This sequel was designed with the Aurora Engine, also used by its predecessor, and the game's toolset was included in the game's release for players to use in designing their own adventures.
Neverwinter Nights 2 went into development in July 2004. The story is mostly unrelated to Neverwinter Nights and follows the journey of an orphaned adventurer investigating a group of mysterious artifacts known as 'silver shards' and their connection to an ancient, evil spirit known as the King of Shadows. Neverwinter Nights 2 is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting-in and around the city of Neverwinter. They may gain the assistance of additional party members, and they eventually acquire a keep that can be used as a base of operations. Players create player characters to represent themselves in the game, using the same character creation rules as found in the Dungeons & Dragons game.
Neverwinter Nights 2 utilizes an adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition rules. It is the sequel to BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, based on the Dungeons & Dragons pencil and paper fantasy role-playing game. Neverwinter Nights 2 is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari, Inc.