Dragonshard Community Update #19

In the nineteenth community update for Dragonshard, Atari’s Shane DeFreest provides us with two new screenshots and a brief Q&A with Eberron creator Keith Baker. Here we go:

Q: The Dragonshard fans you worked with Liquid on some early design concepts for the game. Can you tell us what your role was conceptually and how much you contributed to project?

A: Liquid and Atari brought me in at the start of the process to help develop the story and make sure that things had a solid connection to Eberron. When I came on board, the general story was already in place: it was a three-way conflict in Xen’drik between lizardfolk, drow, and a force from Khorvaire. I brought my knowledge of Eberron to things, and through brainstorming sessions we developed the story as it stands: the history of the Umbragen and the Ring of Storms, the lizardfolk society, and more about the alliance from Khorvaire. I helped develop the heroes of each side, and the overall story arc driving each side, working to tie these things into the history of Eberron – the Silver Flame, the fall of the civilization of the giants, and so on. I created the first story bible for the game, outlining the mission arcs for the sides.

Of course, that was a year ago, and things change in development. So while I worked on the initial storyline, I don’t know how closely the final product adheres to that first pass.

In addition to my work for Liquid, I also wrote two articles allowing DMs to bring the flavor of Dragonshard to the gaming table. Dragon # 330 includes “Shapers of Shadow: the Umbragen”, and Dungeon #122 contains “The Ring of Storms”.

Q: Eberron, the setting you created that Dragonshard is set in recently one the prestigious Origins Award. What was it like winning the award and how does it feel to know thousands of people across the world are playing in something you created?

A: It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve received questions from people in Sweden, Russia, and Poland, and I have a copy of the Eberron Campaign Setting in German. I always wanted to work in the RPG industry, but I never imagined that I’d be part of something as big as this. I just hope that people continue to enjoy the world and what we do with it in the future – both with the pen-and-paper games, and projects like Dragonshard and D&D Online.