Aside from the celebratory cake offered by Turbine, Inc. to herald the second year anniversary of its premier fantasy MMORPG, Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach will be offering all new content for free this March 5 to March 11. That's right, free! You can check out all the free stuff you can get to enjoy by playing the game, read all about it in the full article.

The MMO Gamer recently had a chat with Jeffrey Kaplan, lead designer for Blizzard's World of Warcraft, and he brought up a rather interesting idea about the future of one of the video game's least visited dungeons: Naxxramas.

When asked about raids, and about how it seems the game is catering to a small, vocal minority, rather than the majority of casual players, Kaplan cited Karazhan as one of the most popular instances in the game, and mentioned the possibility of seeing Naxxramas as the Karazhan of Northrend in the future. Said Kaplan,

So what I want to do in Northrend is to take Naxxramas in all of its glory, scale it down to the 25 man raid size, and then take the difficulty and retune it - obviously we’d tune for level 80, it would no longer be tuned for level 60, since that would be a little silly and it wouldn’t be a lot of fun for people at that point—but I want to put rewards in there that are very exciting to level 80 players, but make it the entry-level raid, very accessible, tune the encounters so that there’s something for everybody to do, and let the majority get a chance to see that content that they hadn’t seen before.

The idea of resurrecting Naxxramas for the expansion seems like a great idea. Lore-wise, it gives us the perfect excuse to pick up a new and improved Ashbringer as well as make some death knight-related quests. Other than that, it lets us experience some old-world content in a new-world setting, which is logically possible since Naxx is more or less a floating necropolis in the sky.

In any case, if you want to read or listen to the full interview with Jeffrey Kaplan, feel free to check the read link below.

Get ready for another round of Dungeons and Dragons updates, dear readers. This week's post-maintenance updates are going to be dealing with one of the game's new zones: The Tomb of the Crimson Heart. This one will be delving into the maps of the said area, and a full bestiary so that you guys will know what's going to be greeting you when you decide to explore the spot.

And in related news, there's also data on a new NPC - Fram Redbones. If the name's any hint, he's the go-to guy for the guys who'd like to try out the "The Tomb of the Crimson Heart." Fram will be guiding your party through the quest, giving hints on who to bring, and what you need to do to prep for your final confrontation with Khnumhotep, the area's resident boss.

That's the skinny on the stuff that's up for reading on this update. The full monster list, the maps, and the detailed instructions from Fram are allk listed below. Good hunting.

New Bestiary : Barrow Wight  - Carrion Feeder  - Charnel Wight  - Corpse Glutton  - Death's Advocate  - Gallows Wight  - Grim Harvester  - Kabram the Vile  - Khnumhotep  - Pestilent Huntsman  - Priest of the Crimson Heart  - Risen Servitor  - Scion of Wrath  - Sepulcher Wight  - Shrouded Terror
New NPCs : Fram Redbones
New Quests : The Tomb of the Crimson Heart
New Zones : The Necropolis - The Tomb of the Crimson Heart

Samera has posted a first look at the release notes for Stormreach Under Siege, the latest update for Dungeons and Dragons Online, in the DDO forums. Included in the update are server performance improvements, updates to existing monsters, spells and items, and a new NPC. Stormreach Under Siege also includes updates to two quests, namely Gwylan's Stand and the Necropolis quests.

Here are the release notes:

Performance

• We have made some improvements to server performance.
• Fixed some server problems that were leading to missing mail items.
  

General

• The Spell Selection window should no longer crash the client.
• You will no longer get hit with two death penalties if you logout or go link-dead while dead.
• Some quest rewards were becoming permanently ransacked; this is now fixed.
• Disease immunity items, and paladin and warforged disease immunities, now work properly against mummy rot.
• The tavern in Necropolis is now named "One Foot Inn" and has a new flavor NPC to relate the tale of how it got the name.
• Changed the language in character generation to clarify that Dwarves need to have martial weapon proficiency in order to receive proficiency in the dwarven waraxe, an exotic weapon, for free.
• The spelling and grammar of the /sheathe (formerly /sheath) emote have been fixed.

The full list awaits after the jump!

We give you another batch of weekly development activities for Dungeons and Dragons Online. It's nice to see that the guys behind the MMO has been working really hard to improve the game for their community even if some of the development activities may have been lingering in the list for the longest time now. But still, you gotta admire these people who work tirelessly to bring something new and improved to the game amidst the tough challenges. So, we'll quit blabbing about how good and determined they are and we will now hook you up DDO's weekly development activities for September 11.

In Q&A
General

• NEW - The Spell Selection window should no longer crash the client.
• NEW - Some quest rewards were becoming permanently ransacked; this is now fixed.
• The tavern in Necropolis is now named "One Foot Inn" and has a new flavor NPC to relate the tale of how it got the name.

Monsters

•  Dead mummies will no longer cause despair.
•  Charmed mummies will no longer cause despair in allied players.
•  The Warrior of the Six is now correctly tagged as Neutral Evil.

Items

•  Repeating crossbows should once again be functioning properly.
•  NEW - If you have a shield and a wand/scroll/thrown-weapon equipped and are blocking, in most cases the shield will now take item wear, not the right hand item.
•  All adamantine weapons have been given a boost to their Hardness. This change will affect all existing weapons as well as newly created adamantine weapons.
• The new brigandine armor introduced in the Twilight Forge Module will now appear properly on Drow.

The full list awaits after the jump!

Stormreach Under Siege. Now, don't those three words just make you want to just skip this introduction that took me maybe an hour and and a half to write and go straight to what's going to a part of the next scheduled update for Dungeons and Dragons Online? Wouldn't it be nice to get the latest buzz on monsters inside the game like dead and charmed mummies not being able to cause despair to anybody anymore, plus The Warrior of Six now being correctly tagged as the Neutral Evil? Or more details on new and exciting quests that you can take? Or... Okay I'll shut up now and give you the details. Teasing was fun while it lasted.

Monsters

• NEW - Dead mummies will no longer cause despair.
• NEW – Charmed mummies will no longer cause despair in allied players.
•  NEW - The Warrior of the Six is now correctly tagged as Neutral Evil.

Quests

• NEW - Gwylan's Stand
• An influx of foolish adventurers into the area surrounding Gwylan's Stand has allowed the various monsters in the area to accumulate a little more treasure.

• NEW - Necropolis
• Bloody Crypt
• The Lich is now the Black Abbot and not a generic lich.
• Using the levers to open the east and west wings will correctly report that you used a lever, and not a book.
• Salasso now wears the correct robe.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Okay, all you Vampires, Oil Company Executives, Congressmen and other drinkers of blood, listen up: Dungeons and Dragons Online's much awaited Litany of The Dead Part One is now live. Here's a little tavern song to give you a little hint of the horrors that now await you in the (mwah-ha-haHAHAHAHA!) Necropolis:

"They lie here at eternal rest
The dead of ages past
And when his power reaches out
They will serve at his behest.

"Four tombs comprise a wicked heart
A scholar sits in solitude
A thrice-cursed text and magic-hexed
The bloody prophet crafts his art.

"He'll hold the living in his hands
Like worms pulled from the soil
The Dead Time comes for one and all
The Abbot's mark will scar the land."

At the center of all this macabre business is a former alchemist, now known as the Black Prophet, who goes by the name of Brother Coure. "Coure" denotes "heart" in at least two Romance languages, and it's appropriate: he runs a number of tombs with delightful monikers like  The Crimson Heart, The Sanguine Heart, The Burning Heart, The Immortal Heart...and oh, yes...The Bloody Crypt.

In any event, The Silver Flame and the Emerald Claw are going to have to set aside their differences if they plan to pull off a Van Helsing manoeuvre.  As things stand, the vampires who have been locked away by Brother Cuore and charged with the task of creating a "Litany of The Dead" have completed the first chapter. The Black Prophet now roams the night once more...(insert more diabolical laughter here)...are you up to challenging him?

"That  'Wicked Day of Destiny' has finally arrived in the World of Warcraft universe, as Legions of The Scourge  finally descend on the Lands of Azeroth! The dark Necropoli have been seen throughout the world, appearing at the edge of the horizon, looming like harbingers of Doom, awaiting the word of their commander, Kel'Thuzad.

From the East, a blackness hides the dawn as the Lich King's minions prepare to invade Azeroth. The Scourge again comes forth - and this time, there are no Prophets to speak warnings, no courageous Knights to battle the Dark Legions - and no Hero to stand against the Abomination Who sits on the Frozen Throne.

You...are all that stands between Light and Darkness...Freedom and Bondage...Life and Death.

Although much of Azeroth is now under attack,  Members of the Argent Dawn are organizing the Resistance. It's power grows with every victory against the Scourge.  As more invasions are turned  back, the Argent Dawn will be able to bestow increasingly more powerful blessings upon the Defenders.  As long as mortal races focus on clearing the Scourge camps, the invasion can be halted - and even repelled. Those wishing to take up arms against the Invaders should speak with a representative of the Argent Dawn to learn what regions need help and how the defense is holding up.

Scourge agents are appearing in Stratholme, the Scholomance, Dire Maul, the Scarlet Monastery, Shadowfang Keep and the Razorfen Downs.  A necropolis has appeared outside Stormwind and Undercity, the assault on these capitals will soon begin. Skeletal shock troops stand by, awaiting the order to advance, commanded by Abominations and gruesome Undead Officers. City guards will need all available aid when the Scourge unleashes its Unholy Armies.

Meanwhile, the Argent Dawn stands by, setting up camps within the besieged cities, rallying the Defenders against the encroaching darkness.