A Dance wth Rogues, anyone?

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Had anyone played the 'A Dance with Rogues' module, by Valine? What did you think of it?

I think playing it was an enjoyable experience. At first, I was slightly put off by the quantity of, say, literotica in the module, but soon found out that most of it, if not all, could be avoided. For me, the best things about this modification are the visceral writing, the fact that ADwR is 'darker and edgier' than the OC and the authenticity of the experience it provides the player with - as in, do you imagine how long I have been waiting for a game that would enable bathing? That would acknowledge it? Gah...

 

I'm playing through it at the moment. It's an incredible piece of work, with remarkable RP depth (within the confines of having to be a near pure-class rogue). I agree, though, that it improves remarkably as an experience when you work out how to get round the cybersex. It'd take forever to complete if you had to keep going for a cold shower every 15 minutes. Of course, so few modules actually reflect the reality of people and their desires that it is refreshing that it deals with such matters at all; that it does so in an intelligent and adult way is a serious bonus.

 

*sighs with relief* Good that I had not spoiled anything, then!

Yes, playing with a predefined character can be a downside. I tend to avoid modules written for such, though I am glad about making an exception in this case. Then again, the restrictions were not too painful for me personally: I tend to play characters of the gender same as my own, and the given background turned out quite interesting - it is very flexible, too. As for the class... I dual - classed the Princess to fighter before the end of Part I. Worked like a charm . The creator herself stated that she tried multiple combinations before and most of them had worked out just fine.

And again, the reality, the reality! I mean, you can put make - up on. Make - up! While in most games you do not need to *eat*. So great.

 

Well, I have a rogue obsession generally, so I certainly wasn't going to complain about having to play one! It's just a matter of making sure you keep a good selection of skills... something which so many modules (again) ignore. And yes, the make-up and disguise scripting is very well done, and just one of dozens of little details that make ADWR probably the best module on the Vault.

 

I agree. For the same reason, I enjoyed playing 'The Wanderer'. Not as elaborate when it comes to the details, but almost just as authentic. Simple story, menial tasks at the beginning, the lack of gold - exactly what one should expect when joining a group of settlers. No 'Almighty hero! By honor, I prithee, slay the foul wyrm!' stuff. More like (with that sloooow southern style) 'Ya there, chap. Pick up some of them feathers for me, will ya?' I do hope there will be many more modules like these in the future.

 

I've played Adwr many times, once role playing a good princess who was trying to stay true to her beliefs despite the desperate situation she was in. The most interesting time I played was as a pure cleric with trickery and another focus that give invisibility and other thief skills. She was totally chaotic evil and was able to use many of the great cleric robes and items from the underdark.

 

DAT armor!

Most interesting; it is really great that even though the module has a pre - defined character, one can role play pretty much as they see fit. During my first play through, I RP'd a traumatized misandrist who vowed to kill Vico and ended up as a CE Blackguard. Brutal.

Spoiler

I am curious... which version of Arto Benthur do you prefer? The 'old' one, or his 1.40 edition?

 

I'm not sure which Arto version I had. The good princess gave her heart to him, and was crushed when he turned up dead.

 

Wait, you can do that? Didn't know about that, I'll have to play through it again with the newest version(s) then.

The thing I loved about these modules was that you could play as a fully fledged rogue and you'd be rewarded for it - as in: get xp for unlocking and disarming traps. It's been a while since I could play a rogue like that - since BG2, I think.
On the other hand, it does make playing with anything but a rogue very difficult. The rogue/cleric I played with had a rather hard time of it at times, especially with hard locks that were blocking the way.

 

Spoiler

Prior to 1.40, it was the stern, righteous and bald guy, a Dhorn general. Version 1.40 changed him into one of the officers, specializing in persecuting prostitutes. And it changed his hairstyle.

Hells yeah, killing each and everyone hobgoblin/troll in a cave to gain EXP gets tedious after a while... what is even more awesome, ADwR gives experience points for each and every one skill assigned to a rogue - but not only that.

Spoiler

For example, when you kill the Dhorn guards in the severs during the end of Part I you get 100 EXP for each.

The creator acknowledges the quantity of choices the player can make, and it is great.

Just curious: which romance path, if any, you chose? My Princess ended up with Pia, but they broke up in Part II.

 

In case anyone is interested, Part I version 1.50 and the new ACAG are out. I have yet to play and see the changes made.

 

I'm playing version 1.50 right now and:

Spoiler

so far I've seen changes in the Tony the Tiger quest, which is longer and now includes several sex scenes.

 

I love this module!

I paid it years ago when it was new. Then didn't play it again for years. Just started replaying it not (V 1.40 i believe) and the altered content is really weird, seeing what they changed.

Anyone else in my boat?

 

I ended Part 1 with a thief/assassin/shadowdancer, which was quite fun. But I just can't seem to get in to part 2. I don't know whether I played the upgraded content or not.