Crossroad Keep
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Crossroad Keep is a fortress along the High Road south of Neverwinter. It plays a major role in the official campaign.
Initially, it is the stronghold of one of the main antagonists, Black Garius. In Act II, after Black Garius is killed due the PC's interference with his ritual, Lord Nasher rewards the player with command of the Keep. The player can then recruit soldiers, build fortifications and shops, and basically run their own land from the keep. The keep also becomes one of the main sites of battle against the forces of the King of Shadows in the official campaign.
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[edit] Rebuilding
When the keep first comes into the PC's possession, the area is almost completely in ruins due to neglect. Though Lord Nasher grants the player a stipend of 70,000 gold to help refurbish the keep, in order to raise further funds and prepare the keep for war the surrounding areas and the keep itself must be repaired in order to attract merchants, peasants, and other recruits that will aid the PC in his/her cause. The player can also pay keep fees directly out of his/her pocket. It is highly recommended that the player saves as much gold as possible as repairing the keep is anything but cheap.
- Keep Interior
- Personal Suite - 15,000 gold. Contains a locked drawer to store equipment.
- West Wing - 15,000 gold. Grants access to the War Room which contains a key the locked drawer in the personal suite.
- Library - 15,000 gold. This area will be automatically rebuilt by Nasher in Act III if the PC hasn't already done so.
- Courtyard
- Smithy - 10,000 gold. Allows PC to recruit a blacksmith and an armorer to improve Greycloak troop equipment.
- Merchant Shop - 10,000 gold. Allows PC to recruit two general merchants.
- Fortifications - Increases Land Security and draws more peasants which in turn bolsters militia.
- Patching up the Walls - 25,000 gold
- Reinforcing the Walls - 50,000 gold
- Building Towers on the outer walls with arrow slits - 75,000 gold
- Surrounding Areas - Increases Road Security which in turn draws more merchants and funds.
- Widening the trail to the keep for merchants - 10,000 gold
- Cobbling the trail - 35,000 gold
- Extensive work on nearby roads - 50,000 gold
- Bridges and Watch Towers - 100,000 gold
- Old Church Ruins - Available only in Act III and can be converted into either a church or monastery.
- Tower - Available only in Act III and can be used as either a headquarters for the Neverwinter Nine or a Wizard's Tower.
- Neverwinter Nine Guard Tower - 50,000 gold. Offers a chance for the PC to spar with Nevalle and gain +1 BAB boost. Also has a merchant that sells items tailored towards the non-spellcasting classes.
- Wizard's Tower - 100,000 gold. Has a wizard's merchant that sells items for alchemy and equipment for the spellcasting classes.
[edit] Residents
Aside from the PC and companions, certain NPCs also take up residence at the keep if the PC recruits them or certain requirements are met.
[edit] Automatic
- Aldanon - serves as the keep sage. Joins automatically at the end of Act II or earlier if the library is rebuilt.
- Daegun - serves as a scout. Joins automatically in Act III.
- Kana - adjutant and handles the keep's day to day operations. Automatically joins the keep.
- Nevalle - serves as Nasher's liaison. Automatically joins in Act III.
- Sal - owns the Phoenix Tail Inn. Automatically joins the keep. Depending on the number of merchants and peasants, he will also recruit minstrels and bards to sing at the inn.
- Uncus - serves as a fence (buys stolen goods). If the PC is a member of the Shadow Thieves, he also serves as a second 'unofficial' adjutant that helps the PC run a corrupt keep and also serves as Axle's liaison. He joins automatically if the PC is a Shadow Thief but City Watch PCs have the option of turning him away.
- Master Veedle - in charge of repairs to the keep and the surrounding areas. Automatically joins the keep.
[edit] Recruitable
- Bevil Starling - serves as a sergeant. Joins in Act III if the PC talks to him in Act II before West Harbor is destroyed.
- Caelryna Seerar - serves as a merchant. Can be recruited once she is rescued on Mount Galardrym.
- Calindra - serves as a miner and gives the PC gold for each ore deposit discovered. Can be recruited by the PC in Port Llast if the PC helps her find her missing friend.
- Deekin Scalesinger - serves as a merchant. Can be recruited in Neverinter's Merchant Quarter.
- Edario - serves as an armorer for the Greycloaks. Can be recruited at Highcliff only after the smithy is built and the miner Pentin has been recruited.
- Guyven of the Road - serves as a scout. Can be recruited if the PC finds him at the Bonegnasher Approach (Act I), Githyanki Approach (Act I), and at Ember (Act II) and is nice to him at each encounter. He has a history of being bugged and may not always appear.
- Ivarr the Blessed - serves as a priest at the church of Tyr. Joins only if the PC decides to build the church ruins into a Church of Tyr.
- Jacoby - serves as a weaponsmith for the Greycloaks. Can be recruited at Fort Locke only after the smithy is built and the miner Pentin has been recruited.
- Jalboun of the Two Blades - serves as a sergeant. Joins only if the PC bribes him and manages to keep him alive during the battle with Sydney Natale.
- Joy - dances at the Phoenix Tail Inn and improves keep morale. Can be recruited by the PC in the Neverwinter Merchant Quarter near Blacklake Gate during Act III.
- Katriona - serves as a sergeant. Can be recruited at Old Owl Well.
- Khulmar - liaison for the Ironfist clan. Joins the keep only if an alliance is forged between Neverwinter and the Ironfist Dwarves.
- Kistrel - knits the PC a cloak. Joins only if it is befriended by the PC in the Glowstone Cave.
- Lasshiva - liaison for Batha's lizardfolk tribe. Joins only if an alliance if forged between Neverwinter the Lizardfolk.
- Light of Heavens - serves as a sergeant. Can only be recruited if the PC defeats her 3 times in a duel.
- Mephasm - offers to enchant the PC's items for a price (the PC must give him his/her favorite weapon at end of 3 transactions). Can be summoned in Act III if the PC bargains with him.
- Orlen - helps to look after the farm land and manage the peasants. Can be recruited by the PC at West Harbor during Act II before it is destroyed.
- Pentin - serves as a miner that gives the PC ingots for each ore deposit discovered. Can be recruited at Old Owl Well only if he was previously saved from the orcs in the Bonegnasher Lair.
- Rolan - passes on his secret teachings to the PC if he/she is a monk. Joins only if the Sun Soul Monastery is built.
- Startear - takes residence in the keep only if the Wizard's Tower is built.
- Torio Claven - provides information for potential recruits. Joins only if the PC saves her from execution and requests that she be transfered to the keep.
- Wolf - provides quick travel around the keep. You must have a good reputation with the beggar children of Neverwinter(side with them during any event in the city).
[edit] Events
Events are usually triggered if the Keep stats (such as number of peasants and merchants) meet a certain requirement.
- Ziffer and Village Charter - triggers if there are 30 or more peasants at the keep. Offers the PC a chance to get more taxes thus increasing the keeps fund. It is recommended to only lightly tax them or not at all.
- Ziffer's men volunteer to be Greycloaks - triggers only if the Village charter is signed and Unrest is low and the peasants are not taxed heavily. Bolsters the Greycloack ranks. It is recommended that only the men that meet the standards be accepted if not overall Greycloak quality will decrease permanently.
- Captain's Company - triggers if Greycloak training is best of the best and Katriona is recruited. +20% morale, -10 Unit Strength.
- Merchant Caravan - triggers if there are 50 or more merchants at the keep. The PC gets to choose one of the 3 merchant Caravans to set shop at the keep. The Circle of Friends (major lawful shift, civility +1), Forgotten Lords (minor chaotic chift, civility -1, tithe +10%) and the Fated Winds (major evil and chaotic shift, civility -2, tithe +20%).
- Raven's Allies - triggers after 3 events. Accepting the Raven Allies Mercenaries will decrease Greycloak civility and quality but adds +25% to unit strength.
- Dobson - not sure what the trigger is for this one. Make an example of Dobson (lawful shift, civility +2, morale -2, merchant growth -1.0%), pardon Dobson (chaotic shift, morale +1, merchant growth +0.5%), try to extort gold (chaos shift, civility -1, morale +1, merchant growth +1.0%).
- Sheriff from Leeves - triggers if Land Security is 10 or more.
- Daerred and his group - triggers 3 times through the campaign at specific key points. If the PC accepts them and gives them legitimate work (by asking them to investigate Port Llast, then the King of Shadows, then the Illefarn Empire), they will survive their quest and give the PC a gift. If the PC has lied to them, or given them the mission to investigate the guardian, they end up dead in the King of Shadows' lair.
- Receive gift from Greycloaks - triggers only in Act III if the all sergeants have been recruited, greycloaks have best weapons and armor, training is best of the best and greycloak quality is elite, morale is high and Captain's Company is formed.
[edit] Greycloak Special Missions
These special mission are made available only during certain keep times. Keep time increases 2.5% every time you enter a new area in the keep (moving from the courtyard to the keep interior). The outcome of the special missions depends on how well trained and equipped the Greycloacks are. It is recommended to assign Jalboun to special missions since he increases the outcome by 3 points.
- Old Man Morris - 10%<=KT<=15%.
- Doman the Ogre - 20%<=KT<=25% and Jacoby must have been recruited.
- Escort Tax Collectors - KT=27.5%, 10 or more peasants and the Tax rate > 0.
- Bugbears - 37.5%<=KT<=45%.
- Undead Scouts - 52.5%<=KT<=62.5%
- Shadow Priest - 70%<=KT<=77.5%
- Find Shadow Reaver's base - 85%<=KT<=100% and acquired the True Name Scrolls from Sydney.
Note:
- These missions can become bugged when a mission is started but not allowed to end due to the stalled "keep time" phenomenon (keep time stops advancing, in order to force main story questing).
- In other words, this could happen if you start the Doman the Ogre special mission, then leave the keep, advancing keep time to the stalling point. At this point, no more can be done with the men or missions... including finishing an already complete mission. If you re-enter the keep and speak to Kana, she won't mention the mission's outcome. Instead, she will simply say the men are tasked to capacity.
- This can either result in no more missions being completed, or a "lag" in missions, where you get the results from a previous mission only after starting the next mission and then passing keep time. (It seems as if the game is improperly awarding you previous mission results for completing current missions, but this is not confirmed.)
[edit] Keep Ruler Feats
If the PC meets certain requirements, he/she also gains an epithet feat which reflects his/her lordship over the keep.
- Warden of the Keep - Greycloak civility must be high, the Church of Tyr must be built, Joy and Light of Heavens must have been recruited, Uncus and Caelryna must not be in the keep, and the PC must be good aligned. You can not become Warden if you joined the thieves in act II, as you cannot refuse Uncus.
- Dreadlord of the Keep - Greycloak civility must be low, the Wizard's Tower must be built, Uncus and Caelryna must have been recruited, Joy and Light of Heavens must not be in the keep, the Church of Tyr must not be built, and the PC must be evil aligned. You can not become Dreadlord if you joined the citywatch in act II. This is not a restriction itsef, but later you can not bring the greycloak civility down by giving Uncus these special orders and Greycloak civility will stop at medium.
[edit] Deleted Content
- Kana was originally supposed to be recruited first by the PC before she takes post at the keep.
- Teelah from the Moonstone Mask was supposed to arrive at the keep seeking refuge because she missed her caravan that was headed for Waterdeep. If the PC allows her to stay, she dances in the Phoenix Tail Inn.
- Another dancer named Jazren was supposed to arrive as well and dance at the Inn.
- There was supposed to be another area in the keep that needed to be rebuilt. It could either be turned into a gambling den by Uncus or a park by Naevan.
- After completing the Sheriff of Leeves event, if the Greycloaks were successful two Halflings were supposed to take residence in the keep.
[edit] Tidbits
- It was originally intended that the PC's base of operations would have been the Hollows, a burnt down tavern in the docks district of Neverwinter. Most likely it is the burnt down building next to the Flagon, as it stands out as being the only ruin within Neverwinter itself.
