I can't decide whether to purchase the pdfs for Age of Worms, or order the issues for Savage Tide. I already own the Shackled City, and would like to run the Age of Worms or Savage Tide.
Which do you think would work better for a weekly gaming group, and if you have played through either, which would you recommend?
What are some of the selling points for this AP opposed to STAP?
Thanks,
Bruce
If you and your group would enjoy a dark, lurking horror type AP, age of worms: its got a lot of the classical feel in that regard. Savage Tide gives you a heavy dose of 'swash and buckle', ship travel/exploration, and jungle/wilderness. Personally, i think ST was better then AoW, but that's only a matter of degrees as there is stuff in both that i thought was awesome.
Which do you think would work better for a weekly gaming group, and if you have played through either, which would you recommend?
What are some of the selling points for this AP opposed to STAP?
I'm a fan of AoW because it is set in the 'middle kingdom' area around Greyhawk and is close geographically to the old TEE (Temple of Elemental Evil) campaign from the bygone days.
I think Shackled City and Savage Tide have closer links, since they are set near each other in Greyhawk.The one knock on AoW is the lack of outdoor play, so druids and rangers will see limited play IMHO.
The short answer: Age of Worms
The long answer is a matter of taste. I've read both and currently playing only AoW. The simple fact of the matter is I just found ST uninteresting. There's lots of cool stuff in it but as a whole just wasn't for me.
My preference is AoW as well. It has a more classic D&D feel to it. Savage Tide is more pirate & explorer oriented, with an 'Abyss'-heavy ending.
I'm running AoW and was a player for ST. I know the DM for ST made lots of changes, so I don't really know how it reads as written.
With AoW... everything inland and I agree with the others that it's more classic D&D. It also has a great creepy "ick" factor that you can play up or down as much as you want. There was an article of "Andon the something-or-other" in the corresponding Dragon mag if I remember correctly that had a journal of him cataloguing the worms and their effects on his safari group. I typed that up, added some stuff, and gave it to my players and it REALLY creeped them out for when they actually had to deal with the worms and saw them for the first time. Great stuff. Gotta love a bad guy known as "The Worm that Walks". ~shudders~
(if current players of ST are reading... light spoilers to follow)
With ST.... If you've always wanted to run an adventure on the water and you loooooooooved pirates of the carribean, this is the game for you. Two very cool bonuses: You get to use a very classic setting in Isle of Dread (for about 3 games if I remember correctly). I'm trying to remember if we were ever actually on the mainland of the island and I don't think so, think it was mostly focused on a smaller island off the coast. But if you have Isle of Dread and always wanted to use it, you could easily work it in to this AP. You also get to use a very cool new town in Scuttlecove, which I've loved since it first appeared as the infamous sealed section of Dungeon.
I'm told the bad guys used early on in the STAP had more of a Davey Jones' crew feel from Pirates II, but my DM changed them into something more like Reavers from Firefly / Serenity. That REALLY made them scary for us, and he worked them in longer than I think they were originally intended for use, so it was a reoccurring theme for us to hear a cry of "Reavers!!!" from the crows nest periodically (complete with their ships having splashes of red paint on the hull and sails, and ship modifications like scrap iron mounted on the sides and metal rams added) and scramble to figure out how to evade or get ready to fight. Great stuff.
|
If you've ever wanted to introduce classic Greyhawk elements such as Tenser, Bucknard, Greyhawk City, and Dragotha to your players, you can't ask for a better campaign than Age of Worms. My only beef with it is a lack of recurring villains, but that can be changed easily enough. Having said that, keep in mind that I have yet to read Savage Tide.
|
I am currently running AoW, have been for nearly two years on and off. We are only at The Spire of Long Shadows, also known as the hardest module since The Tomb of Horrors, and with good reason. We have had a blast thus far with AoW.
We are also running the STAP when I run out of DM fuel, another member takes over the chair. I mentioned the other night that we would be switching over to the STAP after SoLS (this module is exhausting), and was met with disapproval from several members of our group. They favor AoW, though we are only into the third module of STAP.
I would suggest combing the boards here for suggestions and ideas if you choose AoW. There is an indispensable wealth of information here that helps make the adventure path completely enjoyable.
Savage Tide spends a LOT of time on The Isle of Dread. If you recall the original "X1" module fondly, then there's lots of nostalgia there to hook you.
AoW works really well in Greyhawk. I know people have converted it to Eberron and/or Forgotten Realms, but IMO it's more at home in GH.
ST converts well to Eberron (although it takes some effort). On the down side, there are numerous places where the bad guy is scripted to get away, no matter what. This is required in order to have a recurring villain. As DM, you have to be careful, least you paint yourself into a corner!
Some of the dungeon delves in AoW are pretty long. If you have 4 hour play sessions, ever other week, it can take 2 months to complete one adventure. By the end, player's will be asking, "Now why did we come in here in the first place?" So be prepared for that.