is a fan-written campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2, released in 2005.You play as a cleric of Tyr, the Forgotten Realms god of justice, on assignment deep into the hinterlands northeast of Waterdeep to investigate attacks by a mysterious beast. Joined in your adventure by a friendly ranger, Tancred of Calimport, you solve various problems in a Town with a Dark Secret, a secret that eventually brings you into conflict with corruption at the very heart of the Church of Tyr itself.
Tropes in The Maimed God's Saga:
- Cosmic Plaything: Tyr's background, described in the opening cinematic, is based directly on Norse Mythology (in fact, he's the same god, copied into the Realms by act of Ao), but the second act of the campaign is a Whole-Plot Reference to the Book of Job. Malar, god of savagery, bet Tyr that you would forsake him if he turned his back on you, depowering you so the Tyrran priests Malar had corrupted could declare you a heretic. When you don't, instead embarking on a dangerous ritual trial to prove your faithfulness, Tyr restores your powers and then some, depowers the rogue priests and paladins, and tells Malar that if he ever shows his ugly mug around the church again, he'll kill him.
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: Per the source material, the Church of Tyr is very Catholic despite the deity being one from Norse myth, complete with an Inquisition and excommunication. It even extends to the second act being very similar to the Book of Job.
- De-power: Despite being faithful to Tyr, you lose your cleric powers at the beginning of the second act as part of his bet with Malar. After you complete your journey to Tyr's secret shrine in act two, Tyr restores your powers and depowers the rogue clerics and paladins hunting you.
- Easy Evangelism: Justified. It's well-established that, aside from The Fundamentalist shaman, the Shattered Tusk orc tribe long ago lost their collective faith in Gruumsh after losing a war and their ancestral lands in the Spine of the World. After witnessing Tyr restore your powers in his secret shrine, the chief's son Gron forswears Gruumsh in favor of Tyr.
- Eco-Terrorist: Malar's motivation in the campaign is essentially a fantasy version of this: being the god of nature at its most savage, he considers human civilization a threat.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Unbeknownst to the rogue clerics and paladins hunting you, they find you when you're still in Shattered Tusk territory. Prince Gron, having converted to Tyr, leads the tribe's warriors to your aid.
- Hero Protagonist: While mechanically you can still pick whatever class and race combination you want, the story is very much written with a Lawful Good cleric of Tyr in mind, and some story events may not be possible to complete without a cleric PC (though a favored soul works equally well if you have Mask of the Betrayer, which was released two years after this mod came out). And while not specifically discouraged, the documentation also recommends you use a human due to the extra feat slot.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: The documentation encourages you to build your cleric with the War domain so you can use Tyr's trademark longsword (without needing to burn a feat on Martial Weapon Proficiency). Towards the end of the campaign, Tyr himself gives you an Infinity +1 Sword of that type.
- Hiding Behind Religion: According to Tyr himself, Eton Skye clings to the church only for the power it grants him. Normally he would have washed out, but Malar's intervention shielded him.
- Jack of All Trades: Clerics are powerful divine casters and good melee fighters in 3.5E anyway. In this campaign in particular, you only get the one companion, the ranger Tancred, so the documentation encourages investing skill points into cross-class skills such as Bluff (helpfully listing which ones you'll actually need so you don't waste your limited number of skill points).
- Knight Templar: Corrupted elements within the Church of Tyr start doing some pretty terrible things in the name of righteousness, even excommunicating you and bringing you back to their citadel in chains on trumped-up charges after you slay the monster at the end of the first act. Deconstructed in that Tyr finds their actions reprehensible and, after settling his bet with Malar, depowers the whole batch of them to help the Player Character take them out.
- The Lancer: Tancred is sarcastic and somewhat of a cynic, contrasting with the Good Is Not Dumb PC, and wields a bow to your sword and shield.
- Love Interest: You can choose to romance Tancred during the campaign, though it's not a major thing: there are affectionate moments worked into the primary storyline rather than a specific sidequest chain.
- Multiple-Choice Past: One "downtime" interaction with Tancred lets you make up a character background, including a region you're from and a description of your childhood.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: The Shattered Tusk orc tribe is presented as this in act two, more Proud Warrior Race Guy (along the lines of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows) than Always Chaotic Evil. The tribe is Lawful Neutral at worst, with its chief giving you a fair hearing when his scouts bring you to him to request passage across his lands (over the strenuous objections of The Fundamentalist priest of Gruumsh). You're even able to convert the orc prince to the worship of Tyr!
- Prophecy Twist: Lampshaded. In act two, Tyr gives you two tasks, the second being to "give birth to my next great champion". He quickly assures you that he doesn't mean it literally (even if you're well into a romance with Tancred by this point). Gron, the prince of the Shattered Tusk orc tribe, converts to Tyr after witnessing Tyr restore your cleric powers in his secret shrine.
- Shout-Out: One orc threaten to punish another orc by sending him to chop down trees and and work in gold mines.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Malar, the god of nature's savagery, makes this argument to Tyr in a cutscene while they're discussing your fate.Malar: Yes, but why do you assume the former to be "evil"? Mankind... its urban sprawl... so-called civilization... they destroy all that they touch. Where once there was nature, beautiful in its wild, chaotic ferocity...
Now there is nothing but deforestation, mining... the confining trappings of the "civilized." If that is "good," then yes, I am evil! - Three-Act Structure: You deal with the beast attacking Navatranaasu, lose your powers and get falsely accused of heresy by a corrupt priesthood, and then go on a quest to regain your powers so you can kick all their asses.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Tailored as it is for a Tyrran cleric, the campaign is written well enough to let you be both depending on the situation, which corresponds well to Tyr's dogma of using the law as a tool to uphold the good. In the third act you can get into a legal debate with the leaders of an orc tribe, and win on the law.
- Torture Is Ineffective: The PC is tortured, including being branded on the forehead, to get them to falsely confess to heresy (not because the priesthood is trying to cover something up, but because they've become convinced thanks to Malar's corruption that you're actually guilty). Doesn't work.
- Villain Has a Point: Downplayed. Malar's Green Aesop speech would sound nicer if there weren't several other deities in the Realms who protected nature without wanting to totally destroy humanity.
- Who Forgot The Lights?: The mod can be so dark at times that you can't see your hand in front of your face. Good thing your starting equipment includes a holy symbol of Tyr that can cast the Light spell an unlimited number of times.
