I should be getting this sometime next week. Sunken Empires impressed me, I am a patron for Frozen Empires and I just made the boat for Freeport this week so I am looking forward to that too. Personally I hope that the Children of the Wood article is included in it for ease of reference when I GM this. If not, well, what else are copiers for?
Well, it's shipped, we'll see how quickly it gets here so I can look it over.
I just learned of another review for those considering this product. Check out this great review at Fame & Fortune
And here's the review at Enworld.
-Ben.
|
And here's the review at Enworld.
-Ben.
That's mine, it is the same review I posted up here on Paizo on the review tab. But thanks for thinking enough of it to link it.
|
|
To Dark Mistress:
I was tempted to produce a similar list, but I have considered act of of withholding details to be an essential aspect of book's charm. All in all, nice review.
Regards,
Ruemere
Thanks
It is a balancing act. You want to give enough information for people to make a informed decision about buying it. Yet you don't want to give away to much, so they can be surprised too. It is a hard target to hit with some products on a review.
DM
Kobold Press
|
Dark Mistress, I think readers don't want spoilers so much as a sense of the quality of the work, how they might use it, etc. And with a 113-page book, there's always a few secrets that there's just no time to discuss in a review.
Tangentially, because I can't resist quoting it, here's the key summation from that Fame and Fortune review Tim linked above: "In my view a contender for Best RPG product of the year and on par with the first Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft box set."
|
|
Yeah but whats quality work? I mean that's subjective, just like art. I mean it doesn't matter how well written something is, if it doesn't interested the buyer or they incorrectly assume it is something it is not. Then they will be disappointed. So for myself in my reviews I try to lean more towards telling people what is in it, then posting what I thought of it personally and why.
It is something I honestly worry about a lot, if I give away to much to spoil things, or not enough to give a buyer enough information to make a informed decision on buying it. I am sure at times i end up going to far both ways.
Great review DM, I bought it based on your review so I will have to agree with your assessment of what people might be looking for in a review.
My print copy arrived last night. So far, very cool -- although I keep expecting Lemminkäinen to pop up and tell me he's searching for the Sampo. The Leshy and Rusalka take me back to the days of Quest For Glory V, and that's a very good thing. :)
-The Gneech
|
Kobold Press
|
Megan, thanks for your review! This makes five reviews here on Paizo, all listing it as a 5-star book. Which leads me to...
I regret that the print edition has sold out on Paizo and only a handful of copies remain at the Kobold Store. Thank you to everyone who made the first printing such a success!
|
Megan, thanks for your review! This makes five reviews here on Paizo, all listing it as a 5-star book. Which leads me to...
I regret that the print edition has sold out on Paizo and only a handful of copies remain at the Kobold Store. Thank you to everyone who made the first printing such a success!
Wow - congrats!
Looks like I waited to long to order one!
Thanks, John, glad you like it!
In addition to the expansion and paper minis for it, there's one more bit of support that we're working on. Not sure whether it will happen or not, but ... Could be fun.
I'd like to see a More Tales From the Old Margreve that goes from 11 - 20 at some point...
-The Gneech
|
|
Megan, thanks for your review! This makes five reviews here on Paizo, all listing it as a 5-star book. Which leads me to...
I regret that the print edition has sold out on Paizo and only a handful of copies remain at the Kobold Store. Thank you to everyone who made the first printing such a success!
Congratulations.
|
|
Thanks, John, glad you like it!
In addition to the expansion and paper minis for it, there's one more bit of support that we're working on. Not sure whether it will happen or not, but ... Could be fun.
I'd like to see a More Tales From the Old Margreve that goes from 11 - 20 at some point...
-The Gneech
Oh god yes! I would sign up for that as a patron in a heart beat. Well as soon as RL allowed.
Since the first printing is sold old (and so quickly I might add), when is the second?
PDFs are nice but it's hard to beat the tree killer version.
I finally got this book (I guess it was one of the last in stock). It is the best sourcebook I purchased in 2010. Handsdown great stuff. I'll probably write up a review sometime this week.
If there's going to be a reprint, can I ask that the production values go up a little bit? The only thing that disappointed me about my purchase was the physical product. It just didn't feel that good. (In particular, making the background pure white would have made it a nicer read.) This is a strong enough product to warrent paying more for nicer paper, etc.
And yes, I would like to pay for a sequel. Not something higher-level (I personally don't play highlevel and thought maxing out at 10 was perfect), but just more of the same.
---
Also, while I'm here, a question: what are Incantations? I haven't seen those before, and I'm at a loss for how the rules work for them. Where can I find more information on these?
Thanks!
|
|
Glad you liked it!
Also, while I'm here, a question: what are Incantations? I haven't seen those before, and I'm at a loss for how the rules work for them. Where can I find more information on these?
Thanks!
They came out in Unearthed Arcana - you can find the open game content here. Essentially they're spells for non-spellcasters, using rituals, skill checks, and possible backlash damage to achieve some game balance.
|
Kobold Press
|
Erik, I really appreciate the comments both "best sourcebook I purchased in 2010" and the comment on production values. The pure white background is definitely something I'll implement in future for easier reading in print.
I'm happy to hear you'd be willing to pay a little more for better paper. This book is one where I had to fight to keep the print costs down and still print in the US, so knowing some readers care about things like paper is great feedback.
The odds of a second visit to the Margreve are currently modest, but you're not the first person to request it, so.... I will never say never, and I know Tim and Eileen might consider it for the future.
|
|
RPGNOW now has a print/PDF bundle as well, they just started print on demand for limited items it seems.
|
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32
|
As a patron of the project and a reader of the final product I am glad it was printed in the USA. I think the quality is better. I have a copy of the PFRPG Core Rulebook that's about 18 months old and the cover is coming off the binding. Lame.
As for next product names, I've already started!
How's this:
Back to the Woods
Forest Dreams (focusing on the Eastern Heart)
Paths of the Margreve
Seasons of the Margreve
Motley Fool's Guide to the Margreve
Here's another vote for bring me more!!! Running this soon for my players converted to FATE and am enthralled by the place.
Perhaps Iobaria would be a good fit, as well...
Iobaria is definately Slavic Russia :)
|
Kobold Press
|
Sorry about the thread necromancy, but another review for Tales was just posted here on the site. This one calls it "awesomely disturbing and original", and I'm happy to say the reviewer is a new player who found the book and adventures very approachable and usable.
I'm especially amused by his player's reaction to the place.
I always considered mobile plants and fungi to be supremely creepy and a morbid fascination has forever tinged my approach to botanic foes in roleplaying games - Dan Voyce delivers another prime example why plants should be feared in "Blood and Thorns" - The children of the briar are on the prowl and thorns and briars encroach throughout the Margreve, powered by dread forces. On the way to investigate the reason for the thorny aggression, the PCs will have to visit the Spider Crone whose house they high-jacked in the last adventure and brave a supremely cool, honorable LG Spider-duellant construct called Snicker-snack while avoiding the numerous webs. Hopefully succeeding in their diplomatic mission with the Crone, the PCs will then have to follow a ghost-thread to the thorny base of the thorn-king, where they'll hopefully settle for an infiltration (e.g. pretending to be possessed by sap demons) and end the alchemical, vampire-blood powered rituals and dispose of the king of briars before he not only becomes a major threat throughout the Margreve, but also for Morgau and Doresh...
Ben McFarland introduces us to one of the true major players of the Margreve in the touching adventure "Grandmother's Fire" - no fire burns in the Margreve and the reason is that legendary Baba Yaga is angered - her hearth's fire has been stolen and until it is reclaimed, the Margreve will feel the chill of the witches hearth. In order to restore the fire to the forest and to prevent a deadly winter indeed, the PCs will have to find the man (who turns out to be a werewolf), who stole the fire to set his love free. Said girl tried to procure a cure for lycanthropy from a vodyanoi and ended up one of his rusalka brides. To add insult to injury, the poor werewolf is actually a natural lycanthrope - there is no cure for him. After hopefully defeating the vodyanoi, the two lovers can finally be rejoined in either death or transcendence, we cannot be sure. Returning the fire to dread Baba Yaga, the PCs may have made a deadly, yet insanely powerful connection.
In the final adventure, Steven Robert's "The Lustful Dragon", the PCs might want to cash in favors earned during their exploits in the Margreve as it opens with a bang: A Zmey, one of the dread multi-headed dragons attacks the village and the PCs will have to venture off on a quest to save a dragonmarked maid - a poor girl born with a birthmark that makes the zmey lust for her and doom her to be its mate and die giving birth to a terrible abomination. Via a hermaphrodite seer, the PCs can find the girl in the "tender" care of a spider crone. In order to stand a chance against the dread dragon, the PCs will have to procure the ingredients for a powerful incantation: A dragonmarked girl, a creeping vine of tremendous age, 1 lb of salt and the heart of a woman scorned (literally or figuratively) - once they have assembled the ingredients, they will have to work the incantation by piercing into the power of one of the Margreve's hearts, battle the dread zmey and escape the wrath of the roused Margreve if they are to live - a stunning, cool conclusion to the anthology and one that has left me wanting for more.
Conclusion:
Formatting is top-notch and while I noticed some editing glitches, there were less than 5 on 113 pages - not enough to detract a star. The pdf is extensively bookmarked. The two-column layout and the pieces of artwork are beautiful (though the pdf has a grey background, making it a bit harder on the printer than it should be), as is the cartography. If you couldn't tell from my recap of the adventures or the gazetteer-section, the writing of this book is just excellent, ranking among the very best of anthologies and adventures I've read for any incarnation of any fantasy roleplaying game. Each and every one of the adventures has its very own distinct flair, while still tying the overarching pieces and flair together, resulting in a supremely cool series of adventures that each has its unique wonder, its components of wonder and awe you won't see in most other publications. The authors have created a tapestry of surpassing quality, a blast between grim and light-hearted fairy-tale and a kind of fantasy you won't find anywhere else - if you by some strange coincidence haven't checked this out, do so now - I guarantee you won't regret it. My final verdict is 5 stars and the Endzeitgeist seal of approval.
Endzeitgeist out.
Reviewed here, on RPGaggression and sent to GMS magazine.
Thanks again, though I'm very late on this one. I'm currently trying to get as much done as possible and close some of my gaps. ;)
I've sent a gninja off to the kobold mines to see if they've got some in their vault.
Alas, the vaults are empty of this book. You might try ordering it directly from the Kobold Quarterly store if you want a print copy.
Any chance that this fine product will be available again (currently on backorder)? I was a minor patron on the project back in the day and I regret not getting a dead wood version of the book.
Check with the Kobold store for sure. Wolfgang mentioned in last Sunday's Courier that he found a stash of 8 at the house. Might still have a copy for sale!
EDIT: Nope, Wolfgang said they went quickly after announcing. Sorry.
I am reviving this thread. I have a group that starts a new campaign on this coming Friday. Mostly new to Pathfinder players. I am starting them in the module Into the Haunted Forest set in Darkmoon Vale, but I want to take them into the Old Margreve. So my question to the lot of you is this:
Where would you put the Old Margreve in or around Andoran or Taldor or Kyonin?
If it were me, I would say add the Margreve materials to Darkmoon Vale.