The Dungeons and Dragons Online Team over at Turbine - Eric Boyer (Senior Producer), John Cataldo (Systems Designer), Charles Miles (Senior Content Designer), Jerry Snook (Community Manager) - are getting ready to launch Update 20 on Tuesday November 12th. We went on a tour with the gang yesterday to preview all the new content. They plan to release two new free missions, A Study in Sable (for CR Level 26) and Brothers of the Forge (for CR Level 28). There will also be an update to Reincarnations, which will allow Iconic heroes to Reincarnate. The Enhancement Tree is also getting a special addition in the Eldrich Knight, a Melee caster.
A Study in Sable is one of the new missions in Forgotten Realms. It starts off with Sir Ebermund giving you a quest within a large manor. Apparently the guests have been acting strangely and there was a murder. Your job is to figure out a murder mystery and question the guests of the manor. Each wing of the manor is filled with Gargoyles, Mephits, Vampires and Conjured Weapons. The wings will be randomly unlocked each visit, so no run will be exactly the same as the last. Including the different wings of the house, there is also an attic, cellar and hedge maze to complete. At the end you'll come to the vampire, Lord Sable, who is in a dark room. He has taken the guests of the manor as his thralls and will use them against you if you were unable to successfully help them. Lord Sable is only vulnerable to sunlight. Break the pillars covering up the windows to defeat him and save the guest of the manor.
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In the new Brothers of the Forge mission you'll be summoned to a Warforged training facility. This is where the Warforged were first created and later trained to kill. Talbron will be accompanying you on this mission. He was also summoned here and is trying to find his friend Gorrin. Throughout the facility you'll find scorpions, constructs, Iron Golems, and drones who repair constructs. Along your way you'll find patterns. By placing patterns into a special machine you can view the past. A few patterns will tell the story between Talbron and Gorrin and what happened between them.
The Hall of Heroes is getting an update to the Reincarnation Grove. The Life Shaper will now have a UI, with a list of all Reincarnation options for Heroic True Reincarnation: Lesser Reincarnation, Epic Reincarnation and Iconic Reincarnation. Each Reincarnation option will show you the requirements and feats for completing your rebirth. Different types of Hearts of Wood will be required as well as Karma Points from Epic Destinies to be able to Reincarnate. Once you are reborn you will see there is a new area called The Bridge Between, where you will level up and talk with the Life Shaper in her human form.
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The Enhancement Tree is getting a special update for anyone interested in becoming a melee Wizard/Sorcerer. The Eldrich Knight Enhancement Tree allows for spell damage based melee attacks. Eldrich Knights will use moves such as Spell sword Flame (Single Target) and Eldrich Tempest (Whirlwind/AOE) %which are based off spell power. The Enhancement Tree will also offer options for heavier armor and borrow from other caster trees to further increase you spell power.
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Turbine has offered a lot of great additions to end game with Update 20. It's wonderful to see that they are making it easier on players to Reincarnate and give iconics a chance to show their usefulness. The Eldrich Knight was a delightful surprise that I'm sure many players were hoping to see. In the past it was difficult finding the right balance between the two. It will also be very interesting to find out what happened with the Warforged and Talbron Tewn's side of the story. The future of Dungeons & Dragons Online is looking better and better with each update.
