Custom rules, mechanics, spells, and UIs

ALFA: Sea of Swords uses a custom adaptation of the D&D 3.5e ruleset. This means that we have made a wide variety of changes and additions to the base Neverwinter Nights gameplay and ruleset.

You can find full details about these changes in our online Player Guide, as well as in the in-game ALFA Player Guide.

We are constantly adding more changes and updates to make our game closer to the 3.5e rules.

Custom class mechanics

A wide variety of changes have been made to classes to bring them closer to the 3.5e ruleset. Full details are available in our online Player Guide. Here are a few examples:

  • Spellcasters have access to a wide array of custom spells from 3.5e; see ‘Custom Spells’ below for more info.
  • Bards and Rangers receive 6 skillpoints per level instead of 4
  • Bards do not suffer Arcane Spell Failure penalties from wearing Light Armor (when casting Bard spells), and have Bardic Weapon Proficiency
  • Rangers and Druids receive the Wild Empathy feat, which allows them to gain additional animal companions. Rangers and Druids can also train animal companions (and Wild Empathy companions) with various useful ‘tricks’, allowing the companions to e.g. scout for them.
  • Rangers and Druids benefit from the Share Spell feat which grants the benefits of any buff spells cast on themselves, to their animal companion.
  • Rangers receive Animal Companion feat at level 4, and Track at level 2. Tracking is implemented in-game; on a successful roll the Ranger can find out all sorts of useful information about nearby enemies.
  • Monks who have gloves equipped can benefit from weapon buff spells such as Flame Weapon.
  • Paladins get access to the Summon Mount feat.
  • Sorcerors and Wizards also gain the Share Spell feat which allows buffs cast on them to be shared with their familiars.
  • All classes get access to the jump, climb and (for those with the right spells) fly abilities.
  • All classes have access to a range of resource gathering and crafting tools and skills, including brewing/alchemy, component gathering from creature corpses using the Hunting Knife and Syringe items, mineral/herb/mushroom gathering, ore and gem mining, smithing, smelting and forging, enchanting and wand crafting, fletching and much more.

Custom UIs

  • Spellcasters can make use of our Quickcast UI window, a moveable, resizeable custom UI tool which allows you to easily see and cast all your spells without having to take up Quickbar slots
  • Rangers and druids can use the animal companion/wild empathy Companion Command UI to issue commands to their companions
  • Spellcasters with Teleport or Word of Recall spells can use a custom Teleport UI to memorize and select the target destination(s) for those spells

Custom Spells

There are a large number of spell customisations in our ruleset, which introduces new spells and spell mechanics from 3.5e as well as adjusting existing Neverwinter Nights spells to be closer to their 3.5e rules. Full details are in our online Player Guide. Here are just a few examples:

  • Fly – this spell allows the caster to fly around areas, crossing large distances or flying up on top of tall buildings and towers.
  • Teleport and Word of Recall – casters with these spells can memorize target location(s) and jump themselves and party members to those locations upon casting the spell. As in 3.5e D&D, for Teleport the reliability of the jump depends on how familiar your character is with the target destination.
  • Arcane Eye, Clairvoyance/Claudience – these spells are fully implemented in-game. When the spell is cast, the player’s view is transported to the target location of the spell. With Arcane Eye, the view can then be moved around the gameworld for the duration of the spell.
  • Feather Fall – implemented as in the 3.5e ruleset. When the character this has been cast on jumps from a high place, their fall is slowed and they will not suffer damage so long as the spell is still ongoing and they are not encumbered.

Custom races

In addition to the usual six racial types in Neverwinter Nights, the following subraces are also available to select when you create your character:

  • Silverbrow Human
  • Arctic Dwarf
  • Shield Dwarf
  • Wild Dwarf
  • Gold Dwarf
  • Fireblood Dwarf
  • Duergar (DM approval required)
  • Moon Elf
  • Wood Elf
  • Wild Elf
  • Dark elf (Drow) (DM approval required)
  • Half-drow (DM approval required)
  • Sun Elf
  • Snow Elf
  • Rock Gnome
  • Stonehunter Gnome
  • Whisper Gnome
  • Forest Gnome
  • Svirfneblin (DM approval required)
  • Strongheart Halfling
  • Tundra Halfling
  • Glimmerskin Halfling
  • Tallfellow Halfling
  • Deep Halfling
  • Frostblood Orc (DM approval required)

Dwarves on Sea of Swords benefit from Dwarven Weapon Proficiency (Dwarven Waraxe)