City of Stormreach Description [Archive] - Wizards Community

City of Stormreach Description [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Amaril
06-26-07, 10:10 PM The description for City of Stormreach has been posted on Amazon.
Explore a city of untold adventures and intrigue.

City of Stormreach explores the most important frontier city of Xen'drik, where opportunity and peril walk hand-in-hand. The book builds on the plots and characters featured in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, the exciting MMORPG produced by Atari and Turbine, and introduces new adversaries and new locations to explore.

Stormreach is a city rich with adventure, where familiar elements intermingle with the unknown. This book describes the shadowy ruins, sinister organizations, and treasure-laden dungeons that make Stormreach such an appealing destination for player characters. In addition to providing Dungeon Masters with a richly detailed city for their Xen'drik-based campaigns, this supplement presents information on the movers and shakers of Stormreach, ready-to-use adversaries, adventure hooks, and location maps.
Rechan
06-26-07, 10:59 PM While I trust Keith's writing, I do hope the content isn't just a way to cash in on DDO. Something like Sharn:CoT would be satisfying.
From_Khyber
06-27-07, 06:26 AM :ahem: :uh-huh: :nonono: :rant: :tantrum: :raincloud :surrender
Nlogue
06-27-07, 02:41 PM Something like Sharn:CoT would be satisfying.

I'm betting that if this book was ever created it wouldn't just be an homage to DDO, but rather a rich supplement full of awesome original stuff for Stormreach very useful to any Xendrik campaign...very similar to Sharn:CoT, I'd bet (and hope), as Sharn:CoT, hands down was my favorite supplement for Eberron so far.

Just saying.
Symar
06-27-07, 03:14 PM I'd imagine it'd be a suplement like any other, just including events and people from DDO. I've seen it posted on the DDO boards (just by other people, mind you) that anything that happens in DDO is pretty much canon.
Amaril
07-13-07, 11:34 PM The cover is up. It looks like Steve Prescott is doing this cover, too.
Hellcow
07-14-07, 12:25 PM I've seen it posted on the DDO boards (just by other people, mind you) that anything that happens in DDO is pretty much canon.
I wouldn't go that far. Speaking as a writer for Eberron, I don't have access to any simple, concise guide to what's going on in DDO. I hadn't even heard about this "new god" storyline until it was mentioned here. Personally, I consider the sourcebooks, Dragon and Dungeon articles (because Paizo content is 100% official), and web articles posted on the website to be canon. I don't consider the novels to be canon - as shown by the fact that SoX gives YOU the chance to get the docent Shira, which is a pretty clear indication that the events of The Shattered Land haven't actually happened in your campaign - and I don't expect a writer to be up to date with everything that's happened in DDO.

Likewise, DDO by its nature CAN'T be an accurate match for Eberron. Does the Stormreach of DDO have shifters, half-elves, changelings, gnomes, kalashtar, Inspired, half-orcs, or half-giants? While I don't actually know the answer in every case, I believe that it's "No". With good reason: these things require animations or mechanics that would be difficult to replicate or balance. I don't BLAME the devs for that - I'm just saying that if you have no gnomes, you don't have House Sivis or Storm Lord Kirris Sel Shadra... which means you're in contradiction with Secrets of Xen'drik, which is absolutely a canon source. Another quick way to check would be just that: who are the Storm Lords of the city (Coin Lords and Harbor Lord)? I don't think they are a match to the five lords mentioned on page 20 of Secrets of Xen'drik - which means, again, there's a clash in canon. And if there's a clash, I expect writers to support the sourcebooks.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to criticize DDO. As a computer game designer myself, I know there are things it simply can't replicate. Implementing psionics would be a huge amount of work, not to mention the balancing and visual effects involved. Changelings might not be that hard, but it would be difficult to make their ability MEAN anything; unless you allowed them to change their name as well as their appearance, they can't really disguise themselves, and if you DO allow them to change their names, there's immense potential for griefing; honestly, as a designer, I'd never do it. And so on, and so on. So I personally consider DDO to be on the level of the novels. It's inspired by the setting. I believe that the people working on it and playing it care about the setting. The fact that they're adding a quest involving the Sulatar drow is an example of this - it would be very easy for them to ignore the firebinders, but someone's putting in that effort to replicate the core setting experience. But if there's any contradiction between it and the sourcebooks, I expect future authors to support the sourcebooks.

So if I was writing a Stormreach sourcebook, I'd try to make it useful and interesting to players of both DDO and the tabletop game. However, as it would be a sourcebook FOR the tabletop game, I'd certainly give that precedence in any case where there is conflict between the two.
Symar
07-14-07, 03:04 PM Sorry about that 'DDO as canon' comment; that seems to be the attitude on some parts of the DDO forums and I took it as granted- now I'm over here and seeing what is really going on. I made that comment a couple weeks back too, forgot I even made it.
Hellcow
07-14-07, 03:08 PM Nothing to be sorry about. Again, as I said, I view it like the novels. I trust and believe that the creators of DDO do everything they can to make the game match up to canon Eberron. However, there are things which, for various reasons, don't or can't match the sourcebooks. And in those cases, I'll always give the sourcebooks precedence.
JWSIII
07-17-07, 08:56 PM Well, the title says it all - do we know that Hellcow is doing Stormreach yet? 'Cuz another book like Sharn: CoT wouldn't be just alright, it'd be freakin' awesome, and while I think all the WotC writers (well, 1-2 exceptions) do a good job, his work on Eberron (Sharn: CoT, Secret's of Xen'Drik) has clearly been some of the upper tier work and I'd love a fleshed out stormreach.

Hopefully, some more "Secret's of Xen'Drik" style goodness as well, I really love his take on ADVANCED magic (not just more powerful like Epic), and I would love another shot of that stuff. Heck, even in Sharn: CoT we got Manifest zone magic stuff, which was an awesome take on psuedo-advanced magic; one with a genuine background feel and not just a "Here's a new system in our latest generic production that will never be supported again"; a few similar random stormreach surprises would be extremely cool.
Amaril
07-17-07, 09:06 PM Keith's name is on it on Amazon, as is Ari's, and Keith's own words on his web site indicated that Ari is working with him on his latest secret sourcebook.
JWSIII
07-17-07, 09:21 PM Sweet :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Amaril 06-26-07, 10:10 PM	The description for City of Stormreach has been posted on Amazon. Explore a city of untold adventures and intrigue. City of Stormreach explores the most important frontier city of Xen'drik, where opportunity and peril walk hand-in-hand. The book builds on the plots and characters featured in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, the exciting MMORPG produced by Atari and Turbine, and introduces new adversaries and new locations to explore. Stormreach is a city rich with adventure, where familiar elements intermingle with the unknown. This book describes the shadowy ruins, sinister organizations, and treasure-laden dungeons that make Stormreach such an appealing destination for player characters. In addition to providing Dungeon Masters with a richly detailed city for their Xen'drik-based campaigns, this supplement presents information on the movers and shakers of Stormreach, ready-to-use adversaries, adventure hooks, and location maps.
Rechan 06-26-07, 10:59 PM	While I trust Keith's writing, I do hope the content isn't just a way to cash in on DDO. Something like Sharn:CoT would be satisfying.
From_Khyber 06-27-07, 06:26 AM	:ahem: :uh-huh: :nonono: :rant: :tantrum: :raincloud :surrender
Nlogue 06-27-07, 02:41 PM	Something like Sharn:CoT would be satisfying. I'm betting that if this book was ever created it wouldn't just be an homage to DDO, but rather a rich supplement full of awesome original stuff for Stormreach very useful to any Xendrik campaign...very similar to Sharn:CoT, I'd bet (and hope), as Sharn:CoT, hands down was my favorite supplement for Eberron so far. Just saying.
Symar 06-27-07, 03:14 PM	I'd imagine it'd be a suplement like any other, just including events and people from DDO. I've seen it posted on the DDO boards (just by other people, mind you) that anything that happens in DDO is pretty much canon.
Amaril 07-13-07, 11:34 PM	The cover is up. It looks like Steve Prescott is doing this cover, too.
Hellcow 07-14-07, 12:25 PM	I've seen it posted on the DDO boards (just by other people, mind you) that anything that happens in DDO is pretty much canon. I wouldn't go that far. Speaking as a writer for Eberron, I don't have access to any simple, concise guide to what's going on in DDO. I hadn't even heard about this "new god" storyline until it was mentioned here. Personally, I consider the sourcebooks, Dragon and Dungeon articles (because Paizo content is 100% official), and web articles posted on the website to be canon. I don't consider the novels to be canon - as shown by the fact that SoX gives YOU the chance to get the docent Shira, which is a pretty clear indication that the events of The Shattered Land haven't actually happened in your campaign - and I don't expect a writer to be up to date with everything that's happened in DDO. Likewise, DDO by its nature CAN'T be an accurate match for Eberron. Does the Stormreach of DDO have shifters, half-elves, changelings, gnomes, kalashtar, Inspired, half-orcs, or half-giants? While I don't actually know the answer in every case, I believe that it's "No". With good reason: these things require animations or mechanics that would be difficult to replicate or balance. I don't BLAME the devs for that - I'm just saying that if you have no gnomes, you don't have House Sivis or Storm Lord Kirris Sel Shadra... which means you're in contradiction with Secrets of Xen'drik, which is absolutely a canon source. Another quick way to check would be just that: who are the Storm Lords of the city (Coin Lords and Harbor Lord)? I don't think they are a match to the five lords mentioned on page 20 of Secrets of Xen'drik - which means, again, there's a clash in canon. And if there's a clash, I expect writers to support the sourcebooks. Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to criticize DDO. As a computer game designer myself, I know there are things it simply can't replicate. Implementing psionics would be a huge amount of work, not to mention the balancing and visual effects involved. Changelings might not be that hard, but it would be difficult to make their ability MEAN anything; unless you allowed them to change their name as well as their appearance, they can't really disguise themselves, and if you DO allow them to change their names, there's immense potential for griefing; honestly, as a designer, I'd never do it. And so on, and so on. So I personally consider DDO to be on the level of the novels. It's inspired by the setting. I believe that the people working on it and playing it care about the setting. The fact that they're adding a quest involving the Sulatar drow is an example of this - it would be very easy for them to ignore the firebinders, but someone's putting in that effort to replicate the core setting experience. But if there's any contradiction between it and the sourcebooks, I expect future authors to support the sourcebooks. So if I was writing a Stormreach sourcebook, I'd try to make it useful and interesting to players of both DDO and the tabletop game. However, as it would be a sourcebook FOR the tabletop game, I'd certainly give that precedence in any case where there is conflict between the two.
Symar 07-14-07, 03:04 PM	Sorry about that 'DDO as canon' comment; that seems to be the attitude on some parts of the DDO forums and I took it as granted- now I'm over here and seeing what is really going on. I made that comment a couple weeks back too, forgot I even made it.
Hellcow 07-14-07, 03:08 PM	Nothing to be sorry about. Again, as I said, I view it like the novels. I trust and believe that the creators of DDO do everything they can to make the game match up to canon Eberron. However, there are things which, for various reasons, don't or can't match the sourcebooks. And in those cases, I'll always give the sourcebooks precedence.
JWSIII 07-17-07, 08:56 PM	Well, the title says it all - do we know that Hellcow is doing Stormreach yet? 'Cuz another book like Sharn: CoT wouldn't be just alright, it'd be freakin' awesome, and while I think all the WotC writers (well, 1-2 exceptions) do a good job, his work on Eberron (Sharn: CoT, Secret's of Xen'Drik) has clearly been some of the upper tier work and I'd love a fleshed out stormreach. Hopefully, some more "Secret's of Xen'Drik" style goodness as well, I really love his take on ADVANCED magic (not just more powerful like Epic), and I would love another shot of that stuff. Heck, even in Sharn: CoT we got Manifest zone magic stuff, which was an awesome take on psuedo-advanced magic; one with a genuine background feel and not just a "Here's a new system in our latest generic production that will never be supported again"; a few similar random stormreach surprises would be extremely cool.
Amaril 07-17-07, 09:06 PM	Keith's name is on it on Amazon, as is Ari's, and Keith's own words on his web site indicated that Ari is working with him on his latest secret sourcebook.
JWSIII 07-17-07, 09:21 PM	Sweet :D