Product Description: Explore a city of untold adventures and intrigue.
City of Stormreach explores the most important frontier city of Xen'drik, where opportunity and peril walk hand-in-hand. The book builds on the plots and characters featured in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, the exciting MMORPG produced by Atari and Turbine, and introduces new adversaries and new locations to explore.
Stormreach is a city rich with adventure, where familiar elements intermingle with the unknown. This book describes the shadowy ruins, sinister organizations, and treasure-laden dungeons that make Stormreach such an appealing destination for player characters. In addition to providing Dungeon Masters with a richly detailed city for their Xen'drik-based campaigns, this supplement presents information on the movers and shakers of Stormreach, ready-to-use adversaries, adventure hooks, and location maps.
Essential for your Xendrik campaign Based on the Dungeons and Dragons Online PC game, this book takes a very detaled look at the inner workings of the only civilized town on the wild continent of Xendrik. Don't let the civilized part fool you, though. Stormreach can be as dangerous as the ruins, jungles, and desert which surround it.
Keith Baker (creator of the Eberron campaign setting), and the other authors of this book delve deeply into the various factions, dragonmarked houses, criminal elements and religions which make the city come alive. The map is somewhat intuitive, as well, and the artwork, as always for Eberron products, is stunning. A creative DM, however, could flesh out much of this information on his or her own given enough time. This book is intended more for DMs who need a quick reference for parties who base their adventures in Stormreach while exploring Xendrik. The only complaint is, once again, the absence of an index to quickly reference various NPC names or places.
The introduction takes a look at the history of Stormreach, as well as the demographics, stories, and the impact of The Last War. The introduction also includes twenty quick adventure ideas a DM could use in a pinch.
Chapter 1: Life in Stormreach examines the architecture, law and order, the art scene, festivals, and details on the districts and wards of the city. A nice color map is included that could easily be scanned and printed for player use. Those of you familiar with D&D Online will recognize the Harbor and Marketplace, but other areas present on the online game, such as the House districts are absent from the book. However, the House enclaves are clearly marked and explined in detail.
Chapter 2: Power and politics covers the Storm Lords, The Coin Lords, foreign powers, Dragonmarked Houses, criminal organizations, militias, religions, and The Emerald Claw. NPC stats and motivations are included, as well as side notes and stories which add a little flare to each group.
Chapter3: Members Only provides details on various groups that the players may become interested in joining. These groups are: The Bilge Rats - Criminal organization; The Blackwheel Company - military contractor; Bloodbound of the Red Ring - gladiators, mostly slaves; Cabal of Shadows - "troubled souls" non-good aligned; Covenant of Light - good aligned, Silver Flame or Path of Light worshipers; Crimson Codex - studious group, hopes to renew Galifar and avoid war; Guardians of Rusheme - druidic hill giants; Hollow Shards - con artists, illusionists; Iron Watch - warforged. Affiliations and requirements are given for each group, as well as a few bonus feats.
Chapter 4: Beyond the City discusses the cultures of Xendrik such as the Drow, giants, Yuan-Ti, and threats. This chapter also describes what a party could expext if heading inland and in need of guides. The Wayfinder Foundation is examined, as well as some legendary Xendrik monsters.
Chapter 5: Urban Adventures contains just what you think - urban adventures. There are seeds and scenarios for various adventures within (and beneath) the city itself.
Overall, this book easily earns its five stars simply for the content itself. Anyone running a Xendrik adventure, and pressed for time as a DM, should spend the $29.95 just to have a quick reference and adventure ideas within the city. I would deduct half a star if I could, however, for the lack of an index to quickly reference names and places.
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