Darn you Paizo!! I ordered it already as well....thanks for the rapid response to our non GenCon going pleas.
Heh. To get a line count, I actually did just count semicolons....Shhh!! Don't let them know the truth!
Clean code! All shall bow before clean, well commented code whose arcane maunderings mean not to the Uninitiated! Thy semicolons, brackets and carets are a method in which to contact our Dread Overlords of the One and Zero! We plead with their messengers, StdIn, StdOut, and StdErr to hear our prayers and curses!
(Of course, I think they pay me at my work by how many pints of blood I can get out of a rock. >:( )
But alas, even Standard IO can be trecherous with the presence of the scoundrel printf and his buffer overflow of doom. And of course I call it StdIO so you can see that my heritige is c. :)
Ah yes, tricksy C and its printf! The Tome of C, written by Hierophant Kernighan and Archmage Ritchie, has many esoteric rituals contained therein...
:P
Yeah, I agree with Dennis Leary...kids are like a bunch of drunken circus midgets.I got mine today!!!!Woo hoo!!!!
I'd like to read it, but I'm going to lay down and be comatose after 12 hours at work and then home to two toddlers.
DSL delivered a package today, well sort of... they left it at the bottom of my hill ATOP my mailbox in spindled and mutilated condition.
I tore it open, ready to find my crushed Savage Tide player's guide. I was going to hunt this DSL driver down and tear and crush and... oh wait, it was just a replacement credit card. No harm no foul, and still waiting.
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Yeah, I agree with Dennis Leary...kids are like a bunch of drunken circus midgets.I got mine today!!!!Woo hoo!!!!
I'd like to read it, but I'm going to lay down and be comatose after 12 hours at work and then home to two toddlers.
It would be funnier as an outsider looking in.
It's just painfully true.
a PDF is coming right???? being in th UK id not really wanna order it because the cost of the P&P outways the book itself. please say this'll be soon.
Creative Director
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a PDF is coming right???? being in th UK id not really wanna order it because the cost of the P&P outways the book itself. please say this'll be soon.
A PDF version of the Player's Guide is indeed nearing release. Again, we don't have an exact date, but it should be about the time that #139 is widely available. We'll be scrambling to get #140 off to press next week, so I doubt we'll have the time or wits to do anything about it that soon, though.
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Yeah, I agree with Dennis Leary...kids are like a bunch of drunken circus midgets.
Just to let you know...I've been laughing about that one for like a day now.
Peanut butter sandwich used for sponge painting the wall. 35 cents.That impish smile that says, "you know I'm too cute to be in any real trouble, daddy."
Priceless.
Is it cool if somebody posts the six affiliations and a sentence description maybe? I was going to go ahead and tell my players these so they can start thinking about if they want to be in any of them or not.
Is it cool if somebody posts the six affiliations and a sentence description maybe? I was going to go ahead and tell my players these so they can start thinking about if they want to be in any of them or not.
Yeah, and then I could add that affiliations tab to that spreadsheet I setup so that could be tracked from the get go for anyone using them.
Is it cool if somebody posts the six affiliations and a sentence description maybe? I was going to go ahead and tell my players these so they can start thinking about if they want to be in any of them or not.Yeah, and then I could add that affiliations tab to that spreadsheet I setup so that could be tracked from the get go for anyone using them.
Got my set of 5 yesterday. Can't wait to hand them out to my players. The map is quite different than I had imagined. More like a delta.
The 6 affiliations are Church of the Whirling Fury who seek to oppose demonic influences into the Material Plane while at the same time venerating their patron, the eladrin Paragon Gwynharwyf, Dawn Council which is composed of amabassadors, politicians, businessmen, and even spies, Scarlet Brotherhood which I won't go into since most people know who and what they are, The Seekers which is a group of treasure-seeking adventurers or even nefarious thieves and grave-robbers all intent on scouring the world for lost treasures and magic, Witchwardens which are heaviliy influenced by the church of Wee Jas and are intent on discovering new spells, forgotten lore, and defending Sasserine against magical threats, and finally Zelkarune's Horns which is a large mercenary organization of gladiators, fighters, big game hunters, etc.
I really liked the map/city design. I always liked lotsa canals in a 'burg like Venice.
I like that the rest of you got your copies and I'm still sitting here holding my D20!
"So vut else is new?"
Naaaarg!!!
I gots mine ezatly 1 week after I ordered it, justa letcha know.
Everyone seems to get their stuff at least a week before I do so I'm not really worried about it.
::a yellow puddle manifests and swells around The Jade's right sneaker like some acrid moat::
Mine showed yesterday, but since I was out of town I didn't check the mail until today. I will have to dig into it and give a blurb review... initial opinion is that it looks hurried and the registration on the map page isn't that great... still, all in all it looks good.
Sean Mahoney
Finally got mine! Can't wait to update the Spelljammer conversion thread.
I got mine today! Let all players beware! A Savage DM is coming!
Alright, read through mine last night. Overall a good read, and only a very few annoyances.
- There are too many noble families reflected from SCAP. Yeah, I like the throw back references, but it just seems forced with this many. I think I will leave one and rename the others (not really that important if I am reading this right). I will then have those same families represented somewhere else... maybe a poor family and a working class family.
- The Arena masters name is FAR too close to Raknian from AoW. He will be renamed in my campaign as well.
And that is really it... so very good product.
Sean Mahoney
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Creative Director
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Cool; glad people are having fun with this thing! That said... I felt I needed to explain a few things about why some of the names in the product might sound a bit too familiar...
The noble families from Shackled City are intentionally reflected in Sasserine, since Cauldron was settled by people from Sasserine, after all. It only makes sense that several of the original noble families from Sasserine would want their interestes represented in the only other city of size in the region, after all. Of course, if your players aren't familiar with Shackled City... no big deal anyway. (As an aside, several of the other noble families are also from other adventures that have appeared in Dungeon adventures in the past...)
As for the Arena master... I think you're confusing him with Teraknian, the original ruler of Sasserine back when the city was settled 700 years ago. There are no Teraknians in town anymore, but his name does live on as the name of the shattered bridge and the city castle. The boss of the Sasserine Arena (and by extension, the boss of Zelkarune's Horns) is a man named Zasker Grankus.
In any event, the choice of the name "Teraknian" as the first lord of Sasserine was not an idle one. Although it's commonly believed that the Teraknian line died out 120 years ago when Sasserine was conquered by the Sea Princes, one prince did in fact survive; he left the city several hundred years ago and eventually settled in the Greyhawk region. Over the course of several generations, his family name was shortened down to "Raknian," and in Age of Worms one of these scions of the original rulers of Sasserine does indeed play a key role. I had originally intended to put in the Sasserine Backdrop a subplot involving some Raknians coming back and trying to reclaim the throne, but it was one of several aspects that I ended up having to cut in order to make the article fit in the magazine. Rather than change the name, though, I decided to keep it as is so that it COULD serve as an adventure hook at some point if someone were so inclined.
Of course... if a name doesn't work in your campaign, you should by all means change it. I know I've changed a couple of them in my Saturday Savage Tide campaign to fit better with my home-brew campaign!
I got my copy today! Yay, now to read and devour it. One critique, I can't read the key to the map on the inside front cover. The black font with white surround over the spotty vegetation... I guess a solid colored box was going to take up too much room? If anyone with good eyes cares to transcribe it I would be appreciative.
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Creative Director
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I got my copy today! Yay, now to read and devour it. One critique, I can't read the key to the map on the inside front cover. The black font with white surround over the spotty vegetation... I guess a solid colored box was going to take up too much room? If anyone with good eyes cares to transcribe it I would be appreciative.
The map on the inside cover is reproduced in issue #139 as a 4-panel poster map, and the key is a LOT easier to read on that map. HOWEVER, there's nothing really missing in the Player's Guide. You'll notice on the map of the city there are two types of tags: one consisting of numbers (which equals the list of locations in the product) and one consisting of a letter and a number (like F4 or W7); these are keyed to the list on the map itself, and represent the major locations detailed in the Sasserine Backdrop in issue #139. SO, in the Champion's District, area 7 and area K3 are both refering to the Sasserine Arena, for example.
The map on the inside cover is reproduced in issue #139 as a 4-panel poster map, and the key is a LOT easier to read on that map. HOWEVER, there's nothing really missing in the Player's Guide. You'll notice on the map of the city there are two types of tags: one consisting of numbers (which equals the list of locations in the product) and one consisting of a letter and a number (like F4 or W7); these are keyed to the list on the map itself, and represent the major locations detailed in the Sasserine Backdrop in issue #139. SO, in the Champion's District, area 7 and area K3 are both refering to the Sasserine Arena, for example.
As I am still waiting for my #139, is the information in the Sasserine Backdrop article duplicated for the Players Guide, or do both items hold unique information?
Anarch of Broke
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Creative Director
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There's a little bit of repetition between the Savage Tide Player's Guide and the Backdrop, but not much. The Backdrop has a view of the city from the sea, illos of the heraldry of the noble families, and a more consice rundown of Sasserine (including an expanded history and detials on its citizens and enemies). The majority of the backdrop, though, are short descriptions of many of the key locations in Sasserine, such as the various guildhalls, temples, and noble houses, many of which include notes for the DM about hidden secrets of the city.
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There's a little bit of repetition between the Savage Tide Player's Guide and the Backdrop, but not much. The Backdrop has a view of the city from the sea, illos of the heraldry of the noble families, and a more consice rundown of Sasserine (including an expanded history and detials on its citizens and enemies). The majority of the backdrop, though, are short descriptions of many of the key locations in Sasserine, such as the various guildhalls, temples, and noble houses, many of which include notes for the DM about hidden secrets of the city.
Sweet. I was hoping for that kind of information in #139. Now if it would only get here :(
My group is currently playing SCAP, but I plan to follow up with AoW and then STAP...can anyone tell me how far from Cauldron Sasserine is supposed to be? I'd like to give my players a better feel for where things are in the region, but I didn't want to place something that I'd later have to move...
--Fang
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Creative Director
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My group is currently playing SCAP, but I plan to follow up with AoW and then STAP...can anyone tell me how far from Cauldron Sasserine is supposed to be? I'd like to give my players a better feel for where things are in the region, but I didn't want to place something that I'd later have to move...
--Fang
Cauldron is about 75 miles or so south of Sasserine as the crow flies, but that's over swamp and jungle and mountain. The road from Sasserine to Cauldon kind of makes a "C" shape a little bit, and is closer to 120–150 miles long.
Cauldron is about 75 miles or so south of Sasserine as the crow flies, but that's over swamp and jungle and mountain. The road from Sasserine to Cauldon kind of makes a "C" shape a little bit, and is closer to 120–150 miles long.
Thanks! Is this mapped out anywhere, or can I map it myself without spoiling anything that's upcoming in AoW or STAP?
I think there might be a few maps of Oerth that'll show the location of Cauldron and Sasserine. Just remember, that if you're looking at a map and it has the city of Greyhawk you're WAY off.
IIRC, the only part of AWAP that touchs on the Sasserine/Cauldron region is the Spire of Long Shadow. Other than that . . you should be good to do whatever you want with the area.
IIRC, the only part of AWAP that touchs on the Sasserine/Cauldron region is the Spire of Long Shadow. Other than that . . you should be good to do whatever you want with the area.
Awesome! Thanks much. *flexes fingers over keyboard, opens CC3, and prepares to get creative*
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Creative Director
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You can kind of fake a map of the Sasserine/Cauldron region by taking the map of the Cauldron area that appears in the Shackled City hardcover and the map of the Sasserine area that appears in issue #140 of Dungeon (and #349 of Dragon). Both maps are to nearly the same scale. They're both half-page horizontal maps that overlap a little in the middle (although the Sasserine region map's shifted about 15 or 20 miles to the west), but taking the two of them together, you'll have a pretty solid map of the region.
Thanks, James! My players are *still* exploring Jzadirune in SCAP, so it'll be a bit before I need it...The rate they're going, I can certainly wait for 140.
Thanks!
--Fang
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Joy :) But bottoms too :( Being in the UK means time to ship and silly P&P. Oh well, gotta catch them all :) Only £8.68 in total with P&P (parcel so the postman can't fold it in half as usual) and it's not as if I'll be able to get it over here anyway. Hope the players appreciate it, mind yoy that would involve detaching them from WoW long enough to notice.
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What exactly is the difference between the information available in the players Guide and what's in Dungeon #139 (My copy isn't here yet, everything always takes longer to get to Alaska)?
I'll buy the players guide if I need to. Do I?
I don't have #139 yet, but as I understand it the Player's Guide is geared more for Players while the Backdrop article in Dungeon #139 is going to have information geared for the DM.
I'll buy the players guide if I need to. Do I?
I'm pretty sure it will be available as a free download (hopefully soon).
The advantages of buying would be getting the item a little quicker and the higher quality of a professionally-printed product.
My two cents :)
Jack
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Creative Director
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The player's guide and the Backdrop are two halves of the same thing, really. The backdrop has all the DM info about Sasserine (including details on the most important locations in the city along with some adventure hooks), while the Player's Guide is more about things like the locations of shops and taverns and other commonly-held knowledge. There's a little bit of crossover info between the two; if you're really planning on making Sasserine a big part of the start of the campaign and want it to be more dynamic and wish to allow the PCs the chance to explore it beyond what they get to do in the first few adventures, the backdrop and the Player's Guide are both really handy to have.
There will indeed be a free PDF of the player's guide going online at Paizo.com pretty soon. Having the print copy is handy, though, if only because you can remove staples and use the cover/map of Sasserine as a DM's screen...
Cauldron and Sasserine are on the four part map that was in Dungeon a while back. They're in the same hex at the south shore of Jeklea Bay. What's the scale of that map again?
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Creative Director
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One hex = 30 miles.
Which means that the big poster map is pretty much wrong already. The location of Cauldron should be almost 2.5 hexes south of Sasserine rather than just half a hex. Ah well. Close enough, I suppose, since it's on the edge of the map. Just blame the dakons for messing with the map, I suppose.
...but is that a firearm at her hip?
No, it's a +1 Thundering Club.
One hex = 30 miles.
Which means that the big poster map is pretty much wrong already. The location of Cauldron should be almost 2.5 hexes south of Sasserine rather than just half a hex. Ah well. Close enough, I suppose, since it's on the edge of the map. Just blame the dakons for messing with the map, I suppose.
Thanks for clearing that up ..I always wondered about the distance..my solution was to move Sasserine 1 hex east along the coast..
Sorely tempted to start this adventure path using the first 1 or 2 adventures from shackled city ..let some other party pick up the rest of the that path and then having the characters downtime for a few years..that way they can make contacts amoung Sasserime and feel like they are established in the area..plus I really like the idea of the adventurers being more mature than a bunch of 18 yr old kids..
There will indeed be a free PDF of the player's guide going online at Paizo.com pretty soon. Having the print copy is handy, though, if only because you can remove staples and use the cover/map of Sasserine as a DM's screen...
Watch out for that symbol of persuasion embedded in the HTML!
(fails Will save)
"Can't... resist... advertising. Must... buy!"
:P
Yay, my STPG came in the mail Weds.
Only one minor disappointment--to make full use of the map (printed on inside of cover front and back so you can only see half at a time) you have to disassemble the booklet.
Otherwise, very nice. Now if only I can find a group to play with.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Only one minor disappointment--to make full use of the map (printed on inside of cover front and back so you can only see half at a time) you have to disassemble the booklet.
Yeah, we were a bit surprised by that ourselves when it came back from the printer—we'd intended for it to be, you know, old-school style, with the interior pages stapled and the cover left unattached.
-Vic.
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Yeah, we were a bit surprised by that ourselves when it came back from the printer—we'd intended for it to be, you know, old-school style, with the interior pages stapled and the cover left unattached.
-Vic
'Cause at Paizo, that's how they like to roll - old-school.
Word.