Shroomy's page

I've seen on other boards that some auto-responses are being sent (and rather quickly), so there does seem to be some sort of technical issue.

As s DM and designer this is one trait I always indulge to much: Give em awesome goodies. I like the adventure to be wicked fun for the players, and I like how excited they get over really unique magic items (I almost never give a PC a "standard" from DMG magic item in my home games - never!). I love creating new items and yes, sometimes they lean toward too powerful rather than not powerful enough. I say go with it! Let the PCs enjoy their goodies, but at the same time if you are worried about unbalancing your game you could ramp back the Crown and Heartripper Blade (though the Blade has a big drawback - you gotta coup de grace to use any of its powers! And they are just one shot powers too!). Droskar's Grasp on the other hand (ha, pun intended) can be a major drawback not just utility wise (no can use a hand!!!) but also socially...it's weird to have this stone fist instead of a working hand, mucks up all sorts of interactions...if you take my meaning. ;-)

Seriously though, you could ramp em back a bit with ease by removing one or two of the minor abilities they have, and that's not a horrible idea if you are worried about balance in your home game.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the magic items in the adventure. The draw backs from using Droskar's Grasp and the Heartripper Blade mitigated my concerns with those items. However, I was more concerned with the Crown, which is a major boon with no drawbacks, as well as the king's +1 human bane battle axe. All together, the Kobold King (whose name escapes me) has nearly 20,000gp in gear, for a 7th level character!

I am particularly happy with the flavour of the unique magic items throughout. Lots of stuff that is so much cooler than a +1 sword.

I bought the adventure the other day at a FLGS, and while I really liked the flavorful magic items, they seemed a bit overpowered/expensive (even with their drawbacks) for an adventure that takes a characters from 2nd to 4-5th level.

I got my Tuesday from Borders.

Ah, "Enemies of my Enemy," another edition of "Babes of the Savage Tide." Damn, being evil or fighting evil never looked so good! All kidding aside, this was another great adventure. I actually think the best of the encounters is the visit to Malcanthet's pleasure palace, from the

Just to add to what KnightErrantJr said, my fiancee purchased Expedition to Undermountain for me on Saturday because I like adventures. I've read the first two chapters and I think this is a great product; I can totally see where the book would be useful to FR fans as a sourcebook, as there is a lot of background material in the Undermountain overview chapter. That said, I actually have a limited interest in the FR and Realmslore, so I think that the encounters are very strong (at least in Chapter 2 mini-mission) with some interesting monsters and challenges, many of which do not have to end in combat. I especially loved the encounter with

Oh, not even mentioning the difficulty of casting a freedom spell ( scroll or not ) if there is no high-level UMD user, and your wizard is a specialist who has foresworn Abjuration as a school.... Or buying a scroll/acess to it, in a highly suspicious world/setting, where there _will_be questions as to what this spell is going to be needed for (much like the knowledge for building a nuclear bomb, this spell is something I would consider not easily traded or taught by those in the know)

The book of infinite spells allows anyone to cast the freedom spell.

Is there a transcript available?

While it is obviously too early to evaluate "Enemy of My Enemy," I'm fairly certain that the PCs will be at the center of the massive effort to forge a coalition of planar powers, each with conflicting agendas and egos that must be reconciled (or hidden), to strike at Demogorgon. And it looks to me that the PCs will be operating without a net, since no good NPC as powerful as Manzorian has yet to make an appearance in the STAP. Frankly, I think the prospect of this adventure is simply delicious.

I love the STAP and I think it is easily the best series of D&D adventures that I have ever read, and the well-developed, recurring NPCs are probably one of the biggest reasons for its success, but I never thought that any of the various NPCs actions ever really overshadow the PCs actions.

Compare that to the AoW, where NPCs like Allustan, Eligos, and Manzorian initially do alot of the heavy lifting, especially in the middle chapters. In the AoW, the PCs gather a lot of the clues, hand it over to a sage, and then do something else while that sage figures things out. I don't want to disparage the AoW too much, as I think it is also a great AP, but I much prefer the way the STAP is structured. When the PCs need information from an NPC they have to actively do something to get it; the action of the adventure and the information pay-off that links to the next adventure are more integrated (to be fair, you do see this in the later adventures of the AoW, especially "The Prince of Redhand," "The Library of Last Resort," and "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure.").

Lastly, when were chaotic evil fiends stripped of their intelligence? I have no problem with Red Shroud not attacking the PCs; she has an agenda which is better served by keeping the PCs alive.

S'Sharra, pg 62-63.

There is another evil hottie in this issue, featured in "Into the Maw."

I personally hate reading online content and prefer print options. Also, Dragon and Dungeon are institutions!

Too bad that quote is from March 2006.

I remember when Dungeon flirted with idea by publishing a Marvel Superheros and Top Secret adventure back in the late 80s or early 90s. I really disliked the shift away from AD&D/D&D at the time, and there is no way I would support such a move today.

My fiancee watches a lot of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel; she used to watch the series during its first season and liked it. She started watching it one day while I was at her apartment. She fell asleep, but I continued to watch. I was very intrigued. She's not a huge fan of fantasy or gaming, but since she liked the series too, she thought it would be a good way to spend some time together. We sat down and watched the entire first season in one day. It was awesome.

True, but the -1 penalty to effective level, as written, seems to apply to spells and spell-like abilities cast/activated by the recipients of the negative level. Without this penalty, these abilities would stay at the same power level as they were before the recipient gained the negative levels.

Another thing, if you gain a negative level you don't lose feats, skill ranks, or ability score increases, all of which are directly tied to HD. You also don't technically lose any class abilities, which are also tied to HD.

I would say "No," as the -1 effective level penalty applies to die rolls and calculations. The HD limit is not a calculation it is a straight up and down threshold. Calculating DC of spell-like abilities, caster level checks, etc. would be the province of this penalty. However, even if you can't use sleep, a NPC fighter is pretty much screwed with four negative levels.

How bad did you roll for Ilthane's SR? All the spells your players cast allow Spell Resistance, especially the key spell, which was enervation. BTW, was that spell maximized or did your player roll 4 each time? All in all, assuming your player was a 11th level wizard, s/he expended alot of their high level spell slots. Good luck in the True Tomb!

Ilthane is actually a relatively minor flunky in the grand scheme of things (just look at all the dragons that appear later in the AP), though she definitely knows about Dragotha. Most of her involvement centers aroud her plan to corrupt the lizardfolk in the Mistmarsh and some stuff in Alhaster.

That is horrible news. I hope the situation take a better turn soon.

Which one do you prefer: A lawful evil oppresive dictatorship or a chaotic evil anarchic hellhole?

Well I checked, and none of the issues at the West Towne Barnes & Nobles in Madison WI contain the map.

Did anyone else find it ironic that there was another letter in Issue 146 continuing the debate about Issue 140's cover? I mean, whoah doggie, the Mephistopheles cover is pretty tame in relation to the adventures in Issue 146, which all feature villains and NPCs steeped in evil and wickedness. This issue probably has the most content culled from the Book of Vile Darkness since #95, not to mention FC:I and Libris Mortis.

I would just like to give a kudos to the decision to incorporate the pertinent game information for non-core feats into the stat blocks instead of separate sidebars. I know that space and wordcount are premium in Dungeon so I can appreciate the change. I mean, knowing everything regarding a feat is nice, but we generally don't need to know the prerequisites, etc. for a feat unless our players plan on taking it or we plan on assigning it to NPCs that we craft. Also, I think it also encourages the usage of non-core feats since authors don't have to worry as much about wordcount. I noticed this trend a few issues back, but #146 really makes use of this new format, especially the STAP adventure and backdrop. Again Kudos!

Yes; the poster map should be bundled with the magazine, inside the plastic but not actually attached to the magazine. If you got one without, it was either never put in there in the first place (which would be an error at the packaging stage of the issue) or it got swiped.

The bag was sealed. I'm going to go back after work and double-check the rest of the issues, just to make sure.

I purchased Issue 146 at B&N today. Based on earlier comments from the editors and the fact that the issued was sealed, I expected the issue to include a poster map to accompany the Scuttlecove backdrop. None of the issues on the newstand seemed to include a map. I thought it might be small map included inside the magazine, but there was nothing. Am I missing something? The backdrop article seems to include a lot of sites, but there is no map included.

Also, what do you think of allowing magic items that grant skill points (such as 5 skill points in Ride from a wizard who has ranks in that skill).

I don't see a problem with it, if the item grants a competence bonus to the skill check instead of actual skill points. The new Magic Item Compendium is chock full of items that grant these types of bonuses to skill checks.

I'm in the process of re-reading AoW before I go to bed, and I'm currently at the "Champion's Belt." I know I have my favorite moments from the AoW, but I began to wonder what were the contributing author's favorite moments from the adventures or backdrop articles they wrote. Would the contributors like to reveal their favorites in this thread?

The 3e stats for the Dao and the Marid are featured in the Manual of the Planes. There is also another type of genie called a Qorrashi in Frostburn.

Whatever happened to the Tasloi? From the old Dwellers of the Forbidden City. Have they been updated to 3.5? And were they always evil?

The tasloi was updated to 3rd edition in Oriental Adventures and then to 3.5 in the FR supplement The Shining South.

Not to be out done, I've added "Univited Pests" to the list.

GGG

I think I speak for everyone when I saw "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Well, I just fired off my seventh query and it only took me a week and a half to develop it. Someday, I may be just as prolific as GGG. In any case, "The Red Death" (desert/underwater) now joins my other queries...

I currently have six in the submission pile and I'm working on the seventh.

I love designing adventures, but as I do so, I've noticed that there are some monster niches that are covered very well in any official manner. I just thought I'd write some of them up to see what the general reaction to them would be:

Plant Monsters - Older versions of D&D were rife with plant monsters, but I think they are somewhat lacking in the 3.5 era. Just take a look at 1e MMII or BECMI D&D AC9, both of which are full of plant monsters.

Giant Animals - Seriously, I think 3.5e needs more giant animals. A majority of the monsters from 1e that are not updated to the current edition are giant animals. Giant/dire animals are useful in a variety of ways: they make excellent low and mid-level opponents, especially in more civilized areas, and they could add more options for animal companions.

Epic Monsters that Are Not Unique Outsiders or Dragons - I would like to see a couple of these...

Freshwater Threats - Most aquatic threats are tailored for saltwater bodies of water. That's great, but I'd like to see some freshwater threats too...

Desert Monsters Not Based on the Middle East or North Africa - Maybe something from the American Southwest, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, and Central Asia?

What do you guys thing?

I added another adventure query to the slush pile:

"Serpents of the Silver Scar" (3rd level - desert)

I'm hoping to have another one ready by the end of next week.

I need them hold off for a little while longer! I'm almost done with the development of a new adventure. I have to do some more work and then write up the adventure query.

I got the impression that there was this big, almost desolate city full of people who don't want to talk to you and will most likely glare at you as you walk by. So I think your mission is accomplished.

I have a couple of questions for you guys:

1. Is Sehan an existing entity from D&D history that I am not aware of, or is it a new creation?

2. How did you guys decide to use Exag.

I also have one question specifically for GGG. Why do all of the adventures you are associated with feature drug use? Is there something you are not telling us? ;) (BTW, I'm counting the shocker lizards from "The Menagerie").

Hey, I actually wrote a (short) review of the adventure, and all you guys can do is make jokes about sardines! ;)

In other, non-sardine related news, I went back into the archives and read thru Dryder's initial thread that kicked off this project. Very interesting to see how some of the ideas that made into the adventure were kicked-off in that thread (too bad you guys moved it off the board!), though I'm pretty sure my evil Shangri-la adventure idea has been shot to the Nine Hells.

I think the worst rules in all of 3rd edition D&D concern the creation and pricing of new magic items. I absolutely hate that section of the DMG, and when I've used them, they result in magic items that are way overpriced for what they do (IMO). I can see now why artifacts are so popular in Dungeon adventures: they generally have cooler powers and backstory than the core items, you don't have to explain how to create them (just slap on a CL and magic type and you're good to go), and the best of all, you don't have to assign a price to them.

Bumpity, bump. Out of the five of use writers responsible for the Seeds of Sehan arc, only one of us has received this much anticipated (for us, at least) issue so far.

Anyone that has it care to give us a critique? Tell us what you thought of the first installment. Most of us have pretty thick skins. We can take it ;)

I bought my issue last night and read it through the Exag backdrop. I don't have a lot of time, but I can say that I really liked the adventure. SPOILERS It featured some interesting and unusual villains like the yak folk, child of sehan, apotheosis apparatus, and spriggans, and I loved the idea of the flooding dungeon (it filled my head with cinematic visions). My one complaint involves the set-up to get the PCs into the spriggan's complex. It is kind of short, it doesn't rely on much investigation (two NPCs pretty much tell the PCs everything), and assumes that the PCs won't try to kill Pan'Phar Thrissek. However, I think you could use the backdrop materials to flesh out this part without much trouble.

I want the cover for my new avatar.

The imminent release of the Magic Item Compendium has spurred some debates over at ENWorld regarding the core magic items in the DMG. Man, I never really thought much about it, but most of the core magic items are way overpriced for the benefits you receive or they are just plain boring. My dissatisfaction reached new heights last night when I was trying to equip a low-level villain with something not only appropriately thematic, but also interesting.

Dungeon does a fairly good job of incorporating some non-core elements into its adventures, especially monsters, base classes, prestige classes, and feats. However, I think new magic items and spells are under-represented in the pages of Dungeon. Over at ENWorld, James Jacobs acknowledged the need to sometimes incorporate newer spells into the adventures, but I think the same thing should apply to magic items (at least of the non-artifact variety). I looked through the last five issues, and with the exception of two AP adventures, only one adventure had a non-core, non-artifact magic item (that one was "Diplomacy").

I think incorporating d20 Modern or d20 Future elements into a D&D Dungeon could work, maybe something like WoTC new free adventure "Return to the Temple of the Frog," but I doubt that most readers would want to see this in every issue.

I really like the 1-20 progession, but I do understand that some people want a shorter, mid-level progression (like 1-12). I think that not only can the editors do that in a 1-20 AP progession format, but that they have done that in the STAP. "Tides of Dread" is a natural climax to not only the first part of the AP, but could be an exciting final climax for a 1-12 AP with little to no adjustment. If the editors continue down this path, everyone should be fairly happy.

Shroomy wrote:

GGG, this is getting ridiculous!!! :)

BTW, how much development do you do before you write your query?

Do you mean story development or general rumination? Usually I see something cool, like the fact the first (techinically 2nd) Ultra Man Series (the one that aired in the States back in the early-mid 70's) came out on DVD, or an article about haunted places, or someone mentioning something like boy, I really liked old D&D modules X4 and X5. Then I think about what I like about those things. I boil it down to a set of themes, moods, motifs, visuals, and scenes - then when I have all that I build an adventure out of it. Sometimes they just happen - BAM! Done in an hour flat. Other times I push as far as I can, realize I'm pushing too hard and wandered away from the core idea, and put it aside for a while until I can come back to it with a fresh prespective. Until then I work on something else. Granted I have no kids or wife, but I do have a house, two dogs, a full-time job and older than normal parents for someone my age, but still it's all a matter of priorities and right now I wanna write. Beyond that I want to push the concept of what one expects in an adventure.

No wonder I can't keep up with you! I basically create a very detailed outline so it takes me days or weeks to get everything together.

GGG, this is getting ridiculous!!! :)

BTW, how much development do you do before you write your query?

I bought the adventure last week and I very pleased with my purchase. I have two complaints. First, I wish WoTC would include the source material a non-core monster originates from in their stat blocks, similar to how Dungeon does it. Second, the dungeon complex is very linear, basically one room after another. That said, area is very distinctive and there is a lot of variation when it comes to the types of encounters: combat, environmental hazards, role-playing, traps, puzzles, etc. I also like the usage of non-core material, including monsters (MMIV gets quite a work out in this adventure), base classes, magical items, and legacy items.

Stuff that made people run screaming from the gaming table mostly. Although whether it was from joy or despair I do not know. I can't remember them all but they included:

"Mightier than the Sword"
"Clarssh's Sepulchure"
"In the Court of the Dwarven King"
"Asflag's Unintentional Emporium"
"Huddle Farm"
"The White Boar of Kilfay"
"Iasc"
"Pakkillirr" (don't ask me if that's spelled right!)
"Telar in Norbia"
"Encounter in the Wildwood"
and a few others.

A few others, Willie, you were the Nicholas Logue of your day! I was surprised when one of your adventures didn't appear in Dungeon. I particularly loved "Huddle Farm," "Whitelake Mine," "The Cauldron of Plenty," "Nine-Tenths of the Law," "Mightier than the Sword," "Telar in Norbia," "The White Boar of Kilfay," and "Back to the Beach."

A collaboration between Richard Pett and Willie Walsh, I'm so there...