Dungeons & Dragons Online Preview

[GameBanshee News]

IGN PC has published a quick preview of Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online, in preparation for this year's E3 convention. Here's a bit of what to expect:

Once you're inside, you'll be in familiar D&D territory. Each class has its trademark skills. The rogue can detect and disable traps, stealth, backstab, find and open hidden doors, unlock visible ones, and he or she will have save rolls against trap damage. Speaking of rolls, you'll be able to manually block and evade attacks, instead of standing there and trading blows until someone dies. We got to see some pretty cool fights, one including a massive half Drow-half scorpion (in Eberron, the Drow worship a scorpion, instead of Lolth, the spider). The player character was able to dive and roll to avoid projectiles, which is a nice touch in a genre where the spell pretty much always makes its way to its target. But as skillful as the rogues are, they'll still need help when fighting large groups. In one sequence, a rogue and cleric were surrounded by a horde of undead, but the cleric was able to banish them all in one stroke by consecrating a nearby altar.