Teaser # 1: Introducing DC5: The Depths of Norhaven

[Chevy]

Three underground colonies.
Never at war.
Never at peace.

A meeting had been called, the first of its kind in three years. The leaders of these colonies would rarely meet, but the signs had been read and danger had swelled once more on the frozen surface. When the Coven made its call heard, it was rare for any to refuse. The three would meet on the neutral grounds of Darkthorn Den with their mediator, Malik, of the Coven. It was there they would attempt to forge a temporary alliance. They gathered around a table.

The dwarf Thoran Proudshield was Warlord of Gauth. Adorned in the finest armor in the Depths and wide as he was tall, he was first to speak.

"Two thousand," he said in a resonant voice, letting the number sink into their ears. "But you've not seen them with your own eyes? You know I don't trust this sort of magic. I want certainties that my men are not going to waste...or into a trap."

The Matron of Light, Cynthia Mynea, represented the council of Avera's Hope. She was a slender half-elven woman with thin, fey-like features. She wore modest but functional leathers. Her response was delivered calmly and with poise.

"The Coven's signs comport with what my scouts have found. A small settlement of surfacers several leagues to the east of Norhaven was laid to waste not a fortnight ago."

The Prophet Rosh'Urrien Al'Kashek was last to speak of the three. As with most Elothi, he was an albino, though he exhibited these features to a profound degree, his eyes glimmering like red rubies under his white mane. He was dressed in decadent red robes of silk, seeming wholly out of place in the earthen and often grimy underground environs.

"The Old One has foreseen all of this. The enemies of the Warrens are ordained for destruction," he said in a commanding voice.

"You would dare speak such heresy in my presence?" the Matron scolded.

"The enemies of the Warrens are ordained for destruction," the Prophet repeated purposefully, the implied threat obvious.

Their host, known as Malik, was a hunched and bent figure before them, swathed in dark robes and his face cowled. His wretched form belied his power and influence in the underground. He traced a strange gesture on the table before them with a gnarled hand, his fingernails biting into the wood.

"Peace, my friends." He spoke in a quiet voice that nonetheless commanded their attention. "The signs do not lie. The Coven called upon you now to act. We are in a position to deal a blow to the enemy. It will send Her a message that if She is to extend Her claw too far, it will be severed."

"What is your plan, Nerossë?" the Matron queried after a moment's pause.

"Their forces are yet three days' travel to Norhaven," Malik replied. "On the second day, they will find themselves in the midst of a bitter blizzard. They will be forced to take shelter in the caves in the side of the Draedger Bluffs, where your warriors will be waiting for them. They will be tired and cold, simple prey. You will be able to slay them and be within the fortress walls before they can muster a response from the north."

"I can have two-hundred rangers in position in that time," the Matron said.

"I'll have four hundred steel warriors there in the same time," the Warlord said, putting gauntleted hands on the table. His challenge had not gone unnoticed.

"One hundred--" the Prophet began.

"One hundred?" the Warlord scoffed. "How is it you seem to always expect Gauth and Avera's Hope to bear the brunt of these battles?"

"He is willing to spare one hundred Cenobites and Gogs," the Prophet continued. "And thirty mages."

The Warlord frowned deeply, but seemed satisfied with the number after a moment's consideration.

"Seven hundred against two thousand," the Matron remarked coolly.

The Warlord smiled under his thick beard.

"More than enough."

The Depths of Norhaven

No one knows why the great dragon Grehta, who had long served as stewardess of the Mirror, broke from her sacred duty. After the Mezzerachtine wars, she quietly marshaled her forces and, using the power she was sworn to safeguard, unleashed a bitter and terrible Ice Age upon the surface world, beginning her conquest of all the lands of Arafean. Her attacks were brutal and decisive. Those who would survive her wrath would find shelter in the underground, where it was still warm.

In the Depths of the fortress Norhaven are one such group of survivors in three distinct colonies. Gauth is the largest colony. They live within the dwarven tunnels and have patterned themselves after dwarven society. They honor forthrightness and martial prowess. Avera's Hope is a fledgeling colony of freedom and growing faith in the young religion of the One True God, Eleudis. They are ex-slaves, escaped convicts, and gypsies - outcasts who bend a knee to none. Then there are the Warrens, a tangle of tunnels deep in the ground within which the wondrous lost city of Elothos was found and around which the macabre Sect of Eloth has formed. Since the discovery of an old lost god, they have grown increasingly insular and mistrustful.

It has been over five centuries since the surface was blanketed in snow and ice, and despite the looming threat from above, tensions have grown between the underground colonies. The mysterious Coven, whose druidic power continues to maintain plant and animal life even in the deep places of the world, struggle to maintain balance between them, for they have read the signs, and the people of Norhaven have an important destiny to fulfill.

• The Depths of Norhaven is set primarily in the underground. The great Ice Age has made a great deal of the surface inhospitable, but the colonies struggle to break Grehta's hold and reclaim the lands above ground.
• Play as a member of the three main colonies, or as one of the many other races which inhabit the underground alongside them.
• New classes, including new custom PrCs suited to the cold.
• Crafting expanded and reworked, including crafting-based classes and PrCs.
• Essence and restedness consolidated and reworked.
• Death system reworked. There will be no more auto-raise, but there will be completely new alternatives to respawning....
• Enemies are being tooled to be more friendly to memorization-based casters while not making it too easy for buffers and warlocks.
• Influence system more dynamic. You will automatically gain influence with a colony based on your actions, but being friendly with one colony may make the other two view you unfavorably....
• More static quests and new "public" style quests.
• And more! Details will be forthcoming in future announcements.

[Distorted Shadow]

First.

That's a nice large sum of information to get us started! Thanks!

.. Now to actually read it..

Edit after Read:

Sounds great! I love the lore idea, but out of curiosity, is a more triplicate-faction focused DC with small automation inclusions like 'automated influence' (which can be replaced with, ahem, Reputation) and static quests system a shift geared more towards people being able the module on a more complete basis, without being always needing to be involved with player/DM interaction? Well, obviously it is, if those changes are there, but how much heavier of a focus is it in DC5 rather than it was in 4?

[Hundlaja]

[Jopetzki]

Darkvision and AK-47 for everybody!

The setting looks awesome. I have a cartload of questions but I think we will find out most of them in game. ^_^
(Freaking Blacktooth and their underground lair. *Shakes fist*)


The removal of the auto-raise bothers me a little, because it kicked serious butt. On some servers your character is sent straight to hell upon death and you'll pay in experience no matter you're raised or you respawn. It can get extremely frustrating as getting killed is one of the easiest things to do in the game. I trust the system you guys are working on will be awesome though.

Oooh, maybe we can have a mechanical suggestions thread/or what we'd like to see in the game thread?
I've got a word pad file full of ideas aching to be copy/pasted.


Oh..and by the looks of it all my character ideas just went down the drain! You guys never cease to surprise. Oh well back to the sketching table.

[AwesomeSparklySquirrel]

Oooh, maybe we can have a mechanical suggestions thread/or what we'd like to see in the game thread?
I've got a word pad file full of ideas aching to be copy/pasted.

There's been put a lot of work into mechanics so far, based both on our own experience and on feeback from SoH. At this point, we're not taking suggestions, but presenting what we have done with suggestions from the past.

[ZaoGao]

Dwarves vs. Dragon. This is my destiny.

[Dynamics]

Get excited.

[Ajinai]

Get excited.

You don't have to tell me twice, mate ^^

The setting seems rather awesome and I can't wait to walk some mysterious caverns. Also I can finally start to really build up my character for DC5

[Andy]

A subterranean setting?

Oooh, this I like the sound of! I remember thinking in the past, it would be class if there was something predominantly different about the geography of any potential DC setting. I can see lots of Dwarves, etc.

Love the whole idea of the ice age and stuff. So many questions - but I'll hold off for now. 

[Anno Daemoni]

Cool! The three initial characters are already intriguing.

[Kingofdreams]

I am looking forward to the next bit of story and information.
Dont keep us on tenterhooks for too long

[Clockwork]

Remember how Hellcow told you that you would want pants?

[thewanderingmystic]

man, this one just starts off epic...

and yes, my character concept goes down the tubes somewhat also. Mostly in the backstory division. But so much goodness to work with! (the world is so drastically different from anything I was expecting)

I assume you'll give us more on the races and their relations to the colonies and such (to more firmly base our backstories around) as the time draws nearer.

[Mongoose]

What?!  An underground setting?

*curses loudly and smashes several sheets of paper into a wad*

*storms off*

Cool!

Ba-dum pssh. 

[tourdeforce]

wow, what a great intro and great idea.

Does anyone see a reintroduction of the Drow class? Morloks and Elo's? (sp?) I'm curious to see if there is going to be a "Surfacer class" or classes that fit into the those that live on the far reaches of the colonies