Feedback - Quest - The Lord of Stone

[Thoon]

It is not often that The Twelve look for help, but an ancient evil has been released and has designs on The Tower. Krannoch Flamehand has an idea that the Orlassk, Lord of Stone may be of assistance to The Twelve. Do you dare descend into Khyber and find Orlassk and convince him to assist The Twelve?

After running this new adventure, please use this thread to provide feedback on this quest.

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[bando]

So maybe it was just really, really late at night after I updated the server and logged in, but the dungeon felt a little bland to me when I ran through it. A lot of stone textures, which was to be expected, and then a bunch of the same monsters over and over again. I didn't grab all the little green stones, so I'm not sure how much difference that makes to the end fight, but I found the end fight a little underwhelming as well. Two rounds of gargoyles? I would really have liked to have seen some new monsters in this one. There was nothing that said "Hey, you're basically in a different realm of existence" and nothing that said "This crazy dude over here is a king." The three mini-bosses were cool to look at, but the overall impression I got was "Here ya go! it's a quest!"

Also, if we're gonna use the end boss to tie it into STK, lets throw some Wayfinders in there for us to rescue (we haven't seen Dael since Mired).

The Good:
-the mini-bosses were neat to look at
-it felt very stoney

The Bad:
-lack a variety in moving through the quest. Throw in some traps or breakables or something for people to want to explore for
-mobs got a little monotonous after a while
-end fight was underwhelming

[Meretrix]

So maybe it was just really, really late at night after I updated the server and logged in, but the dungeon felt a little bland to me when I ran through it. A lot of stone textures, which was to be expected, and then a bunch of the same monsters over and over again. I didn't grab all the little green stones, so I'm not sure how much difference that makes to the end fight, but I found the end fight a little underwhelming as well. Two rounds of gargoyles? I would really have liked to have seen some new monsters in this one. There was nothing that said "Hey, you're basically in a different realm of existence" and nothing that said "This crazy dude over here is a king." The three mini-bosses were cool to look at, but the overall impression I got was "Here ya go! it's a quest!"

Also, if we're gonna use the end boss to tie it into STK, lets throw some Wayfinders in there for us to rescue (we haven't seen Dael since Mired).

The Good:
-the mini-bosses were neat to look at
-it felt very stoney

The Bad:
-lack a variety in moving through the quest. Throw in some traps or breakables or something for people to want to explore for
-mobs got a little monotonous after a while
-end fight was underwhelming

I agree completley, it felt very bland. This quest would have been a lot more interesting had it been similar to rainbow in the dark with the lighting.

The Lords of stone and eyes were also very disapointing, halforcs? really?

I was really looking forward to this quest pack and I really tried to enjoy them and I was really disapointed.

[SynnMG]

I agree completley, it felt very bland. This quest would have been a lot more interesting had it been similar to rainbow in the dark with the lighting.

The Lords of stone and eyes were also very disapointing, halforcs? really?

I was really looking forward to this quest pack and I really tried to enjoy them and I was really disapointed.

The lords are not Half-Orcs, but I do think they look like 'em.
Also... Oversized Dwarfs? What the fump?

Rainbow in the dark lighting would have been cool, give everyone a torch or something. Maybe have Darkvision/ Lowlight vision?

and no earth ele's?

[thenalim]

The duergar was cool, always liked them and they fitted nicely.
I agree about the Lord of stone being very non-intimidating. This is supposedly a creature that could destroy you through snapping his fingers and he looks less scary than any random warforged or halforc pc.
Make him bigger, more mean looking, make the scenery close to him more suiting. Maybe he can stand in a spot where pieces of the sealing is crumbling down and the floor is moving just from his awesome uberness. Dust could pour down his legs and out over the floor. Anything to make the player realize that if this guy would get mad you wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell.

[Coldin]

I concur on the very bland. Just lots of stone, stone, stone. VoN 3, which supposedly is also in Khyber at least has lots of diversity.

Some mushrooms, crystal formations, and more lava would help make it more interesting.

[Kourier]

I thought the lair of the lord of stone was a giant moving gargoyle? That's what google tells me.

[Angelus_dead]

Also... Oversized Dwarfs? What the fump?

That's a standard ability of Duergar, seen in DDO for several years.

[BruxaDo71]

I liked the quest, the story, environment and monsters. But two things disappointed me:
1. The Lord of Stone...Huh I think I killed him when Droaam attacked Stormreach...
2. The lack of XP. A long quest Lv 17 that gives less XP than a Lv 13 in GH.

[TheDearLeader]

I think the first comments sum it up quite well.

Nice, thematically appropriate. Stone walls, lava, the monsters all fit. Rivals spying on each other? Fits, sounds good.

Only ran it on Normal, but it seemed lacking in the way of challenge, or interesting stuff. Not a lot of secret areas, not a lot to the secret areas. No traps...

It kinda felt like Relic of a Sovereign Past, leveled up.

Back to the eye spies - this optional... at first, I was like "zomg, gotta hit them *fast*!"... and then I realized they weren't really going anywhere. About as much excitement as collecting gems off the ground... oh wait, that was the other optional.

The Lord of Stone's digs could have been a little nicer, too. Just because he's the Lord of Stone doesn't mean he wants to spend eternity looking at the same-colored rock in every direction on his single throne.

Seemed like a very barren ecology - Khyber may be the realm below, but it would still be populated.

Might be interesting to have seem an optional out of Khyber that wasn't necessarily tied to the Lord of Stone - a truly random encounter, but location appropriate.

[Saaluta]

So, soloed this on 2 different characters, My level 20 FVS Tabora and (on lama) my level 20 rogue 13/monk 7 Jilletta with ranger past life. Tabora flew through the quest (literally) just throwing down a bb or two along the way. Loot was lousy, seeing level 8-9 gear in the chests, hopefully this will be fixed before live, should be seeing at least vale and IQ level loot(including +2 tomes). XP was low for the dungeon level IMHO.

Had a little tougher time on Jill since all her gear was from her past life, and I had passed her a few handwraps but nothing special. Pretty much ran thru the quest using +2 weakening of PG handwraps...even with all the immunes flashing on screen, still managed to do quest in about 20 minutes solo, including the last red name. Only scary part was realizing I didn't have a resist(11) wand on her for res fire...and no item either, even so...fire damage was meh and looked like lava damage was not turned on, as I was swimming in it like bathwater.(look everywhere for secrets, lol) Only had to umd about 6 heal scrolls the whole quest and none in last room at all.

Will have to try this in a group within the next few days to see how scaling goes(or buy a few hirelings with TP and stand them at door)

Overall impression: Might do this 1 time on each character for favor...unless end reward for chain has anything special

Saal

[Kourier]

Monsters are pretty weak and a bit bland - could use a few more medusas (medusai?) and elementals. Some of the monsters are curiously enough NOT resistant to acid.

The end fight was also incredibly easy. Solo'd on a poorly geared earth savant III and chugged maybe 1 cure serious potion. Maybe add in some sort of madness effect because you're... STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO A DAELKYR LORD.

[Soulstabber]

I liked the quest, the story, environment and monsters. But two things disappointed me:
2. The lack of XP. A long quest Lv 17 that gives less XP than a Lv 13 in GH.

I could'nt agree more, the thing that disappointed me the most was the xp factor. Halfway into the quest all i could think was 'ohhhh this is soooo not worth it', those quests really need to receive an upgrade on the xp.

Also, after the final fight i went to talk with Orlassk straight away after quickly dispatching the boss and he gave me the conversation to start the final fight again, don' think that is WAI.
Thanks

[slimkj]

My least favourite so far. This just begs invis, haste & run - lots of distance, not much in the way of innovative design and repetitive feel mobs and environment. Hate to sound so negative as I know someone has put a lot of time into this, but it's really not my thing. Felt like it lacked the innovation and D&D spirit/storytelling of the others so what was left for me was a dull, brown run grind and a disappointing & frustrating ending.

[Aerendil]

The Lords of stone and eyes were also very disapointing, halforcs? really?

I was really looking forward to this quest pack and I really tried to enjoy them and I was really disapointed.

The lords are not Half-Orcs, but I do think they look like 'em.

I agree about the Lord of stone being very non-intimidating. This is supposedly a creature that could destroy you through snapping his fingers and he looks less scary than any random warforged or halforc pc.
Make him bigger, more mean looking, make the scenery close to him more suiting. Maybe he can stand in a spot where pieces of the sealing is crumbling down and the floor is moving just from his awesome uberness. Dust could pour down his legs and out over the floor. Anything to make the player realize that if this guy would get mad you wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell.

These X 10000.
The graphics, as well as the fight with the Lord of Eyes, were VERY disappointing.

Graphics:
Sure, the torso and appendages looked Daelkyr-ish, with the look of a parasitic breastplate. However, a half-orc head? Seriously? That's pure laziness, I'm sorry. The devs have access to all of the Daelkyr pictures, as we do, and they know **** well what a Daelkyr *should* look like.
These half-orcs with a parasitic bp are NOT it.
The "armour" should look more chitinous; their heads vaguely human-like with a gaunt appearance, white vacant eyes, etc; their arms should be covered in a reddish sinewy material - and speaking of which, where as the tentacle whip symbiont?!
These were supposed to be the big badasses of this update, and rightly so. They're the lords of the plane of Xoriat, whose very touch causes disease and corruption, and whose very presence can trigger madness and confusion (as per Eberron's sourcebook). They should inspire at least an "oh sh...." in players.
Instead, I was trying not to giggle, especially seeing the Lord of Eyes reclining like Fabio in the final quest.

Very, very poorly done. 2 / 10 IMO.


Combat:
Thus far, my only experience with the Lord of Eyes was on Normal, but my FvS soloed him with no difficulties, which should be downright impossible or very, VERY, difficult.
Where was his aura of madness? corrupting touch? spell-like abilities? tentacle whip? fast healing? (I didn't happen to see him regenerating, did anyone else?); spell resistance? (again, I'll have to double check, but I didn't see an SR check on my BBs - although this would be more obvious to the arcanes - did anyone else notice any SR?), etc.

I'll have to try a go at Hard or Elite (although finding groups on Llama is sometimes difficult), but for normal this seemed way too easy. Either that or FvS are overpowered. Jury's still out on this one, but I'm inclined to give this one a 5 / 10.

[Angelus_dead]

The "armour" should look more chitinous; their heads vaguely human-like with a gaunt appearance, white vacant eyes, etc

Here's the official source material on what a Daelkyr's face looks like:
"This humanoid figure bears an angelic countenance, but his unworldly beauty is marred by a hideous suit of armor"

Thus far, my only experience with the Lord of Eyes was on Normal, but my FvS soloed him with no difficulties, which should be downright impossible or very, VERY, difficult.

The Lord of Eyes is in a different dungeon than this thread is about. But anyhow:
You're not fighting a Daelkyr; you're fighting a Daelkyr who's had all his strong powers suppressed by another Daelkyr. So naturally he's beatable.

However, it's true that as a matter of gameplay, that opponent should have more threat and staying power in this battle. Honestly the bulk of the dungeon should've been fighting Belashyrra, instead of him only showing up to receive a quick beatdown at the end.

spell resistance? (again, I'll have to double check, but I didn't see an SR check on my BBs - although this would be more obvious to the arcanes - did anyone else notice any SR?), etc.

When was the last time you saw Blade Barrier roll for SR?

[Aerendil]

Doh. Yes, good catch A_D on the BB. Not sure why I thought it required SR, but you're right, it doesn't.
I threw all divine spells at him, including searing light, cometfall, divine punishment, BB, and flame strike, none of which are subject to SR. Not sure why I had it in my head that some might have been.

That said, the reason this was posted here was to continue the topic of the Daelkyr being less-than-impressive graphically, which was begun with various other posts in this thread.

[EatSmart]

Extremely bored playing through this. Didnt seem anyway near as challenging as other quests in this level range (or even in the levels below it). Pretty much went for one extremely long stroll, occasionally casting blade barrier. The gems were also easy to find. I dont think I even deviated from the path to get to them.

Felt like one very long fetch quest. The dialogue with the end boss felt like he and I both knew that the entire thing was a pointless formality.

I cannot express enough how dull, long, tedious and unchallenging this quest is.

[Claver]

.....meanwhile, back at the Turbine Developer staff meeting.
<Fernando> How's the new quest coming along where the party members polymorph into beholders to infiltrate an Eye Tyrant Nest and engage in aerial combat.
<FlimsyFirewood> Major bug issues. The polymorph permanently destroys all the player's equipment and flying still is just levitate that goes no higher than 30 feet off the ground. There's no way we can go live with that!
<Fernando> But we launch on lamannia in June; we've got to have something quick. Isn't there a way you could just recycle the parts of other dungeons. What can you do in a weeks time.
<FlimsyFirewood> Well I suppose we could reuse the caverns from"In the Demon's Den", throw in 10 gems from "Smuggler's Warehouse", clone the end boss from STK, add a bunch of gargoyles, and then were done.
<Fernando> Don't forget to add a short half-orc wearing a reject armor kit that didn't make it past marketing - we can call him an end boss; maybe the Lord of Stone.
<FlimsyFirewood> Don't you think people will notice this quest does't fit in with the others from the series in terms of being clever, inventive and having a theme of insanity? I mean, a tunnel of rock is hardly bednobs and broomsticks over Xoriat.
<Fernando> Nah, people won't notice unless the xp per minute is too low.
......


So there has already been a fair amount of negativity regarding this quest in this thread. It isn't an annoying quest to run per se; it just doesn't stack up with the others in the series. It feels incongrous and rushed; like the dog ate Turbines homework and you guys had to quickly go with a plan B rather than craft something cool like the other quests in the series. Bottom line, with so many more attractive alternatives, I would not normally run this quest again.

Here are some positives:

- I liked that the gems were large, brightly colored and easy to see

- Fighting extra STK bosses was moderately interesting

- The idea of killing the spy eyes as an optional has some merit (but they were dead easy to find)

- I liked that we could drop through the floor to a lava level for more gems

- With so many shrines I could burn through mana like a junkie (ran casual on level 18 fire savant with cleric hireling)

Constructive Criticism:

- The End fight before the Lord of Stone is silly easy. I know this was casual but the Sane Asylum and Acute Delirium at least required me to look at the buttons I was pushing and move from side to side. Up the hit points of the named guys please.

- As others have said, the Lord of Stone is less than awe inspiring; I have hirelings that are more impressive. At least give him some graphics like the earth savant to show his magical connection with stone. Maybe boulders can orbit his head like ioun stones. Or have him stand in a shaft of light or inside a quartz crystal - something please, so that we won't start calling him Bob, the Lord of Stone.


Final Grade C-

[Symar-FangofLloth]

To those complaining about appearances, this image was found on an article on WotC's site talking about Belashyrra, Lord of Eyes himself:


And this is the more common image of a Daelkyr:



Now, I only played Acute Delirium once, and as such only saw one Daelkyr once, but (while at first I was put off by the oddness of them) I think that they more or less match the human guide the Daelkyr are so fond of.