Sword Coast Legends

[May90]

It looks like Neverwinter Nights 3 we've been waiting for for so long is finally coming in September! Only it is called Sword Coast Legends:
https://swordcoast.com/

Set in the lush and vibrant world of the Forgotten Realms, Sword Coast Legends offers an all-new way to enjoy the time-tested magic of playing Dungeons & Dragons as a shared storytelling experience. With a deep narrative developed by a team of long-time industry veterans and a partnership with Wizards of the Coast, the single player campaign of Sword Coast Legends brings the world of Faerûn home like never before.

Sword Coast Legends also brings the roleplaying dynamic between players and Dungeon Masters to life with DM Mode, a first-of-its-kind real-time experience in which Dungeon Masters guide players through unique customizable adventures. In DM Mode, the Dungeon Master engages players and empowers them to have fun in a way that suits the party best while creating a tailored, non-adversarial 4 with 1 experience that any RPG or pen-and-paper fan will enjoy.

Game Features:

• Single player campaign created by members of the leadership team that brought you Dragon Age™: Origins
• Choose from five playable races and six unique character classes to build your own stalwart adventurer
• A return to form, Sword Coast Legends is the compelling and complex RPG you've been waiting for and features pause time, party-based tactical combat and involving storylines
• Dungeon Master Mode: Create your own epic adventure to share with your friends, or enhance their experience in real time as they traverse your dungeon
• Set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms universe based on the fifth edition ruleset and populated with Dungeons & Dragons lore and legend

What I find particularly interesting is that the game is going to feature a fully functional toolset allowing players to create their own modules, pretty much like Neverwinter Nights toolset. Can it be what we have been waiting for all this time, a replacement to very powerful, but extremely outdated Aurora Engine toolset and the game itself? From the videos I've seen, I can say that, so far, it indeed seems to have a potential to become the new primary platform for creating custom D&D campaigns. Take a look:

[lawow74]

It has a lot of promise, I just hope they won't nickel-and-dime people to death with 'Buy the Monk class, only $9.99! Buy the Tarrasque, only $9.99!' and suchlike. Already they're getting some stink-eye for making Beholders a pre-order bonus.

[RoninaThorstone]

Who cares about nickles and dimes? If it's worth it, buy it. If not, don't.
These things tend to allow developers to generate more revenue while keeping the initial purchase price reasonable.
I would much rather pay 40 dollars for a box that's missing some features I don't want than be forced to buy an 80 dollar box that has everything.

More choice, more freedom.

[unfilteredJW]

If this DM mode is as awesome as it looks, I'm going to have so much bloody fun.

[May90]

It has a lot of promise, I just hope they won't nickel-and-dime people to death with 'Buy the Monk class, only $9.99! Buy the Tarrasque, only $9.99!' and suchlike. Already they're getting some stink-eye for making Beholders a pre-order bonus.

Yes, I am a bit worried about it too. That said, if the original game is going to have as much as they say, plus if the modding community is going to be big, then the official content hidden behind pay walls will be more than compensated by custom-made content.

[unfilteredJW]

It wouldn't bother me anymore than when I had to buy new figures etc.

Just a chance to get the old DnD group back together even though we are miles apart is awesome.

[WarpedAcorn]

It wouldn't bother me anymore than when I had to buy new figures etc.

Just a chance to get the old DnD group back together even though we are miles apart is awesome.

After a near decade break, some friends finally got together and have been meeting up once a month to get our D&D on. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play with people at an actual table, sharing in the excitement of every crit and the humiliation of every epic fail.

[unfilteredJW]

After a near decade break, some friends finally got together and have been meeting up once a month to get our D&D on. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play with people at an actual table, sharing in the excitement of every crit and the humiliation of every epic fail.

We always played since I love to dm and write campaigns and they liked to bring over beer and other stuff.

Much more fun than poker.

It'll be fun to do the same just across the country.

[May90]

I am ashamed to admit that I've never played the real tabletop D&D. I've played, pretty much, every single D&D video game there is to play (haven't played only Icewind Dale 1/2 and Temple of Elemental Evil yet), so I know the system quite well - but the tabletop game wasn't very popular where I grew up.

[unfilteredJW]

I think the big issue is it's always easy to find players but a good DM is super hard to find.

[WarpedAcorn]

I think the big issue is it's always easy to find players but a good DM is super hard to find.

Good players aren't all that common either. And when you get a bad one it can sour the entire group. One of the reasons I stopped playing was due to lack of cool people to play with.

The biggest pool of people to play with was when I did the Living Greyhawk thing and everything was standardized. I had a lot of fun with those games even though the adventures and outcomes were pretty linear.

[axell]

Looking forward to it. And for some reason it makes me want to replay Temple of Elemental Evil.

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Though I am a bit disappointed it's 5th edition. I always felt 3.5/Pathfinder is the best D&D edition out there.

[WarpedAcorn]

Though I am a bit disappointed it's 5th edition. I always felt 3.5/Pathfinder is the best D&D edition out there.

Yeah, not a HUGE fan of 5th Edition so far. Its a big shift from 3.0/3.5 which was the last I played. Casters definitely feel a bit unfair (at the lower levels at least) due to unlimited casting of Cantrips, although allegedly their higher level damage isn't as over-the-top as previous versions. The big difference is shifting a focus away from stacking bonuses for Rolls and instead looking to gain Advantage/impose Disadvantage. That seems to be what its all about.

[lawow74]

Not just that, 5e got rid of stacking buffs via spells like that poor kid getting dressed for going outside in A Christmas Story. It seems like a pretty solid system, it just lacks the mounds of options you have to play with in 3.5/PF.

[WarpedAcorn]

Not just that, 5e got rid of stacking buffs via spells like that poor kid getting dressed for going outside in A Christmas Story. It seems like a pretty solid system, it just lacks the mounds of options you have to play with in 3.5/PF.

This is absolutely true. I suppose, much like MMO's, class balance was an issue. In 5e, all classes get some beefy rewards for staying pure, while in 3.5 you could dip your toes into another class and get a lot of benefits (like the classic 2 levels of Fighter). 5E seems to want to keep it simple and kind of punishes you for multi-classing. Right now I'm a Fighter 2/Cleric 1 and rocking Protection fighting style with the Shield Mastery feat (and acting as both the groups Healer and Tank), and its kind of annoying that my chances to hit go up at the same rate as the Sorcerer...But also, since I multi-classed, I get my "Kit" later as well as the Stat boost.

[Fencers]

I had the website for this game bookmarked for months. But it seemed really slow in development compared to when it was first revealed months ago.

I am interested, natch.

[unfilteredJW]

Went ahead and broke my rule of no pre orders and pre ordered this.

Mostly because as a DM I hate my players and want them to die to eyeball stalk magic.

[Arlee]

Though I am a bit disappointed it's 5th edition. I always felt 3.5

That's really interesting to me. 3.0 and 3.5 are by far my favorite editions, but I am pretty head over heels for 5ed so far, especially after playing 4ed for awhile >< 5ed feels a lot like they are pulling all the best stuff from 3 and 3.5, while at the same time addressing many of the inherent issues those versions had (namely out of control power scaling for some classes/combinations and very underwhelming scaling for others). I think there still might be some scaling issues for high levels, but I haven't had the chance to get into the math side of it all yet to confirm my suspicions there.

I'm really looking forward to playing this at PAX and talking to Dan Tudge about it. The development has been pretty slow, but I am hopeful it means they will have a very polished product when it is ready to go.

[lawow74]

I feel like 5e is more taking what Pathfinder did with 3.5e and revamping it. 4e was not a bad system, it was just such a departure from 3.5e D&D that it garnered mounds of hate. I maintain that if that system had been applied to a differently-named fantasy RPG, it would have done much better.

[axell]

I feel like 5e is more taking what Pathfinder did with 3.5e and revamping it. 4e was not a bad system, it was just such a departure from 3.5e D&D that it garnered mounds of hate. I maintain that if that system had been applied to a differently-named fantasy RPG, it would have done much better.

I don't dislike 5e. I'm currently playing 5e with my coworkers and it's pretty fun so far. While pathfinder revamped 3.5 it did not really streamline it as much as 5e does. Which is fine for new players since d&d was never easy to get into but as a fan of tons of customization i do preferr the older system

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That's really interesting to me. 3.0 and 3.5 are by far my favorite editions, but I am pretty head over heels for 5ed so far, especially after playing 4ed for awhile >< 5ed feels a lot like they are pulling all the best stuff from 3 and 3.5, while at the same time addressing many of the inherent issues those versions had (namely out of control power scaling for some classes/combinations and very underwhelming scaling for others). I think there still might be some scaling issues for high levels, but I haven't had the chance to get into the math side of it all yet to confirm my suspicions there.

I'm really looking forward to playing this at PAX and talking to Dan Tudge about it. The development has been pretty slow, but I am hopeful it means they will have a very polished product when it is ready to go.

I'm not saying that 5e is bad, just that I really would like a 3.5/Pathfinder based game to come out and Pathfinder online doesn't really count since it won't really use the rules, just like neverwinter online doesnt