[ Download Link ]

Mod author: Lava Del’V0rtel

Version used for review: 1.6.

“Alabaster Sands is a small quest mod from the Athkatlan Grounds quest mod series, which adds new areas and quests to Shadow of Amn’s main city location. So visit, help those you’ll meet there, and see this brand new part of the City of Coin.“

From all the things in the world that I didn’t know I needed, a beach in Athkatla is fairly close to the top. Alabastar Sands is a mod that introduces just that, and while my heart desires nothing more than a relaxing holiday with the Baldur’s Gate cast, this is something far better — an extension to Athkatla that feels completely in harmony with the rest of the city.

Alabastar Sands looks and feels like it was part of Athkatla from the get-go. Much of that, I think, is thanks to the sharp and tonally consistent writing, and the author’s willingness to craft a space that feels like it wasn’t designed for the explicit purpose of being explored by the player.

The area is smaller than the Slums, but larger than the City Gates area. For those that have played Southern Edge, an earlier entry in the Athkatlan Grounds series, Alabastar Sands is smaller still than that area. This is to its benefit, as I believe that a place like this could very easily overstay its welcome… Though perhaps that’s just my personal aversion of beaches talking.

Visually speaking, Alabastar Sands is… Athkatla, warts and all, and I say that affectionately. The stairs to the sands lead down from a very Athkatlan-looking wall, and it lends the beach a sense of place and some much needed believability — nothing here looks like it’s particularly out of place, which is commendable, considering that the number of existing beaches in the Infinity Engine is quite limited.

The main quest of the area involves assisting a painter capture the view from the shore in his work. Don’t let the simplicity of this concept fool you — it will have you acquiring dozens of generic gems over time and traveling all over the city to fetch components for the final product. What would at first glance seem like an annoying fetch quest that drags on for far too long ends up being an enjoyable side-objective in your everyday adventuring through Amn. There are also some emotional moments that may fall a little flat for some, but resonated with me enough that I found myself invested in the quest and its characters.

Taking a premise that could easily be mundane and boring for the player and making it into a genuinely enjoyable and relatable experience is something that I greatly appreciate, and Alabastar Sands pulls it off admirably. The reward you find yourself with at the end of it feels appropriate and worthwhile, too.

There are a few other small quests involving the area too, with all having a somewhat light tone, save for one that appears only during three hours of the night. During the night is also the time in which you can visit the guard’s tent and witness a progressing romance between two Athkatlan soldiers, somewhat akin to Garrick’s encounters outside the Hall of the Radiant Heart. All of this, along with the few merchants and the commoners littering the beach, makes Alabastar Sands feel like a dynamic experience that gives you plenty of reason to make semi-regular stops here.

There are also several items that the mod introduces, some via quest rewards and others by the new jeweler merchant in the southern corner of the area. I always welcome new ways to spend gold in this game where it’s so abundant, especially when the items are fun and balanced additions into the game.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Alabastar Sands as much as I did, but I wholeheartedly recommend trying this one out if you haven’t. From hereon out it shall become a permanent stop in my Amnian adventurers. It is most definitely worth your time, however small it may be.

Thanks for reading.