D&D Online: The Art of Shavarath, Part Three

The third installment of "The Art of Shavarath" developer diary on the Dungeons & Dragons Online website covers the Tower of Despair.
One of the most prominent structures in Shavarath is the Tower of Despair, a central gathering place for the devil generals and their legions. As has been previously mentioned, the devils are a proud, hierarchical, and organized race. This structure was designed with that in mind. Its strong well constructed metal exterior has a proud jutting prominence. While we needed to reflect the devil's personality of rigid control and order, we didn't want the tower to just be strictly upright. The tower boasts multiple tiers, where, for a devil, occupying a higher level in the tower means having higher rank.

As you look at the tower, you get a sense that the structure actually emulates a devil with its chest out, ready to strut across the region in a display of might. Repeating patterns also play an important role in emphasizing the organization that the devils are known for, while the sharp, angular formations reiterate the danger of this race.

The devils of Shavarath are not only dangerous because of military might their evil and selfishness is evident even in the way they live. The Tower is powered by the area's resources, which the devils funnel through the glowing steel aqueducts running up into the Tower of Despair. These resource sapping conduits span out across the entire devil territory.