Dungeons n Dragons Online

The Dock

To date, every new arrival starts out in an introductory area of Stormreach we are loosely referring to as the Dock. It's a fairly small, somewhat linear area designed to get folks used to the game concepts and controls.  Its principle features are the Wavecrest Tavern and a rakish rogue by the name of Lord Gerald Goodblade. It's Lord Gerald who gets players started on their life of adventure by requesting a few 'favors' the player might perform for him to win their way out of the Harbor. It seems the harbor gates are sealed and guarded 'to keep out the riff-raff' and the only way for a newcomer to pass them is with the recommendation of one of the local residents. At least, that's what Lord Gerald tells you. But if you know Lord Gerald like I do, you know his assertions are not always 100% trustworthy.
 
Once you've either worked your way out of the Dock by doing Lord Gerald a favor (or three) - or figured out the alternative to running his errands for him-you arrive in another transitional area called (again, loosely) the Harbor.
 
The Harbor
 
The Harbor is less linear than the Dock (though there is an optional "quest arc" that will run you around most of the area and introduce you to its features) and consists of several smaller neighborhoods.  This area has a pair of Inns, ("The Leaky Dinghy" and "The Wayward Lobster") as well as a pair of shops - one for arms and armor, and one for the more esoteric mage stuff. The Harbor is also where players will encounter their first set of professional trainers who congregate in an appropriately named neighborhood, "Aspirant's Square."
 
It is from the Harbor that players (of second level or better) get access to the first of the "danger zones." By swimming to the Lighthouse out in the middle of the bay, one can encounter Captain Cave. It seems that the good captain's run afoul of a particularly scurvy band of pirates who've sunk his ship and captured his crew. If you agree to help him, he'll gladly get you transport to an area just up the coast from Stormreach where you can battle (and hopefully defeat) the pirate gang. This area, Irestone Inlet, is a large, open, outdoor patch of sandy ground and rolling hills near the ocean inlet from which it draws its name. It's patrolled by some very nasty pirate squads and populated with several base camps for each of the pirate crew's lieutenants.
 
Once you've sampled the adventures available in the Harbor, you discover there is yet another sealed gate barring passage to the city of Stormreach proper. There's another precondition mission to run and (so far as I've been able to see) this time it's not optional. Bring friends. This one is a "quest" in every sense of the word. (On the brighter side, you'll become intimately familiar with the central hub of Stormreach's sewer system in the process of accomplishing your goal.)
 
Assuming you finally win passage through the City Gate, you'll wind up in the aptly named central business district: the Market.
 
The Market (A First Look)
 
Here you'll find several opportunities for adventure, a large "indoor" (is a tent "indoors"?) shopping mall and (this time unrestricted) access to distinct neighborhoods belonging to representatives of several of The Dragon-marked Houses: Phiarlan, Kundarak, Jorasco, and Denieth. You can find chances to operate outside Stormreach within each of the House enclaves. The enclaves themselves are interesting for the flavor, in terms of architecture and ambience that each House brings to the blank canvas of the Giant ruins upon which Stormreach is built.

And there you have it: a by no means exhaustive thumbnail of part of the City of Stormreach as seen through the eyes of one neophyte paladin. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are adventures to be had and evil to be defeated. Good luck and good adventuring.

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