Dungeons & Dragons Online Module 8 Released

Turbine has released their eighth module update for Dungeons & Dragons Online, which adds DirectX 10 support, a new beginning area for new players, additional high level content, and more to the MMORPG. The full patch notes:

Welcome to the Release Notes for Dungeons & Dragons Online! These release notes were posted Wednesday October 29th, 2008.

News & Notes

The heroes of Stormreach turn another page in the tale of the Stormreaver, while arriving travelers begin their journey anew unraveling the mystery of a snow-covered tropical island. Danger and excitement awaits new and veteran adventurers alike!

Of Special Note:

Prisoners of Prophecy

The epic story of the Stormreaver reborn takes an unexpected turn in this module, as the giant and the dragons of Argonnessen find themselves forced into a fragile alliance against the machinations of the ancient undead dragon, the Truthful One.

Sorjek, once the Stormreaver’s loyal lieutenant, has been brought back from beyond the grave as a terrifying lich giant, hell-bent upon revenge against the heroes that laid him low in life, and tasked in death to steal the souls of dragons and add to the Truthful One’s growing army of dracoliches.

To bring him down (again), players must travel by airship, uncover a hidden atoll, cross great mountains of ice, defeat a scorpion king, and forge into the heart of an infested volcano.

Four challenging new dungeons, four breathtaking wilderness landscapes, and a new two-part public quest hub all part of the new module 8 high-end content release!

Revamped New Player Experience

A ship torn to shreds by a mad dragon. A tropical island frozen in mid-summer. A cult of brainwashed villagers laying siege to their former homes, led by evil Devourer sahuagin intent upon spilling innocent blood in the name of their dark God… Welcome to Korthos, where the journey to Stormreach begins!

Players now begin the game in a new tutorial experience on the beach of Korthos Isle. For new players, and old players rolling new characters, the redesigned New Player Experience offers a wealth of adventure, story, and challenge on a level and scale comparable with the cutting edge of current and upcoming MMOs!

• Interactive NPC party members
• Dynamic environmental evolution
• Engrossing new dungeons, such as the Grotto and Misery’s Peak.

A brand new character generation system has also been implemented in the game! Players can now select from a collection of pre-designed character paths or fully customize their character’s abilities. You will be able to view your path’s progression right in the Compendium!
DX10 Support

Beta DirectX 10 support has been added to the game! To celebrate, we’re having a DX10 screenshot contest that began on Risia, and continues on into the release of Module 8! For more information, click here!

Hireling News

Hirelings are being introduced to Dungeons & Dragons Online! This massive new system will be introduced to players through a series of live in-game events after the launch of Module 8. Be on the look out for updates on the upcoming Hireling events!

Want to catch a first glimpse of the upcoming Hirelings? Hirelings that will be made available in-game will be viewed in the Compendium! Learn about their names, races, classes, abilities, and available special commands in their Compendium profiles!

Stormreach Remodeling

• Stormreach Harbor is under renovation! Many things have been moved around. Read more about Harbor Renovations by clicking here.
• The Coin Lords have invested in building more defenses and watch posts around the entrance to the Subterrane.

Collectibles

• Defeated foes that offer collectibles will now drop a treasure bag containing the collectible. This bag will drop even if the body of the enemy is destroyed.
• Collectors will now remove collectibles from both your inventory, and directly from your collectibles bag.

Maximum character slots increased

• The number of character slots available for users has been increased to 10. Users will no longer be required to unlock slots to receive their 10 character slots. Users with more than the allotment will not be able to create a new character until they have deleted the over-flow characters.

UI Improvements

• The level advancement screen now correctly displays:
  • Your new base attack bonus
  • The number of new spell points you’ve earned
  • Your new Ki points
  • Increases to saves
• Previously, save DCs in tooltips for spells would intermittently be incorrect (especially immediately after equipping an item). This should no longer happen.
• You are now able to lock an item in your inventory immediately after receiving it.
• The graphics settings change confirmation box appears in the center of the screen on very large computer monitors now.
• Friends List
  • People in your friends list should now show the correct status. If they are standing beside you, they should no longer show as ‘offline’ — unless they are anonymous.
  • Corrected tool tips on the Friends List UI.
• The icons for items won in an auction should more reliably show up on the in-game mail received.
• Death and Rage visual effects will now fade away after a few moments.

Spells

New Spells

• Zeal
  • Paladin 4
  • Duration: 24 seconds plus 6 per caster level.
  • “Grants the caster a 10 percent sacred bonus to attack speed for a short duration.”
• Lionheart
  • Paladin 1
  • Duration: 24 seconds plus 6 per caster level.
  • (Imbues a single ally with great bravery, making them immune to fear. This will also dispel any fear effects currently on the target.)
  • Material Components required.
• Stalwart Pact
  • Cleric 5, Paladin 4
  • “Grants the target 5 hit points for every 2 caster levels, a +2 luck bonus to saving throws, and damage reduction 5/Magic, if the target of the spell falls below 50% hit points.”
  • Material Components required.
• Death Pact
  • Cleric, 8
  • “The spell allows you to enter a pact with your deity that brings you back to life after you are slain. While under the effects of this spell, your constitution is decreased by two, and cannot be restored until you rest.”
  • Material Component: Large Diamond.
• Protection from Elements
  • Cleric 5, Sorcerer 5, Wizard 5
  • Duration: Grants temporary immunity to all forms of energy for 1 minute per caster level or until 12 points of energy per caster level (max 120) for each element has been absorbed.
  • (Casts a spell that gives a protection from elements of all five basic elements.)
• Protection from Elements, Mass
  • Cleric 7, Sorcerer 7, Wizard 7
  • Duration: Grants temporary immunity to all forms of energy for 1 minute per caster level or until 12 points of energy per caster level (max 120) for each element has been absorbed.
  • (Casts a spell that gives a protection from elements of all five basic elements.)

General Spell Changes

• Spells with durations now show the duration in the spell description.
• The visual effects for the displacement spell now last the duration of the spell.

Skills, Feats, & Abilities

General Feat Changes

• Sap is no longer disrupted by weapons that cause extra damage.
• Fighter Improved Critical and Weapon Focus feats will appear in the feat list without having to expand the feat list trees.

Enhancements

New Enhancements

• Dwarf Toughness has been replaced with the Racial Toughness line
  • Racial Toughness I
    • Prereqs: Toughness, Level 3. (Available to any race.)
    • Benefit: Grants +10 hit points.
  • Racial Toughness II
    • Prereqs: Toughness, Racial Toughness I, Level 6. (Any race.)
    • Benefit: Grants +10 additional hit points, for a total of +20.
  • Racial Toughness III
    • Prereqs: Toughness, Racial Toughness II, Dwarven Constitution I, Warforged Constitution I, Human Adaptability: Constitution or Human Greater Adaptability: Constitution, Level 9. (Human, Dwarf, or Warforged only.)
    • Benefit: Grants +10 additional hit points, for a total of +30.
  • Racial Toughness IV
    • Prereqs: Toughness, Racial Toughness III, Dwarven Constitution II or Warforged Constitution II, Level 12. (Dwarf or Warforged only.)
    • Benefit: Grants +10 additional hit points, for a total of +40.
• Adamantine Companion
  • Cost: 2 Action Points
  • Prereqs: Mithral Companion, level 12 character, 58 action points spent.
  • Benefit: You have a loyal adamantine defender as a pet, and can summon it once per rest to aid you for five minutes.
• Divine Might I:
  • Cost: 1 Action Point
  • Prereq: Cleric or Paladin Level 5, 15 Action Points Spent, 14 Base Charisma
  • Benefit: Activate this ability to gain a +2 Sacred bonus to damage for one minute. Consumes a use of your turn undead ability.
• Divine Might II:
  • Cost: 2 Action Points
  • Prereq: Cleric or Paladin Level 10, 34 Action Points Spent, 16 Base Charisma
  • Benefit: Activate this ability to gain a +4 Sacred bonus to damage for one minute. Consumes a use of your turn undead ability.
• Divine Might III:
  • Cost: 3 Action Points
  • Prereq: Cleric or Paladin Level 15, 53 Action Points Spent, 18 Base Charisma
  • Benefit: Activate this ability to gain a +6 Sacred bonus to damage for one minute. Consumes a use of your turn undead ability.
• Divine Might IV: (Not yet available)
  • Cost: 4 Action Points
  • Prereq: Cleric or Paladin Level 20, 72 Action Points Spent, 20 Base Charisma
  • Benefit: Activate this ability to gain a +8 Sacred bonus to damage for one minute. Consumes a use of your turn undead ability.
• Fighter <Weapon> Specialization I
  • Cost: 1 Action Point
  • Prereqs: Level 8 Fighter, 27 Action Points Spent, Weapon Focus: <Weapon Type>, Weapon Specialization: <Weapon Type>
  • Benefit: You gain an additional +1 bonus to damage rolls when using <Weapon>.
  • Similar enhancements exist for all specific weapon types.
    • Example: Fighter Bastard Sword Specialization I
    • Prereqs: Level 8 Fighter, 27 Action Points Spent, Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons, Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
    • Benefit: You gain an additional +1 bonus to damage rolls when using a Bastard Sword.
• Fighter <Weapon> Specialization II
  • Cost: 2 Action Points
  • Prereqs: Level 16 Fighter, 58 Action Points Spent, Greater Weapon Focus: <Weapon Type>, Greater Weapon Specialization: <Weapon Type>
  • Benefit: You gain an additional +1 bonus to damage rolls when using <Weapon>, for a total bonus of +2.
  • Similar enhancements exist for all specific weapon types.
    • Example: Fighter Bastard Sword Specialization II
    • Cost: 2 Action Points
    • Prereqs: Level 16 Fighter, 58 Action Points Spent, Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons, Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons, Fighter Bastard Sword Specialization I
    • Benefit: You gain an additional +1 bonus to damage rolls when using a Bastard Sword, for a total bonus of +2.
• Arcane Archer Force Arrow
  • Cost: 1 Action Point
  • Prereqs: Elf 9 or Ranger 6, Elf or Ranger Arcane Archer I, 19 Action Points Spent
  • Benefit: Expends 10 spell points to conjure a stack of 100 +1 Ghost Touch Force Arrows

General Changes

• The Steel and higher metal type Companions are sturdier, more alert to hiding enemies, and now bypass damage reduction as if they were magical.
• Mithral and Adamantine Companions are now treated as being made of the appropriate metal types: mithral and adamantine.
• The Tempest Ranger enhancement has been modified and its description clarified: Benefit: Your training has turned you into a whirling tempest of steel, granting a 10% bonus to dual wield attack speed.
• Corrected the description of the enhancement ‘Elven Arcanum’ to indicate that you must be an elven wizard in order to take it.
• The description on the Arcane Archer Enhancement has been corrected to properly indicate that a Base Attack Bonus of +6 is required.
• Metamagics no longer affect Monk finishers.
• When two paladins with different levels of the ‘Aura of Good’ enhancement are standing in the same area, the ‘Immune’ message will no longer display.

Items

• The Symbol of Death Scroll is now has a chance to drop as part of random treasure tables.
• The description on the ‘Necklace of Contemplation’ has been changed so that it is no longer referred to as a woolen scarf.
• Previously, some daggers would not play elemental particles (the snowflakes for frost effects, for example). They should now work.
• Bane handwraps have been introduced to the treasure tables
• Ooze summoning treasure effects have had their description changed to match more accurately the behavior of the ooze that they summon.
• Energy Absorption effects on Green Steel weapons have been corrected to absorb the appropriate amount of damage for each level of the item.
• The Healer’s Bounty effect on the shield Levik’s Defender now works correctly.
• Based on player feedback, the appearance for the Breastplate of Destruction has changed.

Crafting

• The Twelve have received reports of the discovery of strange new eldritch devices existing in the caverns beneath the Siber Atoll. The Twelve recommends adventurers investigate these rumors further.

Monsters

• Bearded Devil’s have had their teleport timer adjust so that they will not teleport and then immediately teleport again. Now they will obey their eight second timer.
• Earth Elementals (including summoned ones) should no longer go inert if a creature they have earthgrabbed dies.
• The Save DC and damage of Earthgrab now scales by monster level – both are lower for Medium Earth Elementals, but Damasze’s grip is significantly more powerful. There is now a range limit on Earthgrab, and only one status icon will appear while grabbed.
• Mitanu is no longer referred to as ‘the Mitanu’.
• Beholder eyebeams are now visible.
• The bees of Xy’zzy will now go away when resting or the timer ends.

Quests

• Ruins of Gianthold
  • Captain Two Stone’s chest in the Gianthold can now be opened.
• Gianthold Tor
  • Corrected an error in Stormsworn Spellbinder’s dialogue
• The Pit
  • Fixed a fringe case that caused one of the bridges leading to one of the furnace rooms not to drop.
• Ruins of Thernal
  • Corrected an error with quest abandonment in the Thernal series
• Western Thernal Ruins
  • Chief Engineer Derward in the Western Threnal Ruins no longer things he’s a human.
• Necropolis Quests
  • The following Necropolis quests will appear in the Necropolis section of the Quest Journal. If you have one of these quests in progress, or completed, it will not update to the correct part of the Quest Journal until you reset the quest:
    • Tomb of the Shadow Guard
    • Tomb of the Shadow Knight
    • Tomb of the Shadow King
    • Tomb of the Shadow Lord
• Sorrowdusk Isle
  • Vermilo will now come down from his perch.
• Ghola Fan
  • It is now possible to get to the entrance to the Ghola Fan quest without purchasing a key at Mul Tongs camp.
  • Ghola Fan no longer mistakes monks for rangers.
• Tangleroot Gorge
  • Fog of war on the map in Tangleroot Gorge has been made more opaque.
• Sorrowdusk Isle
  • Fog of war has been added to the Sorrowdusk Isle adventure area map.
• Prove Your Worth
  • Penzants now makes a more appropriate exit after players complete his pirate challenge.
  • Meeble will now speak with you again if you do not make a choice the first time his dialog is opened.
• Legend of Two Toed Tobias
  • An issue with the spawn rates of rats have been resolved
  • Skeletons that are killed in The Legend of Two-Toed Tobias will no longer disappear in the blink of an eye.
• Twilight Forge
  • Previously, if you killed the Warforged Titan with cold, disintegrate, holy, or lawful damage, the forcefield in front of the chest would not drop. This should no longer happen.
• Let Sleeping Dust Lie
  • Keys will have much more difficult time falling through a particular hole in the ground.
• Three Barrel Cove
  • The rare spawn Dybesh Relix now has a chest.
• Redwillow’s Ruins
  • The quest will now advance correctly no matter the order you turn in the items to Redwillow.
• Chains of Flame
  • A fire elemental is no longer blocked
• The Subterrane
  • The rare encounter with Garamon in the Subterrane may prove much more profitable than before. A number of interesting treasures have been reported.
• Rainbow in the Dark
  • The inhabitants of the Den of Obscurity forgot to pay their electric bill and now visitors must have the Radiant Arc equipped to be able to see.
• Ritual Sacrifice
  • The infernal devils have traded out their pet scorpions for a superior model of vermin

Shopping

• Items that have taken enough damage to lower their value can now be sold at lower quality item brokers.
• Kazhan Raynes now directs you to his uncle’s store in the Rusty Nail.
• Belline Toulia now ends her conversations properly when discussing the repair of all dragon scale armors.

Other Changes

• Trial accounts are no longer able to send messages using /tell
• Several stuck spots in and around Stormreach have been corrected, including:
  • The House Jorasco, Phiarlan, and Kundarak wards
  • Three Barrel Cove
  • Reaver’s Fate
  • Maraud the Mines
  • Mistress Orphne’s Haven
  • Sharpwood’s Warehouse
  • Gwylan’s Stand
  • Stormcleave
  • Searing Heights
  • Prison of the Planes
  • Phoenix Tavern
  • Sands of Menechtarun
  • Waterworks
  • Forgotten Caverns
• Corrected a line of DM text in the Black Mausoleum and Vale of Twilight
• Brother Jerrian no longer takes donations in the name of the Silver Flame.
• Removed a line break in the text of the Gary Gygax memorial.
• Corrected grammatical errors in Madstone Crater, Black Loch, the Subterrane, Three Barrel Cove, and Enhancements.
• An interior decorator paid a short visit to the Black Loch to move some of the decor around
• The Harbor banker now appears on the Harbor map notes
• Corrected the map note for Mistress Orphne’s Haven in House Kundarak
• The Abandoned Keep in the Threnal area has been updated to look more like a dig site.
• Adjusted some ground textures in the House Jorasco ward.