later Neverwinter MMO. Lots of entertaining history here.
Critical Rebuild Patch - This file may be needed to update your installation of NWN to the most current version (1.69) and fix any possible missing resources. Just download the correct file for your installation and run it:
Windows:
NWN + SoU + HotU: If Hordes of the Underdark is installed
NWN + SoU: If Shadows of Undrentide is installed, but Hordes of the Underdark is not
NWN: If neither expansion is installed
Linux:
NWN + SoU + HotU: If Hordes of the Underdark is installed
NWN + SoU: If Shadows of Undrentide is installed, but Hordes of the Underdark is not
NWN: If neither expansion is installed
Mac:
NWN + SoU + HotU: If Hordes of the Underdark is installed
NWN + SoU: If Shadows of Undrentide is installed, but Hordes of the Underdark is not
NWN: If neither expansion is installed
Alternate Language (non-English) 1.69 Patch Files::
Polish (HotU)
Spanish (HotU)
German (HotU)
Installation: Various Operating Systems - Neverwinter Nights is an older game that was originally designed to run on systems using Windows XP (and later, Mac and Linux). It can be run on newer systems with other operating systems (such as Windows 7 and Windows Vista), but the installation methods may be different. The links below should provide some guidance.
Windows 7 / Vista: Installing NWN1 for Win7/vista including patch links for all OS
Linux: [Linux] Install Diamond Edition + 1.69 Update + NWMovies
Mac: [MAC] Mac NWN FAQ or [MAC] NWN WinToOSX Wrapper
Windows XP: This is the default system used. Just run the installer from the disk or the downloaded version. You may need to run the critical update after installation.
Character Basics - Neverwinter Nights uses many of the 3rd Edition rules from the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game. If you are not familiar with D&D, you might want to briefly read through this basic Character Creation Guide.
How To: Play Online - One of the greatest features of Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is the ability for any player with an internet connection to join an online game. This can be in the form of playing a LAN game together, playing one of the original campaigns together, or (most popular) joining an entirely new server/world (often called a Persistent World, or PW) being run by one or more people. Even those using a basic dial-up connection can get online and play on someone's server.
To connect to one of the many online servers:
1) Open your NWN game as a player.
2) Click on the "Multiplayer" button.
3) You will be asked to enter a player name and password. This player name is usually used on any server you log into. Type in your info, then click "OK".
4) You may get a message saying the game can't connect to the Master Server. That's ok, just continue.
5) Click the "Join Internet Game" button.
6) The game will connect to GameSpy and should begin loading a list of servers. You can pick from different servers by clicking the categories (such as Story or PW Action) on the left side of the screen.
--- Note: GameSpy stopped supporting NWN in December 2012. Your "history" and "favorites" tabs will still link to servers you've played on, but the other lists will be empty. The NWN community has a workaround/fix for this (NWNCX 0.2.7 and later fixes this). In the meantime, you'll need a new server's IP address so that you can "direct connect", which can usually be found on that server's website. ---
7) Click on a server name. You can then get the Server Details or Connect.
- - Many servers require that you have specific extra files downloaded (hak files and/or tlk files). These should be listed in the server details.
8) Create a character and start exploring!
LAN/Shared Connection Play: If multiple people are playing on a LAN or via a shared internet connection (perhaps via a router), each will need their own CD keys. Each will also need to modify their NWN/nwnplayer.ini file using a simple text editor: under "Profile", look for the line that says "Client Port=5121", and increase this port number by one for each additional player on the LAN/shared connection (5121, 5122, 5123, etc.).
Playing Online with NWN from gog.com: If you purchased your copy of the game from gog.com, you will likely need to request a unique CD Key from GOG. For security, many online servers link a player's unique CD Key and their username, which prevents another player from logging into that original player's account (and characters). The original download from gog.com includes a generic CD Key that is used to activate the software, but this generic key is the same for all that purchase it from gog.com.
If you purchase your copy of NWN from gog.com, you can visit this support page, then follow the instructions to get a unique CD Key emailed to you that will enable you to log into servers that require it.
Picking a Server to Play On:
There are many, many different servers available to play on. Most feature different regions or game worlds, or emphasize different play styles (such as strict "role-play" (in character actions/talk only), pure "hack and slash" (straight up combat with no worries about pretending to be a character), and even "social" (where players are there mainly to interact with other players, even if it's not adventuring). It may take some time and exploration to find a server that fits your particular tastes and play style...and you may find that style changes as you play the game over time.
There are multiple sources for finding different servers (besides just logging into the game). Some suggestions:
BioWare NwN 1 Persistent Worlds & Multiplayer Forum:
Advertising and discussions about persistent worlds (PWs) on the BioWare forums. A listing of current PWs is kept at the top of the forum.
Neverwinter Vault Gameworlds Category:
Listing of various gameworlds at the Neverwinter Vault.
Scry:
A list of active servers shown at nwnlist.com.
NWNWiki Gameworlds Category:
List of gameworlds, hosted at NWNWiki.
Google:
Do a search for "nwn pw", "neverwinter nights pw", "nwn server", "nwn persistent world", and other similar terms.
Highly recommended reading for players both new and experienced: The Role-Player's Guide to Multiplayer Neverwinter Nights (by Gruush)
How To: Install Extra Content - While playing NWN, a player may find that some modules and worlds require the use of specific extra content (such as module files or hak files), or a player may wish to change aspects of the game experience (such as with alternative GUI colorations). All such files need to be downloaded, then saved to specific locations:
.mod files need to be placed into your NWN/modules folder - these are the actual adventure files
.hak files need to be placed into your NWN/hak folder - these contain all sorts of additional content for a module or server
.bmu files go into your NWN/music folder - these are music files used by module builders
.tlk files go into your NWN/tlk folder - this type of file contains text data, used by new spells and other filters. If you do not have a NWN/tlk folder, you'll need to create one for new .tlk files.
.bik files go into your NWN/movies folder - these are movie files, typically used at the start or finish of certain modules
.bic files go into your NWN/localvault folder - these are player character files. Some modules may have the player in the role of a particular character (like many more "structured" games), and a .bic file is the method used for this.
portrait files go into your NWN/portraits folder - these are for player character portraits in single player and multiplayer modules. Other players need to have the same files on their computer if they want to see any custom protrait your character may be using. If you want new portraits, try this Custom Portraits Guide.
"overrides" go into your NWN/override folder - these most often include files for GUI alterations or player-side visual updates (such as creature model updates or tileset retextures). It is recommended that only files for "art resources" (textures and models) be placed into this folder, otherwise there may be unintended problems with the game.
Notes on NWN file names:
* In NWN, "mod" is short for module, which is the file that contains an adventure or world, the area layouts, the creature information, the quests, and anything else layed out or designed in the toolset.
* The NWN "hak" is a specific type of file that contains additional content that adds to or modifies the default content of the game (such as creature models, sounds, weapon models, and even area tilesets (landscape files)). It is not a "hack" in the traditional sense.
Links: Common Hak Packages - There are several large hak file packages that have been developed over the years by various members of the NWN community. Many modules and servers use these. If you plan on checking out multiple servers, it's a good idea to download and install these once, so that you do not have to download them again each time you try a different server. Hak packages do not affect play in modules or servers that do not specifically use them.
Community Expansion Pack (CEP) - A compilation and updating of countless community-made additions (such as creature, object, and visual effect models), plus many additional features.
Community Music Pack (CMP) - A compilation of multiple music files that allows more variety in custom module sounds.
Community Tileset Pack (CTP) - A compilation and updating of many high quality additional tilesets (for game area layouts)
Project Q - A collection of upgraded and additional visual content for the game (such as creature models, weapon models, textures, and inventory icons)
How To: Common Hak Package Installation (simple instructions and links for CEP and Project Q)
Links: Game Enhancements - The Neverwinter Nights game allows players to install alterations and enhancements to many game components. These can range from alterations to specific creature models to GUI changes to alterations of scripted behavior or game engine behavior.
Neverwinter Nights Client Extender (NWNCX) - Software alterations that improve the player-side game client.
NWNCQ - Overrides that alter the look of areas built with most default tilesets.
NWShader - A framework for using modern Cg shaders and effects within NWN.
NWN Community Patch 1.71 - An unoffical patch compilation of community-made fixes.
Add-ons & Tips from the NWN Community - A compilation list on the BioWare Social forums.
Links: Miscellaneous NWN Materials - This is simply a collection of links to various NWN-related materials available for anyone.
Fan Site Kits - All of the information and multimedia that you will need in order to get your Fan Site up and running in no time.
Console Commands - List of special text commands that can be used in-game (some are for PCs & DMs, some for DMs only).
Serendipity - A wide assortment of random text generators for things like Names, item descriptions, and more. Great for coming up with a character name quickly and easily.
Epic Character Builder's Guild Boards - A place to find and discuss character builds going up to level 40.
Epic Character Search Engine - A search engine that searches the character builds from the original BioWare NWN boards.
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