Quick Hits

I don't have a lot to report, but there are several little things of relevance to the NWN community and (in some cases) D&D as a whole.

Gary Gygax (1939-2008)
I'm posting way later than everyone else on this, and there's little that I'm going to add that's new. Suffice it to say that if you're reading this, it's about 99.9% likely that you're one of the millions whose lives were influenced by him. Needless to say, I have enjoyed hundreds if not thousands of hours of fun in my life because of a game he conceived thirty-odd years ago. The gaming community has indeed lost a titan - if not THE titan - of the industry. Farewell, Gary.

New Mysteries of Westgate Video
The introductory video for MoW was released today, and it's pretty awesome. It was the first time I had seen it, believe it or not. Stuff like that tends to be added long after most of the rest of the campaign is completed. For most of my play-throughs it was just load and go look for bugs, verify functionality, etc. When the release finally gets here, it might actually be interesting to play the campaign from start to finish again just to experience it like our customers will... Then again, nah. I've played the campaign - no joke - 15 to 20 times already. As I've said before, there are no longer any "mysteries" in Westgate for me...

Ossian Interview at NWN Podcast
Yes, I'm a couple weeks late in drawing attention to this, but Alan Miranda and Luke Scull were recently interviewed by the NWN Podcast team. In the interview, they discuss all matter of Westgate goodness. Check it out if you haven't already.

It was the first podcast I'd ever listened to. I was, of course, aware that the podcast group existed; at 46 episodes as of this writing, they've been doing their thing for a year now, but I had never had reason to go and check it all out before Ossian was spotlighted. It's just another example of the myriad efforts being pursued that, in total, form a vibrant and friendly community. I'll have to keep a closer eye on them in the future. By the way, guys... it's "OSS-see-an," not "o-SIGH-in..."

Oh, and I did notice in the podcast immediately before Ossian's interview (episode #44), they gave a shout-out to "Saleron's Gambit," so thanks for that. (And yes, liso, that's meant for you. But did you really need to forget the name of my NWN2 project? I'm crushed!)

MoW Spotlights
Yes, the Ossian crew has begun to release episodic spotlights covering many of the cool aspects of Westgate. It is a fantastic setting different in many important ways from the more traditional Sword Coast settings. It is our hope that players will start the adventure with an appreciation of the city's legends, lore, geography, history, population, etc., and that this will make for a more satisfying and engrossing experience.

The first spotlight, released last Friday, was on the "Legend of the Quelzarn," one of the fantastic new monsters players will get to battle. Coming up very soon will be "Cosmopolitan Westgate." Stay tuned for further updates.