n-Space has released a new gameplay video for their Dungeons & Dragons RPG Sword Coast Legends. The video offers us a long look at the multiplayer Dungeon Master mode.
In this video, the party of four players must venture through a dungeon and slay an Ashen Priest. Before the adventure begins, the Dungeon Master chooses the tileset for the Ashen Priest's hideout along with the difficulty level. They also pick what kinds of enemies will inhabit the dungeon.
The Dungeon Master's duties continue even after the players start the adventure. The game builds a preset dungeon with several encounters and a final battle against the Ashen Priest. However, the DM can then modify this dungeon with other challenges in real time. Their mouse pointer appears as a wisp of light so the adventurers have some slight warning that a curveball will be thrown their way.
To keep the adventurers on their toes, the Dungeon Master can spawn monsters, traps and locked doors. Monsters can also be promoted to make them stronger. Each action costs DM Threat, a currency that replenishes as the adventurers face the dungeon's many dangers.
Like the adventurers, the Dungeon Master can find loot of their own. These drops allows them to spawn other challenges for players. Here, the Dungeon Master finds loot that lets him spawn a zombie horde.
Because the Dungeon Master has to modify the adventure while other players are exploring it, they're constantly racing against the clock. In this video, the DM creates a locked door and a series of traps after it to slow down the party. This buys him the necessary time to craft an ambush further in the adventure complete with spiders and drow warriors.
This Dungeon Master-led multiplayer has a lot of potential. I hope that the developers give the DM a large enough bag of tricks to keep this mode fresh. Players won't keeping exploring these dungeons over and over if the DM can't make them feel new with their changes.
Sword Coast Legends is based on the Fifth Edition of the pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons game. The single-player campaign is set in the Forgotten Realms, the same world as fellow PC role-playing games Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate. You can see some of the campaign in this recent gameplay video:
Legends is being developed by a team headed by Dragon Age: Origins director Dan Tudge. They plan to release the game later in 2015 on PC. They're currently accepting pre-orders through the game's website.
