Tiberius of Ossian Studios has posted the third update for the upcoming adventure pack, Mysteries of Westgate. This time, the update focuses on the merchants that will be found in the module. Also included are a couple of screenshots and some questions and answers from the community.

Merchants of Westgate

Historians say Westgate is unparalleled in the number and variety of its rulers. Don't believe them. Westgate has only ever had one ruler - coin. Those who have tried to pretend differently have found their positions of authority... short-lived.

- Pentical Bleth, House Bleth

Even on the Dragon Coast, where unsavory deals are commonplace, Westgate has the reputation of being the place to buy and sell items that cannot - often by dictate of law - be bartered elsewhere. In a city where "anything goes and everything has a price," the only limits are the heft of your coin purse and the strength of your stomach.

Unrestricted trade is a longstanding tradition in Westgate, though in historical terms it is only recently that the city adopted a system of government that fully embraces its freewheeling economy. After the death of the unpopular King Verovan in 1248 DR, the noble merchant families of Westgate formed a council to govern the city in accordance with their profit-chasing mentality. The result is a city in which taxes are low, profits are high, and gold changes hands like never before (not always willingly... but that is another story).

Not surprisingly, the noble merchant families dominate trade in Westgate. They own or finance most of the ships that keep the Harbor Loop district humming, and maintain sprawling warehouses that dot the cityscape. But the true heart of commerce in Westgate is quite clearly the Tower, an impressive structure at the center of the city's Market Triangle district. All the noble merchant families maintain offices inside the Tower, allowing them to broker major deals and backstab each other in one convenient location. Smaller merchants conduct their business in stands outside the Tower, offering their sundries to customers looking for magic items, weapons, and just about everything else one might desire.

Of course, wherever money circulates, so does corruption. In Westgate, members of the City Watch are bribed to look the other way, city officials are blackmailed for favors, and every day backroom deals are struck to seal one dark alliance after another. In Westgate, it's all just business.

Developer Questions

Question (conan2005): So, what is the current estimated release date for the upcoming NWN2 Adventure Pack: Mysteries of Westgate?

Alan Miranda, CEO: There is no official release date that has been announced by Atari yet. The game itself has been finished for quite a while and Obsidian is continuing to work on integrating the code to make it available through the 1.13 patch (these changes unfortunately didn't make it in time for 1.12). We know the delay is frustrating, but we think the game will be well worth the wait, as was indicated in the recent Games for Windows review of MoW (April/May issue). It's also going to be included in the upcoming NWN2 Gold edition. Please hang in there... and stay tuned!

Question (Jamey333): I did some searching around and aside from the wererat and sea monster I have not seen much on the new creatures that are going to be included.

Mat Jobe, Writer (aka Nemorem): Good! That means we're doing a good job keeping them under wraps. While Mysteries of Westgate does not feature as many new models as a typical expansion pack, rest assured that there are more than just the wererat and quelzarn. The reason you haven't seen or heard about them is that they occupy key roles in a story full of false identities, ulterior motives, and sinister machinations. Revealing them would constitute a major spoiler.

While I can't tell you what the other new models are, I can tell you that they are of the same high quality as the wererat and quelzarn. One new model in particular is bound to drop some jaws.

Question (Jamey333): Also I imagine that if a modder uses them in a mod then all players will have to have MoW as well. Makes total sense, but just curious.

Mat Jobe, Writer (aka Nemorem): Actually, the new models will eventually be released to the community for free, so everyone will have access to them with or without Mysteries of Westgate. We're still ironing out the details of how the new content will be made available. We should have more information on this after the Adventure Pack is released.

Next Spotlight: The Night Masks: Westgate's True Rulers

Looks VERY promising.