Castle Never
Castle Never
Castle Never
When you arrive in Castle Never in Act III, Sir Nevalle will tell you that the King of Shadows is on the
move, and that he is heading straight for Crossroad Keep. He'll also inform you that Lord Nasher would
like to make you a knight, and he'll give you a Neverwinter Knight's Cloak and a Ceremonial Sword of
Neverwinter as proof, but when you approach the throne room (#11), shadow creatures will attack.
You'll start out in a room with Sir Nevalle and some royal guards and citizens (#1). Sir Nevalle can't be
damaged, but when the guards and citizens are killed, they'll turn into wraiths, and so if the shadow
creatures kill much more quickly than you, you might find yourself vastly outnumbered. If you have
area-effect spells or even Blastglobes available, then this is a good place to use them. Otherwise, let the
shadow creatures attack Nevalle, and try to pick them off one at a time.
Note: Your character will actually equip the Neverwinter Knight's Cloak and the Ceremonial Sword. If
these items are a downgrade for you (and they probably will be), then the first thing you should do in
the battle is put your old equipment back on.
When you reach the guard room (#3), Sir Nevalle will tell you about an ancient passage that leads to the
throne room, and that you'll find an entrance to it behind a tapestry (#5). "Neverneath has always been
closed to us, but it is said when the Castle is in danger, a path opens for defenders of Neverwinter."
Neverneath is basically a big quiz zone. At each statue (#6), you'll be asked a question about
Neverwinter or its history. If you get the answer right, then you'll earn 200 xp and a door will open
allowing you to move directly to the next statue. If you get the answer wrong, then a different door will
open, and you'll have to fight one or more Guardians of Neverneath before moving on to the next
statue.
When you reach the final statue (#8), it will ask you to pledge your loyalty to Neverwinter. This is
essentially another quiz question, where pledging your loyalty (truthfully or not) is the right answer. If
you answer correctly, then the floating swords in the next room will start out neutral. Otherwise, they'll
rush to attack you.
In the final room (#9), you'll find a coffin containing Lord Halueth Never surrounded by nine statues and
eight floating swords. If the swords are neutral, then what you should do is circle around the statues and
approach the coffin from the north. You don't need to bash any of the statues (although you might note
that the northern one is pointing away from the coffin) and you don't need to have the Ceremonial
Sword equipped.
If you reach the coffin without the swords attacking you, then you'll earn 1000 xp, and when you click on
the coffin, you'll find the Rod of Never inside. If you got all of the statue questions correct, then you'll
also find the longsword Blessing of the Daystar inside. If the floating swords attack you, then you won't
earn any xp, and you'll only find the Rod of Never inside the coffin.
When you finally reach Lord Nasher (#11), you should find him in combat with a shadow reaver.
However, in version 1.03 this sequence seems to be broken, and instead of fighting the reaver, Nasher
will immediately begin talking to you -- with the reaver probably looking over his shoulder, wondering
what's going on.
After the battle (if there is one), Lord Nasher will officially make you a knight, and he might also invite
you to become one of the Neverwinter Nine (complete with a Neverwinter Nine Tunic). Then he'll give
you your three main quests for the Act: to form as many alliances as possible, to discover a way to kill
the shadow reavers, and to find a way to reach the King of Shadows' stronghold.
Once the conversation has ended, you'll be transported back to Crossroad Keep, where you'll inform
your companions about what just happened. You probably won't be able to do much more to improve
your keep at the moment, and you'll have to wait a while before dealing with the shadow reavers, so
your next step should be to try and form some alliances.
1 - Starting Point
One of the shadow creatures here will drop the kama Peasant Dynasty when it dies.
2 - Locked Doors
There are numerous locked doors that you won't be able to open during this sequence in the castle.
3 - Guard Room
You'll meet Ivarr the Blessed here. He'll heal you if you need it.
4 - Locked Door
This door won't open until you've spoken to Sir Nevalle in the guard room (#3). If you have problems
with the undead creatures past the door, you can draw them back to Sir Nevalle, and he'll help you kill
them.
5 - Tapestry
You'll need to attack the tapestry to remove it. Behind the tapestry you'll detect a secret door (no
matter what your search and spot skills are).
6 - Quiz Statues
In both of these places, if you destroy the tapestry and open the secret door, then you'll find two chests
in the room beyond. The chests will mostly drop random loot, but you're likely to find a rare gem in the
first secret room and the recipe book Advanced Abjuratives in the second secret room.
8 - Loyalty Statue
9 - Burial Chamber
If you got any of the statue questions wrong, then the chests in this room will start out locked, and you'll
have to unlock them yourself. If you got all of the questions right, then the chests will be unlocked.
Inside of the chests, you'll find some random loot, plus Mirrored Armor and the Wizard's Ally.
10 - Exit Door
This door will open once you've looted the coffin in the burial room (#9). If Guyven is in Crossroad Keep,
then when you approach the door, you'll be informed that he'd probably like to hear about this area,
and you'll receive 100 xp.
Exits: