Crime, political scandal and murder are running rampant in Baldur’s Gate, a city on the verge of war, in the newest D&D Encounters season beginning today! Murder in Baldur's Gate takes place during The Sundering, a world-shattering event that, for the first time, invites fans to help define the future of the most popular setting in the Dungeons & Dragons universe – the Forgotten Realms.

In this first D&D Encounters season of The Sundering, danger lurks in the city of Baldur’s Gate and the plot of a murdered deity finally comes to fruition, resurrecting the god of assassins. Bhaal will live again. And in the city that once thwarted his rebirth, can the heroes keep Baldur’s Gate from tearing itself apart?  And how will these events affect the Forgotten Realms? 

Throughout the Murder’s in Baldur’s Gate season, which begins today and extends through November 13, players will be encouraged to use the Sundering Adventurer’s Chronicle, an online tool that will collect and tally their play experiences to ultimately help affect the fate of the Forgotten Realms. In the end, the results from all of the D&D Encounters season of The Sundering will help to provide a landscape for future D&D offerings. 

Adventurers can also now play the latest D&D Encounters adventure from anywhere in the world – at the same time as the in-store program! Murder in Baldur's Gate includes a harrowing 32-page adventure in which the player characters defend Baldur's Gate against an ancient evil long thought slain, along with 64-pages containing in-depth information on the city and its inhabitants.  It is currently available for a suggested retail price of $34.95.

For more information on all of the products and in-store play programs related to The Sundering, visit www.DungeonsandDragons.com/Sundering. 

Following Wizards of the Coast’s recent news at Gen Con of the yearlong Dungeons & Dragons event “The Sundering” in the Forgotten Realm’s setting, DeNA has released the debut trailer for its future mobile game release of Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War.

Arena of War Trailer

View and embed the Arena of War trailer from this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdNhczUDKI  

Pre-register for Exclusive Bonus Content

Fans can pre-register for the game and upgrade their character with a free Ultra Rare Power CAUSE FEAR. To earn the exclusive pre-registration bonus offer, and to be alerted via email as soon as the game is available for free download, please visit: http://www.dndarenaofwar.com

About Arena of War

Arena of War, the first ever free-to-play Dungeons & Dragons game for mobile, is a 3D battle-RPG developed by DeNA in partnership with Wizards of the Coast. Set in the Forgotten Realms, Arena of War features iconic D&D locations such as Baldur’s Gate and monsters such as the Beholder. The live events in the yearlong Sundering event will evolve in the game giving an ever-changing experience to players.

Arena of War will be available soon for free on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android.

Wizards of the Coast is celebrating two new digital releases this week: Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, which released on June 18th, and today’s launch of the critically-acclaimed Neverwinter MMORPG.  These releases are just two of several exciting Dungeons & Dragons digital games scheduled for release in 2013. 

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara from Capcom features up to four players battling against mythical beasts from the D&D universe with a mix of melee, range and magic attacks. The game is available as a digital download on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC.

Neverwinter is an action RPG set in an immersive massively multiplayer world that lets players explore and defend one of the most beloved cities in the Forgotten Realms. The MMORPG is free-to-play and can be downloaded at http://nw.perfectworld.com/.

 

The release of Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara and Neverwinter join many other partnerships and digital releases in the works, establishing D&D as a major force in the digital space. Other upcoming releases include Arena of War, a mobile game for Android, iPhone and iPad devices from DeNA available later this year; Shadowfell Conspiracy, the second expansion pack to the Dungeons & Dragons Online MMORPG releasing on August 19; the upcoming release of Baldur’s Gate on Android followed by Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Edition; and a yet-to-be-announced game from Playdek.

I remember the day I picked up my very first Forgotten Realms boxed reference set. It included some game materials, a really awesome map and a bit of background information to start your own campaigns. But never did I think I would ever see such an in depth look as Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms. It really is a masterpiece of Ed Greenwood‘s imagination.

Taken from Greenwood’s original notes from the late sixties, the Forgotten Realms were adapted in the seventies for game play with the original Dungeons & Dragons and finalized in the eighties for release with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game books. By far the most popular and well known of all the official settings, the Realms are packed with well developed and powerful non-player characters (known as NPCs). This tome gives gamers a plethora of formerly unknown information, thereby not just amplifying our collective knowledge of Faerun but also expanding the possibilities in a campaign setting.

And when I say it is full of information, I’m not kidding. This book includes everything from typical foods to economics to everyday entertainments. Covering specifics such as how to become a noble at court and individual alliances between kingdoms, it also speaks to the more mundane things like education, local judiciary systems, and clothing differences by area. There really is something here for everyone. Whether you are a DM running a campaign in this setting or a player just wanting more reference material while reading the scores of novels set there, this is the most comprehensive compendium I have seen on the subject.

I wish I could detail every section of this book, but to do so would take far more time than if I just tell you it’s more than worth the price and your time to read it. Never before have I seen a section in a D&D reference book that described the variety of woods, children’s toys or types of rope and chain available. If you use the Forgotten Realms as a game setting or even just plan on writing a story or two based on it, this is the epitome of Faerunian information. My favorite parts are the scribblings of Greenwood from his original notes; it’s amazing to see how far this world has come in the past four decades since he first imagined it.

I really urge you to pick this up. As I said before, it’s the ultimate reference piece for the Realms and one that I think could be a crucial piece to any dungeon master. I love this book for the detailed look into this long lasting world. I hope you find it as appealing as I do. And to end this review, I quote Elminster: “Behold the Realms, from its lightless nether depths to the stars that twinkle down upon it. Make it thine.”