Blizzard Watch Podcast

We've got a pretty special Tavern Watch episode for you today, folks. It's no secret that those of us who've gotten our hands on the D&D: World of Warcraft book have been pretty excited about it, our enthusiasm even slipping out of Tavern Watch and ending up on otherwise-unrelated episodes of the Blizzard Watch Podcast. Far from a cash grab or a clumsy adaptation, this new book is a real labor of love targeted directly at that crossover audience between WoW and D&D.

Therefore, we are thrilled to be able to bring you an interview with James Wyatt from Wizards of the Coast, the lead game designer on D&D: World of Warcraft! James has been designing D&D and other RPG content since the 90s, starting with material for TSR's Masque of the Red Death D&D setting but contributing to a lot of areas of the game since then; he also did a stint on the Magic: the Gathering team, including writing the "Plane Shift" series of free products that adapted MtGelements for D&D, which later led to the stellar 5th Edition books for Ravnica, Theros, and Strixhaven. He also let us know that he's been playing WoW since launch!

I'm scheJames joined Liz, Joe, and Phil to talk about all kinds of aspects of adapting WoW to the tabletop, including things like how certain classes were adapted, the importance of bringing te video game to the tabletop without limiting player choice or imagination, how feedback from playtesters at Blizzard shaped the book, and even specific systems that surprised us with their thoughtful implementations (like professions, Renown, and minipets!). We could not, however, wrangle an exact date for playable Murlocs out of him -- but the dream isn't dead, as you'll hear.
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WoW: Forever begins now -- or a couple days ago? Time is immaterial to this podcast. But as it releases, the cohosts (and this week's guest host Cory) take a moment to chat about the new/old game. Plus, this release hasn't been without drama, including a very bumpy name reservation period and a ton of class changes in the eleventh hour, which led to the Shaman class Discord server being shut down. The team talked a bit about the design philosophy that led to these changes, and others, including a patch cadence that could be described as rather speedy.

There's also Elder Scrolls news (it's Sentinel, that's it, that's the news). Plus, this month's Trading Post offerings are live and Rossi thinks the mount is terrifying. Never a dull moment.
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Before we say our goodbyes, there was a lot of WoW stuff to discuss, including the Forever naming window, which did not go smoothly. Joe explains why this is actually a good thing (despite the fact that someone was able to sneak my name out from under me). We also have a very short preview of Talebound, which is being called a demo because reasons. We have theories. There's a set of new tentacled shop offerings for your Player Housing, including new exteriors, which was a roller coaster ride of emotions.

And then we ride the roller coaster of emotions right to the bottom with the news that EA is shuttering BioWare. The crew explains how we got here, and what we're all losing -- an icon of the industry, with a deep portfolio of moving stories that we've all replayed many times over. Not being surprised about it doesn't make it any less upsetting.
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Hallow's End has begun in World of Warcraft, and with it comes all our old haunts, plus a ton of content for our Player Housing neighborhoods. After all, the best part of the holiday is trick or treating door to door! These quests take you to far-flung creepy corners of Azeroth, and somehow, Nomi is there, which is the real horror. And the scares doesn't stop there -- the new Labyrinths features have been plagued by a lot of bugs! Our experiences have certainly been spooky. And speaking of bugs, Aqir Invasions are ending in patch 12.1.7. And this is the perfect time to mention the new Old God-themed Hearthstone expansion, Reign of the Black Empire, which released earlier this week, and features an "assemble" keyword, which allows you to mash together a bunch of different effects to the wackiest of ends.

But enough with the Halloween theme -- the bright spot that is WoW: Forever is fast approaching, with the name reservation window beginning October 27. And beyond that is even more -- this week we got a preview of some of the old/new stuff, including the Brotherhood of the Horse, and the timeframe for the opening of raids. By the way, yes, you will have to attune for those. Everything old is new again, including your inability to get that Headless Horseman mount drop.
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This week is patch 12.1.5 in World of Warcraft, which isn't a big patch but it has some story content we aren't happy about and Labyrinths that we are happy about. Plus huge improvements to crafting decor (you don't need nearly as much lumber now), store transmog sets with hair under hats, the strange state of WoW Classic, and how gold sellers (and buyers) are already getting banned in WoW: Forever. Yes, it's still in beta, but some people just couldn't wait.
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