I finally figured out how to create modded items in Neverwinter Nights 1. It is a process, but you only need the tools that came with the game. Namely the Toolset and Hack Pak Editor. I used it to create swords and armor for Blood Raven and Stormcrow.
Here is how it works. It looks exhausting, but I went really granular. Once you get the hang of it, it can go rather quick.
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Start by opening the Toolset.
In the original version of the game this is located within the main menu of the game.
In EE, the link there has been removed. Instead go to your Neverwinter Nights\bin\Win32 folder (not the one located in This PC\Documents, but the one on a regular hard drive). Double click on nwtoolset.exe
When the Toolset starts, you should see a Welcome! box already open, set to Open an Existing Module. Change that to Creat New Module, and press OK.
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A module creation Wizard starts, click Next to start it. (Basically go through it all to make a new area, and stick with the defaults. None of that will matter in the end.) Keep the default name it gives, as it will not matter, and continue. Click on the Area Wizard button in the next window. Again, use the default name in the next window, and pick any Tileset. It won't matter. Click Next in the Area Size window, again, it will not matter. Then click Finish. You should now have a Create Areas window open, with the Current Area showing the one you just created selected. Click Next, then Finish.
Note, if you are going to create many items, it is worth it to keep this module you are creating, and give it a specific name.
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Now you will be back in the main Toolset Window. Go to the top Menu Bar -> Wizards -> Item Wizard. This will bring up an Item Type window. Pick the kind of item you want to create, and click Next.
Give it a temporary name (this will change later), and click the Magical box. I do not think what you select in the Item Level or Quality boxes matter.
Select Palette Category comes next. Again, pick the kind of item you want.
In the next window, click the box for Launch Item Properties, and click Finish.
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You will be back in the main Toolset screen. But now you will see a box on your right with a tree of items, and the one you just created will be selected. Right click on it, and select Edit Copy.
An Item Properties window will come up. At the botoom will be the Item Name. Change this to the final name you want to appear in the game. Now look at the Tag and Blueprint ResRef boxes. Copy the name from one into the other, they both must be identical. (This is the entire reason we had to make this copy of the item. You cannot alter these fields the first time you made the item.). Whatever name you use here will be what you name the rest of your files as, and what you will use to acquire the item in the game.
Now tweak your item how you want it, across the various tabs. Many of the entires are hard-coded, and cannot be edited. Like the Total Cost, Base Weight, Armor Class, etc... These will all automatically changed based on the variables you can change.
If it is Armor or Clothing, start with Appearance. The base stats of any armor is based on the appearance of the Torso. If the Torso looks like chain, it will have chain's armor class, arcane spellcasting penalty, skill penalty, etc... The starting options are unarmored cloth, and become heavier in class as you go up in numbers. There are drop downs for each portion of the armor, with numerous options to choose from. Tweak the appearance and check back to the General tab until you get what you want for the stats. For Armor, only the Torso section matters for the item's stats.
Also note that you can change colors in Appearance, and the box for it will have Leather 1 hightlighted. You can click this, and it drops down all the other areas of the armor you can change the color for as well. Take your time and make it look how you want.
Once you have that set, go to the Properties tab. Some will be selected already. You can add or remove them by using the little -> <- keys between the Available Propterties and Assigned Properties boxes. Select all the ones you want. You can also double click one in the Available list, and it will automatically populate in the Assigned box.
Note that many properties (like AC Bonus) will populate at its lowest level. Double-click on it in the Assigned Properties box and it will bring up a Select Property Parameters. Here you can change the value of the bonus. Again, double-click the parameter you want, and you will see it come up in the Item Cost Parameter on the left. Click Ok, once you are done with it.
Also note that in the Properties Tab, you can check the box for Identified near the bottom. Do so.
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Once you are finished, click OK to all. This sends you back to the main Toolset Window. Now you will see the two versions of your new item on the right side. Rick-click on the second version, and Export. It will bring up a window to save it in your This PC\Documents\Neverwinter Nights\Erf folder. The filename will be that of the Tag and Blueprint ResRef boxes. The extension will be .erf. Don't change anything, and click on Save. In the comments window that pops up next, just click Ok, then Ok again.
You are now done with the Toolset. You can close it without saving if you want. But if you want to go back and make changes to your item later, you will have to start over from scratch. So I suggest leaving it open until you finished creating it and test it in your game.
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Now go back to your Neverwinter Nights\bin\Win32 folder (not the one located in This PC\Documents, but the one on a regular hard drive). Double click on nwhak.exe this time.
This starts the Bioware Hack Pak Editor. Go to the top Menu Bar and click on Resource -> Add.
It brings up a window showing the contents of the ERF folder you just save to above. You will see the file you just created. Double click on it, and you will be sent back to the main window. Nothing will appear to have happened. But do not worry! That is normal. Now go to the Menu Bar again, and click on File -> Open. A new window will pop up, showing your ERF folder, with your file already selected. Click on Open.
Now you are back at the main window once more. But now you will see your file listed down under Resource. Right-Click on it, and Export. Now you will have to browse to your This PC\Documents\Neverwinter Nights\Override folder. Save it there, and close the Hak Pak Editor.
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Finally, go to your game and test.
Once in the game, open the console and type in (this is case sensitive!):
DebugMode 1
then
dm_spawnitem (your file name)
This will be the name of the file in your Override folder, and the name in the Tag and Blueprint ResRef boxes from the Item Properties. Do not put in the .uti extension at the end.
It will appear under your cursor. Pick it up and you can use it. If you did not check the Identified box, you will have identify it first either yourself, or through a merchant.
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At this point all you need to use the item in the .UTI file in your override folder. You can delete the other files if you want. However, I suggest you hang on to at least the ERF file, if not the module.
This is because if you ever want to go back and edit the item, you can open the Toolset, and go to File -> Import, and bring in the ERF file. From there you can edit the item and re-export it as a new UTI file.
You might save a single module for all of your item mods. That will allow you to skip creating one every time you make an item. Simply start the Toolset, and load the module from the opening Welcome! box. Once it starts, Go to the Menu Bar and click on the 'Go To Start Location' button. Then look to the right and click on the Paint Items icon (it looks like a sword). Then select the Custom tab beneath it. You will see your modded items in here. From this point you can go to the top Menu Bar and click on Wizards -> Item Wizard to create a new item.