Stormreach Under Siege Dungeon Adventures!

Stormreach Under Siege will provide adventurers with 5 all new challenging dungeon adventures. Read on to see what dangers await you in Stormreach Under Siege.

Stormreach Under Siege

The Pit (CR 8)
The Foundry of House Deneith is a complex structure with a state-of-the-art disposal system. In addition to its various mechanical features used to dispose waste, the "Pit" also uses slimes, oozes, and puddings to break down inorganic matter. A tribe of troglodytes, worshippers of the Juiblex, Lord of the Ooze, made their way into the Pit. The trogs are now running amok in the Pit and their presence jeopardizes the entire disposal system. The players must clean out the invading cult, cull the ooze population, and reset the entire system.

Map of "The Pit" dungeon layout.

(click image to see full size screenshot)

The Faithful Departed (CR8)
An emissary of the Undying Court is in Stormreach with troubling news: Drow forces are gathering in several holy places in Xen'drik, including an ancient Elven ruin in the jungles surrounding Stormreach. The Drow's desecration of this sacred resting place is causing unease within the Undying Court and you must put an end to it.

Keeper's Sanctuary (CR9)
The Sanctuary is a burial place for those who have devoted their entire life's work to the Keeper, one of the Dark Six. Only those of high status are honored this way and their personal effects are often buried with them. Menos Xuekaine (from the Haunted Library) has discovered that the ancient scrolls containing the Keeper's priests' rituals may be buried with them inside the Sanctuary. Xuekaine wants you to obtain these scrolls and return them to him - in the pursuit of knowledge, of course!

A Relic of a Sovereign Past (CR12)
Tesyus, the Sword of Redemption, was a holy artifact forged by the dwarves of the Ironroot Mountains during the Age of Monsters. A paladin of the Sovereign Host carried this sword for many years but the sword went missing after the death of its wielder. Lost for hundreds of years, Tesyus is now back in the hands of the dwarves and the adherents of the Sovereign Host wants it back.

Invaders! (CR12)
In response to their defeat at the Temple of Madness, the Cult of Madness infiltrated the Waterworks and summoned forth a legion of outsiders from Xoriat! The harbor guards are ill-equipped to deal with a threat of this magnitude and you must return to the familiar grounds of your early days in Stormreach. The future of the city is in your hands!

Stormreach Under Siege Now Live!

Here are the full release notes for the Stormreach Under Siege update that hit live servers on Thursday September 21, 2006.

The Cult of Madness has infiltrated the Waterworks and summoned forth a legion of outsiders from Xoriat! The harbor guards are ill-equipped to deal with a threat of this magnitude and you must return to the familiar grounds of your early days in Stormreach. The future of the city is in your hands!

Enjoy this and four other adventures (CR 8-12) in our latest update – Stormreach Under Siege!

Performance

• We have made some improvements to server performance.
• Fixed some server problems that were leading to missing mail items.

General

• The Spell Selection window should no longer crash the client.
• You will no longer get hit with two death penalties if you logout or go link-dead while dead.
• Some quest rewards were becoming permanently ransacked; this is now fixed.
• Disease immunity items, and paladin and warforged disease immunities, now work properly against mummy rot.
• The tavern in Necropolis is now named "One Foot Inn" and has a new flavor NPC to relate the tale of how it got the name.
• Changed the language in character generation to clarify that Dwarves need to have martial weapon proficiency in order to receive proficiency in the dwarven waraxe, an exotic weapon, for free.
• The spelling and grammar of the /sheathe (formerly /sheath) emote have been fixed.

Monsters

• Four necropolis mummies, Khnumhotep, Henenu, Bekenkhonsu, and Unas, have been upgraded to their proper boss level.
• All corporeal undead are no longer immune to trip and improved trip - only incorporeal undead, such as wraiths and specters, remain immune to trip.
• Constructs, vermin, and earth elementals are also no longer immune to trip, but because of their size, their weight, or the number of their legs, are very difficult to trip.
• Also, vermin are no longer immune to stunning blow.
• Dead mummies will no longer cause despair.
• Charmed mummies will no longer cause despair in allied players.
• The Warrior of the Six is now correctly tagged as Neutral Evil.

Spells

• The Heal spell (such as the one cast by the Brothers of the Silver Flame in taverns) will now properly remove Feeblemind.
• Feeblemind can no longer be removed by Dispel Magic, Break Enchantment, and similar effects.

Items

• Repeating crossbows should once again be functioning properly - when you equip a repeating crossbow, you must first reload it before firing. These are delicate machines, and putting one in your backpack loaded is a good way to shoot yourself in the foot, or possibly more sensitive areas.
• The Fighter Item Defense enhancement will now protect the Fighter's weapons when attacking as well as all of the fighter's items when being attacked.
• If you have a shield and a wand/scroll/thrown-weapon equipped and are blocking, in most cases the shield will now take item wear, not the right hand item.
• The amulets awarded by the Silver Flame and Emerald Claw in Litany of the Dead are now unsellable.
• All adamantine weapons have been given a boost to their Hardness. This change will affect all existing weapons as well as newly created adamantine weapons.
• The new brigandine armor introduced in the Twilight Forge Module will now appear properly on Drow.

NPCs

• The Wildman Guide and Runetusk Guide will no longer assist players who are carrying soulstones.
• Kaltrop, a student of monster behavior, has taken to frequenting the One Foot Inn. Kaltrop has some interesting information for adventurers regarding the special abilities of the Necropolis' inhabitants.

Quests

• Gwylan's Stand
  
  • An influx of foolish adventurers into the area surrounding Gwylan's Stand has allowed the various monsters in the area to accumulate a little more treasure.
    
• Necropolis
  • Fixed some text to make the Emerald Claw accurate to Eberron lore.
  • Bloody Crypt
    
    • The Lich is now the Black Abbot and not a generic lich.
    • Using the levers to open the east and west wings will correctly report that you used a lever, and not a book.
      
    • Salasso now wears the correct robe.
  • Bloody Crypt Junction
    
    • Using the waypoint to the burning heart will correctly place you at the side entrance room.
    • You can now see Brother Salasso at work on the Heretical Path from the junction.
      
  • Graveyard
    • Julia has outfitted her tavern with new tables and glassware.
    • The tavern now has a mapnote.
    • Kai-Teng and Dame Calla have unpacked many of their books and papers.
  • Tomb of the Burning Heart
    
    • Once the party has re-assembled after the split, the doors at the front of the dungeon will re-open, allowing anyone left behind to join back up.
    • Fixed several untargettable sarcophagi.
      
    • Fixed a group of inactive wights.
  • Tomb of the Crimson Heart
    
    • Several undead will no longer spawn on a wall.
      
  • Tomb of the Immortal Heart
    
    • Only one of each book will spawn.
      
    • Hell Hounds and Earth Elementals will no longer respawn.
  • Tomb of the Sanguine Heart
    
    • Fixed a broken trap.
• Ruins of Threnal
  • It is no longer possible to repeat the 'Abandoned Excavation' quest (given by Sal Danek) without first repeating the 'Eastern Excavation' and 'Western Excavation' quests.

In Testing: Module 3 Shop Improvements

The Demon Sands will be the largest update to DDO yet. As part of this big update, shop vendors will see some very helpful improvements that players have been asking for.

Shopping Carts

The days of accidentally buying or selling an item you didn't want are gone forever! Shopping carts will provide you a way to double check that you are buying and selling the intended items. This will eliminate quickly double-clicking on items to buy/sell and getting or selling the wrong thing because the inventory shifted. Also, items that cannot be sold (collectables and locked items) will no longer appear in the sell window, so if you want to do a bulk "add all" you will only add those items that can be sold and haven’t been protected. See below for a screenshot of the new shopping cart.

(click image to see full size screenshot)

Item-Lock Down

We are thrilled to introduce the "lock" button! Located on your inventory panel, this new button can be used to quickly secure (and un-secure) your items. When you secure an item a small lock will appear in the lower left-corner of the item’s icon. A locked item cannot be sold, traded, or dropped (destroyed) by the player. Please note: secured items can still be destroyed through normal use (i.e., using a scroll), and by wear. Please see below for a screenshot depicting the new Lock button.

(click image to see full size screenshot)

Adventure Area: The Sands of Menechtarun

Module 3: The Demon Sands will introduce The Sands of Menechtarun. A sprawling desert environment that is home to dangerous adventures. Here is a look at some of the points of interest.

Adventure Area:
The Sands of Menechtarun

Menechtarun
The Menechtarun is a vast desert that sprawls across the western reaches of Xen'drik. In ancient times, the Menechtarun was ruled by a tyrannical Wizard-King and his demonic servants. Today, these lands are home to rugged settlers, barbaric gnoll tribes and a sect of fanatical drow and scorrow called the Vulkoorim, or the "Chosen of Vulkoor." The Wizard-King himself is long dead, but his ageless servants have flourished, giving rise to another name for this region -- the Demon Sands.

Points of Interest:

Zawabi's Refuge
Zawabi's Refuge is an oasis to the north of the Scavenger Wastes. Named after the djinni who rules the oasis, Zawabi's Refuge is a bastion against gnoll and scorrow raiders that prey on lost travelers and ill-protected caravans. Many refugees come to the Refuge seeking the djinni's protection, as do adventurers, traders, outcasts and other questionable characters from far-off lands. Zawabi is bound to the oasis by a powerful spell and cannot leave his circle, but within the Refuge, his power is supreme.

(click image to see full size screenshot)



The Scavenger Wastes
Hyena packs roam these lands, as do their bipedal cousins, the gnolls. The magically-guarded entrance to Zawabi's Refuge is located here.


(click image to see full size screenshot)


Windlasher Canyon
The harsh desert winds of the Menechtarun carved out this canyon long ago. Now it serves as home for the Windlasher tribe of gnolls, who are marginally less aggressive than the Firebrands but no less deadly in combat.


(click image to see full size screenshot)



(click image to see full size screenshot)



Valley of the False Tombs
This valley is rumored to be the final resting place of Raiyum the Wizard-King and his malefic servants, Kourush and Rahmat. Raiyum's tomb is supposedly rife with traps and decoy tombs, serving to conceal the true burial chamber of the legendary tyrant.

Burning Mountain
The Burning Mountain dominates the territory of the Firebrand gnolls. Few explorers manage to evade the patrols along its dangerous ledges and twisting trails, and even fewer sneak past its guarded gates. These lucky survivors report the existence of a massive fortress-like city within the mountain's volcanic interior, where dozens of slaves toil without hope of release.

Serpent's Pass
Deep in Firebrand territory lies the valley known as Serpent's Pass. The origins of this name are unclear; the Pass may have been named for its serpentine bends, or for its many opportunties for treachery and ambush. The Firebrand gnolls often use this place as a staging area for their raids against the Vulkoorim. Others who enter Serpent's Pass rarely leave alive.

The Scar
A deep fissure in the desert that stretches for miles, the Scar is a natural bulwark separating the gnoll tribes from the Vulkoorim scorrow and their drow worshippers. Several treacherous paths and a pair of stone bridges are the only ways to cross the Scar, and the scorrow keep a close watch on these points of entry. Unwary travelers who venture across the Scar often end up as unwilling guests in the bloody rituals of the Vulkoor Spiral.

The Vulkoor Spiral
A holy shrine for the Vulkoorim and their worshippers, the Vulkoor Spiral is an underground network of caverns that echoes with the screams of the slain. Here, the Vulkoorim offer fervent prayers and bloody sacrifices to all three aspects of the scorpion god Vulkoor, although Vulkoor the Wrathful is the form most revered by this dark and violent cult.

This week, DDO subscribers will have the opportunity to download and play the third module update, The Demon Sands, weeks before it hits live servers. You will be able to test your skills against others in PvP tournaments, explore the vast desert landscape known as the Demon Sands, and trade with other players in the new Auction House! Check out the Release Notes for more details on what awaits you in the Demon Sands!

EVENT and PRIZES
Make time to sign in to Risia on Thursday, September 28 to battle members of the DDO Development Team in the Phoenix Tavern and others from 7Pm to 11PM Eastern!

On Thursday night between 7PM and 11PM Eastern, we will also be giving out a very special item to 50 players, picked at random throughout the evening. All you have to do to be eligible is log in and play on Risia! Winners will receive a unique item called the Wayfinder's Scepter which grants +1 to your character’s search skill. If you win, we’ll send you an e-mail and allow you to pick one of your characters on the live servers to receive the scepter! Please see the attached image to see what this scepter looks like.

Members of the DDO Customer Service team will be hanging around the Tavern Brawling pits throughout the week and occasionally challenging players to tournaments.

We have merged all servers into Risia, so you’ll be able to use any of your characters from the live worlds when trying out the new content! Playing on Risia requires the installation of a second DDO client. Click here for the Knowledge Base article with download instructions and other very important information. We will keep you updated with server status throughout the week in the Risia Test Server forum

Have fun this week taking your first steps into the Demon Sands!

TURBINE PRESENTS STORMREACH UNDER SIEGE FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE

Turbine, Inc. announced today the release of the fourth content module for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE(tm): Stormreach(tm) (DDO), the first and only massively multiplayer online (MMO) roleplaying game based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(r) brand franchise from Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS). The Stormreach Under Siege module calls on players to return to the familiar grounds of Stormreach Harbor to save the city. Turbine will offer the Stormreach Under Siege module free of charge for all current DDO subscribers. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro.

The Stormreach Under Siege module features five compelling new dungeons that unveil new threats to the city from dark forces including the Cult of Madness, the Dwarves of Ironroot and a tribe of troglodytes. Turbine will continue to release additional modules over time that add new content, features, and other improvements that will challenge the most jaded adventurer.

Ralsu: A level cap increase is sure to mean new monsters. Can you tell us what previously unseen D&D creatures we’ll meet in Module 3?

David: The setting of Module 3 is a desert area, so you'll see genies and efreeti. Some will give you information and want to meet you. Others will great you with fireballs they want to introduce you to. Our new humanoid non-playable race is the gnolls, and players will be interacting with them. A lot of the conflict in Module 3 is the work a marelith, a 6-armed creature straight out of the Monster Manual, who positions herself as a queen.

Ralsu: 6 arms? Wow!

David: Yeah, quite a lot of Lady Secret!

Ralsu: Any hint on new spells or items you plan on bringing into the game with Module 3?

David: Module 3 will introduce around 3 dozen new spells (most are Level 6 spells for clerics, wizards, and sorcerers). The new high level spells include popular spells such as Blade barrier, many area of effect spells, and Chain Lightning. Some of the lower spells we're adding include Blur, Displacement, and elemental shields.

Ralsu: As characters advance beyond Level 10, will Enhancements continue along established patterns, or will we see any new Enhancements?

David: Most of the Enhancements in Module 3 expand current lines that players will find familiar. In the distant future, we'll do some bigger work on Enhancements.

GUILDMATES.COM - SOCIAL NETWORK SITE FOR MMO PLAYERS CELEBRATES OFFICIAL LAUNCH

SEATTLE, Washington, September 18th, 2006 - Guildmates.com announces a new way for MMO players to keep in touch with friends new and old. Guildmates is a growing social networking site made just for players of massively multiplayer online games.

At Guildmates users can easily search for long lost friends and guildmates from a database of over 100 MMOs. No longer do you need to wait for your friends to reactivate their accounts, dig through old emails, or search endlessly for long gone forums.

Creating your profile is easy and completely free. List your characters and they will be instantly added to the Guildmates database so other users will be able to search for you. How much personal information on your profile you choose to share with the world is completely up to you! Communicating with other users on Guildmates is simple with a built in mail system, forums, and instant messenger.

Find out more at www.guildmates.com

About us:Guildmates.com is an independent company formed in 2006 by avid MMO'er Blake Peterson. Our mission is to provide a meeting place for gamers the world over and give players a chance to reach out to old friends and guildmates.

The Third Module: The Demon Sands will be the largest update to DDO yet. As part of this big update, Auction Houses will be opened throughout Stormreach that will allow players to buy and sell their items with each other.The Coin Lords are pleased to announce that they have teamed with House Kundarak and House Orien to open several auction houses in Stormreach.Auction Houses in Stormreach will allow you to both put items you no longer want up for sale and purchase items you desire. Sellers will be able to set an opening bid and an optional buyout price for their items, and will also be allowed to cancel an auction if they see fit. Buyers will be able to browse through items using the Auction House user interface and place bids on items that they wish to purchase. Please note: you will not be allowed to cancel a bid so make sure you really want the item before bidding. Bids on items will be accepted right up until the auction expires. The item will then be sent via mail to the highest bidder and the money will be sent via mail to the seller. In short, auction houses will function in a manner to which most players are accustomed to.

Introducing the DDO Risia Test Server!
15-Sep-2006

This weekend, we will be opening the Risia Test Server, where you can check out new content before it hits the live servers! Risia will open up on Friday, September 15 and will feature the newest content from the upcoming Stormreach Under Siege update! Risia will come online on Friday afternoon and be available until Monday, September 18 at 9:00 AM Eastern.

To help populate Risia, we have merged characters from four servers into it: Thelanis, Khyber, Argonessen and Fernia. This character data was captured on Tuesday, September 12, and will not reflect any progress made since this date.

Thelanis was used as the base server for this merge. In the event of name conflicts, characters from Thelanis will retain their names while characters from other servers will have their server name appended to their character name. So, for example, "Sporkfire" from Khyber will be renamed "Sporkfire-Khyber", while "Sporkfire" from Thelanis will stay "Sporkfire".

If you don't have any characters on these servers, don't worry! For this weekend, all characters will gain 10 times the normal experience from adventuring on Risia! You'll be part of the big leagues in no time!

We will use the Risia Test Server periodically in the future to allow customers with paid subscriptions the opportunity to preview new content and features in DDO. Please note that this is a test server and you may encounter gameplay and technical issues when playing. It may sometimes be necessary to erase characters from this server. Characters transferred to or created on Risia will not transfer back to any of the live servers. Turbine will offer limited Customer Service for this server, but you are encouraged to report any bugs that you find on it through the in-game bug-reporting tool. The DDO End User License Agreement, Terms of Service and Code of Conduct apply to this server, just like the live servers.

For very important information on downloading and installing the Risia Test Server client, please refer to this Knowledge Base article.

In Testing: Upcoming Combat Changes - Ranged Combat
14-Sep-2006

One of the most exciting components of Module 3 is the changes we are making to combat - both ranged and melee. This article takes an in-depth look at the changes we are making to ranged combat, while an upcoming article will examine melee combat.

Ranged combat has been on our radar for a long time as an area of our game that we could improve. At the very least ranged combat did not seem to scale the same way melee combat did as players leveled. We began to cull data from several sources – pure data analysis (DPS etc.), user comments on the forums (especially the feedback Codog solicited on his "Pet Peeves" thread), and our own experiences playing DDO. We ultimately arrived at the changes you see below.

A new reloading mechanic: reloading can no longer be interrupted by movement or shooting too early.

The first problem we identified was that there was no visual or auditory feedback of when you could shoot again and if you attempted to shoot too early you would interrupt your reload. We found this to be inconsistent with the rest of our game which is movement-friendly and action-oriented.

As of Module 3 your shots will have a cool-down timer and the reload animation will synchronize with this timer. This change should make ranged combat more fun and reduce frustrations in reloading.

In many senses this change could overpower ranged combat which is why we are also changing Shot on the Run.

Shot on the Run: firing while moving will incur a penalty of -4 unless you have shot on the run.

Now that shot on the run is no longer equated to “Reload on the Run” due to the aforementioned change, we have brought a different meaning to shot on the run to be more consistent with melee combat’s movement rules. A movement penalty of -4 will applied to ranged attacks performed while moving unless the player has Shot on the Run.

Bow speed improvements: as you level up, you will become faster with ranged weapons, making ranged combat more consistent with melee combat.

As you level your skill with a bow improves. To help reinforce this fact your reload cool-down timer will grow shorter, your firing animation will speed up, and you will shoot and reload faster than you did before.

This change also allows for each individual ranged weapon to have its own profile/curve. A crossbow suddenly becomes different than a bow and it is possible to make adjustments to individual weapons and balance between different weapon types.

When you equip a ranged weapon, you must now wait the time a standard reload would take before you can fire.

In an attempt to make the streets of Stormreach a tiny bit safer, Harbormaster Zin has decreed that all weapons must be either sheathed or stored in your pack while not in combat. In practical terms, this means that there will now be a small delay - the amount of time it would normally take to load that weapon – when you equip a ranged weapon.

In untargeted attack mode, ranged weapons now accurately hit where the targeting reticule is. Previously, there were slight errors based on race.

The boyers have been hard at work fine-tuning their product to fit all of the body types found in Stormreach, particularly the extremely tall (Warforged) or the extremely short (Halflings). Warforged were finding that their ranged weapons were hitting slightly low from their target – Halflings were hitting slightly high. All of the races should enjoy the greater accuracy with ranged weapons.

A new feat: Precise Shot.

If you have this feat, your targeted ranged attacks will now pass through friend and foe alike to strike your target (no damage will be done other than to your target). Get the target you wanted every time!

Another new feat: Improved Precise Shot

If you have this feat, your targeted ranged attacks will now pass through and damage all foes in your path until they reach your intended target. Target the monster farthest away from you and see what happens! Precise Shot will be a pre-requisite.

Many shot: when you reach base attack bonus of 11, you will get a third arrow to fire during a many shot burst.

This change brings Many Shot inline with the PnP 3.5 rule set. Please note: Many Shot stacks with both Precise Shot and Improved Precise Shot. Rangers should happily note that all of the feats mentioned here will be free to them as class feats.

Repeating crossbow speeds have been adjusted at lower levels.

After much analysis, repeating crossbows have been tuned down at lower levels and have their own unique speed progressions as levels increase. Repeating crossbows will still be powerful but they will not be so out of line power-wise that they completely dominate the lower levels. Please note: if you have taken specific feats to make yourself a repeating crossbow powerhouse and you don't like the new speed progression we are also adding feat respec with Module 3.

Target correction – when you have an invalid target selected, the bow will now perform an untargeted shot.

Codog gave me permission to call this one out as his most embarrassing bug. And I quote: "You will no longer shoot an arrow out of your butt when you target yourself."

Haste now affects ranged attacks.

Magical effects can now influence the rate at which weapons fire.

Please be on the lookout for our upcoming article on the changes to melee combat coming in Module 3.

DnDRadio Is Hiring and We Need Your Help!

Ever wanted to entertain the masses?

How about spending time reaching out to those who share your interest?

Want to work with an enthusiastic team?

Well at DnDRadio.com we are looking for you! We are looking for both DJs and event staff so if you have what it takes and an extensive knowledge of rock and alternative music as well as DDO and D&D then stop by dndradio.com and fill out an application!

Start saving those collectables!

DnDRadio.com would like to invite all levels 1-3 characters to a scavenger hunt that will take place September 15-17 from 3-6pm PST (6-9 EST, 5-8 CST, 4-7 MST).

Staff members will be hidden through out Stormreach with a quest for all adventurers!

Tune into DnDRadio.com to find out more on the event and check the General Events Forum on Friday to find out the full details on where to find the first staff member.

Turbine at Penny Arcade Expo Photos!08-Sep-2006

Once again, Turbine returned to Bellevue, Washington to show DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™, The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™, and Asheron's Call® at the Penny Arcade Expo.

PAX is a different sort of event from Gen Con, where the DDO team was just a few weeks ago, showing off the Litany of the Dead. The focus at PAX is electronic gaming, whether you're battling mythical monsters online, challenging your friends to a wireless handheld game of wits or jamming hard with the Spiders from Mars on your favorite console.

DDO returned with the cube-shaped booth, which held the giant video screens that showed off the new PvP combat feature, part of the upcoming module update. Devastating spells and critical hits streaked across the network, as gamers tested their skills against each other.

We had three playable modes available for the demo: Players could enter Deathmatch or Capture the Flag arena, to compete against each other in team-based matches or they could simply drop into the Tavern brawling pit for some free-for-all action while passing the time.

We spent a lot of time showing people how to start up a tournament and meeting members of the community. Forum regulars, tr0tsky, sigtrent and Theris spent quite a bit of time at the booth, talking with the team, trying the PvP preview and helping new players learn their way through the game. The Gelatinous Cube was kind enough to design t-shirts for the fans, as shown here.

(Left to right: sigtrent, Theris, Samera, tr0tsky)

Turbine sponsored the Saturday Night party and held a dance competition, including this entry, titled Dance, Dance Devolution

Neah, famed throughout the DDO Beta for his Beta Journals stopped by for a photo with Sporkfire.

Community Relations Specialist Samera, fresh from the Women in Gaming panel, took advantage of the vast shopping opportunities in Bellevue to indulge in her renowned favorite snack, the cupcake.

We also had the opportunity to show off the game to new players. Here's a shot of some of DDO's future fans, all ready to serve the Cube.

Please join us for a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game House of Commons event on Thursday, September 7th at 2:30PST in the #StraticsHoC channel on Stratics IRC

You can connect to one of our IRC servers through the use of your favorite IRC client, such as mIRC, ircle, xchat, or whichever you prefer. Connect to irc.stratics.com port 6668 orwhichever server is closest to you:

• stratics.frws.com port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.glowfish.de port 6668, EU - Germany
• stratics.afraidyet.net port 6668, USA - Atlanta
• irc.epaxsys.net port 6668, USA - Colorado

You may also connect through our handy Java link which may be found right here.

You must have Java installed to use this which can be downloaded from the JavaHomepage.

General chat relating to the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game will take place before, during, and after the chat in room #worldofwarcraft. We hope to see you there!

The Daedalus Project Has New Findings and a New Survey

The Daedalus Project, run by Nick Yee of Stanford University, has a newsurvey for MMORPG players to fill out, plus new findings from previous onesthat gives tantalizing clues and information about the gaming community andits motivators. Read these very interesting articles and take the newsurvey at http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus!

Read on to see the preview ofarticles on the website:

The Daedalus Project: NewFindings and Survey

The Daedalus Project (http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus) is anongoing online survey study of MMORPG players that has surveyed over 35,000players. Some highlights of the current issue's findings:

• Of those players who are physically dating someone they first met in an MMO, about 60% of them think that the relationship wouldn't have happened if they had first met in the physical world. Player narratives reveal how these "impossible relationships" become possible in MMOs. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001534.php
• On top of their normal in-game playing time, the typical player spends about an additional 50% of that time each week in the meta-game: searching for information, posting on forums, or managing guild sites. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001535.php

This and more at The Daedalus Project.

Nick

Weekly Development Activities: September 5, 2006

05-Sep-2006

Check out the latest updates to the "Weekly Development Activities." The goal for this feature is to give solid expectations on what you can expect to see in future updates.

In QA
These items are in QA and should be a part of the next scheduled update - Stormreach Under Siege.

General

• NEW - The tavern in Necropolis is now named "One Foot Inn" and has a new flavor NPC to relate the tale of how it got the name.

Monsters

• Dead mummies will no longer cause despair.
• Charmed mummies will no longer cause despair in allied players.
• The Warrior of the Six is now correctly tagged as Neutral Evil.

Items

• NEW - Repeating crossbows should once again be functioning properly.
• NEW - All adamantine weapons have been given a boost to their Hardness. This change will affect all existing weapons as well as newly created adamantine weapons.
• The new brigandine armor introduced in the Twilight Forge Module will now appear properly on Drow.

Quests

• Gwylan's Stand
  
  • An influx of foolish adventurers into the area surrounding Gwylan's Stand has allowed the various monsters in the area to accumulate a little more treasure.
    
• Necropolis
  • Bloody Crypt
    
    • The Lich is now the Black Abbot and not a generic lich.
    • Using the levers to open the east and west wings will correctly report that you used a lever, and not a book.
      
    • Salasso now wears the correct robe.
  • Bloody Crypt Junction
    
    • Using the waypoint to the burning heart will correctly place you at the side entrance room.
    • You can now see Brother Salasso at work on the Heretical Path from the junction.
      
  • Graveyard
    • Julia has outfitted her tavern with new tables and glassware.
    • The tavern now has a mapnote.
    • Kai-Teng and Dame Calla have unpacked many of their books and papers.
  • Tomb of the Burning Heart
    
    • Fixed several untargettable sarcophagi.
      
    • Fixed a group of inactive wights.
  • Tomb of the Crimson Heart
    
    • Several undead will no longer spawn on a wall.
      
  • Tomb of the Immortal Heart
    
    • Only one of each book will spawn.
      
    • Hell Hounds and Earth Elementals will no longer respawn.
  • Tomb of the Sanguine Heart
    
    • Fixed a broken trap.

Under Development
These items are currently in development and are scheduled for some time after the next update (most likely Module 3).

Performance

• The landscape renderer has been overhauled to provide better performance (especially load times). In addition, the new landscape engine enables huge draw distances that were not possible before.
• The overall frame rate has been improved and ‘hitching’ reduced.
• Avatars and monsters are now a bit brighter than other objects (the intensity depends upon the environment and lighting conditions).
• Overall bandwidth of the game will be reduced another 1-3%, and certain problematic dungeons and laggy areas will be significantly improved by 20-50% (when your client gets flooded with information about objects in your local area).

UI Improvements

• NEW - The text on the XP bar has been clarified to make it more obvious that you have not lost the XP you were accruing toward your bonus AP when you die and get an XP debt while you are working toward bonus action points.
• NEW - You will now get chat feedback in the combat window when you hit someone with a non-damaging spell (like fear or slow).

General

• Phantasmal killer is now a fear effect.
• NEW - The Silver Flame has recognized that the brothers stationed in Taverns have been casting an inferior version of Restoration. From now on, the spell cast in taverns will remove 1 negative level in addition to all the other Restoration effects.
• Players will no longer get stuck while dismounting from ladders.
• We are pleased to announce the addition of the /showhelmet command which can be used to hide your helmet graphic.
• We are improving the combat/damage feedback mechanism. This will not only eliminate "false" hits where the target would flinch but no attack roll would take place, but also give better feedback as to the strength of the hit.
• When you successfully swap a spell, you will now get an alert telling you that it worked.
• Lava Cam! When your camera is in lava, it now looks more like it's in lava, as opposed to water.
• Made some small tweaks to our avatar animations. For example, human female's wrists won't twist in the dual weapon combo attack, dwarven arms won't over-extend when they use an axe to cleave, etc.

Monsters

• NEW - Some ogres have been eating their veggies and will be able to see and hear better than they could before.
• Several bow wielding enemies will now shoot various energy arrows like flaming arrows or cold arrows. These will do the typical piercing damage (1d6 and up) in addition to various amounts of energy damage.
• Widow type spiders will once again shoot functional webs.
• Elemental Empathy will work properly on Earth Elementals that have used their Earthgrab ability.
• Female humanoid villains will no longer charge into melee range if armed with spells or bows.
• We are fixing an issue with the death animations of Arcane Skeletons. They will no longer "eat collectables" they should be creating.

Spells

• NEW - Resist Energy is now available for clerics, paladins, rangers, and wizards. Protection from Energy is now available to Rangers, Wizards, and Clerics. This change allows these classes to cast Protection From Energy and Resist Energy the same way a sorcerer can, by memorizing a single spell and then choosing which damage type to ward against. The days of memorizing several Resist Energy: (Element) are no more!

Skills & Abilities

• Bards can now activate their singing abilities while moving! The activation time on their singing abilities has been reduced significantly as well. An animation glitch has also been fixed!
• The description for the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability has been corrected to better describe the amount of healing/damage that the ability does.

TURBINE SELECTS LETSGAME TO DISTRIBUTE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE(tm): STORMREACH(tm)IN KOREA

Companies Set to Cooperate in Korea's Online Gaming Market

WESTWOOD, MA - SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 -- Turbine, Inc., a premier publisher of online subscription entertainment, announced today that it has a distribution agreement with LETSGAME, a leading online game and community portal in Korea. Under the agreement, LETSGAME and Turbine will cooperate in localizing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE(tm):Stormreach(tm) (DDO) for the Korean market. LETSGAME will market, distribute and operate the game in that territory. DDO is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(r) brand franchise from Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS). DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro.

"The Korean market represents an important opportunity for Turbine,"said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "This agreement signals Turbine's commitment to a long-term presence in Korea and the continued rollout of DDO as a global franchise."

LETSGAME is a leading online game and community portal in Korea offering 25 games to over 3.5 million registered users.

"As one of the leading online games operators in Korea, we have a deep understanding of the market," said Jack Shin, chief executive officer of LETSGAME. "There is enormous demand for more MMO titles in our community and through close cooperation with Turbine, we will deliver a premium title to our customers."

"We are excited about the upcoming release of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE: Stormreach in Korea," said Jeff Burdeen, vice president of digital media for the Hasbro Properties Group. "The introduction of a truly unique and innovative massively multiplayer online game for the DDO gaming base reaffirms DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as the premier fantasy brand today."

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE: Stormreach recreates the essence of the classic pen-and-paper roleplaying experience - with an emphasis on non-grinding, instanced quests that provide a unique, immersive experience for each party. Authentic features in the game include customizable characters, dungeons filled with devious traps, monsters and stories from the Eberron(r) campaign setting, an on-screen d20 (20-sided die) and a dungeon master. The unique online world of Stormreach is a bustling city with thousands of players from around the world. It represents a new paradigm for the MMO genre with unique features including party-based quests, integrated voice chat, real-time action combat, and award winning graphics.

Published by Atari, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATAR) in North America and Europe, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE(tm) has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more.

Contest: The Ten Ton Hammer "DM Debate Challenge" Contest

URL: http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=296

Description: Sure, DDO @ Ten Ton Hammer is the ONLY site on the 'Net that brings you fresh new Dungeons & Dragons Online content each week. Sure, we tell it like it is and aren't afraid to ruffle feathers at Turbine if that's what it takes to make DDO the best Dungeons & Dragons-based game ever. Sure, we bring you guides, editorials, interviews, screenshots, and DDO-themed desktop wallpapers. Sure, we do all of that, but what have we done for you lately?

How about giving away almost $200 in DDO, D&D, and Eberron prizes? That's right: DDO @ Ten Ton Hammer, your #1 source for all things DDO, is giving away game cards, D&D dice and Eberron books! All you have to do is speak your mind--just like we do. We'll be looking for you forum posts about DDO-related topics. Post some constructive criticism or a logical account of DDO's accolades. All we ask is that the post be relevant to the topic and be respectful of other people. It's OK to disagree; just don't be rude! Here's how to get it done:

Step 1: Visit our DM Debate Challenge forum.

Step 2: Post your constructive comments in any or all of the 20 threads in that forum between September 4 and September 17, 2006. Entries must be received by midnight (US Eastern time) on Sunday, September 17th, 2006. Note that due to postal restrictions we can't accept entries from outside North America. Sorry!

Step 3: Enter as many times as you like. Then just sit back and be patient! Entries will be judged, results will be posted, and winners will be announced the morning of Friday, September 22nd.

Click Here to read more about the rules and prizes!

Account & Technical Support Closed, Monday Sept 4th Labor Day

Billing & Technical Support will be closed in observation of the Labor Day Holiday Monday September 4th, 2006. Please plan accordingly.

Both departments will re-open on Tuesday September 5th during the regular business hours of 12pm-9pm EST.