Ranmaru2
08-24-2008, 01:55 PM
Now anyone who's been playing PC D&D games for a while has to have heard of, or played, Baldur's Gate 1 and its expansion, as well as Baldur's Gate II and its expansion. These two games helped to put D&D on the map as a mainstream video game format, as well as their console adaptations. the Dark Alliance games.
These games hold such a special place in my heart for introducing me to the world of D&D and I feel that they should be present here in DDO. They can be present in two forms, which are the raids/quests I'm about to propose:
The story as to how you happen to stumble upon these areas can be made in many ways:
Possibility #1: You could be traveling on the Soaring Otyugh on your way to battle the mysteries of the Restless Isles when the magic keeping your vessel afloat goes pear shaped and you end up being thrown across another dimension to the land of Fae'Run, just outside of Durlag's Tower or Watcher's Keep. Your captain and his crew need time to repair the ships, and notice that some necessary supplies are missing and happened to fall (magically or physically) into the different levels of the tower, and only by collecting these supplies can your party return to Xendrik.
Possibility #2: You prepare to enter the shroud again, but this time all seems fine until you attempt to enter the portal. Shavarath, angry at your banishment of one of its mightiest generals, thinks they'll be able to get rid of you by sending you to another dimension. Bent on impeding your progress back, they've installed a portal at the bottom of the two dungeons so that their forces may aid the already dangerous enemies lurking in the depths of these mysterious locations before you.
Quest Series/Raid #1:
Durlag's Tower - Maybe make it a lvl 8-10 quest area with a lvl 12 raid, we need more mid-level raids. Help remove that "grind" feeling.
Anyone who played Baldur's Gate 1 and bought its expansion remembers the twisted tower/keep of the murdered dwarf. The evil lightning bolt traps, the ever dangerous Greater Doppelgangers, and even the insanely difficult Demon Knight waiting at the bottom of the tower for your party to stumble upon his lair. I think this whole tower could be divided up into many pre-quests (1 or 2 levels of the tower at a time represent one chain of the quest), and the last level is either the Raid, or the Pre-raid to the fight with the demon that lurks elsewhere in the town of Ulgoth's Beard. Only by slaying this demon can you open your portal to return home.
Now I realize, that those recalling the tower itself remember that the tower's levels are quite small, but this could easily be changed to make them larger, more interesting places to explore. I wouldn't mind a revamp of the size of the levels, just as long as the atmosphere of this place still remained. Puzzles are abundant in this place, as are Traps, and make this the funnest dungeon I've gone through in ANY D&D game to date.
But what about the monsters? Many of them aren't even in DDO already, and I'm not even sure if they're still included in any 3.5 manual, but I'm pretty sure the developers can pull out their coding magic and revive some of these fantastic denizens of the crazy dwarf's abode!
Monsters:
Demon Knight, Ashirukuru (Invisible at will with a heavy backstab/sneak attack), Air Aspects (named wyverns), Greater Wyverns, Tanar'ri, Ghouls, Ghasts, Greater Ghouls (Hold person, nausea every hit), Assorted slimes (Just make them Ooze like), Skeletons/Skeleton Warriors (perhaps make an Ogre sized version of the Giant Skeletons), Ogrillons (Could replace with Ogres/Giants), Doom Guards (and their painful-to-encounter cousin, the Dwarven Doom Guard), Battle Horrors, Basilisks (Lesser and Greater), Doppelgangers (lesser and Greater), Invisible Stalkers, Siren (Can't remember what exact type), Wraith Spiders, Zombies, Flesh Golems, Phase/Sword/Astral Phase Spiders, Winter Wolves, Crypt Crawlers
Many of these monsters would need to be developed, but, hey! That's what new content is about :D
The Pre-Raid:
I'd like to keep the original feel of this fight present and have it where you need to Destroy the Main Mirror that adorns the center of this chamber, or else you'll have either 6-12 Red named spawns similar to the party's makeup (The mirrors in the original quest create exact copies of your characters). All while the Demon Knight is attacking you with spells and has some Helpers already in the room attack you.
The Raid:
The end fight for the Durlag's Tower series involved a fight against a Tanar'ri who, if you killed him without killing his adepts, would spawn again at the sacrifice of the life of one of his minions. This could make for an interesting raid, as there could be Pillars with Crystals that would need to be destroyed while he's attacking you, or else you'll need to fight him again until there's no more pillars left to keep him on this realm and release his magic from the portal back home.
Quest Series/Raid #2:
Watcher's Keep - Lvl 18-20 Quests with a lvl 22 Raid - This is NOT a low level area by any means!
Anyone can remember this dungeon for its absolutely abundant amount of Puzzles, Traps, Devils, and Demons! A keep wherein a Demon Prince is locked away at the bottom of the tower and the forces of the Baet'zu and Tanar'ri rage an endless war. The levels of this dungeon are much bigger than Durlag's, and quite easy to, once again, make 1-2 levels into the Quests/Pre-Raid. Heck, there's a level that even works in the same mechanic that the Shadow Crypt works, so we could even have quite a bit to learn for this one!! The final battle could even be a very difficult one, as a Demon Prince is no easy pickings (especially since we don't have spike traps!! :D ), as well as his ability to summon help to his side. These quests could even keep crafting in the game and give it an interesting inclusion by making the Items of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Baal come in and be crafted different based on items found in the quests/raid!
The Monsters in this dungeon are once again a Wide assortment of the most evil monsters that the game could throw at you:
Golem - Stone/Clay/Ice/Iron/Stone/Magic, Poison Mist (monsters similar to Wraiths), Spiders - Regular/Phase/Sword/Mutated, Statue (constructs that later spawned as different type of classes to attack you before accessing the next level of the tower), Troll, Vampiric Wraith, Wandering Horror, Air/Fire Elementals, Giant Snake, Giant - Fire, Assorted Devils/Demons, Killer Mimic, Mustard Jelly (Make an Ooze), Shadow (Regular and Fiend), Troll, Yuan-ti, Mindflayers (Regular and Vampiric), Umber Hulks, Githyanki, Demi-Lich!!!!, Dragon, Mariliths, Beholders/Elder Orbs/Hive Mothers, Lich
Raid - Fight Demogorgon with Periodic spawns at certain life intervals (Like VoD)
Both of these Quests allow many a new monster to be implemented and MUCH fun to be had. Raid flagging mechanic? For Durlag's - Preraid and then raid (no need to repeat prequests). For Watcher's - Can go straight to Raid after finishing, like the Shroud - Could have the outside of the Keep have it where we can walk up the outside like in the game to access the different levels.
So what's everyone think? :D
These games hold such a special place in my heart for introducing me to the world of D&D and I feel that they should be present here in DDO. They can be present in two forms, which are the raids/quests I'm about to propose:
The story as to how you happen to stumble upon these areas can be made in many ways:
Possibility #1: You could be traveling on the Soaring Otyugh on your way to battle the mysteries of the Restless Isles when the magic keeping your vessel afloat goes pear shaped and you end up being thrown across another dimension to the land of Fae'Run, just outside of Durlag's Tower or Watcher's Keep. Your captain and his crew need time to repair the ships, and notice that some necessary supplies are missing and happened to fall (magically or physically) into the different levels of the tower, and only by collecting these supplies can your party return to Xendrik.
Possibility #2: You prepare to enter the shroud again, but this time all seems fine until you attempt to enter the portal. Shavarath, angry at your banishment of one of its mightiest generals, thinks they'll be able to get rid of you by sending you to another dimension. Bent on impeding your progress back, they've installed a portal at the bottom of the two dungeons so that their forces may aid the already dangerous enemies lurking in the depths of these mysterious locations before you.
Quest Series/Raid #1:
Durlag's Tower - Maybe make it a lvl 8-10 quest area with a lvl 12 raid, we need more mid-level raids. Help remove that "grind" feeling.
Anyone who played Baldur's Gate 1 and bought its expansion remembers the twisted tower/keep of the murdered dwarf. The evil lightning bolt traps, the ever dangerous Greater Doppelgangers, and even the insanely difficult Demon Knight waiting at the bottom of the tower for your party to stumble upon his lair. I think this whole tower could be divided up into many pre-quests (1 or 2 levels of the tower at a time represent one chain of the quest), and the last level is either the Raid, or the Pre-raid to the fight with the demon that lurks elsewhere in the town of Ulgoth's Beard. Only by slaying this demon can you open your portal to return home.
Now I realize, that those recalling the tower itself remember that the tower's levels are quite small, but this could easily be changed to make them larger, more interesting places to explore. I wouldn't mind a revamp of the size of the levels, just as long as the atmosphere of this place still remained. Puzzles are abundant in this place, as are Traps, and make this the funnest dungeon I've gone through in ANY D&D game to date.
But what about the monsters? Many of them aren't even in DDO already, and I'm not even sure if they're still included in any 3.5 manual, but I'm pretty sure the developers can pull out their coding magic and revive some of these fantastic denizens of the crazy dwarf's abode!
Monsters:
Demon Knight, Ashirukuru (Invisible at will with a heavy backstab/sneak attack), Air Aspects (named wyverns), Greater Wyverns, Tanar'ri, Ghouls, Ghasts, Greater Ghouls (Hold person, nausea every hit), Assorted slimes (Just make them Ooze like), Skeletons/Skeleton Warriors (perhaps make an Ogre sized version of the Giant Skeletons), Ogrillons (Could replace with Ogres/Giants), Doom Guards (and their painful-to-encounter cousin, the Dwarven Doom Guard), Battle Horrors, Basilisks (Lesser and Greater), Doppelgangers (lesser and Greater), Invisible Stalkers, Siren (Can't remember what exact type), Wraith Spiders, Zombies, Flesh Golems, Phase/Sword/Astral Phase Spiders, Winter Wolves, Crypt Crawlers
Many of these monsters would need to be developed, but, hey! That's what new content is about :D
The Pre-Raid:
I'd like to keep the original feel of this fight present and have it where you need to Destroy the Main Mirror that adorns the center of this chamber, or else you'll have either 6-12 Red named spawns similar to the party's makeup (The mirrors in the original quest create exact copies of your characters). All while the Demon Knight is attacking you with spells and has some Helpers already in the room attack you.
The Raid:
The end fight for the Durlag's Tower series involved a fight against a Tanar'ri who, if you killed him without killing his adepts, would spawn again at the sacrifice of the life of one of his minions. This could make for an interesting raid, as there could be Pillars with Crystals that would need to be destroyed while he's attacking you, or else you'll need to fight him again until there's no more pillars left to keep him on this realm and release his magic from the portal back home.
Quest Series/Raid #2:
Watcher's Keep - Lvl 18-20 Quests with a lvl 22 Raid - This is NOT a low level area by any means!
Anyone can remember this dungeon for its absolutely abundant amount of Puzzles, Traps, Devils, and Demons! A keep wherein a Demon Prince is locked away at the bottom of the tower and the forces of the Baet'zu and Tanar'ri rage an endless war. The levels of this dungeon are much bigger than Durlag's, and quite easy to, once again, make 1-2 levels into the Quests/Pre-Raid. Heck, there's a level that even works in the same mechanic that the Shadow Crypt works, so we could even have quite a bit to learn for this one!! The final battle could even be a very difficult one, as a Demon Prince is no easy pickings (especially since we don't have spike traps!! :D ), as well as his ability to summon help to his side. These quests could even keep crafting in the game and give it an interesting inclusion by making the Items of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Baal come in and be crafted different based on items found in the quests/raid!
The Monsters in this dungeon are once again a Wide assortment of the most evil monsters that the game could throw at you:
Golem - Stone/Clay/Ice/Iron/Stone/Magic, Poison Mist (monsters similar to Wraiths), Spiders - Regular/Phase/Sword/Mutated, Statue (constructs that later spawned as different type of classes to attack you before accessing the next level of the tower), Troll, Vampiric Wraith, Wandering Horror, Air/Fire Elementals, Giant Snake, Giant - Fire, Assorted Devils/Demons, Killer Mimic, Mustard Jelly (Make an Ooze), Shadow (Regular and Fiend), Troll, Yuan-ti, Mindflayers (Regular and Vampiric), Umber Hulks, Githyanki, Demi-Lich!!!!, Dragon, Mariliths, Beholders/Elder Orbs/Hive Mothers, Lich
Raid - Fight Demogorgon with Periodic spawns at certain life intervals (Like VoD)
Both of these Quests allow many a new monster to be implemented and MUCH fun to be had. Raid flagging mechanic? For Durlag's - Preraid and then raid (no need to repeat prequests). For Watcher's - Can go straight to Raid after finishing, like the Shroud - Could have the outside of the Keep have it where we can walk up the outside like in the game to access the different levels.
So what's everyone think? :D