Letter from Executive Producer Rob Ciccolini - January 2018

[MeliCat]

I'll bet it's a quarterstaff that just looks like a trident.

But maybe comes with like 1000x the durability?

Yeah. That'd be good.

[Clematis]

More BtC storage space?!

Don't get my hopes up! The whole storage system needs to be reworked, anyway. The game does not support at all the management of long-time players collections of thousands of items.

[Greantun]

I've had a ticket in for over 3 months on not being able to enter Kings Forrest in the Underdark package. You don't even sell the package right now but you haven't done anything for those that are effected by this. Not even a reply to the ticket. Any feedback would be expected by a paying customer.

You can by MOTU, with underdark, kings forest, etc via the ddo Market (https://store.standingstonegames.com...oryID.58516100), just not with DDOPoints in game.

They added that back in around the time Ravenloft was released.

[Arkat]

What does that mean? Most named weapons that are ML 20 or above can be Sentient. Are these weapons already Sentient? Or are they three new jewels? I'm interested, but confused.

In the classic module, White Plume Mountain, the three weapons in question, Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor, are already senitient.

Whether they'll already be sentient in the new DDO pack is anyone's guess.

[Arkat]

But maybe comes with like 1000x the durability?

Yeah. That'd be good.

LOL!

It should at least come with the same Hardness and Durability of the cloth-made Softsole Slippers - 49/390!

[gabbatastic]

Greetings!
We have another big announcement to make later this year, but we're not ready to hint about that news yet, sorry. Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!

Hope it's Tomb of Horrors

[Akiraa]

Sounds awesome!

Who's going to narrate White Plume Mountain?

Morgan Freeman

[edgarallanpoe]

Hope it's Tomb of Horrors

I keep seeing this and every time I read it I scratch my head. Tomb of Horrors is one of the all time great modules, of that there is no argument. However, IMHO it would be the absolute worst module to translate over to DDO and here is why. The thing that made ToH such a great module was the abundance of deadly traps and the fact that it made players seriously think and work together. That might sound like a great idea but where would the replay value be? Once you know the location of the trap and the solution to the puzzles and the way to kill the demi-litch the dungeon would lack any type of challenge. There are *very* few monsters to fight...in fact I can only think of a couple...the gargoyle and the demi-lich obviously. I am also unaware of any unique loot, massive XP though.

Maybe Return to ToH would make for a better for DDO...it's obviously inferior to the original but might translate to DDO better.

[mons]

Who's going to narrate White Plume Mountain?

SSG should have a contest and let one or several members of the community narrate it. Would be really cool.

[MeliCat]

SSG should have a contest and let one or several members of the community narrate it. Would be really cool.

Oooh! Id love to!

Except I have this stupid Aussie accent which would ne jarringly incongruous

[Thrudh]

I keep seeing this and every time I read it I scratch my head. Tomb of Horrors is one of the all time great modules, of that there is no argument. However, IMHO it would be the absolute worst module to translate over to DDO and here is why. The thing that made ToH such a great module was the abundance of deadly traps and the fact that it made players seriously think and work together. That might sound like a great idea but where would the replay value be? Once you know the location of the trap and the solution to the puzzles and the way to kill the demi-litch the dungeon would lack any type of challenge. There are *very* few monsters to fight...in fact I can only think of a couple...the gargoyle and the demi-lich obviously. I am also unaware of any unique loot, massive XP though.

Maybe Return to ToH would make for a better for DDO...it's obviously inferior to the original but might translate to DDO better.

Yep, I keep thinking this too.

Tomb of Horrors would not translate well to DDO at all. Why do people keep bringing it up?

Now, Against the Giants (G1-G3) would be fun.

[LightB]

I will vote for that a "voic-actor contest." I want to participate in that, too,
so please announce it for several days and also give the opportunities to
those who live overseas.

Anyways, I am so happy that new stuff is coming every year!
Kudos to the team and their efforts!
I really do appriciate what you do to keep us entertained!

[cdbd3rd]

...Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!...

Expedition To The Barrier Peaks!!!

Or maybe just Tomb Of Horrors.

White Plume Mountain? Holy ****! ....

Heya stranger!!

[CutItUp]

Whoever narrated Fresh Baked Dreams is one of my favorite DM voices, sounds a lot like Christopher Lee (Count Dooku / Saruman)

I bet Michael Cristofer (Phillip Price in Mr. Robot) could do a decent narration

[edgarallanpoe]

Yep, I keep thinking this too.

Tomb of Horrors would not translate well to DDO at all. Why do people keep bringing it up?

Now, Against the Giants (G1-G3) would be fun.

Indeed...that would rock. And it could even tie into another series with the Drow.

[Silverleafeon]

Nice stuff! Looking forward to the coming year

A couple things I noticed:

-Magic is failing and a plague is going around. Smells like the Spellplague to me, which already has been referenced in DDO so isn't impossible...

+1 Good thinking. Sometimes its good to remember that DDO resides in one of the wildest parts of Eberron.

http://eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Xen%27Drik

Lots there to read including

"...A conclave of the greatest Arcanists in all of Xen’Drik was assembled and a weapon of cataclysmic power was unleashed severing the connection from Dal Quor, the plane of dreams, and the primal plane. The power of the weapon was so devastating that the cataclysmic result was nearly as bad as the war itself..."


"...For thirty-five thousand years the echoes of the conflict between the Dragons and Giants have distorted the lands of Xen’Drik. The unleashed echoes of eldritch power have created bizarre monsters and twisted landscape in its path..."


"...The Traveler's Curse alters Xen'Drik temporally and spatially. The effect is that adventurers will find that maps sometimes fail them..."

[Mindos]

Whoever narrated Fresh Baked Dreams is one of my favorite DM voices, sounds a lot like Christopher Lee (Count Dooku / Saruman)

I bet Michael Cristofer (Phillip Price in Mr. Robot) could do a decent narration

James Flynn

http://ddowiki.com/page/CategoryDO_voice_actors

[apacheizm23]

Greetings!

Our first year as Standing Stone Games is behind us, and we want to thank our fans for being part of a wonderful year. We feel truly fortunate to have wonderful players, and we are excited for the upcoming year. I wanted to take some time to talk about our plans for the upcoming months. The reason we are here is because YOU are here, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Update 38 will arrive this Spring, and will return adventurers to Eberron. The magic that has long protected Stormreach is failing, and a strange plague is sweeping through the city. You'll join forces with the healers of House Jorasco to find a cure and save your adopted home. This new adventure pack will be level 14 on Heroic difficulty, and level 31 on Legendary difficulty. Part of this work will allow us to tweak House Jorasco as well, to help players get around the space.

We will also be doing a bit of work on the Anniversary Event, including some new event rewards, as we celebrate DDO's 12th year! We will have a special gift for players as well, but do not want to spoil the surprise.

One of the things we have long heard from you about is the desire to have a third Artificer Enhancement tree, and we're pleased to be able to say that the Renegade Mastermaker will be coming in the near future. This tree will focus on improving your Repair spells, Curative Admixtures, personal Defense, and building things to buff both yourself and your allies. We also intend to add a third Favored Soul tree, update the Cleric Warpriest, and do extensive work on the Druid class. For Druid, we will be working on the core of the class, its animal forms, and both of its existing enhancement trees in addition to a brand new enhancement tree.

Another thing we have long wanted to do is update our Treasure of Crystal Cove event, and we intend to start doing that work in the coming months by updating the reward list. Speaking of events, we have plans for Night Revels to update the public space to work similar to the Challenge system its dungeons use, and add a new dungeon for our favorite Halloween event. October is historically one of our biggest months, and we think you'll love what we have in store.

Next, we are pleased to announce our next classic adventure! An eccentric wizard has hidden three famous Sentient weapons inside of a volcano, and challenged all comers to try to retrieve them. Can you make it through fiendish obstacles and deadly traps? Have you guessed the pack yet? It's White Plume Mountain, a classic 1979 dungeon that was also recently brought to 5th Edition in the Tales from the Yawning Portal book. We'll be giving this intense test of skill the DDO treatment later this summer in an adventure pack that will also feature several other stand-alone dungeons themed around wizards and their arcane environments.

We are happy with the feedback we received about Sentient Weapons with the release of Mists of Ravenloft, and plan to continue to support that system in 2018. In addition to the Sentient Weapons available in White Plume Mountain, we intend to add a Kobold-themed Sentient Jewel for our 12^th Anniversary, and create a Dragon-themed jewel for an as-yet unannounced release date.

We have another big announcement to make later this year, but we're not ready to hint about that news yet, sorry. Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!

On behalf of everyone on the Dungeons & Dragons Online team, we thank you for your support. We've been humbled by the response to the Mists of Ravenloft, and we look forward to continuing our amazing tabletop-to-screen journey with you in 2018 and beyond!

Sev~

Thank you and it sounds like fun to me! I recently played a Druid just to get through a few lives and it didn't take long for me to figure out that the class is broken and needs a lot of fixing/help! Also my fellow companions and I recently spoke on Favored Soul class definitely needing a fix. Low and behold I find you're thread today telling us that is exactly what you guys are going to do. Bravo!!

[Silverleafeon]

SSG should have a contest and let one or several members of the community narrate it. Would be really cool.

Cordovan mentioned that DDO has to use a member of the actor's guild (or something of that nature) for voice actors.
Likely some contract(s) they signed?
Which is why Cordovan joined the actor's guild awhile back to help out.

[cdbd3rd]

SSG should have a contest and let one or several members of the community narrate it. Would be really cool.

I will vote for that a "voic-actor contest." I want to participate in that, too,
...

IIRC, they explained in the past that to do even voice-acting on a video game, one must be a member of the SAG.

Now. I dunno how much it costs, but I do know where my local office of the SAG is...


edit:

We thank you for your interest in joining SAG-AFTRA. All new members pay a one-time-only initiation fee, plus the first semiannual dues at the time of joining. The national initiation fee rate is currently $3000.00 (initiation fees may be lower in some states). Annual Base dues are $210.12.

Plus there's some mumbo-jumbo about eligibilty requirements that I didn't read further in to.