Neverwinter Nights Shadows of Undrentide Hilltop Walkthrough

Hilltop Walkthrough

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By Jay Watamaniuk

This entire document is a spoiler!

Do not read this unless you want the mystery of Hilltop in Shadows of Undrentide revealed.

In The Beginning

You start out as a first level character under the tutelage of Master Drogan, an ex-adventurer and mage.

Your Room

You begin in your tiny residence where you stayed during your training. Grab your stuff from the chest in your room. Be sure to read your journal for a good overview of your situation and an introduction to your fellow students who wait outside. After a great deal of bantering between them, sounds of battle can be heard from downstairs -- Master Drogan is under attack! Use your Hand of Mystra to be teleported downstairs to investigate. Keep in mind that every time you use the Hand of Mystra you will use one of the crystals that powers it. You can create more crystals in Drogan’s personal quarters.

Note: The key to Drogan’s personal quarters is located in the downstairs laboratory in the basement of the school. You can get there after you have dealt with the kobold attack and spoken to Ayala. However, you will be prevented from entering the lab by some sort of protection spell. Drogan’s strange little friend Rilsi the Faerie Dragon will question you about why you are here. It will ask several riddles which must be answered correctly to gain access to Drogan's personal quarters. The riddle answers are ‘yes’, ‘I will be hanged’, and ‘6’. Rilsi will give you 3 crystals, the room key to Drogan’s personal quarters upstairs and 50XP. Inside these quarters you will find the equipment and instructions needed to create more crystals for the Hand of Mystra ring. The ingredients are one quartz crystal and two from the following list: phenalope, aventurine, fluorspar or amethyst. Look around the room for medical supplies and check the weapon racks for extra equipment.

The Theft

Teleporting (or walking) downstairs you see that a huge battle has taken place with a band of kobolds. Finish off the remaining kobolds and then see the injured Master Drogan about what happened. A stranger named Ayala has appeared suspiciously in the nick of time and she wishes to help Master Drogan. Talking with her reveals that she is a member of the Harper organization. She and Master Drogan explain that four artifacts in Master Drogan’s care have been taken; this is the start of one of the major quests in Shadows called Missing Artifacts. The items missing are the Dragon Tooth, the Tower Statue, the Mask and the Mummified Hand. Make sure to ask Ayala about each artifact to get them entered into your journal. None of these items are available within Hilltop so this walkthrough will not mention where to find them.

Ayala also mentions that she needs some special ingredients to affect a cure (A Cure for Drogan) for the poison in Master Drogan’s system which resists her magic. The items needed are charcoal, tressyn tongue (talk to the Herbalist in his shop to acquire these) and helmhorn berry (which is available at the Bubbling Cauldron). If you gather these ingredients and hand them to Ayala you will gain 300XP.

When you enter the Bubbling Cauldron, you stumble across a hostage taking situation (Kobolds in the Kitchen). Mara the cook is being held captive by some panicky kobolds who are attempting to get out of Hilltop alive. You have several options in how you deal with the situation. You can either persuade them, threaten them, or help the kobolds escape. Successively completing the situation grants you 200XP.

A Ravaged Hilltop

Walking over to the Hilltop Community Hall you will encounter Haniah tending to a drunken mayor. She requests your help in calming down Piper, a local evangelist, who is spreading doom and gloom and beginning to scare the citizens (An Excess of Prophets). A conversation with Piper that includes a few persuades or intimidates will get him on his merry way. You can also utilize the fact that Piper sold his sword to the blacksmith Fiona but would calm down if he had it returned to him. Fiona is happy to give it to you to return. Return to Haniah and claim your reward of 200XP and 60GP.

Past Piper’s group you will run across Szaren, a Red Wizard, who wants the mayor’s permission to start a Thayvian Enclave here in Hilltop (Thayvian Enclave). Keep in mind that the Red Wizards are notoriously evil and bring despair wherever they go. The mayor is in no condition to speak, but if you talk to Haniah she will permit the Red Wizard’s request if you have handled An Excess of Prophets diplomatically. Otherwise she will simply decline. If Haniah grants you permission, return to Szaren and he will reward you with 200XP and 100GP. If you are intent on helping the Red Wizard, it is advised you speak to Haniah about Piper to gain that quest, then speak to the Red Wizard without resolving the Piper quest. Then return to Haniah to ask her about the Red Wizard’s request. Once she has spoken to you, return to Piper to resolve that quest diplomatically and then return to Haniah, gain the reward, and finally ask about the Red Wizard’s request. She is more likely to grant him permission. (Phew, that's a lot of running around.)

Near the Blake home in the far eastern side of Hilltop, you will encounter a hysterical woman named Nora who explains that those pesky kobolds have invaded her home and taken her baby (Rescue My Family!). When you enter the house you will see her husband’s body strewn across the floor. Head upstairs and find the kobolds in one of the bedrooms. You can attempt to get the baby away, safe and unharmed, from the kobold a few ways, including persuading, snatching the baby away using your Dexterity, or by agreeing to the kobolds’ request of exchanging the baby for a gem. To obtain a gem of any kind, search within the house you are in, or the one across the street (you will need to open a DC 22 lock). If you retrieve the baby, Nora will grant you 200XP, but she will be left in dire straights because her husband is dead. You have the option of threatening her for money or giving her some of your own money.

Finally, beside a group of wagons in Hilltop are some Halfling guards and some wounded Halflings laying on bedrolls. If you speak to Katriana, she will tell you that the caravan’s fortune teller was robbed of her tarot cards (Not Playing with a Full Deck). They would appreciate if you could locate the missing cards. The cards are located in the cellar of the Old Hilltop Farm to the left and uphill from the caravan. Be careful when entering the basement because there may be 2-3 kobolds waiting with crossbows. You will find the deck on the body of one of the kobolds. Return to Katriana and she will give you the key to the fortune teller Daschnaya’s wagon. Once inside, hand over the deck for 200XP and have your fortune read. This will reveal several interesting things that are to occur in Shadows of Undrentide.

It is recommended that you get as much experience as possible to raise a level or two before leaving town, as the wild lands surrounding Hilltop are deadly for first level characters.

Other Quests In Hilltop

• Healing the injured halflings.
• Healing the injured Commoners in the Community Hall.
• Breaking into the huts for fun and profit.

Other Notes For Characters With Animal Empathy Skill

• The herbalist's white wolf has a treasure buried in town.
• The chickens have a gem in their trough.