TOTON Content Update: Memories of Moonreach

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Content Update: Memories of Moonreach

An Entirely New & Fully Fledged Region

"You've seen it, haven't you. That persistent fog. It hides more than the land." -- Feowem Belarod.

In the last update, we introduced the Province of Moonreach, a fully-fledged and entirely new region for players to enjoy in Tales of the Old North. These patch notes document the new features and plan to continue expanding the server content, including in this region. Moonreach features coastal cliffs, rocky crags, enchanted forests, and a single, large, but deep and multi-layered dungeon located and accessible immediately beneath the starting town.

Modern PVE Experience

"He navigates danger safely and in more ways than one. Something is to be said for that, don't you agree?" -- Astrologer Farian.

Dungeon and wilderness areas are made under a modernized and re-balanced PVE philosophy, intended for a fairer pace of exploration and loot designed to be more generous and forgiving, with the option -- and not requirement -- of more difficult challenges.

• Checkpoints system. As they progress further, defeat bosses, and unlock new areas, players also unlock checkpoints. Once discovered and activated, these enable player characters to teleport from one specific location to another, including the central town hub.

• Clear difficulty. Our objective is to adjust difficulty in a comprehensible, clear manner. New players face easier content right away. Between areas and from area to area, deeper and farther ones slowly escalate in challenge. Within a given area, higher difficulty content and rewards are initially hidden, signaled when found, and potentially avoidable -- rather than mandatory and stifling.

• True exploration. That is in addition to aesthetic and themed areas, environmental story-telling, with points of interest, hidden safe resting areas, NPCs, and in-module descriptions scattered throughout the areas that each give hints to the overarching plot and history of the region and its Keep.

New Starter Town

"Moonreach is home to a pack of traitors. Holed away in a crumbling keep, at the edge of the world." -- Peltarch Lt. Keene.

The player hub and town is Moonreach Keep, a towering and storied, yet old and derelict fortress to the northeast of the Nars Pass. Unlike traditional towns, it is primarily indoors, built around points of interest, including an everburning bonfire, vast library, and moonstone throne.

• Diverse cast. NPCs live inside the Keep and manage the many aspects of Keep life, each offering different resources and advice to player characters for PVE -- as well as allegiances for DM plots.

• Town secrets. As players progress their exploration of the dungeon and wilderness areas, they will unlock access to secret passages and previously barred and hidden areas of the Keep itself -- and not just the dungeon below.

• Player homes. Players who call Moonreach Keep home can choose a unique room of their own. Each room comes with a piece of Moonreach history and lore, which may contain hints for Moonreach DM plotlines.

Unified Development & DM Narrative

"Another turn of the bolt. Just when I'd gotten to know the place." -- Dorron Aster.

Development of the new region will involve a consistent approach that accounts for both DM narrative and content development vision, with close coordination between DMs and developers. The Moonreach Region -- including its areas, monsters, items, and in-server materials -- will be updated from month to month based on player decisions and player actions in DM plots.

Development Vision: The current objective is to update Moonreach with major content updates every one to two months. These updates will include new combat areas, new NPCs (with full conversations, gossip, & lore), new shops, new items, new loot opportunities, new bosses. It will also include intersecting updates with old content -- including, for example, secret passages, new keys for previously locked doors, and implications for existing NPCs and lore.

• The many dangers below. The design philosophy of the town seated atop a deep and seemingly endless dungeon that is immediately accessible is inspired by Diablo 1. So too is the checkpoints system, which enables players to pick and choose their next adventure from session to session, as well as unlock shortcuts and access points to delve deeper into the dungeon without having to repeat prior content.

• Themed areas. Different areas, levels of the dungeon, and wilderness zones will be thematically distinct. Visuals, audio, NPCs, items, and lore will differ from zone to zone, to provide players with a rich and varying experience between each adventure.

• Intertwining levels. The layout & plan for the dungeon and wilderness areas is inspired by Metroidvania and Souls-Like games, with alternative, new, and intertwining pathways as players progress into the dungeon's many layers, enabling a different experience and perspective with progressively unlocked routes.

Narrative/DM Vision: Danger is coming. Strange patches of darkness have been spreading throughout the Narfell region. Sudden night-gloom, pitch black hours, and strange events involving shadows that beckon investigation.

Moonreach Keep is home to a controversial cast of heroes or villains, depending on perspective, who will face the incoming dangers alongside the players.

• It is the seat of the Cleimant Council and their allies. The Cleimant council is composed of nobles who have reneged against Peltarch and High Hold, the two major cities of the north.

• From Moonreach Keep, they wage their war against Peltarch and High Hold to unify the North under a new single King. That is Caleb Fisher -- or Caleb Georgeson, for this last name is a misnomer. Caleb is the bastard son of the late George Fisher.

• The Keep is rumored the highest and closest to the sky and the moon, and is considered sacred to the Selunite clergy, whose pilgrims travel to it to make communion. Thus the Selunite Church of the Hidden Moon calls the keep home.

• So too do Astrologers seeking to study secrets of the arcane found in the sky and amidst the Keep's starfallen environs. They research shooting stars, comets, and the sky, either for divination or otherwise.

• Not all is well in the caverns below. There is a cold darkness underground, that rejects the living and gives rise to undead. Flamekeeper Ereda, the maiden in black, who seeks to recruit adventurers to represent the light and heat of fire -- and of life -- against the cold dark.

• The shackled blacksmith is a misbegotten giant, with only one functional arm that he uses to make weapons and armor for the Keep and its occupants. The particulars of his service remain a mystery.

• Other, hidden and hard-to-find characters that players will discover and find as they unlock further areas of the Keep by furthering the progression systems built into the module's dungeon and wilderness areas.

Long Term Server Vision

Moonreach is the staging ground for our approach to a complete revamp of our module. The long term objective is to revamp and replace areas under the new PVE philosophy, with rich, aesthetic, and rewarding dungeons, exploration, and encounters that are designed from the ground-up for the core game-play experience.

Major content updates to Moonreach will include not only new areas to explore and new creatures to face, but also new rewards, secrets, materials, NPCs, and conversations. The background, lore, and motivations of your adversaries will become clear, with each update focusing on one faction of the scores that occupy the dungeon's many layers. That includes new dungeon side-chambers, new environs or wilderness areas, new connections within the dungeon, secret doors and passages, new enemies, and implications for both the players and & the cast of NPCs at the Keep.

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Content Update: Bloom of the Mycelium

The Twilight Below

"I made pact long ago neath pale moon's light, to frith advents and departed like. 'Tis a recluse toil. Unless, of course, thou would'st join my emprise?" -- Rheya, the Gloaming Witch.

Enter a fully fledged, themed, carefully designed and catered sub-region within the Province of Moonreach: the Mycelium, a subterranean network of saprophyte and remote magic, in symbiosis of fresh life and long dead. The sub-region brings new combat, exploration, and narrative content. Under the bioluminescent glow of a false sky, a mysterious new danger threatens new friends. An otherworldly incursion into once peaceful colonies brings peril to the Mycelium's inhabitants. This content is designed for levels 10-13, with a range of difficulty meant for flexibility between solo or duo play, small groups, and full parties.

Fellowship & Foes

"Easy, friend. Don't let happen to you, whatever happened to them." -- Bleddyn Wolvwayth.

New environs, as well as two new dungeons have been added. The first is a full dungeon that includes multiple levels, bosses, and secrets, with new chests and tailored loot. The second is hidden, and contains its own secret boss. That is in addition to new and updated content throughout the province of Moonreach, including secret passages, adjacent combat and non-combat areas, and new and occasionally secret connections. Among other changes, level 7 of the primary dungeon spine below Moonreach Keep has received significant updates in terms of difficulty, enemies, and the boss fight.

Itemization & Martial Balance

"Surprising all, the squire withstood their acidous onslaught. By some secret he then took to his grave." -- Willard Brodrick.

The Mycelium is home to artefacts of occult power. Some are tailored specifically to protect against its threats. Others grant mycelial strength to those who can find them. This update further adds items to help round out certain martial classes in the middling levels. It introduces new items for Rangers, Monks, Paladins, and Rogues. New combat encounters involve varied and diverse enemies with clear strengths and weaknesses, including those vulnerable to certain types of melee tactics as will become clear. That is in addition to other, more subtle enemies -- each of which will be more numerous in party dungeons, which are invitations to party play. Predetermined and random rewards scale with risk.

Campaign & Plot Progression

"Calm waters are the clearest of moonlight's vessels." -- Murrin, the Moongazer.

As always, new and updated areas contain background lore and plot implications, its Keep, its denizens, as well as those of the new sub-region. Players will encounter new and updated NPCs. Those who explore and look closely will find reading materials and visuals, and uncover environmental narrative. More generally, the updated content also converges with, and accounts for, player backgrounds and player actions, including those characters and actions regarding The Waning Moon.

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Content Update: Fires of Emberhold

Cunning Cruel Foes

"What, today, have the dregs of hell spat out?" -- Goblin leader.

This update vastly expands upon the goblin tribes, the largest of which occupies Moonreach's molten crags. It introduces the leader of the flame-wielding goblin faction. In addition to the goblins, other enemies join the fray, and old enemies have been updated with new abilities. Beware. Varied adversaries now offer specific risks & difficulty for certain forms of combat, and new opportunities for others. Player characters will need to adapt. This content is designed for characters of level 8-11, some of which is accessible for solo play, and some meant for party play.

Paths Less Travelled

"Few tread down there and for good reason. Some places aren't meant for visit." -- Mane, Redeemed Knight.

Over 15 new areas have been added, with distinct visuals & theming, and made with care. That includes a new subdungeon featuring multiple new bosses, each containing its own unlockable loot. Player characters can now also descend from the cliffside overlook, north of the crossroads, to explore the misty grounds below. The update introduces volcanic crags, as well as other, more hidden areas that contain unique secrets & lore for the Moonreach region. New crescent moon doors have been added, including in older areas, which change the way players approach the layers below the keep, and which provide access to secret passages and resources -- if players can find the master key.

New End-Game Raid Boss

"Don't. Not without friends. Maybe even a small army." -- Feowem Belarod.

This update adds a new raid boss. Raid bosses are extremely difficult, aspirational, and pinnacle end-game content. They require preparation, resources, and a full party of level 14+ characters of different classes/roles, to stand a chance to successfully defeat (and even then, it is not guaranteed). Along with bragging rights, defeating a raid boss provides a chance at powerful rare items & lore secrets. Note that raid bosses are separate from and in addition to the ordinary boss monsters that are included in the new subdungeon mentioned above. This new raid boss effectively joins the current cast of already existing ones. As of the date of this post, players have yet to see or attempt any of the older/already existing raid bosses.

* Image generated by AI using Magic Hour

Itemization & Mage Balance

"Flame arts are a reckless perversion, and a danger to all things that grow." -- Dorron Aster.

"Blasphemy is a mirage. All magic is arcane, and all arcane can be reconciled." -- Mudein Bluefingers.

The previous update introduced flame arts weaponry and armor for melee and ranged classes. This one brings mages up to speed. New shops, items, and a sub-faction center around the arcane. Certain foes excel against melee and ranged physical attacks, yet are exceptionally vulnerable to magic; some of these are located in select areas designed for spellcaster-favored PVE. This update also introduces new spell reagants, notably an alternative way for spellcasters to cast the flame art variant of the Stoneskin spell, i.e. "Ashenskin." On that subject, Ashenskin Potions are no longer sold by the Flamekeeper in Moonreach Keep. Martial classes who want the spell will need to work with spellcaster PCs. To offset diminished martial power, level 5 of the layers below Moonreach Keep, which was the area that needed such potions the most, has been made less dangerous.

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Content Update: Call of the Kuo-Toa

Kuo-Toa Area & Lore Expansion

"We are at war with the pookahs, culver." -- Kuo-toa leader.

This update expands the Moonreach environs and wilderness involving the kuo-toa by introducing new areas, monsters, & items. It also introduces the kuo-toa leader. Player characters are invited to delve into the new areas, which contain background lore and information not only on the kuo-toa, but archaeological particulars as well as insights into certain other factions below the Keep. Early areas in the new content are meant for characters struggling in the level 4-5 range, while deeper areas of the content have been designed with the objective of filling the gap in progress for level 6-8 characters.

* Excerpted from artwork by Eddy Shinjuku.

New Shops, Equipment, & Consumables

"It's flame art armor, made by that witch. Covered in ash. From pyres, no doubt. I'll not wear such a thing." -- Dorron Aster.

Additional new items, including powerful consumables, may now be purchased from Flamekeeper Ereda for a price. Those who are willing to take on her campaign against the undead and other monsters beneath Moonreach Keep in the name of the Firelord will find her enchanted weapons, armor, and choice consumables very helpful. That is in addition to other new shops, which are hidden and harder to find, which introduce unique purchasable items and consumables.

Crescent-Moon Keys & Doors

"Finding your way? Let's work together. There's more than one route through this maze." -- Feowem Belarod.

This update introduces Crescent Moon Keys. Acquiring just one of these colour-coded keys will enable the character to unlock doors of the same colour. Though there is one key for each colour, there are many doors that share a colour, so finding the one colour's key will enable the player to unlock all such coloured doors without consuming the key. These doors are found throughout Moonreach Keep -- including its main halls, but also in the dungeon below, changing the way characters progress through the dungeon. Incidentally, the Keep and dungeon areas have been updated with such doors, as well as with major balance updates that lower the difficulty of levels 1 to 3 of the dungeon.