[ Download Link ]

Mod author: Lava Del’V0rtel

Version used for review: 4.2.

“Once an independent village located on an Isle, the Tangled Oak Isle became the part of Athkatla. As the city grew bigger, it swallowed the isle, which can now be accessed not only by boats but also by a bridge. While the Isle is by law part of the City of Coin, it has kept its identity, mostly due to the villagers and the symbol that unites them: that of the Tangled Oak that grows in the middle of the isle.”

Creating new districts for Athkatla is always an ambitious goal, but Tangled Oak Isle takes it one step further with a rare combination of factors: an immense creativity that shines through in every moment of its playtime, and a level of authenticity that makes it feel as though it could have been part of Baldur’s Gate II from the get-go.

The largest mod in the Athkatlan Grounds series, Tangled Oak Isle is an impressive addition to the game. It adds a new section of Athkatla to the map, with many new quests associated with it ranging from minor to major. The presentation, writing, and integration brings to mind an alternate reality in which Shadows of Amn received a ‘Tales of the Sword Coast’-like expansion. There are a lot of ideas within Tangled Oak that feel unique and experimental for Baldur’s Gate II, and I’m very glad that they manage to stick the landing. Even what feels like treaded ground for the modding community manages to feel fresh here — there are a few ideas in this mod that I’ve seen attempted before, but none of them that I think have executed quite as well as seen here.

Needless to say, I think Tangled Oak Isle is pretty good. It concerns an island community that once lived separated from Athkatla, but as the city developed outwards, it was eventually subsumed into part of it, located west of the Temple Distritct. Despite the impeding gentrification of their village, the little community of the isle has stayed strong in its identity, and as you venture around the town, you may ask the locals on their opinions of the matter. It’s an enjoyable bit of worldbuilding and it helps to give Tangled Oak a sense of place and time within the game.

The titular oak tree that stands proudly in the centre of the isle is sick. This is likely the first thing that you will learn upon entering the village, and the mod’s main quest revolves around curing it. To do so took me about an hour and a half, including a smattering of getting distracted by talking to NPCs and reloading the game to “see what happens if I kill this guy” (an essential part of the review process). It’s a pretty good quest, though it suffers from a case that quest mods often have — a particularly dramatic resolution to a, for the most part, fairly mundane quest. Thankfully, Tangled Oak’s case isn’t too bad, but this is a trend that I’ve been noticing as I review mods for this project. The issue usually stems from a lack of appropriate foreshadowing, or a desire to “get to the good stuff” sooner instead of letting the suspension stew and the stakes naturally ramp up — imagine that Firkraag was simply laying in wait within the first cave of his dungeon. The dangerous labyrinth and the encounters with its inhabitants are essential to making him appear an imposing villain, and then it’s topped off with the reveal of him being a great red dragon.

As I said, Tangled Oak sets its main quest up fairly well, and it manages to sink in multiple interesting plot hooks that culminate in a satisfying resolution that is distinctly devoid of combat encounters. Unless you’re specifically out for blood, that is. There are also a couple of beautifully crafted areas in addition to the isle itself.

The minor quests inhabit almost every building on the isle, but it doesn’t feel overloaded, or as if the whole village is waiting around for a hero to solve their problems. The people here have ongoing lives, and you’ve just stumbled into the middle of them — a missing ring, a woman having issues with a golem, a person so overwhelmed by her senses that she can’t sleep, and a book club. Yes, there’s a book club. You can read the book of the week, return, and discuss it. It’s incredibly cute, and I enjoyed it a lot.

There are two quests that require leaving the isle, one of which involves a new combat encounter. Overall, the quality of the quests in this mod are some of the best from the Athkatlan Grounds series, and I thought they were all decently executed.

The village is beautifully put together. I love the way that the bridge you enter in from looks like it was built far more recently than everything around it, and that the entry point is from within Athkatla itself. As you walk over the bridge, the sound of running water can be heard. Entering the village, the ambient sounds of townsfolk and chirping birds cement that this is a place of duality — both remote village, and a district of Athkatla.

There are commoners walking around, cats patrolling the pathways, and wagons that lie around as merchants sell their goods around the great oak. The mod excellently sets up the sort of atmosphere I would expect from a place like this with its soundscape, and it was something that I noticeably appreciated while playing. It has that classic Baldur’s Gate charm of just being a nice place to exist in.

There is no new voice acting, which I can appreciate (none is better than low quality, in my opinion), but some of the characters use soundsets that were either unfamiliar to me or that I had simply forgotten existed. It made the characters stand out a little more compared to the generic NPCs throughout Athkatla.

After the main quest has been completed, you are rewarded with some items explicitly meant for use by a fighter/mage, as well as some murky black liquid. Taking this liquid to Ribald of the Adventurer’s Mart, he will be able to identify it as dragon’s blood. Giving him 15,000 gp will have him give it to an alchemist to purify it, resulting in a vial of silver dragon’s blood. If you’re not interested in this sort of ‘alternate path’ aspect that many mods include, this part is very much optional. However, I do think that the price of having to complete the main quest of Tangled Oak Isle and dish out 15,000 gold makes this a worthy addition to the mod. I dislike when it’s too easy to gain special items like this, but here you really have to work for it.

Other than these, there are several new magical items that can be purchased from vendors on Tangled Oak Isle, and they’re inoffensive, enjoyable additions into the game — nothing gamebreakingly powerful, but perhaps one or two items that you may find yourself using until late in the game, depending on your characters.

I have to give this mod my sincere recommendation. If you’re in it for the new areas to explore, the story, characters, loot, or just to try something new, then you can’t really go wrong with Tangled Oak Isle. The only thing it lacks is combat encounters, but I feel as though they would feel out of place in a peaceful little place like this. It’s a quality mod, and I’ll be sure to include it in my adventures going forth.

Thanks for reading.