Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard Interview

To help kick off our brand new Dragonshard subsite, producer Charley Price reveals new information about the game’s classes, factions, dungeons, creatures, and much more.  Our questions and his answers to follow:

GB: First of all, will the final game be entitled “Dragonshard” or “The Dragonshard Wars”? I only ask because it’s been mentioned as “The Dragonshard Wars” in the past and is listed that way on the newly downloadable character viewer. Either way, can you tell us how you arrived at that name and what significance the word “Dragonshard” has to the game?

Charley: The final title of the game is going to simply be (Dragonshard). This was chosen due to the fact that the term is closely tied to our game in a variety of ways.

For one, since this is to be the first game to be released set within the world of Eberron, we wanted to select a name that was immediately evocative of that setting. In Eberron, Dragonshards are rare and powerful crystals that serve as conduits of power, enhancing player characters and allowing for the construction of many of the fantastic structures that are found in that world.

In our game, Dragonshards manifest as one of the main resources (along with Gold and Experience), and are constantly replenished on the map due to intermittent shardfalls that come from the sky. This is a resource dynamic which is unique to our game; hence we wanted to highlight it in the game’s title.

Finally, the single-player campaigns in Dragonshard revolve around various factions attempting to acquire (or protect) a massive Dragonshard that fell in the lost land of Xen’drik, called the (Heart of Siberys). It is this massive artifact that provides the main point of contention throughout each of the campaigns.

GB: We haven’t seen a Dungeons & Dragons strategy title since Interplay’s Blood & Magic in 1996. With the success of many fantasy RTS titles over the past several years, why do you feel it took so long for another D&D strategy game to emerge?

Charley: This is merely my own speculation, but with a normal license, a developer usually only has to think of maintaining the feel, visual look, and characters of the given property, thus leaving them relatively free to make whatever kind of game around that license that they see fit. However, with the Dungeons & Dragons license, there are a variety of gameplay expectations given the nature of the pen and paper game. Naturally, this is much easier to re-create in smaller-scale, character centric RPGs and Adventure games, but much more difficult in larger scale games such as Strategy and RTS titles. As such, a successful D&D strategy game needs to integrate core D&D concepts in order to remain true to the feel of the pen and paper game, while still presenting a fresh, compelling strategy experience to the player.

With Dragonshard, we already felt that the RTS genre needed a (kick in the pants), and the D&D game system felt like the perfect setting in which to implement our ideas (dual-layer play, various methods of unit advancement, etc), which helped lead to the expansive, innovative system currently found in our game today.

GB: Tell us about resource management. What resources will players need to acquire in Dragonshard and will there be a finite supply of them?

Charley: In Dragonshard, there are three resources: Dragonshards, Gold, and Experience.

As mentioned earlier, Dragonshards can be gathered by exploring the above ground layer and finding various impact sites where shardfalls have occurred. This can be aided by a unit found on each side which can detect when and where Dragonshards may fall, sending out a sonar-like ping. Gold is acquired by exploring the depths of the underground layer, and is found in chests, on the bodies of monsters, and in massive (and often well protected) hoards of treasure. Some chests found in the underworld will be locked, and thus require a Rogue captain of the appropriate level to open them. Both Gold and Dragonshards act as primary resources and are used for building construction, unit generation, etc.

Experience is acquired by killing monsters (above or below ground), killing the units of other players (in multi-player), or by completing quests (in single-player). Experience is gathered globally, and can then be spent to level up all units of a given type, providing them increased health, damage, and new or more powerful abilities.

It is worth noting that, unlike other RTS games, there are no (resource gathering) units per se. Any unit can acquire any of the resources in the game. As such, the player no longer has an inherently vulnerable group of vital resource gathers that must be defended at all times in Dragonshard, the resource gatherers can take care of themselves.

GB: All four factions are now revealed – the Order of the Flame, Umbragen, Lizardfolk, and Monsters. Can you give us a brief summary of each one’s strengths & weaknesses, as well as what types of Champions they’ll be able to recruit?

Charley: In Dragonshard, the playable factions are the Order of the Flame, the Lizardfolk, and the Umbragen, with the Monsters serving as global opposition (although at times they can be controlled via various spells and Places of Power).

Each of the three playable races has units that represent the various roles that are considered vital in an RTS (melee/ranged damage dealers, siege units, healers, etc), but they do each have their own specialties.

The Order of the Flame are the hale and hearty forces that will be the most familiar to D&D players. With raging Barbarians, spell-slinging Sorcerers, and stealthy, backstabbing Rogues, the Order of the Flame present a full spectrum of the D&D classes, and thus offer a good balance for various styles and strategies.

The Lizardfolk are made up of deadly hunters and druidic spellcasters, and are generally the most mobile of the three races. They have an affinity for poison damage and damage-over-time abilities, and suffer no movement penalties when running through water.

The Umbragen are a more magic-centric race who have devoted themselves to a symbiotic relationship between flesh and shadow. As such, they have a variety of powerful draining, and debuffing abilities, and are at their best when being micro-managed to the utmost efficiency.

Each of the races can directly call upon 10 captains – the base-unit of Dragonshard (roughly equivalent to a level 5 D&D character upon creation, but who can be leveled up using Experience) – and one of four champions (roughly equivalent to epic level characters). The Champions for each side will consist of one Fighter-type (Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian, or Monk), one Rogue (no Bards!), one divine spellcaster (Cleric or Druid), and one arcane spellcaster (Wizard or Sorcerer).

Charley: As it stands, a player can only have one Champion at any given time, and they cannot be leveled-up, given their immense starting power. In D&D terms, they are essentially so high-level to begin with, the amount of experience accumulated through gameplay would not be enough to grant them another level.

Captains, on the other hand, start at level 1, and can be leveled up to level 5 via the Experience resource. A level 5 captain and a champion are roughly equivalent in terms of basic abilities, but Champions grant a global buff to all units in their army, have powerful charge-up abilities, and are among the only units that deal damage that ignores resistances, thus making them a very valuable asset both in early and late game scenarios.

GB: How many different Dungeons & Dragons character classes will be available in Dragonshard? We’ve read about Wizards, Rangers, Rogues, and Clerics, but will we see standard Fighters, Sorcerers, or even Bards? Could you give us an example of a skill or feat each of these classes will have access to?

Charley: Almost every D&D class will be represented by one or more characters in Dragonshard. As mentioned earlier, Barbarians have a Rage ability which functions in a similar fashion to Barbarian Rage in the sourcebook, Rangers have Animal Companions they can use to scout, Rogues deal bonus Sneak Attack damage when attacking a target from being cloaked, Clerics cast the whole Cure Wounds line of spells, Sorcerers have Fireball and Hold Person, the list goes on and on.

In terms of feats, Paladins can Trample using their steeds, some Fighter-based champions can use Whirlwind Attack, and in terms of skills, Rogues are the most obvious, using Search, Hide, Disable Device, and Open Lock to sneak around, detect/disarm traps, and open locked chests. Needless to say, the D&D player will find plenty of familiar spells and abilities as they play through the game.

GB: In our last interview, it was mentioned that you are planning on having “special” buildings available on the map for players to use or possibly even control. Can you tell us what sort of buildings you have in mind and what purpose they will serve?

Charley: Places of Power are found throughout single- and multi-player, and function in a variety of different ways. For example, we have a Crystal Fountain which increases the health regeneration of units nearby, and then we have the Elder Brain which, when acquired, grants the player control over all Illithids (or Mind Flayers, whichever term you prefer) in the nearby area. Both provide unique and interesting gameplay dynamics, especially in multiplayer.

GB: Can you provide some examples of non-faction creatures that players will encounter in the game’s underground sections?

Charley: There are countless monsters in Dragonshard: Zombies, Duergar, Minotaurs, Mind Flayers, Elementals, Gelatinous Cubes, various Golems, Dire Snakes and Wasps, Yuan-Ti, Thri-kreen (Mantis creatures), Medusas, the list goes on and on. We really wanted to make the underworld experience feel like a D&D dungeon crawl come to life.

GB: What sort of armor, weapons, or miscellaneous items will players find while exploring such underground areas and what effect will some of them have on the Champion and/or nearby armies? Do you intend on adding any custom items that are not found in the DMG?

Charley: We have all sorts of items for the player to acquire as they explore the underworld. These include simple healing potions, masterwork weapons and armor, and various powerful scrolls (Summon Monster, Meteor Swarm, Finger of Death, etc). Very rarely, usually only after defeating a huge (boss) monster, the player can acquire an epic item, such as the Abyssal Gauntlets of Khyber, which, when equipped, provide a massive damage boost, but prevent natural health regeneration, or a Vorpal Blade that has a chance to decimate an opponent with one blow, causing a bloody explosion of crimson mist and bits of flesh.

Charley: For those who aren’t aware, calling upon soldiers is an alternative form of advancement for a particular captain unit. Once a soldier has been summoned and a squad is formed, you cannot focus fire on the captain in that squad, but rather only on the squad itself. As such, we have intended for recruiting soldiers to not only serve to make your captain more powerful, but also to help to keep them alive longer by saving them from focus fire. This is a choice that the player can make depending on their gameplay preference and the tactics and abilities of their opponent: you can choose to concentrate your forces in to several well stocked and reinforced squads, or instead distribute your resources to an array of individual captains. Soldiers cost much less than captains, but they cannot be controlled individually, so there is always a compelling choice for the player to make in terms of how choose to reinforce their armies.

The issue of defensive units protecting a given captain tends not to occur, given that each soldier for a given captain is essentially a low-level version of that captain (a Cleric summons level 1 Cleric soldiers to aid her). In addition, this means that when a Cleric recruits a soldier, you are not only improving that captain’s survivability in that squad, but are also reinforcing its role. Cleric soldiers will perform an auto-heal on nearby damaged units, making a Cleric squad a sort of mini-field hospital. The result is a pretty interesting dynamic that we on the team have really enjoyed delving into given each of our preferred play-styles.

GB: What sorts of base defense will be at a player’s disposal (walls, towers, etc)? Any defenses unique to Dragonshard that you can talk about?

Charley: Each base starts with a default set of walls around it to protect your buildings against an immediate rush (although a rush after 2-3 minutes or so of gameplay is not out of the question). These walls consist of three basic sections: Gates, which allow friendly units to enter and exit (and hide behind to heal and buff up during a siege); Walls, which simply offer a sturdy boundary; and Towers, defensive structures on the corners which automatically fire at incoming opposition.

These walls can be upgraded, if you so desire, increasing their resilience to damage and the amount of damage that the towers deal out. However, given how this would seem to reinforce a defensive, “turtling” style of play, it’s worth noting that you cannot place towers on individual grid slots, so the towers on your nexus walls are all the default defenses you have available.

GB: Other than Dragons, Beholders, and Minotaurs, what other fantastical creatures from the Dungeons & Dragons world will we see? Will we see any planar creatures or demons of any kind?

Charley: In addition to the monsters mentioned in the earlier question, we do have a variety of large scale (Boss Monsters) in Dragonshard, including some planar creatures, such as the Marilith who hails from the Abyss, the Horned Devil (or Cornugon, to the old-school D&D players out there) who comes from the pits of Baator, and the Efreet, evil princes from the Plane of Fire.

These are in addition to classic favorites such as the Beholder, Umber Hulk, Drider, etc. An encounter with one of these Boss Monsters will require the player to strategically maneuver and tactically strike at key moments. Each of these monsters are fully adept at attacking multiple units at once, either through area of effect attacks, or a unique system that, in the case of the Marilith, allows her to acquire multiple targets and rotate various arms to strike each one individually. As such, the player will have their work cut out for them figuring out various strategies for tackling each of these deadly beasts.

GB: Lastly, can you give us an idea of what features you’re planning on incorporating into multiplayer? Will players be able to share resources, build in each ally’s bases, or have access to other team-oriented capabilities? Any multiplayer features unique to Dragonshard you can tell us about?

Charley: In multiplayer, we are planning on having a number of interesting win conditions other than simply (destroy every last remnant of your opponent). We have included a win condition that demands that the player hold key Places of Power on the map for a set period of time, and another win condition that requires the player’s champion to collect a set number of artifacts found within the dungeons of the level (generally guarded by traps and/or the aforementioned boss monsters), which then must be held for a set period of time without the Champion being killed.

These alternative methods of winning will be in addition to various other multiplayer features we have planned. Building in an ally’s base will not be available, as it presents too many complications given the complexity of the Nexus system and how it impacts unit leveling and special abilities. That said, we are certainly planning on implementing such features as resource and unit control sharing for team-based games, as we feel they are (standard) multiplayer behavior.

We’d like to issue our thanks to everyone at Liquid Entertainment and Atari, especially Charley and Shane, for taking the time to get our questions answered!