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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Follower System (TTRPG Game Design)

A thing I started doing every time I run a new campaign is to add something mechanical to it as an extra layer of immersion. It's not always been successful, but the first time I did it, I came up with a between-session mini game that I'm still pretty proud of that I call the Follower System.

The basic concept was to alleviate downtime activities from the PCs and give my players something to do between sessions that still felt gamified. I also wanted to add on a layer of (mechanical) importance to the NPCs they forged relationships with, without having to ham fist them into later adventures as cohorts or NPC combatants.

So, if through an adventure, you made really great connections with someone and established a positive rapport with them, you could add them to your list of contacts. They could complete small tasks for you in between sessions, like doing a vendor trip on your behalf, procuring a specific rare item, taking an item of yours to be upgraded, completing a side quest on your behalf (subject to DM approval), or doing a Day Job to help fund your adventuring efforts. You could also just send them treasure hunting, which was on theme for the campaign I created this system for.

Finally, this was also a way to make use of really cool items you found in adventure that no one in the party actually wanted to use. Followers had limited equipment slots or sometimes special abilities that benefitted from receiving special equipment. It always feels kind of bad to get a really cool, flavorful item that instantly becomes vendor trash.

Different followers were better at different tasks. You might have a really awesome warrior you made friends with who's better at adventuring or completing side quests. Or maybe you made best friend with a blacksmith, and they can service your items or do some side work to add to your funds. Some were "hybrid" characters that could flex between RP and Combat oriented tasks.

The other thing I'm proud of with this design is that I made it relatively system agnostic, and though it clearly has the vibe of Pathfinder 1E (since that's what I built it for originally), it's not completely reliant on that system to be utilized. However, there is some additional work I should really go back and to to make this truly standalone (such as updating the calculation for encounter difficulties so it's not dependent on the Adventure Path structure. Probably something like changing Book Number to Party Level divided by 4 or 5, rounding up).

It's not a document I can post very well in full here, but I do have the document available (for free) on GM Binder here if you want to check it out. Instead, under the cut, I've put the stat block for one of the "companions" I made available—a halfling duo based off of characters my husband and I have run.

If Dayntee sounds familiar, well, she should! I've been playing some version or another of her since 2003 and the inspiration for most of my social media user names.

*****

Dayntee & Tobingo, Halfling Duo - Rank 1 Hybrid Followers

Dayntee and Tobingo are a pair of cheery and bright halfling adventurers who forever enjoy each other’s companionship. Dayntee is a battle-hardened wildling that specializes in brutal weaponry; the bigger, the better. Her companion, Tobingo, is a softer counterpart; as a paladin of Chaldira, he both protects his allies fiercely as well as enables them to get into trouble. Just, you know, heroically.

Brazen, unbearably lucky, and infuriatingly adorable, these two are known far and wide for their trouble-making shenanigans, but ultimately good hearts. They're happy to do good for other do-gooders, all the while with smiles on their little faces.

The stat block as available in the GM Binder document.

#game design #ttrpg #pathfinder #dnd #D&D #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #game supplement #creative writing

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Kylind Campaign—Revising the Chronologist Class (OC)

A long time ago (around the last time I was part of a major layoff), I spent most of that time developing my own D&D world. I was very ambitious with it - the projected included:

A whole continent

A full 1-year long adventure

5 new subraces

2 new classes

An entire new school of magic + spells for it

Its own pantheon of gods

New monster types and templates

New weapon categories

A handful of subclasses/prestige classes

... and probably more that I've forgotten about. The document, last I checked is 78 pages long and over 30,000 words on its own, including history, tables, descriptions, and rules. I dubbed this work "The Kylind Campaign" and it wound up becoming the first ever adventure I ran for my now-husband.

I've always intended to go back to it and revise the information, because the conclusion of that campaign was so earth-shattering, it needs it. There's also just some stuff I wrote back then that needs updating, either because I've become a better writer and designer or because it's been 13 years and general philosophies in the industry have changed substantially.

The world itself was originally written for the 3.5 Edition of Dungeons & Dragons and later formally converted to the 1st Edition of Pathfinder. I'm not sure if I'll convert further from there—our play group really likes the crunchier, heavier mechanics those systems offer.

I wanted to show some of the work I had done on my old blog, in part to just have content out there, but also because I was planning on publishing this stuff some day. I still might! You can read the original article here, but it's from 2013, so it definitely shows its age.

Rather than repost that exact content here, I've instead written a revised piece below that's less about the mechanics and more about the philosophy and what I learned in playtesting this class. The campaign has long since ended, and there's a lot about it I'd like to revisit.

*****

What is the Chronologist?

Chronomancy seeps throughout the land of Kylind, challenging its structure and even its history. None are more passionate in seeking to understand and harness that power more than the Chronologist. From mastering raw power to understanding the intricacies of ancient weaponry, their passion and fervor is so intense that they are often decried as zealots, compared more frequently to religious fanatics than to wizards. The life of a Chronologist is usually lonely, though they rarely care for the company of others. All that matters is understanding, and ultimately controlling, time itself.

Why the Chronologist?

My initial goal with the Chronologist class was to design a support-based Divine caster who could replace a Cleric in a party. I've been at far too many tables that consider Clerics boring to the point that someone almost always gets "forced" to be the healing stick, and I wanted to solve that by creating a new class that can serve that purpose with a different flair.

I also really wanted there to be an Intelligence-based support class. I was very stuck on this concept, and kind of still am if I'm being honest.

Unfortunately, it really didn't pan out that way—the Chronologist wound up landing somewhere between a support and a damage-dealing caster, to the point where it served neither role well enough to take those tasks on alone. This meant it felt a lot like Bard did in Pathfinder and 3.5 - they're nice to have as a 5th or more party member, but hard to justify if you need perfect team balance.

The group recruited a Cleric later in the campaign because our Chronologist couldn't quite keep up with healing demands, and I re-evaluated the Chronologist's overall structure as a result.

The Future of the Chronologist

I still feel very strongly about including the Chronologist as a class in my world. It feels key because time manipulation and time travel play such an important role in the world of Kylind (to the point of being considered a form of divine intervention). However, we set it up for failure by adding a way for Wizards to specialize in Chronomancy on their own. This lead to a new problem: now I have two classes that basically do the same thing, with one of them wildly out-performing the other.

The answer is likely in combining the two concepts together and meeting somewhere in the middle. We gave the Wizard (Chronomancer) specialty some very cool crafting and construct flavor that is probably better suited to being moved to Artificer. Because Artificer wasn't a class in Pathfinder 1E, I was stuck finding another way to convert it.

My current thinking is probably to kill the Chronomancer specialization in Wizard (or at least tone it down) and let the Chronologist stand on its own. Perhaps the Chronologist needs to be my version of an Artificer, so we can carry forward some of that crafting and automaton vibe without losing the unique flavor of time manipulation it carries. In either event, some things either need to be shifted or removed so that it avoids becoming too good, too utilitarian, or overshadows other existing classes.

Next Steps

Before I can really make decisions on what to do with the Chronologist or the Chronomancer, I have a big decision to make:

What edition and system do I build this class and world for?

If I intend to publish this, it doesn't make a lot of sense to stick with two systems that are both now out of print. However, my home group isn't super big on playing 5th Edition D&D (old OR revised) or 2nd Edition Pathfinder, so I'm left in a difficult place.

It's part of why this project has stayed on the backburner so long. The other reason is that this world isn't entirely just mine anymore—both my husband and I have used aspects, characters, philosophies, and stories from this original campaign in newer adventures with our friends. Much of our lore has evolved and changed, and needs to be recorded and reflected. If I continue to develop this class, it won't be on my own!

#game design #creative writing #Kylind #The Kylind Campaign #Chronomancy #Chronologist #Pathfinder 1E #D&D 3.5 #dungeons and dragons #Pathfinder #ttrpg #design philosophy

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Prose Exercise (Pathfinder/OCs)

This exploration originally came from an assignment I gave myself: I love painting miniatures, and so for every miniature I painted, I required myself to write a little vignette about them.

Besides the fact this only lasted for like 4 miniatures, it was still a good exercise, especially because it let me zone in on the voices of these characters.

A few questions I asked myself:

What does a slice of their lives together look like?

How can I drill it down so you get the gist in a short story?

How do you handle details the reader might not know, and yes-and your world truths?

Where do I start, and where do I stop? When does it feel "done?"

The following is a snippet about Francis Soriano, also known as "Frankie Boom" and his adventuring partner/love interest Emelia Ricard.

Frankie is very purposefully written with a horrible Jersey Boys-esque accent, because that's the voice my husband uses when he plays this character. It is both irritating and hilarious and we all love/hate him for it, because it's also incredibly contagious to everyone at the table. He's an alchemist who doesn't know when to not get in trouble, has a bit of a criminal/dubious background, but ultimately a roguish heart of gold and genuinely looks out for his party members or teammates.

Emelia Ricard is a pop-culture adaptation caricature I played alongside him, based off of Arrow's Felicity Smoak (yes; the character's name is a play on the actress' name, Emily Bett Rickards). I played her as a bard who provided her inspiration via being informative/well learned (effectively doing the whole Overwatch thing, but out in the field alongside a group of heroes). Given that the original character herself has a horrible track record with romance, I built that into her background as a hang up, and it ended up playing nicely with Frankie's personality.

I don't know why my husband decided to play Frankie as head over heels in love with Emelia at first sight (other than to personally delight me?), but it let us play out this initially unrequited love that built into a flourishing relationship at the table over many sessions, which was both fun and very romantic. No you shut up.

The setting this is in is Pathfinder's base world, Golarion, and during the events of Pathfinder Society's first edition campaign. This took place right after an adventure where Frankie had been particularly selfless, and Emelia was starting to develop real feelings for him. It was also right before an adventure where, for the first time, Emelia went without Frankie and almost immediately died.

Things always go wrong at Heidmarch Manor, for the record.

*****

The thing was that, the more she thought about it, the more she knew that he'd wear her down eventually.

Emelia thumbed through the pages of her book, trying to refresh her memory on Varisia, its people, and its history. Her next assignment was in the far off land, and while she knew she could have asked him, it mattered to her that she knew this stuff on her own. She didn't need him. Or perhaps she didn't want to need him. A subtle, but important, difference.

She had never intended to become a Pathfinder. Being a field agent hadn't been in the cards for her, but she couldn't keep watching heroes die. Why did they always die? And why did she always have to fall for them before they did? She turned another page a little harder and bit her lip. She couldn't do that again. She wouldn't. She'd keep them all at a distance, and just do her job. She wouldn't let herself think she was cursed.

This train of thought was working her up and the words on the page became incomprehensible. Steam misted her glasses. 'I don't have time for this,' she thought, taking them off and leaning back in the rickety chair she had claimed in Master Shane's study. The Master of Scrolls was eccentric, but an excellent and empathetic teacher. She was always welcome here when she needed to think or read up on some obscure fact.

She sniffled and raised a sleeve to dab at her eyes. Now was not the time to be dwelling on the past. She'd just as soon forget it all, but her heart couldn't bear to let go to those she'd once loved so much. The body count was up to three, and all were unfulfilled loves. They'd all been a team once, and for her, they'd each been something more. But the Boneyard took them all, one by one, and left her behind. When she realized she couldn't let their memories be in vain, the Silver Crusade accepted her as an agent. If any faction could understand fighting simply for the sake of good, it was the one lead by Lady Zadrian.

"Hey yo, Emelia. You in here?" Frankie popped his head in the door all too suddenly and Emelia snapped the book shut as she was startled from her thoughts, hand scrambling for her discarded glasses on the table.

"WHAT, what- What is it, Frankie?" she calmed herself, pushing down all the melancholy introspections and straightening her posture in her seat. He eyed her curiously for a moment, then grinned boyishly and entered with a sheaf of papers.

"Your, uh, your mission brief is here. I guess we're sailin' to Varisia? You know, I'm Varisian an-"

"You read my briefing?" she snatched the file out of his hands and started flipping through it, the seal clearly broken.

"Well, yeah, we're kind of, ya know, a team, so I figured-"

"You're not going on this mission, Frankie," she interrupted briskly, silently adding, 'I made sure of it.'

His brow knitted in confusion and he removed his hat, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. "That's weird. I'll go talk to Olysta, I'm sure she-"

"NO, no. No it's fine. I can handle this. It's just a routine trip to Magnamar. Things have calmed down there, they probably have a bunch of relics to catalog and archive. That's what I do, you know. Archive things," She really needed to learn when to stop talking.

"Yeah, sure... Well, uh... have a safe trip then," his face screwed into a frown and he hovered awkwardly for a moment, as though he were going to say something more, before abruptly turning and exiting the room. Emelia breathed a sigh of relief.

She needed the alone time. Frankie had been glued to her side since she left the Emerald Spire, and his incessant flirtation flustered her. She didn't know why. He wasn't particularly handsome or charming, he enjoyed flaunting his intelligence, and he practically drowned his person in patchouli. With his constant attention, he kept her off guard and she couldn't take the time to figure it out.

Now she had the time. This trip would be great, cataloging artifacts would be a piece of cake. After all, what could go wrong at Heidmarch Manor?

#creative writing #short story #pathfinder #Pathfinder Society #Frankie Boom #Emelia Ricard #prose

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Monologue Practice

Okay, I cheated a bit here.

I wanted to write a monologue because it's important to be able to show that you can. Especially if you have time constraints or need a character to be able to express themselves in 2-3 minutes or so.

I had very recently finished writing the epilogue to my Pillars of Eternity fanfiction that started out with a heartfelt letter, and realized that it would make a great monologue if trimmed a bit. You can read the original (and the rest of the story) here on AO3—don't worry, it's pretty innocuous.

Don't let anyone tell you fanfiction isn't good practice or real writing. It absolutely is—I wouldn't be half the writer I am today without it!

The exercise here was to pull out the Pillars-specific details and make sure the content could stand on its own without that context. It took some massaging and cutting, but I'm very happy with the final result.

As a side note, I'm really a sucker for drama and romance... I'm probably overdue to do something a bit more comedic. Something to consider for future projects, I suppose!

*****

FADE IN:

INT. – INN PRIVATE ROOM, NIGHT

A woman, IDRALIA, is bent over a writing desk, scratching fervently with a quill on parchment. Her voice reads the words out loud in V.O. as she writes.

IDRALIA (V.O.)

I’ve seen the distance in your eyes over these past few days. I know someday soon, you’ll find this note on your journeys, long after you’ve departed, and understand why I never asked you stay. Truth told, I knew it was futile. You’ll say goodbye in your own way, so consider this mine.

I write this more for me than you. You’ll never give me the closure I need, so… this is what I’ll get. I just want you to know my intentions.

By your side, I’d have travelled to the ends of the earth. You’d have had my bow, my companionship, my love. I’d have slain titans, even gods, and hunted every enemy of yours at a humble request.

I never needed anything more than you. Your worried brow, sardonic wit, the rare soft affection you only ever showed behind closed doors. That was enough. You were enough.

And that’s what I find most tragic. You feel you still have things to prove. Just… know you never needed to prove them to me.

#monologue #screen writing #script writing #creative writing #Watcher Idralia #pillars of eternity

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Dialogue Exercise (Script; OC)

When building my writing portfolio, I wanted to show the breadth of my experience. In college, I started out as an actor in the theatre school and eventually graduated with a BFA in Digital Cinema with my concentration in Screen Writing.

That whole thing is a story for another time.

I quite like writing in script form. There's something about the very firm structure that I enjoy, and I like that I can estimate out rough video or performance lengths based on the content pretty accurately. There's a formula to things, which I find oddly comforting.

Unfortunately that formatting doesn't quite carry over to tumblr, so I've done my best.

Below is a one-off scene I wrote between two of my own D&D characters - Teris Latya, an older powerful sorceress, and Tanya Latya, her half-dragon daughter who was born out of somewhat unethical circumstances.

Their background touches on dark stuff, but we don't get into that here; I just wanted a dramatic piece to write around, and I don't have characters more dramatic than two charisma-based casters who have entirely too much in common, especially when it comes to being the center of attention or getting their way. 😂

*****

FADE IN:

INT. Mansion – Daytime

A pair of women are mid-argument in the luxurious living room of a well-dressed mansion. Light streams in from a massive window. The younger of the women, TANYA, is furious with her mother, TERIS.

Tanya

And that’s all I ever was to you? A means to an end?

Teris

My dear, I rather think you were an end to a means.

Tanya gives her a frustrated look. Teris gives a resigned sigh and continues.

Teris (CONT.)

Your presence was never… intended. But after a time, I realized it was not unwelcome.

Tanya

No child in the history of this world wants to hear that they were “unintended.”

Teris

I can give you the truth, or I can tell you a sweet lie that paints me in a perfect light. You’re a smart girl—you know the latter untrue.

Tanya huffs, crossing her arms and petulantly throwing herself into an armchair. She waves her hand dismissively, indicating her mother should continue.

Teris (CONT.)

You were born of a tryst. There’s no sense denying it; I’ve made a great many impetuous choices in my time. I thought this one would gain me power. Perhaps notoriety.

Teris begins to pace the length of the room, her hands idly gesturing as she speaks.

Teris (CONT.)

I received neither. At least, not for that particular transaction. And you, well… you were a surprise, an unintended consequence of my actions. Until-

Tanya

Until WHAT, mother?

Teris

(softly) Until I came understand that you were also my responsibility. That was new to me. I was not used to dealing with my consequences. It was different with you.

Tanya

Forced to deal with me, you mean.

Teris

In a way. In truth, I couldn’t be more grateful.

This response is unexpected. Tanya is stunned.

Tanya

Don’t give me platitudes.

Teris

(without a beat) You forced me to finally grow up, my daughter. To take my future into my own hands instead of manipulating it from the grasp of others. I achieved nothing until I achieved you. Whether you believe it or not, you are my blessing.

Tanya

You don’t make it feel that way.

Teris

I was never prepared for this. Motherhood was never a goal. I was restless and hot-blooded. All I ever wanted was adventure… What I did not realize was that raising you was a different kind of journey.

Teris walks over, sitting on the arm of the chair, and brushes stray hair from her daughter’s face. Tanya flinches, Teris’ hand retracts with another sigh.

Tanya

I’m not ready to make amends.

Teris

I would not expect so. I have wronged you many times.

Tanya

An apology would be a good start.

Teris

(small smile) Then we start there.

END SCENE

#creative writing #script writing #screen writing #original characters #OCs #D&D #Dungeons & Dragons #Teris Latya #Tanya Latya #character dialogue #writing dialogue

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Diablo IV Feature Overview (Diablo IV)

One more Diablo thing, then we'll move on. I promise. 😊

While I left Blizzard in early 2020 prior to Diablo IV's launch, I was involved heavily with the announcement plans and reveal at BlizzCon 2019. That was a cathartic triumph of an experience for me—members of the community can tell you I was crying in the audience when the trailer played, because I'd been holding this secret in for so long.

At this stage, I was pretty much the only North American community manager dedicated to Diablo, handling D3, Immortal, and now D4 communications (I did work with a kickass social media manager, though, so I wasn't totally alone). We were in the process of hiring a new manager above me, which was all well and good; I really didn't want to be a manager (and still don't) because I enjoy writing and creating.

I wrote pretty much every article covering Diablo IV on reveal day (and for the whole of BlizzCon 2019), in addition to managing all our influencer activations onsite, posting on social live from the event, and generally ensuring Diablo stuff was running smoothly each day of the event. If I didn't pause to say hi to you, that was why. 😅 Probably the biggest, busiest BlizzCon I was ever involved in.

This and all the other blogs around that time are preserved by the Wayback Machine - I picked this one because it had the best performance out of all our blogs. People really enjoy details, after all.

Warning: this is a very long one under the cut; if you're playing Diablo IV right now, how has the game changed since reveal?

*****

Diablo IV Feature Overview

We know you’re all eager to learn as much about Diablo IV as possible, and we’re incredibly excited to share everything with you! To get you started, we’re taking a comprehensive look over the features and details we’re sharing at BlizzCon 2019 and answering a few of the most common questions you undoubtedly have about the next mainline entry in the Diablo franchise.

*****

The Classes of Diablo IV

At launch, Diablo IV will have five unique character classes, each bringing its own distinct mechanics that embodies their respective fantasy. Today, let’s talk about the first three we’re bringing to life: the Barbarian, the Sorceress, and the Druid.

Barbarian

A brutal, physical warrior, the Barbarian roams around the battlefield constantly, dishing heavy damage and wielding an array of powerful weapons with ease. With the Arsenal system, Barbarians can swap between different types of weapons, such as from a heavy two-handed mace to a pair of sharp, agile hand axes, depending on the situation, skill, and your player needs.

Barbarians will be able to haul around four total weapons and swap between them dynamically at any time. You’ll also be able to assign specific weapons to different skills, allowing advanced players even greater depths of customization.

Sorceress

Harnessing potent elemental powers, the Sorceress is brimming with all your favorite flavors of magic. Fragile but destructive, this high-risk, high-reward hero weaves between Fire, Cold, and Lightning. Her mastery of magic is an iconic and indelible part of the Diablo power fantasy, and we’ve only continued to build upon this sturdy foundation.

You’ll be able to control and dominate enemies with a new Chilling mechanic. The more Cold damage you deal, the more foes will be slowed, frozen, and eventually shattered by your attacks.

Druid

The master of shapeshifting makes his triumphant return to Sanctuary! Seamlessly changing forms from human to Werebear to Werewolf, his command over earth and storm magic is second to none.

Different skills utilize different forms, and entirely new skills like Cataclysm will annihilate hordes of enemies with the unbridled fury of nature itself. Storm magic persists on the battlefield, so you’ll be able to unleash torrents of lightning, wind, and rain before shifting forms to ravage foes.

*****

Skill Points & Talent Trees

Diablo IV will feature permanent character progression as well as personal customization. To accomplish this, we’re reintroducing both Skill Points and Talent Trees.

Skill Points will be earned by leveling up as well as by hunting down rare tomes out in the world. You can choose to spend Skill Points as you go, save them up to invest more heavily in skills that are unlocked at higher levels, spread them out between multiple skills, or focus on your favorites to make them more powerful.

Each class also has a dedicated Talent Tree for further character customization, though your choices may come at a cost. For example, the Sorceress concentrate on skills that emphasize mobility or Lightning damage while passing up more powerful Cold powers in the process. The Druid might choose to become a tanky melee combatant by investing in Werebear talents, though this doesn’t prevent him from using his Werewolf or Caster skills; they’ll just be less optimized. Where you want to specialize is up to you, and your Talent investments will reflect these decisions.

Talents get more powerful the further down the tree you travel, so make sure you’re choosing wisely as you grow!

*****

Open World & Multiplayer Gameplay

Unlike previous Diablo games, Diablo IV is fully open world. This means you can explore any of the five distinct regions in any order, at any time, and travel seamlessly between them. Sanctuary will become a living, breathing place to explore and plunder. With introductions like monster ecologies tied to regions, a shared player world with public events, and town points of interest that act as social hubs, Diablo IV will feel a little less lonely (though no less bleak).

The distinctive regions we’re introducing are connected contiguously, for streamlined adventuring from area to area with no loading interruptions.

Scosglen

Home to the Druids, this verdant and rainy land is heavily forested and borders the coast. Werewolves lurk in the thick foliage and the new monster family, the Drowned, crowd the haunted coastlines, waiting to drag unsuspecting victims to a watery doom.

Fractured Peaks

Snowy and secluded, a sect of devout priests find refuge in the isolation of this high mountain range. They seek enlightenment while remaining unaware of the horrors that dwell in the dark cave complexes below.

Dry Steppes

The unforgiving, harsh environment of the Dry Steppes is home only to the hardiest—or desperate—souls. Be warned; the denizens of this land will do anything to survive, resorting to anything from petty banditry to savage cannibalism.

Hawezar

Witches and zealots call this snake-infested swampland home, scouring the murky depths for ancient artifacts. The unaware will quickly find themselves in dire straits.

Kejhistan

As we’ve seen from previous visits to Alcarnus and Caldeum, the desert shadows of Kejhistan make excellent cover for a group of rising cultists. They quietly plumb abandoned ruins, seeking power to aid the return of the ancient Prime Evils.

To Party or Not to Party

Whether you’re prone to partying up or an independent adventurer, Diablo IV will have a way for you to play.

When it comes to the Campaign, you’ll be able to play through the entire story at your own pace or alongside friends, with progress syncing up to the party leader so there’s no question about what’s been done or what’s next on the checklist.

While most of the world is socially open, certain, smaller parts of each region are campaign specific. Once the campaign objectives have been completed, those areas will also dynamically open to other players. This means you might see another party of adventurers pass you by or you could organically stumble into an event or World Boss other players are already battling. You won’t need to party up to enjoy these activities; whether you decide to join the fray or continue your own journey, that decision remains yours.

Delving Dank Dungeons

Dungeons will be separate, instanced experiences. While you won’t see wandering adventurers alongside you as you delve an abandoned ruin, you can opt to bring up to a party of four players in to tackle tougher challenges for greater rewards.

As has become hallmark to Diablo, Dungeons are randomized experiences, including both their layouts and the events that might occur within them. They can be interior or exterior landscapes, may mix and match between different tilesets, and offer totally seamless exploration; moving from one level or scene to another is now a natural, loading screen-free process.

We’re also introducing Dungeon Objectives, which help guide your adventure and offer greater rewards and increased danger. As you complete Dungeon Objectives, the goals you have will continue to update, and the Dungeon itself might respond by sending tougher enemies and challenges your way. Each Objective has been custom designed to give their Dungeons their own identity and character, and there are hundreds of dungeons with tons of events, ensuring each delve is a unique one!

We’re also evolving endgame Dungeons by building them around three pillars: variety, strategic depth, and player agency. One new system we’re sharing today is what we’re calling Keyed Dungeons. By finding a key out in the world of Sanctuary, you can upgrade an existing Dungeon into a special endgame version with increased difficulty, greater rewards, and dungeon affixes. Between the natural randomization, knowing the strength and affixes you’re going to face, and choosing your skills and equipment in advance, we’re hitting all three of these pillars for a unique, ever-evolving endgame.

Monsters of Sanctuary

You know where you’re going to kill things, and how you’re going to kill them. But what, exactly, is threatening you? Let’s look at some of the enemies you can expect to face in Diablo IV.

Monster Families

To breathe new and realistic life into the world of Sanctuary, we’re taking a fundamentally new approach to how we create and design monsters. Each monster is now part of a Monster Family, which usually includes a handful of different enemies based around a theme and location. Check out one of our new families, the Drowned.

The Drowned are watery entities that can be found around the coasts of Scosglen. You won’t find them anywhere else in the world, and if you’re looking specifically to hunt them down, you’ll need to travel to find them. Each member of the family has a specialty or signature ability that synergizes with other members of that family, becoming stronger when they’re fighting together.

Reimagining Affixes

Affixes work a little differently this time around. While you’ll still see expected effects like Molten, you might be surprised at how the Multishot affix changes up strategic gameplay depending on which enemy it affects.

For example, take the Fallen family. A Multishot enchanted ranged Fallen might throw three projectiles at you, as you’d probably expect. Put that Multishot enchantment on a Fallen Shaman, though, and your priorities change as he begins to revive three of his friends at a time instead of just one. Affixes should change the way you look at and strategize against your enemies, as well as offer different gameplay depending on the monsters they affect.

Ashava and World Bosses

If you got your hands on our BlizzCon demo or watched our gameplay trailer closely, you may have noticed a massive new addition: Ashava. Ashava, the first of our new World Bosses, is an ancient demon lurking below Sanctuary who will take more than just one mighty hero to fell.

Not only will you need to group up (or at least join several other players) to challenge Ashava, but you’ll want to pay close attention to her abilities and carefully make use of your skills. Avoid her deadly strikes with the baseline Evade ability and leverage the new Stagger mechanic in your favor. Rather than having bosses be immune to crowd control effects, they can instead become Staggered, losing some of their capabilities or powering down once a certain threshold has been met. When battling Ashava, Staggering her will shatter her arm blades and greatly diminish the range of her whirlwind attack, making her a little less deadly for you and your friends.

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Itemization

It’s not a Diablo game without tons of new loot to find, and we want to share a broad, top-down approach to our itemization. First, you’ll see the familiar return of most item categories:

Normal -> Magic -> Rare -> Legendary/Set -> Ancient -> Mythic

In Diablo IV, we want Legendaries to be just as, if not more, powerful than Set items. We don’t want you to feel beholden to one particular class set to play your chosen style. Ancient items are a system we’ll be leveraging for Seasons, but we’ll dig into that at a later date. As for Mythic items, these will be so powerful you’ll only be able to equip one of them at a time, so choose wisely!

When it comes to combat statistics, we’ve simplified the math problem. Players should spend more time thinking about stats that change how they play rather than solving arithmetic. Attack and Defense will be your bread and butter; one stat for increasing your damage, and one stat for decreasing damage taken.

More complex stats like Attack Speed or Melee Damage Reduced will still exist; however, these are stats that can change your approach to combat in more than a numerical way. While they might still increase your damage output or reduction, they do so in ways that make you think about the battlefield or which skills work best in different situations.

Some items will also boost individual Talents, effectively acting as bonus points spent in them. If you want to go all-in on Pulverize, you can do so with Skills, Talents, and items!

Legendary Powers

Legendaries should fundamentally change the gameplay of abilities, and that’s exactly the approach we’re taking in Diablo IV. The best way to illustrate this is to review a few powers we’ve worked on for the Sorceress skill Teleport.

One Legendary might increase your defense shortly after you Teleport, making it a great defensive escape tool. Another might increase your damage for a short period of time after you Teleport, making you more likely to want to jump into the fray. Still another removes the Teleport cooldown entirely, but now sends you in a random direction, so you have high, but unpredictable mobility. Lastly, we have a power that adds a burst of area damage to enemies upon your arrival.

Combining all these Legendaries can result in some pretty wild and satisfying results, and it’s up to you (and perhaps a little luck) to decide which ones to combine.

Runes

Runes are back and better than ever! Runes in Diablo IV translate to another layer of gear customization. They come in two types: Conditions and Effects. It’s as easy as socketing in one Condition and one Effect to create your own Legendary power. There will be a great variety of both types of Runes and we can’t wait to see what sorts of combinations you come up with.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question not covered above? Check out the FAQ below.

Q: Will there be trading? A: Yes. While we’re still working on the details, we know this is a huge community request and we want to reintroduce some level of trading while still preserving the loot-finding experience.

Q: Will there be clans? A: Yes! Clans will be a key feature in Diablo IV.

Q: Will there be PvP? A: Yes. Some areas of the world will offer opt-in PvP experiences where you’ll need to watch your back while you adventure.

Q: Will there be Seasons? A: Yes! Seasons will be returning, and we’d like them to heavily impact your approach to gameplay. More details to come.

Q: Will there be Hardcore? A: Yes! We’ve loved this feature ever since it started as a player-created and self-imposed challenge in the original Diablo.

Q: Is Diablo IV coming to consoles? A: We are working with our partners to bring Diablo IV to both PC and console, including Xbox One and PS4. We have no additional platforms to announce at this time.

Q: What about [insert game feature we haven’t yet mentioned here]? A: We know you have a lot of questions about what the final form of Diablo IV will look like. While we’ve been hard at work on all the art, story, and systems we’ve shown so far, we’re far from done and still quite early in the development process. What you’ve seen this weekend is a high-level overview. As we continue working to get the next iteration of Diablo into your hands, it’s likely many things will change.

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A Lot to Share, More to Work On

Diablo IV is early in development, but we just couldn’t wait any longer to share with you where we are so far. While we don’t have any news on when we’ll be moving into our first public access stage, we will be keeping up with quarterly updates available here on the Diablo community site and mirrored on our forums for your easy access.

We’ve got a lot of work to do and even more hell to raise. We can’t wait to see you on the other side!

#community management #Diablo #Diablo IV #Diablo 4 #D4 #System Design #Game Design #Game Development #Blizzard Entertainment #BlizzCon 2019 #BlizzCon

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: Diablo III and Ongoing Support (Diablo III)

This is more a flex of my community management and external communication skills. Still, I though it'd be interesting to talk about my approach and process when it comes to these kinds of things.

At this stage of development (being moved to the Classic Games team), internally we knew Diablo III was unlikely to get more paid content—because the primary Diablo team internally had already moved on to working on Diablo IV. D4 was still unannounced, but not ready enough to talk about yet. This is a hard place to be for your community. Players always want more, which isn't a bad thing; it means they're invested and care a lot about your project.

Writing this kind of communication has to appeal to that passion; you need to empathize with your audience, because you know they're going to be disappointed. Yes, you do need to focus on the positives of the situation—in our case, that the transition to Classic meant we could continue to support Seasons for the foreseeable future. Trying to communicate that "yes, you'll still have fun things to do before we move on to our next project" without explicitly talking about said future projects was a good challenge to tackle. How do you think I did? It was also a good opportunity to reflect on how far our game had come, and celebrate some of the wins that were aimed at the community. Themed Seasons, an effort I helped pitch and champion behind the scenes, were important to me as both a player and a community manager. I also advocated for better transparency, especially with feedback and PTR processes, and the Classic team was very supportive of that approach. It was nice to celebrate those efforts (even if it's a thing I don't really get credit for being involved in and should probably celebrate more).

This is another article which has since been taken down, but the Wayback Machine has been my friend here.

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Diablo III and Ongoing Support

Whether your personal journey with Diablo III began today or nearly seven years ago upon our launch, we want to give you an update on our ongoing development efforts with the game. Here’s what you can expect going forward from Seasons and patches.

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Ongoing Content & Seasons

Beginning with Season 14, we introduced Themed Seasons. The goal was simple: change the expected gameplay loop and create unique experiences from Season to Season. Whether mixing up where the most rewarding gameplay lives or altering the source of your character’s most potent legendary powers, we want to continue to explore new and exciting ways to change how you play Diablo III.

Since the addition of themed Seasons, Season 16 was one of the most popular Seasons overall, with Season 17 showing similar participation. On PC alone, we saw nearly as many people return for Season 16 as Season 11, the first Season in which the Necromancer was available. We've heard your feedback about wanting new ways to play and to change up your gameplay experience. Based on your positive feedback and increased participation in Themed Seasons, we think we are moving in the right direction. Continue to let us know how we can make your adventures even better!

Our crew is hard at work crafting additional Themed Seasons, a new set for each class, dozens of Legendary powers, and some class balance changes. Quality of life and the occasional gameplay system updates are also within scope, as we evaluate how we can keep bringing new magic to the world of Sanctuary. These updates won’t arrive all at once, so if you don’t see something for your class right away, don’t worry; there’s something coming for everyone.

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PTR and Feedback

For Season 16, we tried a new approach to launching and executing a PTR. With only one week of public testing, patch notes were provided in advance and a follow-up preview into the final changes was posted before the patch went live.

This approach was highly successful. In the past, we would lose a lot of development potential to deploying additional PTR builds for incremental changes and, consequently, increase the amount of time it would take to deploy on our various supported platforms. PTR participation drops extremely rapidly after the first week, as does the amount of data and feedback, so we plan to continue to use this condensed PTR format going forward.

We also want to better highlight the changes made as a direct result of feedback. Not all changes happen because of PTR testing. Occasionally it’s from an amazing forum thread we read mid-season and have worked on (and tested internally) for several weeks in advance. Sometimes that “simple” quality of life request winds up being more complex than anticipated and gets punted to a future patch or cannot be implemented at all without unforeseen consequences. Other times someone swung by a designer’s desk at work and a brainstorm happened while they swapped tales about their Season Journey.

While one source isn’t always the reason behind a change we’ve made, we’re going to do our best to call out great feedback when it’s given, as well as further emphasize design intent and inspiration (when applicable) to changes in future patch notes. One thing is certain: we greatly appreciate the feedback and ask that you keep it coming, because inspiration comes from all places.

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Being Clear, Being Communicative

One thing we’ve been asked for is to clarify what our plans are, what (exactly) we’re working on, and where the future will take us. This blog is one of our first steps. More frequent presence and interaction from our community team on our new forums, especially around patches and PTR cycles, is another. We want to be able to talk and interact with members of our community around the world on a regular basis about the thing we love that brings us together: Diablo.

We hope we’ve provided you a better idea of where we’re at with Diablo III. In the meantime, we want Sanctuary to feel like home to all heroes, so you can return whenever you have the itch to slay monsters, don powerful Legendaries, and always find something a little new.

#Diablo III #D3: RoS #Reaper of Souls #Blizzard Entertainment #Community Management #Writing #External Communications #Game Development

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bcamelsamples · 5 months ago

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Sample: History of the Crusade (Diablo III)

From 2013 to early 2020, I was a community manager at Blizzard Entertainment, dedicated to the Diablo franchise. The majority of my games career thus far has been at Blizzard, and as a community manager, and one of the most special and important times of my life.

My absolute favorite part of being a community manager was content creation. I loved writing blogs, developing videos, and coming up with really cool, engaging content for players to enjoy. I love Diablo, and I loved sharing that love with other folks who enjoyed the game as much as I do.

While working on the launch ramp up to Reaper of Souls, I was tasked with a lot of preview content generation, and jumped on anything lore related I could grab. I'm also approximately 300% Paladin at heart, so writing about the Crusader and their history was a huge win for me.

I spent time talking extensively to both Leonard Boyarsky and Brian Kindregan, two of our writers and narrative designers on the team. Leonard and Brian are intensely creative individuals who have done tons of incredible work, and getting to channel their creations into a community piece was an honor - and honestly, just a lot of fun!

The original article has unfortunately been taken down from the Blizzard site, but the Wayback Machine snapshot can be found here. As there's no guarantee this will be preserved forever, the text has been copied below.

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The History Behind the Crusade

Faithful of Akkhan. Bastions of the Light. Stalwart redeemers of the Zakarum. All of these names could very well describe the newest hero class available in Reaper of Souls™.

Unlike other orders of the Zakarum, the Crusaders bring a distinctly grittier version of a traditional holy warrior to the world of Sanctuary. But where did they come from? What is their role in the Zakarum faith? How will they tackle the looming threat of Malthael on the horizon?

The answers to these questions and many more lay below, so let's kick off our week-long inside look at the Crusader class with some delectable servings of lore!

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The Rise of the Zakarum

The Zakarum faith was founded many years ago, sometime after the Mage Clan wars by the prophet Akarat, a wandering ascetic from Xiansai. According to many historical accounts, it was during this pivotal time (in which humanity was beginning to reject magic for the comforts of religion) that Akarat received a startling revelation from a being he referred to as Yaerius, or "son of light" in his native language.

While there is some debate among scholars as to the true nature of Akarat’s prophecy—specifically, whether the "being" Akarat saw was the archangel Yaerius or simply an echo of Uldyssian’s sacrifice at the end of the Sin War—its significance is undeniable. It is said that the vision, manifesting as a magnificent flash of light and energy across the sky, ignited the fundamental belief within Akarat that humans were powerful vessels of light, and that all should seek their "inner light" in order to live good lives.

Upon receiving this revelation, Akarat set out on a grand journey to the cities Kehjistan, spreading word of his findings and encouraging others to embrace the Light he knew existed within them. Although Akarat would eventually vanish from all historical record, his teachings lived on through the people of Sanctuary, serving as the spiritual basis for the Zakarum faith and church. (Fun fact: The name "Zakarum" comes from "Zakara," meaning "inner light.")

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Light's Dawn: The Birth of the Crusader

During the reign of Emperor Tassara and shortly before General Rakkis’ historic march to the West, a priest by the name of Akkhan sensed a foul taint growing within the Zakarum church. This taint, unknown to Akkhan at the time, was caused by no other than that of the Prime Evil Mephisto, Lord of Hatred, his darkness steadily seeping from the soulstone which lay beneath the Temple of Light in Travincal.

Determined to redeem his beloved faith, Akkhan sought out the most devout, talented warriors and issued them a sacred mission: find a way to cleanse the Zakarum of decay and corruption once and for all. These warriors traveled to the east, directly opposite the Paladins traveling with General Rakkis, following the rumored path Akarat took in the last days of his life before disappearing.

And so the Crusader order was born.

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Amongst the Zakarum: The Crusader's Role

Long time players of the Diablo franchise are likely familiar with the Zakarum faith and may even fondly remember time spent with their Paladin, the playable holy warrior from Diablo II. While Crusaders and Paladins share a devotion to the Zakarum faith, they aren't directly related to one another nor necessarily serve the same goals.

So how exactly do the Crusaders fit into the picture?

Of Paladins Past and Present:

Let's go over what we currently know: a quick overview of the well-beloved Paladin. Paladins are devoted warriors of the Zakarum. Over time since their founding, different sects of Paladins began to form, with separate goals and bases of operation. This includes the Knights of Westmarch, the Order of Paladins, and the Hand of Zakarum.

During the events of the Zakarum Inquisition, the Hand of Zakarum was discovered to be corrupt and collapsed shortly after the events of Diablo II. The Order of Paladins, disgusted by the corruption of their faith, broke away and fled to the west, eventually settling in Westmarch. The Knights of Westmarch, already established from General Rakkis' conquest and eager to diminish their connection to Mephisto's corruption, absorbed the Order of Paladins and disassociated themselves from the Zakarum faith.

These different orders, some intentionally while others as a result of malevolent misdirection, evolved their arts and practices over the years, eventually developing into the Paladins we see today.

The Crusade Continues:

Unlike the Paladins, the Crusaders are an elite and insular group that has seen very little change since their founding, maintaining beliefs and practices most close to the original teachings of Akarat. Though Crusaders may exhibit similar ability to wield and bend the Light to their will as their Paladin counterparts, their fervor comes from a much more pure sense of righteousness. This is in part by design. During their formation, Akkhan made certain to only recruit those with the strongest conviction and battle potential. He also actively avoided bringing in anyone with Paladin training, fearful of any existing defilement or corruption carrying over into his crusade.

As a result of this focused purpose and very guarded lifestyle, the order itself is actually quite small. In total, only 427 Crusaders were sent east, and over time, their numbers have dwindled to the 341 known today. In practice, the Crusaders remain a loosely organized group, often traveling alone or with, at most, a single apprentice—a partnership which will persist until the Crusader's death. When it comes time for the Crusader to lay down their weapon, generally by falling in battle, their apprentice will not only take up their shield and armor, but their name as well, continuing a legacy set in motion so many generations ago.

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Starting the Journey: The Nephalem Crusader

As with the other Diablo III classes, the Crusader is a nephalem, their blood pulsing with same hidden power. Hearing the tales of a mysterious star falling from the sky and having exhausted their search in the East, the Crusader has traveled to New Tristram, hoping to discover anything that might save their faltering faith.

Will you take up the flail and shield in the name of the Zakarum? Are you eager to smite your foes with the pure, unblemished power of the Light? Let us know in the comments below if you'll be rolling out your living, battle hardened tank on launch day!

#diablo #diablo 3 #diablo iii #Reaper of Souls #Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls #D3 RoS #Crusader #Nephalem #Sanctuary #Lore #community management #Zakarum #akarat #Akkhan #Paladin #Westmarch

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