D&D 5E Auroborus: A Mountain-shattering Rock-and-roll D&D World from WoW Developers

What happens when some of the developers of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch make a D&D setting? You get a 'rock-and-roll' high-powered world called Auroboros!

Coming to Kickstarter on April 20th from Warchief Gaming, Auroborus: Coils of the Serpent is set in a land called Lawbrand. Players can wield immense power, able to shatter mountaintops. The Kickstarter is for the first 'Worldbook' which details Lawbrand.

"Ancient magic flows through the grimy streets of Lawbrand’s bustling Trade-Cities. Tensions between the ruling Sularian Church and the new generation of upstart adventurers threaten to ignite a firestorm of societal upheaval. In the wilds beyond Lawbrand’s borders, long-forgotten races and newly formed cults rise to claim their own territories – and exert their will upon civilization. And beneath it all, the ancient World-Serpent, Auroboros, awakens to devour all…"

The setting contains 5 new races (including the aquatic Atsaad), and 4 subclasses (including the fighter Wildkeeper).

As for that 'mountain-splitting" power? Here's what they say: "The ancient World-Serpent, Auroboros, coils throughout Creation; its vast power capable of birthing startling new life or annihilating all that is. By taking the dread Mark of the Serpent, players can wield the Auroboros’ awesome power directly, gaining the ability to heal the sick and shatter mountaintops alike – but at great peril to themselves."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yes. I got my physical copy a month ago and the PDF back in March. But I'll be honest. The revelations about just how toxic the creative culture at Blizzard was, and the painful cutting of my connections to Warcraft after over a decade, soured me on everything associated with it so much that I still haven't read my copies.

I probably should. I did pay for them, after all. But I know there's no way I'll ever sell anyone on using it now, so it just kind of feels pointless.

It sounds like the toxic culture was a subset of powerful managers, most or all of whom were pushed out. The majority of the staff were victims, not perpetrators of the culture.

We don't know how Metzen figures into this. He left well before the revelations came out, made an apology, and to my knowledge, no one has ever pointed a finger at him. On the other hand, he was a big wheel there for a long time and said he "failed too many people when they needed us because we have the privilege of not noticing, not engaging, not creating necessary space for the colleagues who needed us as leaders."

So it sounds like word of what was going on him reached him at some point and he didn't take it seriously.

And the company has just brought him back, after ousting, to my knowledge, all the problematic people. (Other than Bobby Kotick, who will be there, running the last videogame company after the human race is extinguished and he's hooking cockroaches on microtransactions.) So, either he's been cleared and is someone who's safe to come back, or the apparent progress they've made over the past two years has been skin-deep.