Thoughts on Molior RS
Introduction
When I was young, I had a dumb dream. I wanted to remake RuneScape with "Skyrim graphics" even though I had yet to play that game at the time. I downloaded Google SketchUp, tried to make a "realistic" bronze bar, failed and promptly gave up.
Still, the fascination I had with "pseudo-realistic graphics" didn't fade. When I tried the original version of Oblivion last year, I briefly entertained the idea of making some kind of RuneScape themed mod but quickly dismissed this idea as it would require a monumental amount of effort I was not ready to commit to.
Two weeks ago, I was looking into RuneScape clones for research regarding a personal project. I stumbled upon the video Colonello made about Molior RS seven years ago.
Molior RS is a Jagex-approved persistent world for Neverwinter Nights 2 (the Complete Edition, not the Enhanced Edition) that recreate RuneScape. A persistent world is essentially a custom server with mods. The closest equivalent I could think of would be a Minecraft server with lots of plugins and a resource pack. Minecraft aside, this is the first time I ever see a game that allows players to create a small MMORPG with mods. This is an interesting concept that is sadly not very explored.
The mod piqued my curiosity. The first question I had is whatever the server was still online or not. When looking up information about Molior RS, all I could find were seemingly abandoned web pages that strongly suggested the server was gone. I, however, stumbled upon their YouTube channel which clearly showcased the newly released Morytania expansion.
I was flabbergasted at the fact they had implemented Morytania and even some of its quest. The fact I saw that Creature of Fenkenstrain and Darkness of Hallowvale had been implemented kicked my interest into overdrive. I had to play this now.
I found a Discord invitation link in a comment on one of the recent videos and promptly installed the mod. It should be noted that I never played Neverwinter Nights 2 before. Although you do not need to create an account, players need to remember some credentials they made up.
Graphics
Lumbridge Castle top in Molior RS
Molior RS was my childhood dream of seeing RuneScape with "Skyrim graphics" come true. Well, I guess the graphics are closer to Oblivion, but that's close enough for me.
I once again felt an intense childlike wonder just like when I played Oblivion. It was an absolute treat seeing RuneScape with early 2000s pseudo-realistic graphics. Seeing Gielinor with proper lightning and a day/night cycle is truly a sight to revel in. I felt like I had been transported into an alternate timeline where Jagex had decided to completely remake the game in 2006. What fascinated me is how this game felt like it had been specifically designed for my tastes. It reminded me of that RuneScape Remastered leak we had in 2017 that never materialized. Molior RS was everything I wanted out of a remake/remaster of RuneScape.
Although the game world generally seems to be a close recreation the RS2/RS3 map, the devs took some liberties in some area. For instance, Lumbridge Swamp is absolutely huge. Some areas, such as the Wizard's Tower, is a mix of their RuneScape 3 and Old School RuneScape counterparts.
While most of Molior RS' graphics are constant, not everything is perfect. The game occasionally uses geometry from Old School RuneScape that clashes heavily with Neverwinter Nights 2's artstyle, take Aubury's Runecrafting skill cape for example:
I am not familiar with the array of available NWN2 assets, but considering RuneScape is generally made of basic forms, I am sure it would be possible to mash some NWN2 meshes together to create an asset that would fit the game more.
The UI is a bit of a mess. While most of it appears to be from the base NWN2 game, the minimap and inventory are a blurry recreation of their counterpart from OSRS. In my humble opinion, it would have been better to use sprites from the 2012 era of the original game.
Music
Port-Sarim in Molior RS
The music in this mod is also a mess. I counted six different types of music while playing:
- Default Neverwinter Nights 2 music
- Early RuneScape 2 music (MIDI without soundfont)
- Late RuneScape 2/Old School RuneScape music (MIDI with soundfont)
- RuneScape HD music (different soundfont from above)
- RuneScape 3 music
- Custom remixes
Going to an area playing beautifully orchestrated RuneScape 3 music to another one playing early RuneScape 2 MIDI music is quite jarring. I discussed this issue with the lead dev on Discord. I was told that nostalgia (meaning RS2 music) is generally prioritized.
I must admit that I find the decisions baffling there. I know that not every music track was reworked in RS3 and thus using RS2 music to some degree is inevitable but they went out of their way to put some RS2 music in the game. For example, Lumbridge apparently used to play the RS3 version of Harmony but it was changed to its early RS2 iteration.
Music as always been an important part of the gaming experience for me. I think Molior RS would be better by putting RS3 music everywhere it can and use custom remixes to fill the gaps. I think it is better to go all in on the "remake" aspect. If the preservation of the original melodies is a must, I would automatically render all the RS2 MIDIs with an orchestral soundfont in Foobar2000 to at least give this mod a coherent audio direction.
I am thankful that the area I was looking forward for the most, Morytania, almost exclusively used RuneScape 3 music.
Gameplay
Ardougne in Molior RS
Gameplay-wise, Molior RS is mechanically very close to RuneScape. Most interactions have been faithfully recreated, but some require unexpected actions to be performed due to the underlying NWN2 engine. An example of this is how stealing from men in Lumbridge requires you to use an item on them. I also struggled to open a door during a quest as I did not know NWN2 had a "use item on scenery" function.
From what I can tell, the engine powering Neverwinter 2 is janky as hell. While moving, your character will often teleport a few steps back due to minor synchronization issues with the client and server. Speaking of traversal, the world of Molior RS is contained into large zones. Loading screens are frequent. What is most annoying is how there is no lodestone network or equivalent for the Home Teleport spell. Although you are given a book that can teleport you to Lumbridge when you start the game, it will quickly run out of charges. There is no way of recharging it. I found that the most reliable method of teleportation was dying as you only lose some combat experience when doing so.
Speaking of combat, it uses the NWN2 system. Although you are forced to pick a class, I was told you can still level up the other combat styles. While skilling XP rates are boosted variants from the official versions, the same cannot sadly be said about combat. The experience a monster gives seems to be based on your current combat level, which makes leveling up an absolute chore, perhaps even more than in the regular RuneScapes. Combat styles are thankfully capped at level 30.
While most quests appears to have been faithfully recreated, some have received significant change. An example is how a portion of Priest in Peril takes place in a totally different location. I saw there was some custom quests on the quest list, but I did not check them out due to time constraints in my life.
Conclusions
Outside of Fenkenstrain's Castle in Molior RS
Molior RS is overall a good replica of RuneScape. It sadly reminded me why I don't play that game anymore, I cannot tolerate the grind like I used to. This was most apparent with the combat grind - I only bothered getting three levels. I think the game would be massively improved if this issue was addressed.
I will not continue to play Molior RS, but this is not the fault of the mod. It is probable that I will soon face significant hardship in my life in the coming months. As such, I will prioritize form of entertainment I enjoy the most and Molior RS sadly do not fit my requirements due to the grindy combat. I am not opposed to revisit it once will have settled down a bit.
I believe that the mod has significant room for improvement. I think it could achieve great heights if it went the full "remake" route while still retaining the core aspects of RuneScape. An example of this could be changing quests to be correct their flaws, like how Creature of Fenkenstrain could be a lot better.
What saddens me the most is how Molior RS is an online-only experience. I fear that one day it will shut down for one reason and another and that we will lose this amazing recreation of RuneScape. I think the server should ideally be open-source, but I must admit I am unfamiliar with the logistics of running a Neverwinter Nights 2 persistent world, so I am not sure how feasible this would be. I took 132 screenshots while playing as to ensure I will forever remember the good time I had re-experiencing Gielinor.
If you decide to play Molior RS, keep in mind that this game is not an entire recreation of RuneScape. Many quests and areas will not be there, though there is still a decent amount recreated. Although this could be technically classified as an MMORPG, I am pretty sure the maximum amount of play I saw online was 3. There does seem to be lots of people in their Discord server, so I am not sure if there are times when the server is more active.
You should also be mindful to purchase the right edition of Neverwinter Nights 2. Full information about Molior RS and instructions to install the mod can be found here.
Written by manpaint on 12 April 2026.