Cryptic decrypts Neverwinter's Foundry system

Neverwinter 's fantasy MMO foundation might stick to established norms we're all used to--magic, medieval weaponry, hitting a 17-foot dragon in the shins, and so on--but its Foundry quest editor gives players the chance to forge their own epic sagas of malice, might, and mischief using Neverwinter's sizable asset library of NPCs, room layouts, monsters, and ubiquitous text boxes.

“Using The Foundry editor, you'll be able to create your own maps and set the adventures that take place within them," Cryptic's dev blog reads. "More importantly, you'll be able to do this right away, with very little experience with the tools. Whether you want a simple delivery type quest, or intend to create your very own, with multiple hand-created maps, a plethora of customized NPCs, pages of dialog, and a truly epic story, you can."

Cryptic predicted a rising quality and skill ceiling for Foundry quests as players acclimate themselves to the tools at their disposal, with the intended goal of custom quests "indistinguishable from one that Cryptic's own development team has created" and a flexibility for creativity taking place in Neverwinter's world "as much or as little as the author wishes."

"The interface is a series of fairly simple to use drag and drop style editors," the blog continues. "This doesn't mean that mastering The Foundry is easy. While you can dabble, and be successful, much of the full potential of The Foundry takes some time to fully grasp. The tools and your quests are really as simple, or as complex, as you wish them to be."