Introduction #

Welcome to A Dawn of Heroes (ADOH), a Neverwinter Nights – Enhanced Edition (NWN:EE) Persistent World based on a heavily modified Nordock realm, originally imagined and created by Marc Richterm, et. al over 15 years ago. Story Lite/Action oriented, with room for both story and action play styles!

If this is your first foray into a Nordock persistent server, this guide is meant for you! Those that have been on hiatus or merely hope to pick up some extra tidbits, there should be value here for you as well.    

Readme first: #

This guide is written with the assumption that you as a player have at least played through the single person campaign and possess a basic understanding of the user interface and general game-play.

1. It is assumed that you have read through all rules and information provided contained within the ADOH website.  
2. From now on, we will refer to A Dawn of Heroes with the acronym ADOH

Quick Tips for Starting #

ADOH can be quite a difficult server on which to get started, however persevere and you will find a well balanced, constantly evolving world in which to set forth in search of adventure.

The subsequent sections of this Beginners guide will provide more detailed advice and great benefit will be derived from reading it in its entirety. The following quick tips have been provided for those that can’t wait to get started:

1. The Druid Summoner or Cleric Summoner builds from the wiki builds page are highly recommended as first characters. These are designed to facilitate exploration of most areas of the server, as well as assisting with the gathering resources for later characters. Those builds are not mandatory, just suggested. Feel free to experiment the build you prefer, but just know that non-magic builds are more gear dependent and thus you might struggle more by starting with one of those.
2. The priest in your starting area temple will have swordsman/archer/brawler belts for sale which reduce damage for the three different physical types. Purchase these and equip appropriately (e.g. swordsman’s belt will prevent rats in the Benzor sewers from damaging you). The Temple also has a Donation Chest which may contain items that other players no longer need – feel free to take anything you need.
3. Talk to the local Guard Captain (e.g. Captain Tucker in Benzor for the surface faction, which is the most common first faction played) to hire a henchman to join you on your adventures. The fighter usually provides the best support for new players even if you have chosen a fighter type for your own first build.
4. Take a boat/portal to Mulrok City and go to the Trade-hall to buy player crafted GTS gear that player crafters have sold.
   • You can, alternatively, craft the items yourself by following this guide, if you like crafting.
   • You can also gear up the old way, by doing quests and looting creature corpses.
     • The Trade-hall will always be there for you in case you need some specific item for gold regardless.
   • Some gear, like Vengeful rolled gear and the GTS crafted gear can grant you a Set Bonus. For more detail see the Set System section of the ADOH website.
5. Use your player menu to look for a party to join; the best way to learn the server is to tag along with an experienced player! Your Player Menu can be found in the radial menu with your first class abilities.

Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks #

1. Dark Fire (Cleric), Flame Weapon (Wiz/Sorc) and Improved Invisibility are useful through end-game.
2. Be mindful of spawns that were triggered by higher level players, some may be well beyond your abilities. Inspect the foe from afar if he looks like he could take on your whole group himself.
3. Lore is a useful skill when you start out, have no gold to ID, and are in need of better gear. A few skill points if you can spare them to about 10-15 should be fine. Beyond that, the need to ID items outside of town will lessen and you will likely not mind the ID cost.
4. Arcane robes are a great find, they are +5 AC, have 10/- Slash Resistance, and are not class restricted. 
5. Beyond skeletons and zombies, undead will likely fear you or use death magic. Be sure to have a way to mitigate this risk.
6. Travel with a rogue or have Disarm Trap / Open Lock yourself. Starting out, you’ll miss a bit of loot if you don’t have a way to bypass trapped/locked chests. Check the website for more information regarding the customization to this mechanism. You also gain XP from disabling traps.
7. Generally, the further you venture from a town, the tougher the foe are.
8. Discretion can be the better part of valour – Don’t be afraid to drink an Invisibility Potion and run if you end up out of your depth.

The ADOH World #

Server #

ADOH is hosted on a server owned, operated, and maintained by the Admin TomRotfl, with the support of the ADOH Team. The NWN:EE game you purchased provides you access to the base single player module and contains the ability to connect with independently run servers who host various types of NWN:EE modules.

1. Please note that ADOH is not Blizzard, ArenaNet, Wizards of the Coast, or some other corporate entity where you as a player have some semblance of entitlement based upon your purchase of the original NWN:EE game itself. 

Website #

We have an extensive Website Wiki detailing most of the particulars about this server. It is recommended that you take the time to read through everything, especially the Death System, prior to embarking on your journey. Much of this information is also accessible in game, through posted signage or through your character’s Journal. 

Forums #

ADOH utilizes Discord as a means for voice chat and forum usage. Join us!

Join our Community! #

World Map #

A World Map has been created to help you get your bearings. (the map is being updated and some important info might be missing at the moment)

1. Your experience as a player, the character build you choose to make, your gear, and how you play will dictate further if an area is beyond your limits.
2. If you’re level 15 and a level 15 area is too challenging for you, move to a different level 15 area. 
   • If that is too challenging for you as well, move back down to a level 10 area until you’ve further gained experience.

Crafting #

ADOH uses the GTS Crafting System, which was developed in house specifically for this server. Crafting in general can be very time and currency intensive, therefore you may wish to get to know the server a bit prior to jumping into this.

1. The various crafting types can be split across multiple characters, however if you are looking for an all in one option then Wizard or Druid are good options. Both these builds put all starting points into Intelligence, Wisdom & Charisma and then use Polymorph abilities to increase Strength, Dexterity and Constitution as required.
2. The original Craft Armor, Craft Weapon, & Craft Trap skills have been replaced with Craft: Harvesting, Craft: Mastery & Craft: Speed. Investment into these is recommended for Crafters.

Etiquette #

General Etiquette #

This section is intended to reduce some of the impact poor etiquette may negatively impact your short and long term play within ADOH.  

Do #

1. Inform others that you are new to the server. There are players who have been playing on ADOH since the start, and NWN for many many years. Letting others in your party know that you are either new to the server or new to NWN in general, will help to frame their expectation and curb their assumptions of your knowledge, skills and abilities. You may also run into veteran players who may generously provide you with a hand up as well.
2. Use your player menu to ask for a party.
3. Work to kill the spawns you triggered. Many encounters are scaled to the player triggering them. Leaving behind spawns at the higher range for that area, may ambush unsuspecting other players who would normally trigger lower level spawns. Be considerate.
4. Pay it forward. If someone was kind or generous to you, do the same for another.

Don’t #

1. Assume everyone speaks English natively. ADOH has players from all over the world.
2. Assume everyone has the same play style as you. ADOH is welcoming of everyone; whether you wish to Roleplay, PVP, Powergame (Min/Max), or wish to casually explore, you are free to do so.
3. Abuse the shout channel
4. Spam your character’s voice set. You may find it entertaining, but others may not.
5. Loot while your party is actively engaged in a fight.
6. Assume ADOH is modern game where the game itself always tells you what to do everytime. There are tools to ease your initial experience, but by design we want you to explore and know most of the world by yourself. Nothing better than the old explore/danger feeling!

Loot Etiquette #

Party play is encouraged and can lead to quick exploration, wealth and experience gain. After joining a group, it is customary to identify loot rules of the party. Your Player Menu has the ability to roll dice among other things. Keep in mind that large Leveling Parties are more focused on fast leveling than loot, therefore loot is often free for all. If you see someone pick up something you may need, send them a private message letting them know your desire for the item. Chances are they’ll either give it to you or roll you for it.

Loot in dungeons follows a different rule. Check our Loot System wiki page for more details.

Builds #

Starter Builds #

Starter builds can be found in the website Suggested Builds wiki page:

1. These builds have been created to help you acclimate to ADOH. They are designed with the intent to absorb some of the risk of character creation and are by no means intended to min/max a build concept. There are other builds located in the same page that are finer tuned towards end game success but often rely on end game gear for survivability. With that being said, it is recommended that you do not get too attached to your first character in ADOH. 
2. ADOH is not unlike any other online persistent game, where you get your feet wet, learn the system, meet other players, accumulate wealth, and then plan where to go from there.
   • Once you cross over into epic levels (21+) you’ll be better prepared to determine if the build suits your playstyle, as well as its pros and cons.  
3. For instance, one of the starter builds is a pure Cleric build. With the customization to summons in place, this build is very new player friendly. However, late game you may determine that your summons are no longer the asset they once were, or that cool looking dragon blocks the entire screen when fighting in a tight dungeon or your summons block other players from engaging in the fight. Either way, that determination is yours to make and it does not change the fact that it is an effective build to learn the server and begin accumulating wealth.

Builds Suggestions #

Melee Based #

These types of characters would find efficient leveling versus non-magic casting foes, where you depend heavily on your Armor Class (AC) to avoid being hit and your Hit Point pool to absorb when you are. If this is you, be sure to pick up your damage resistance belts, place them in your quick bar, and swap them out when fighting the appropriate foe. Potions are your friend, but can be costly. Knockdown (KD), if you’ve selected the feat can be very useful at low levels.

Be aware the if this is your first character, a pure melee will naturally struggle more than a caster, due to being more gear dependent than casters.

Arcane/Divine Based #

These types of characters would find efficient leveling versus foes with low saves vs. the spells cast. Use your summons to tank for you while using those wands and scrolls which drop in loot. One of the most useful spells at low level is Protection from Evil (PFE). This spell will grant you immunity to fear and lasts a long 1 hour / level.

1. At this level, few encounters will attempt to dispel you, so buff up, not only you but your party members as well. (Debilitating spells are also very useful, such as a divine caster’s Sound Burst. 
2. Single target spells which deal damage per round, such as Melf’s Acid Arrow, can also be very useful. 
3. At low levels, foes do not have immunity to KD, so Grease can be useful, especially if you have the rogue henchmen set up to pew pew tagging along with you.

Ranged Based #

These character types would find efficient leveling where terrain can be used to block melee foes or those areas where you are able to engage from far away. Additionally, solo ranged characters can easily be overwhelmed, so search for areas where the number of foes triggered is small or have low hit points to quickly take down. Bringing along the Fighter henchmen would certainly be of benefit to tank for you.

Useful Skills #

Some skills are more useful than others in ADOH and some are outright worthless.

Very Useful #

1. Discipline
2. Concentration
3. Pick Pocket
4. Tumble
5. Use Magic Device
6. Ride (Required to make use of the fastest mounts)
7. Appraise (Used to receive good prices while selling items to merchants. Useful if you are new!)
8. Crafting skills (The vanilla NWN Crafting skills have been modified to work with the GTS Crafting System)

Less Useful #

1. Conversation skills such as persuade (for now at least)
2. Spellcraft (needed for several prerequisites like Epic Spells, grants +1 to saves vs spells each 10 points, but doesn’t work against all spells due to a base game limitation in contrast to our custom spells system, for the moment)

Shops & Gear #

Shops #

When you first enter ADOH, speak to the Welcome NPC in the Gateway to Nordock area to buy your starter gear, you should have plenty of gold to buy what you need (don’t spend all the starting gold here, keep something for some other items. Temple merchants can have some good items to start your adventures, i.e., damage reduction belts). Then you take one of the portals, you will be whisked away to your respective faction’s starting area, where other merchants will have other items available.

1. All temple merchants have an inventory that is linked to other temple merchants and they have good buy/sell rates. Their inventory does reset on a set schedule, however it’s an easy way to view/buy items other players have sold.  Be sure to check the “Unwanted Gear” chest for player hand-me-downs.
2. Your player menu can also summon a merchant when you are in a pinch, however it is not recommended that you use this as your primary merchant since the buy/sell rate is elevated due to the convenience factor.
3. Specialized merchants do exist, speak with Non Player Characters (NPCs) as you explore.

Gear #

First: #

1. Weapon
2. Chest Armor
3. Shield (As applicable)
4. Food (Required to rest along with a bedroll)
5. Heal kit / potions

Then: #

1. Damage resistance belts (Swordsman, Archer, Brawlers)
2. Buffing pots / scrolls (ie. Bulls Strength, Endurance, Barkskin, etc.)
3. Condition removal pots / scrolls (ie. Lesser Restore, Remove Poison, etc.)
4. Regeneration ring
5. More & better armor

Once you’ve explored a bit you will determine what gear is needed for the areas you’re in. For example:

1. If you are exploring/leveling in an area where foes cast Melf’s Acid Arrow at you, having an amulet of acid resistance would come in handy. 
2. If you are fighting rats whose teeth slash at your ankles, a Swordsman’s Belt which provides slashing resistance would be of use.
3. Goblins use small piercing weapons, daggers and shorts swords = Archer’s Belt.
4. If your undead foe is wielding a club / light hammer, bludgeoning damage = Brawler’s belt.  

Misc: #

1. Bags do exist, even 100% weight reduction bags. These are not a must to start with as you can use your player wand to summon your account wide player vault to store items in. 
2. There are several other useful items you will come across during your travels. Some are more useful than others. A Bard or Rogue character invested in Use Magic Device (UMD), gets to play with all the fun toys.
3. There is a Fast Casting System that is accessible via your Player Menu. This incorporates Metamagic and Domain Spells. Very handy for all casters!
4. Some of the most useful items for early leveling are often sold by other players to the temple merchant. Be on the lookout for: Stone Salves, Necklace of Fireballs, Rod of the Ghost, Regeneration rings.

Faction Starting Areas #

The Race you chose at character creation will determine which faction you belong to and your starting location. If you select a default race (human i.e.), you will by default be in the Surfacer’s faction, with a starting point of the town of Benzor. After each server reset, when you leave the Gateway area, you will enter your faction starting area. You do have the ability to obtain a Bindstone from a faction capital, or from several other points in the world which will allow you to change your starting area. 

ADOH has completely customized base game races, and has added many more on top of them too. There are Free Races anyone can pick at any moment, and Premium Races for which you’ll have to invest in-game time. Before you build your first character, it is suggested you check our Custom Races page.

Custom Races ELC #

Keep in mind that when starting with a custom race, it may have an Effective Character Level modification (ECL).  Example: ECL +1 or +2.  What this means is that your character will be treated as +1/+2 levels higher than your character sheet states. This factors into your experience gain, which will be lower as your level is calculated higher than normal:

1. YOU vs. FOE = XP                               
2. YOU + ECL vs FOE = <XP.

Benzor #

Surfacers start in Benzor which is highly traveled, and you will be able to find all you need and more from here. It is recommended that new players start exploring the sewers next to Benzor Temple, where you will find a nice mix of rats, beetles, goblins, and undead.

Note: all other sewer entrances in Benzor lead to a different area which is designed for questing with a party so if you don’t find rats, turn back and return at a higher level or with an experienced group.

Underdark – Central #

Drow & Underdark (UD) races start where there is no light, the Underdark. Instead of boats to neighboring towns, there is a portal which you can take to other Underdark cities, Loknar and Chaulssin. New players should find plenty of starter foes, in the adjacent areas, UD North, West, South and East. There is even a Newbie Training Area in town to try out that new sword. Allied and in charge of the Humanoids from Assaulted Island.

Assaulted Island #

There are some races like Goblin, Minotaur, Orc, Troll etc, that will have a different spawn location, Assaulted Island in this case. They are part of an alliance of races in control of the Drows (allied to drows and enemies to everything else), and that the drows use to wage war against their enemies. The Giant Commander may have some tasks that he need taken care of before you head off into the world.

Nocturnae City #

Nocturnae is the home for all the Undeads races. They have no allies, and hate everyone else. Playing as undead might be tough in the beginning so we suggest making an undead only when you will feel comfortable with the game already.

Underdark – Gracklstugh #

Home of the Duergars and other underground Dwarf races. They don’t have specific allies, but won’t attack surface races if they don’t mess with them. They do not respect Drows or Undead though, which will be attacked at sight! The city is not too deep on the ground, and it is fairly easy to reach the surface from there.

Henchmen #

All factions starting areas have a NPC which will allow you to hire a Henchman that can accompany and support you during your adventures.

1. It is highly recommended that you receive your henchmen as soon as possible when you begin your play through. All factions starting zones have quests that naturally introduce you to your henchmen, so don’t be worried if you don’t know where to get them.
2. Read more about Henchmen on the dedicated Wiki Page.

Quests #

There are many quests which an adventurer can partake in.

1. Rewards will range from experience, to gold, to items. 
2. Throughout your travels you will encounter many NPC’s that require assistance in some way. 
   1. These will be easily identifiable due to the gold ! above their heads. If a quest has been accepted but not completed, the icon will become a silver ?, and once ready for turn in it will become a gold ?.
   2. If that NPC has a quest for you, but your level is too low for it, the icon shown will be a red !. In that case come back later at a higher level!

Check the quests wiki page for the list of available quests and their requirements/rewards! This list can be sorted by any of the column headings however sorting by Level, Faction and Area will provide insight into where you should be looking. 

1. It is also important to take note of the rewards that are available. 
   • Many quests reward Brilliant Items which can be combined into sets which provide further benefits to your character.

Travel #

Haste #

Persistent haste gear does exist in all sorts of loot drops and can be also crafted.

Mounts #

Mounts can be purchased from merchants such as the Stable Master in Benzor, or (Rarely) looted from Bosses. Mounts can provide a number of benefits, but do require some important investment on them if you want to use Mounts in combat! Checkout the Mounts Wiki page for more info!

Note: Paladins receive the Mounted Combat Feat for free and are also able to summon their own horse without any kind of investment in terms of currency.

Boats #

Boats are available for passengers who purchase a ticket and float to neighboring towns or locations. Be careful though, pirates have been known to attack in certain waterways!

Recall & Other Portals #

Recall portals are located by the Temples in towns & villages. They allow you to port to your party leader. Other portals do exist within the world which port you to various other places.

Wings #

The Rune of Golden Wings is an item received for completing the main quest line from Galdor the Great (Dragon in Benzor). When used, allows you to teleport to various towns. This is not a must have item, however it will make navigating the world much more efficient so you will want it. Available locations differ among factions. You are able to tag along with a Wings group at any level. Players running the Wing quest normally advertise in game and/or on Discord before commences, you can join a Wings group at any level provided you have not already completed the quest.

Note: This quest line still hasn’t been migrated to our modern quests system. We are working into that for a future patch.

Party Experience #

ADOH uses a custom Party XP System with custom calculation which factors in your party’s average level, the highest and lower member of the party and the challenge rating of the foe you are fighting. When leveling, a common strategy is to add players below the highest-level character, thereby lowering the party average, while the highest-level character triggers spawns. This creates the highest disparity between party level and challenge rating, therefore greatest experience awarded.

To check if your party is “good” and will earn experience, use your Player Menu – Party Tools – Check if my party is XP eligible.

Pre-Epic Leveling #

I am going to refrain from recommending specific areas for leveling, that is what the ADOH Nordock World Map is for. The reason for this is simply that there is less risk of death with a henchman and even less in balanced parties who have a myriad of strategies and tactics and buffs at their disposal. In addition, I will refrain from stating areas that are commonly farmed while leveling. Those change and will vary. Balanced parties can find viable experience and variety using the provided map at all levels.

Leveling Dungeons #

Lvl 15+ Dungeons #

These dungeons are designed to give players their first experience in ADOH dungeon dwelling. Well organized and well-rounded parties can successfully run these dungeons where up to +5 loot, Epic Tokens and Skin tokens can be acquired. Some dungeons can be good leveling areas for parties, not only the dungeon itself, but the areas leading to them.

1. Get to know these dungeons well, as you acquire some epic Epic Tokens, which in the long run can be converted into Boss Tokens (required to purchase end game gear).
2. There are also LVL 21+ Dungeon, LVL 40 Dungeons and LVL 40 Raids.

Glondar’s Rest #

This is a one area Dungeon, and probably the easiest one available on ADOH. Glondar’s crypt can be found deep in the Black Hills mines.

Graktan’s Lair #

Graktan is the leader of the West Benzor Goblins tribe. He is deadly and evil. His throne room can be found deep inside goblins lair caves. Careful, his goblins are deadly too!

Dread Castle #

Dread Castle can be found in the Legendary Forest. Adventure East from Brosna, pass the beach and head into the caverns. Once in the legendary forest, you will see its entrance. Gundar is waiting for you.

Gorgoroth’s Cave #

Gorgoroth is the Pitunk Clan leader, and his cave can be found deep inside their lair. The whole clan will stand between you and him, so be careful. Head to the Black Hills, and search for a cave guarded by orcs.