Greetings adventurers! Asterdahl here to talk about Spellplague Caverns (Master, an epic dungeon arriving in the Cloaked Ascendancy update.

In this blog I will be focusing primarily on encounter design, so if you're more interested in learning about the environment be sure to check out Patrick Poage's blog .

While The Cloaked Ascendancy's story returns to the familiar-to-some (albeit updated) environment of the Spellplague Caverns, the encounters you face off against are entirely new. In addition to new enemy types three new bosses will make an appearance: Kabal the Flamesoul, a Giant Stone-Eyed Nothic, and Nostura of the Stone Eye. For those concerned about spoilers I won't be going into the plot of the dungeon, we hope you all look forward to experiencing the story for yourself when the update goes live soon!

Kabal the Flamesoul serves as the dungeon's first boss encounter. Kabal is also the first boss brought to life by our very own Tradd "Dreadnaught" Thompson. You face Kabal and his nearly impenetrable armor in his demiplane, a magical forge housed in the caldera of an active volcano. Fire plays a key role in the encounter, with a theme of "fighting fire with fire." Steel yourself for a battle that requires well-tempered teamwork if you're to have any hope of conquering it unsinged!

The second boss encounter pits you and your team against a magically enlarged Stone-Eyed Nothic. Nothics are favored pets of Nostura, and you’ll fight lesser versions of them throughout the module. They introduce a new type of attack to Neverwinter—"gaze" attacks—which requires you to look away in order to avoid their effect. Your mastery of gaze attacks will be put to the test against the giant nothic stone-eye in a frantic fight that requires steady footing and quick reflexes. 

The final showdown features Nostura of the Stone Eye herself. This powerful fey warlock throws everything in the book at you including a gaze attack of her own. If that wasn't enough the fight also includes a plane shifting mechanic that has your party traveling back-and-forth between the Prime Material Plane and the Feywild to hunt her down.

With Nostura's plane shifting mechanic the team worked hard to build something that's never been done before in Neverwinter. We can't wait for you all to get a chance to try it out! Look forward to challenging all three bosses when The Cloaked Ascendancy goes live!

Douglas Miller

Systems Designer