I've got about two more days of writing to finish "The Whispering Cairn." I'd hoped to finish before today, my 30th birthday, but didn't quite make it.
Happy Birthday Erik! I sympathize with the deadline thing - I'm always really good at meeting deadlines other people impose on me, but really bad at meeting deadlines I set for myself.
- Ashavan
PS - 30 isn't that old... at least that's what I've been trying to tell myself since I hit 30 myself last July.
Happy birthday, Erik!
May you have a much better 30th birthday than I did.
(I'm older than Erik? What a strange thing to consider...)
Cheers,
Merric
(I'm older than Erik? What a strange thing to consider...)
MerricB -
Tell me about it... 30 years old and he's the editor-in-chief of two of my favorite magazines. Either he's got a lot more drive than I do, or I'm just plain lazy. I'm going with the drive thing.
- Ashavan
Some believe that the volcanic eruption was a precursor to the advent of the Age of Worms, the Waiting Age, a time of darkness and writhing doom that haunts the shadows of every tomorrow.
Excellent.
I am looking forward to the AP2. It definitely sounds like you guys have a plan. . . a gooey, nasty, creepy plan at that.
What I'm curious about is whether or not there will be a large "event" that leads into the AP3 in '07. That would be so cool, tying in each 12 part adventure arc into a vast timeline of events, ultimately leading to 10 hardcovers that chronicle a monstrously large story arc that requires 10 sets of PCs going from 1st to 20th level. It could be finished by 2015. People will look back at the beginning and say, "Dude, I remember when Mona, Jacobs, and crew were working on the beginnings of that Mega-Epic. Who'd a thunk it?" and stuff. Just think, Erik. . . you'll be 40 when it's finished.
Maybe that's a bit too far ahead, though.
Okay, "Whispering Cairn" first. . . Adventure paths 3 through 10, later. :)
BTW - Happy B-day.
Uh.... question!
I thought that AP2 was going to have all of the modules written out and finished beforehand. Has this changed?
And, btw, Happy Birthday! Remember, you're not old, you're only as young as you feel, etc. (I turn 35 in July.)
Squid
Uh.... question!
I thought that AP2 was going to have all of the modules written out and finished beforehand. Has this changed?
Squid
I think the plan all along was to have an outline for the entire AP 2 (which will be published in #124 so that DMs know direction of the whole campaign this time, which NPCs to keep alive, etc.) ready ahead of time, perhaps with rough outlines for each adventure -- not all the adventures completed at the beginning.
Creative Director
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We won't have all 12 installments done at the same time, but we did hash out a 24 page or so super-detailed outline for the entire campaign. Compare that to the 1.5 page outline we did for "Shackled City." Doing an extensive outline like this lets us do a lot more with forshadowing and the end result should be a lot tighter than "Shackled City" was.
We might not have room in #124 to print the abbreviated campaign outline, but if that happens we'll get it out there soon thereafter in one way or another (in #125, or maybe in Dragon, or maybe as a web enhancement).
James, that abbreviated game outline is pretty critical. It needs to either be in the issue or a web enhancement. Unless, of course, the 1st module is a stand alone adventure, with no connection to the rest of the campaign. But if there's critical NPCs, critical clues, etc., in the 1st module, and the only way we'll know about them is the campaign outline... well, that's a recipe for disaster.
Squid
I think an overview of the adventures would be great, but I would need it soon. You see, I like to foreshadow big things like that before hand, it ads depth to the game, and I sometimes like tweeking little parts in the adventure so it can fit into a past act or heritage of one of my PC's. Happy BD!
Onrie
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Creative Director
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I agree that a campaign overview is critical. And a fair amount of it is woven into the text of "The Whispering Cairn" (the first adventure in the Age of Worms Adventure Path campaing) and the backdrop for the village you start the campaign in. The main reason we didn't give an overarching campaign plot outline for "Shackled City" is that we didn't really know where it was going until we got there. For "Age of Worms" we've got that information allready, and we'll incorperate it into the adventures. When we introduce an NPC, we'll tell you if that NPC plays a role later in the campaign. Likewise, forshadowing is built right in to the adventrues. For example, later in the campaign, the PCs are going to fight a pretty tough dragon. By the time the PCs get to that fight, thoguh, they'll have heard about the dragon and dealt with its minions and the results of its previous actions several times over the course of prior adventures.
What I'm saying is that a lot of the job of continuity and forshadowing is done for you in the adventure, or will be presented as Campaign Seed sidebars.
As for the overall plotline for the campaign, we'll not be holding many secrets on a grand level. We'll most likely post a Campaign Synopsis on our website somewhere, and every few issues or so we'll talk about it in the magazine here and there (in the editorial, in sidebars, and wherever we can fit the info in). We'll certainly be posting stuff to these messageboards. Dragon is going to be publishing support articles for the "Age of Worms" as well.
So never fear; you won't have to go without for this campaign like you did with "Shackled City." Keeping the DM informed about where the campaign is going is one of the most valuable lessons we learned doing the first Adventure Path campaign.
So, if as Eric said, that this Adventure Path has 12 parts, does that mean that it will be one an issue for a year?
Certainly would be a hell of a way to boost subscription sales.
I hope that it doesn't take more than a year, cause that would be hard to GM before it was finished.
At one a month, if the DM gives himself a two month grace period, it would be quite acceptable for the party to never 'catch up'.
Either way, Huzzah undead and dragons!!!!!
Ratenef Scrillion
High Paladin of Tyr
as 12 part set one per month... I hope that stays true it would be amazing to keep it together for a year and beable to start the campaigne some time after i finished shackled city... (right now my party is about to finish ToTSE and they move fast)
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Eric stated: "Kyuss is the Harbinger of the Age of Worms. As a mortal, he once lived near Cauldron, in a haunted locale known as the Spire of Long Shadows."
Nice one :) When we started the Shackled City campaign I had the party look at the regional map and ask questions. As one is playing a Cloistered Cleric, and has the Lore ability, he actually started knowing a fair bit about the area. I couldn't say anything about the Spire as there was nothing on it in AP1. Took perverse delight in telling him who use to live there, expected it to scare him, unfortunately he just seems darkly fascinated :)
In the most recent Dungeon issue (#123) the preview section mentioned the Wind Dukes of Aaqa were going to play a part in the Age of Worms adventure path. My party and I where big fans of the Rod of Seven Parts adventure. In fact that adventure affected our Dark Sun Campaign for several years. Could you give us a little more on the Wind Dukes level of involvement?
In the most recent Dungeon issue (#123) the preview section mentioned the Wind Dukes of Aaqa were going to play a part in the Age of Worms adventure path. My party and I where big fans of the Rod of Seven Parts adventure. In fact that adventure affected our Dark Sun Campaign for several years. Could you give us a little more on the Wind Dukes level of involvement?
You beat me to it, Lord Vile. I was way excited to see the words "Wind Dukes of Aaqa" and "Pesh" in the new ish of Dungeon. I've never played the Rod Of Seven Parts adventure, but I used the Rod for one of my very first campaigns, and the Rod and it's surrounding mythos have been one of my favorite D&D..um...myths ever since I started playing. Although, considering all the other stuff going on in this campaing (Tiamats undead consort, Kyuss, Worms, and Wyrms), I highly doubt we'll see any sign of the Rod...or Miska, or the Captains of Law, or the Queen of Chaos.
However, Mr. Mona, I'd be entirely happy if you prove me wrong. Unless of course you're saving all that for the third Adventure Path.
Good Grief.
I lose net access for a month due to moving house and waiting for a new land-line to be installed and the place goes crazy!
Whilst all these hints about the new AP look like something big is in the offing, I'm left with a serious problem - I adapted the first AP to my existing campaign world.
It looks like I'm going to have to do a bit of terraforming to squeeze the second one in...
Maybe it's retcon time.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Although, considering all the other stuff going on in this campaing (Tiamats undead consort, Kyuss, Worms, and Wyrms), I highly doubt we'll see any sign of the Rod...or Miska, or the Captains of Law, or the Queen of Chaos.
All of those things are mentioned in the very first adventure. I'm not sure if I mentioned the "Captains of Law" by that name (referring to them instead as the "Wandering Dukes" for esoteric reasons of my own), but the myth of the great battle between Law and Chaos is discussed and extended somewhat. In the meantime I've been developing all kinds of material in my mind on the Queen of Chaos and Miska the Wolf-Spider. Much of this will not escape my skull, but it's been fun to think about.
For example, I refer in passing to Miska the Wolf-Spider as a Prince of Demons, but leave it at that. The idea there is that Miska held that title in the same way that Demogorgon currently holds it. I like the idea that it might be the same title, having passed from one to the other (possibly with other demons in between).
One of the reasons I really like the Wind Dukes mythology is that it offers a glimpse to the pre-history of the Dungeons & Dragons game. I'm not referring here to a specific setting, but rather to the rules themselves. Other things that fall into this category include a world-spanning illithid empire that enslaved the ancestors of the githyanki and githzerai or a time when the aboleth and kuo-toa ruled the world. That's prime landscape for the magazines because it speaks to the D&D geeks in all of us, and is usable by almost everyone regardless of campaign setting.
All that said, the Rod of Seven Parts plays a relatively minor role in the Age of Worms Adventure Path. The party's first dungeon is a looted Wind Duke burial cairn for a warrior who died on the fields of Pesh. Later, the PCs discover an unplundered tomb of a Wind Duke general, a Captain of Law felled at the final battle between Law and Chaos. Wolfgang Baur will be writing that one.
I must confess, however, that while I am drawn to the mythology of the Wind Dukes and the Queen of Chaos and even Miska the Wolf-Spider I am not a universal fan of the "Rod of Seven Parts" boxed set or (especially) the novel of the same name. The "spyder fiends," for example, are not my favorite, and thus they do not appear in the Adventure Path.
Still, if you're a fan of the "implied setting" of the D&D game or are just a fan of D&D "history" in general, you're going to have a blast over the next year or so.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
I must confess, however, that while I am drawn to the mythology of the Wind Dukes and the Queen of Chaos and even Miska the Wolf-Spider I am not a universal fan of the "Rod of Seven Parts" boxed set or (especially) the novel of the same name. The "spyder fiends," for example, are not my favorite, and thus they do not appear in the Adventure Path.
I'm glad to hear that the "spyder fiends" aren't getting so much as a mention for your version of the Rod mythos. I never liked them either.
All that said, the Rod of Seven Parts plays a relatively minor role in the Age of Worms Adventure Path. The party's first dungeon is a looted Wind Duke burial cairn for a warrior who died on the fields of Pesh. Later, the PCs discover an unplundered tomb of a Wind Duke general, a Captain of Law felled at the final battle between Law and Chaos. Wolfgang Baur will be writing that one.
I have to say that I am now even more excited about this upcoming AP then I was before. A month is too much of a wait. Thank you Mr. Mona; and the other AP writers, for making this D&D geeks dream of seeing more ROSP mythos goodness come true.
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I just began running "The Whispering Cairn" for my players and while they grumbled at first about 'more first level PCs', they are having a blast.
**SPOILER**
The one-person elevators are awesome! The first one down had just finished gutting a wolf with his halberd. When the empty elevator came up, blood splattered across the inside, the other players obviously were much more nervous. (I had the other players leave the room. When the elevator dropped he stated that he thrashed in panic and screamed, thus throwing wolf blood everywhere and giving us a great half-hour of creepy roleplaying. "What happened to the fighter?") All said, well done!
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I thought it unwise to tie down the magazine for what amounts to two full years just for this one campaign. Doing it the original way would have meant that the "low-level" slot would have been filled with Age of Worms adventures for _five consecutive months_, which doesn't allow for enough variety and would give people who aren't interested in playing the Age of Worms Adventure Path a good reason to stop buying the magazine.
As fun as it is to come up with crazy material to put in these magazines, the purpose is to sell them and make a little money. Anything that gets in the way of more sales for the magazine must be seriously considered and more often than not ultimately rejected.
--Erik Mona
Been reading these posts for weeks and feel the need to jump in on a few threads but I wanted to start here first. This is the first message board of any kind I've ever joined so if I commit a faux pas please let me know (I'd rather be embarassed than be offensive).
Erik,
I want to add my kudos for an excellent adventure. In addition the the comments I've read I have some thoughts of my own (pardon me if already mentioned and I missed it):
1. I love the fact that a first level party is not facing kobolds, goblins and/or dire rats. My party has just finished the wolves but I'm already hearing comments like "jeez, this feels like a higher level adventure what are we getting ourselves into?" Keep in mind these are veterans of 15+ years, yet they are spooked and are reacting much like a new party of 1st time adventures would on their first delve. I love it.
2. Someone mentioned a 1st edition feel; I agree but want to add that you captured the feel of 1st edition while addressing the tendency of 3.x to feel too mechanical/restrictive (video game-like if you will). I realize that a competent DM could accomplish this on his own but I just want to say thank you for making it incredibly easy.
3. New DM's and those of us with little time/tykes/patience are overjoyed at the detail and thoroghness. All of us had a meeting and decided to forgive the little discrepencies mentioned elswhere :) (my first emoticon-my god what have I begun?).
Thanks again for all of your hard work and for carrying the torch for Greyhawk and D&D as we old timers remember it into the new era.
DMH