Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale is an action video game developed by Bedlam Games and published by Atari. The game includes both single and cooperative multiplayer modes and is set largely within the mines of Tethyamar. Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale was the second Dungeons & Dragons video game to be announced in 2010 and was released in May 2011 on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Microsoft Windows.
==Plot==
In the year 1420 DR a party of four Daggerdalesmen adventurers — consisting of a dwarf cleric, an elf rogue, a halfling wizard, and a human fighter — are summoned to the mines of Tethyamar by the Banite priestess Lorin-Aria. She explains to the party that a Zhent wizard named Rezlus has constructed a building in the mines that reaches all the way above the Desertsmouth Mountains, called the Tower of the Void, and is amassing an army to conquer Daggerdale and the greater Dalelands in the name of the Lord of Darkness. She instructs them to travel through the mines in search of the tower and put an end to Rezlus before departing, reasoning that her ties to the Zhentarim would only put them in further danger.
The adventurers aid the local dwarf miners of Granstone as they make their way through Tethyamar, fighting large Zhent-allied hordes of goblins, goblin ghosts, phaerlocks, and skeletons. Eventually they come to a skull lord, defending a portal that leads into the Tower of the Void. After managing to trick the skull lord into destroying a series of columns around him, thereby crushing the undead, the adventurers travel through the portal and find themselves within a cell.
The group is greeted by the human Daewen Bael, who explains to the adventurers that he and his brother in the next cell over were part of a group of brigands that were caught trespassing in the tower by tieflings, under the command of Kilkar Demoneye. He further explains that the tieflings were given leeway with Rezlus on how they dealt with trespassers, so set up a fighting pit that cost his brother Drathca Bael his eyesight, and that the tieflings maintain an antimagic field that will make it difficult for the spellcasters in the party to fight. Kilkar himself then approaches the cells, commanding that the adventurers be thrown into the arena.
After fighting waves of goblins and phaerlocks in the arena, the adventurers were brought back to their cell and confronted with Rezlus alongside his Zhent soldiers. The wizard prattles at the party, asking if they are part of the Cyricists that have been interfering with his plans, before striking Drathca down and commanding Kilkar to send his dragonborn into the arena next time. The next time the tieflings guarding their cells step-away, a mysterious woman climbs up a pit in the center of the room and uses magic to lift the cellbars before teleporting away. Wanting to avenge his brother, Daewen pledges the aid of his brigands and the party begin launching a mass jailbreak. The combined group make their way through the tower killing tiefling guards, followed by a group dragonborn, until finally putting an end to Kilkar.
With the prison block established as a new base for them, Daewen pledges the loyalty of his brigands to the adventurers before they go further up the tower and fight through hordes of ghouls and plaguechanged ghouls. When the party next meet with Daewen he identifies the woman who saved them as likely being a Zhent, but of the rival Cyricist faction that Rezlus had mentioned. Thinking she may be of help in their quest to slay Rezlus, he tells the party to speak with the nearby ghost of a slain Cyricist Zhent scout named Krollan for information on how to find her.
The spirit of Krollan praises the adventurers for their jailbreak and feels nostalgic for his time alive, but expresses skepticism that the Cyricists will find the group trustworthy. Krollan then tells the party to find and bring his bones to the woman who had saved them, saying she knows rituals that will put his spirit to rest and thus ingratiate themselves to her. He also identifies the woman Nezra, the leader of the Cyricist Zhents feuding with Rezlus and his Banite faction, and gives the location of their fort in the other side of the Desertsmouth Mountains.
The adventurers head for the fort, fighting through ghouls, ghosts, Zhents, and the rockfist smasher Granifex to get there. They eventually come across Nezra away from the fort, who expresses surprise at them surviving the pit and tells them to leave, explaining that she had only freed them to act as a diversion. At the mention of Krollan and his bones her attitude changes, introducing herself properly as the leader of the Cyricist loyal Zhents stationed in the fort and asks them to meet her there later after retrieving Krollan's bones. Before leaving they speak with the Zhent Eenthi, who asks if they can find a fellow Zhent by the name of Taich and his squad of tiefling killers.
The adventurers find them in the possession of the tiefling Lufic Hellheart, who killed Taich and trapped his spirit with dark magic. He comments on having heard of their victory over Kilkar before summoning undead to fight them. After defeating a number of skeletons and freeing Taich's spirit, who says they should tell Eenthi her "debt is repaid" to convince her of their story, they face Lufic in battle. The party quickly heads back to the Cyricists, talking of what happened, and Eenthi explains that the "debt" Taich referred to was saving her from the fighting pits of Kilkar. Nezra meanwhile is still not fully trusting of the adventurers, despite welcoming their help, and so as a test of their worth in the fight against Rezlus she instructs them to rescue the Zhents' missing patrols.
Large groups of Banite Zhents, dragonborn, and ghouls are fought through to rescue the missing Cyricist Zhent, who all express little in the way of gratitude in return. When the adventurers eventually return to Nezra she compliments the party and points out that the Zhents under her command don't trust them, but cares not as she's certain they will die at Rezlus's hands. Nezra then tells the party of a secret portal have to directly enter the altar of Bane that lies atop the Tower, having sent several Zhents ahead to activate it. Before they have a chance to make way to it, as Rezlus sent a handful of chaos shards and a pair of rockfist smashers, named Granifex and Obsidia, to assault the fort.
After fighting off the counter-assault alongside the Cyricists, the adventurers are greeted in the portal room by Daewen, his brigands, Master Ayer, and Union Leader Esar. Ayer explains they have been tracking the party's progress up the tower, Esar explains he has made a special hammer for them to slay Rezlus with, and Daewen reaffirms his commitment to fighting Rezlus alongside them. Nezra expresses frustration at their sudden intrusion, but sets it aside as she can delay their assault no longer. The party goes through the portal with all of their allies, some of whom are sent flying by an explosive launched by a catapult that had been prepared for their arrival.
Rezlus proceeds to approach the knocked down party with a clap, calling them and their allies pathetic. He expresses how he wishes he could show the Cyricist Zhents how futile it is to challenge Bane, then offers the adventurers the chance to call it quits by jumping off the tower. Twirling his staff in a martial manner, Rezlus engages the party alongside Banite Zhents, dragonborn, and skeletons. Daewen tries to attack Rezlus but is effortlessly struck down by him, while Esar is killed by a dragonborn using its breath weapon on his face. Rezlus is brought kneeling on the brink of defeat, but turns the tide of battle by commanding his ally, a red dragon named Incendius, to fly down and put an end to the party.
The party manages to fend off both the dragon and further attacks from Banite Zhents, enduring its fire breath and using the catapults at the top of the tower to their advantage. With the battle quickly growing out of his control, a wounded Rezlus commands Incendius to go forth and raze the whole of Daggerdale. He then collapses to the ground and the adventurers take a running leap on to the back of red dragon as it starts flying away. Their fight continues into the air, the adventurers striking it as the dragon tries its best to throw them off, until a few swift strikes at the head leave Incendius plummeting towards the ground. The adventurers are then teleported to safety atop the tower by Lorin-Aria, who congratulates their heroic efforts. Midway through giving her speech she is stabbed in the back by Nezra as her forces storm the tower from below. Nezra then explains to the adventurers that their efforts ensured the Cyricist Zhentarim will be able to conquer Daggerdale and has no desire to kill them. With the ultimatum raised that they would have to fight all of the Cyricist Zhents if they refuse her offer to stand aside, the adventurers raise their weapons for another fight.
==Gameplay==
Daggerdale features third-person hack and slash combat, with largely linear exploration and questing in a manner reminiscent of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, and a pick-up-and-play feature. The campaign offers both single-player and co-operative gameplay, either two players locally or four through online play.
The game gives players the option of four pre-generated characters based upon four of the standard D&D playable races and character classes — dwarf cleric, human fighter, elf rogue, and halfling wizard. Limited customization of the characters is provided as a player earns experience in the game, and character progression advances based upon a streamlined version of the 4 edition Dungeons & Dragons rules for both class and race, with level advancement limited to level 10. Further customization is achieved through loot and equipment drops.
==Development==
Bedlam Games began development of Daggerdale in March 2010 and sixty developers were reportedly working on the game as of January 2011. On January 19th, 2011, Bedlam began operating as a subsidiary of bitHeads, Inc., and continued to operate as a brand-dependent division. bitHeads co-founder, Scott Simpson, alluded that the company planned to pursue a game model that would allow a gamer to play the same game on both an Xbox 360 and a portable device, such as an iPhone, in order to provide 24-hour access to the game. In some interviews the game's creative director claimed their team worked closely with Wizards of the Coast in adapting and streamlining the 4 edition ruleset for their game.
The game was originally planned to be the first in a trilogy of video games. The plan was for players to be able to transfer their save data from each previous game and advance their characters 10 levels higher than before, following 4 edition's character tier progression system of Heroic, Paragon, and Epic. However, Bedlam Games was largely shut down three months after Daggerdale's release.
==Index==
===Characters===
===Creatures===
===Items===
===Locations===
===Magic===
===Organizations===
===Religions===
===Miscellaneous===
==Appendix==
===Trivia===
After the game ends and one watches the credits till the end, one will see the ruins of the Tower of the Void with a sign saying "Gamma Terra", Referencing the TSR-turned-Wizards' tabletop setting Gamma World.
===Gallery===
See the full list of the game's images.
;Promotional
D&D.D logo.png|Daggerdale logo.
D&D.D wallpaper.png|A promotional image of the playable characters.
Daggerdale - Rockfist Smasher.jpg|A promotional image of the game's 3D rendering of a rockfist smasher in various states of destruction.
D&D.D Gamma World reference.png|The still-image shown post-credits, teasing the later cancelled "Gamma World: Alpha Mutation" that was in development at the time.
;Concept art
D&D.D concept dragon.jpg|A dragon, concept.
D&D.D concept dragonborn.jpg|A dragonborn, concept.
D&D.D concept dragonborn2.jpg|A dragonborn, concept.
D&D.D concept dwarf cleric.jpg|The dwarf cleric, concept.
D&D.D concept elf rogue.jpg|The elf rogue, concept.
D&D.D concept Granstone symbols.jpg|Granstone symbols, concept.
D&D.D concept troglodytes and skull lord.jpg|Troglodytes and a skull lord.
===References===
===External links===
* Official Web site.
===Connections===
Category:Video games
Category:Published in 2011