What is a "Mod"?
A mod is any piece of content that adds to or alters the original game. They can be small or large, simple or complex. Some are created by a single person, while others involve large modding teams.

What kinds of mods are there?
Mods can be divided into ones that are intended primarily for players and those that are of most use to builders.

The most popular mods are adventure modules. These are created using the game's toolset, and mostly are completely unrelated to the original game. Most adventure modules are intended for single players, but some are multiplayer by intent and some are written to be played with a DM. They range from very short and simple adventures that can be completed in an hour or two through to long and complicated adventures or even a series of adventures that can take longer to play through than the original game.

Similar to but much larger than adventure modules are Persistent Worlds (PWs). Much of the content is similar to that in an adventure module, but they are online worlds intended to have multiple players and DMs involved at the same time, with many separate adventures going on at any time. These are regularly updated as quests are completed so that there is something for people to do.

Builder mods are somewhat harder to categorise. Some mods are devoted to adding content to use in the game, either making new creatures, new types of object that can be put into the game, new landscapes, or adding items that characters can use. Some add other material such as new sounds, and some add other useful material such as scripts. If an adventure module creator has used any of this additional material then they will almost always include with their module a hak pack. Hak packs contain material that isn't included in the original game but is required for the mod to work properly. Some of the best content of this type is collected in the CEP (Community Expansion Pack).

How can I get mods into my game?
Almost all mods include a "readme" file that explains how you make it accessible to use. The procedure is usually quite simple, requiring that the various components of the mod are installed in the correct directory, but the most complicated mods often include an automated installer that simply needs running to set things up properly. However, some mods have issues with compatibility and in these cases it requires either knowledge of some functions of the toolset or that the creator(s) of the mod include files making them compatible.

Most mods make no changes to the functions of the original game, but some do. In these cases they should include instructions explaining how to remove the mod and the steps you should take to restore the original state.

Where can I get them?
There are numerous website and communities around the internet where you can download mods for the Aurora engine. Many of the larger and more popular mods have web sites and communities devoted to supporting them. The most prominent site is the Neverwinter Vault, which has thousands of mods of all types.

• Neverwinter Vault
• Planet Neverwinter
• Sorcerer's Place Toolset

How can I learn to mod?
TMany of the web sites above include tutorials to help you get started. When the game originally came out Versus Books published the Neverwinter Nights World Builder's Guide, which is still available from some sources. There are also some web sites specifically intended to assist module builders, such as:

• Builder's Project
• The NWN Lexicon
• Neverwinter Nights Toolset
• Bioware Forums for builders

NWN2 Modding Links

• Neverwinter Nights 2 Toolset Guide
• Thieves-Guild.net
• NWN2 files