Awesome, Erik. Thanks for the update. And ignore my post above about Diamond Lake history. I'm guessing that the Cairn Hills write-up will have what I'm looking for. Thanks!
Thanks, Eric. I was typing while you were posting.
Last night I (finally) completed the complete campaign outline section of the Overload document, which was the main thing holding up the release of Age of Worms Overload. I need to spend about four more hours on it writing up the Cairn Hills and the Cult of the Green Lady, and from there it goes to our fine layout people, who will make it pretty. From there it goes to Wizards of the Coast for a quick look-see approval, and then to you guys.
I apologize again for the delay. Things have been crazy lately, and I've been working as fast as I can. I will keep everyone updated on where we stand as we churn through the various remaining parts until it's in your hands.
Thanks again for everyone's patience.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
thanks for the update erik we appreciate it last gaming session i managed to get my group to the top of the elevator in 3 faces of evil looking forward to seeing how they handle the cathedral particularly as one of the characters in my group is a paladin of tyranny hehehe
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That having been said .... to all you little kids out there that just started playing the game (comparded to me and the writes I'ld venture).... get off their back. If its a free supplement then shut up. They will get you the FREE (let me restate that word for all you silly kids out there that think you know everything.....FREE!!!) supplement on their own good time.
What kind of trolling dreck is this? Please, Ranger, keep the gasoline to yourself. Thanks.
Last night I (finally) completed the complete campaign outline section of the Overload document, which was the main thing holding up the release of Age of Worms Overload.
which is exactly what I want and is what will make this thing so much better than the first adventure path. Knowing where you are going will not only enforce discipline with the authors but also allow the DM's a good idea of what to expect.
If it is up to snuff I might actually bypass my local gamestore and sign up for a subscription.
Thanks much Phil, where's the Bronzewood Lodge stuff?
Ask and ye shall receive:
The Bronzewood Lodge
The ring of crumbling menhirs on the bluff overlooking Diamond Lake is a remnant of an ancient human druidic culture that once inhabited the region. They too came to the hills for the even more ancient cairns, seeing them as monuments to great ancestors of the invisible past.
Although Suel and Oeridian immigrants displaced the native Flan druids during great migrations over a thousand years ago, pockets of indigenous architecture and culture remain. Foremost among these near-forgotten practices is veneration of Obad-Hai, the Shalm, the brooding patron of wilderness and natural order.
Druids and rangers who honor the Shalm and a host of minor nature deities and fey spirits routinely congregate in great moots three hours northeast of Diamond Lake, at an ancient megalithic structure called the Bronzewood Lodge. Devotees of Ehlonna or the elven pantheon are welcome at these meetings, if a bit gruffly, but all other attendees must be invited personally by someone already within the circle of trust. At these great moots, the woodsfolk observe rituals from long ago, celebrate with great contests of strength and wit, and debate policy regarding the natural affairs of the region.
A small permanent community inhabits the Lodge itself and the wooded copse surrounding it. Perhaps 30 assorted druids and rangers protect the sacred site and keep watch on the nearby roads and valleys. Occasionally, they step in to rescue a traveler from some natural menace, but just as often they warn explorers to stay on the roads and let the wilderness take care of itself. Their leader is Nogwier, an aged cleric of Obad-Hai who strives to keep the focus of his community on preservation of a near-extinct way off life and away from anger at Greyhawk and its operatives in Diamond Lake, whose avariciousness continually rapes the land.
The Lodge itself is a twelve-chambered structure composed of piled megaliths covered by earth. The cairn's central gallery contains a huge uprooted petrified oak tree planted upside down so that its roots are exposed. Nogwier and his three servitors use the tree as a massive altar. Other chambers contain the sorted, commingled bones of generations of druids as well as priceless natural treasures accumulated over the course of centuries.
Thanks again Phil. Twas a big help.
Last night I (finally) completed the complete campaign outline section of the Overload document, which was the main thing holding up the release of Age of Worms Overload. I need to spend about four more hours on it writing up the Cairn Hills and the Cult of the Green Lady, and from there it goes to our fine layout people, who will make it pretty. From there it goes to Wizards of the Coast for a quick look-see approval, and then to you guys.
I apologize again for the delay. Things have been crazy lately, and I've been working as fast as I can. I will keep everyone updated on where we stand as we churn through the various remaining parts until it's in your hands.
Thanks again for everyone's patience.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
Erik:
For those of us who have waited very patiently "wink Wink", thanks so very very much. I now will have some material to work with. I have a party of six players in there and they like it a lot so far. Thanks for all the hard work during a very busy time:)
Thanks Erik for the updates. Appreciate very much the effort you guys are doing. Your one-eyed avatar has grown to be a nice image of assurance in this thread heheheh :)
...Most of the thread here is folks calling people whiners because they ask when something is coming...
Actually, I think the 'whiner' accusation started when the same question and complaint was repeatedly made during in the same day, often by the same people.
Repetition is what got under people's skins (certainly mine).
Regards :)
Jack
PS and on a more constructive note, thanks Erik!
...and no, I'm not going to wait until all 12 are out to get started.
So what you are saying then is that REAL problem with AoW is that Whispering Cairn was too good and forced your hand so you COULDN'T wait for all 12 to come out (or even more than the first two apparently).
Sean Mahoney
I think the difference here is this:
If you bought a DVD, and it said "Part 2 of the series will have extras!" and then bought Part 2 and the extra's weren't there, would you be miffed?
Not if instead of a commentary overlay I ended up getting the directors cut of the movie... which is pretty much what happened here. Made more sense to keep in more adventure than to cut some adventure and include the extras.
I know, I know, some people love the audio commentaries...
Sean Mahoney
Not if instead of a commentary overlay I ended up getting the directors cut of the movie... which is pretty much what happened here. Made more sense to keep in more adventure than to cut some adventure and include the extras. I know, I know, some people love the audio commentaries...Sean Mahoney
I think a more appropriate analogy is buying a Playstation game that doesn't have cutscenes. Sure, it's still playable, but it doesn't make as much sense. In addition, it's an RPG like Final Fantasy.
On top of that, imagine if you read the back of a preorder disc at your local EB Games or Software Etc or online and found out that this game would have a great storyline, but you had to download all of the cutscenes online. You preorder the game and you're anxious to play it, but you want to view the cutscenes too. Also, some of the puzzles in the game are tied into the cutscenes, making it difficult to play without them.
And to make it a more fair analogy, there are no restarts and only one save game slot that cannot be rewritten.
Not exactly a platinum selling strategy.
I don't like Licorice jelly beans.
Well, there wasn't anything else on this thread that really bothered me, but people expect me to complain about something. ;-)
ASEO out
Gift horse..... mouth.... atleast they are keeping us updated... not pulling something like my girlfriend saying "not tonight... I have a headache"...
Gift horse..... mouth.... atleast they are keeping us updated... not pulling something like my girlfriend saying "not tonight... I have a headache"...
My wife always says "Don't punch a gift horse in the mouth." Which I guess would perhapse a bit more rude than looking a gift horse in the mouth.
She also says "The grass on the other side of the fence still has to be mowed"...and something about "Not counting your chinkens while you are still sitting at the table".
ASEO out
Gift horse..... mouth.... atleast they are keeping us updated... not pulling something like my girlfriend saying "not tonight... I have a headache"...My wife always says "Don't punch a gift horse in the mouth." Which I guess would perhapse a bit more rude than looking a gift horse in the mouth.
She also says "The grass on the other side of the fence still has to be mowed"...and something about "Not counting your chinkens while you are still sitting at the table".
I bet the Trojans wished they looked one in the mouth;)
ASEO out
Listen I'm impressed with Paizo's work on Dragon for years and Dungeon... well these last two months (the first two I've bought.) I like their work... I do, you guys do good work *gives the thumbs up*.
But the old addage "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" isn't apt here. That phrase is describing checking the horse's teeth (a generally accepted way of seeing how healthy a horse is)... the phrase means "Don't complain about something that's free." But here's the thing... The Overload isn't free... it was a selling point.
I paid for Dungeon 124 and 125, dungeon 124 promised me eberron conversion in the next issue, which wasn't there, and dungeon 125 promised me I could download them 'today'. What's more I had checked the site and they told me it would be availible the day Dungeon 125 came out on news stands.
I payed for a product with the understanding I would recieve support for it. So this has nothing to do with complaining about the quality of something free... this is complaining about not getting something that I was told I would get to support something I paid for.
Now I'm not flipping out and saying that I'm never going to buy another Paizo product. I am, I'm going to buy Dungeon and Dragon, but I don't think that I'm overreacting by being unhappy not getting something that was a selling point.
I'm buying Dungeon right now because of Age of Worms. I'm running Age of Worms because I was told that it had conversions for Eberron. I'm running an Eberron game because my friend asked me to run a long Eberron game and he had already read (because he tried to run) the three released Eberorn modules.
So I bought issue 124 where I was told that conversion appendacies written by Keith Baker would be written for EACH adventure. I bought 125 with under the pretense of those conversion notes. Now I know they're forthcoming, and I know you guys are working hard... but I'm tired of being told that I don't have a right to be upset about this.
Guys, I'm looking forward to Overload, and I'm looking forward to 126, which I am going to buy. I trust there wont be more delays like this... if there are I might have to discontinue my plans for running this adventure path. Not because I want to but because I can't run a game.
Also before someone tells me "Make it up" I paid good money so I wouldn't have to. I don't have the time to rewrite a module, that's why I'm buying one in the first place.
But the old addage "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" isn't apt here. That phrase is describing checking the horse's teeth (a generally accepted way of seeing how healthy a horse is)... the phrase means "Don't complain about something that's free." But here's the thing... The Overload isn't free... it was a selling point.
I payed for a product with the understanding I would recieve support for it. So this has nothing to do with complaining about the quality of something free... this is complaining about not getting something that I was told I would get to support something I paid for.
So maybe a better horse-based analogy would be this:
Say I see an ad in the paper, placed by someone selling a horse. The person selling the horse has an excellent reputation. I call and express interest, but am not completely sold on my purchase of the horse until the seller mentions that the horse will also come with a saddle, so that I might ride said horse. Now I'm sold, and we agree on a price. I send the seller a check for the agreed-upon amount and arrange to pick up the horse in a week.
When I arrive to pick up my new horse, I find it to be a fine horse, one of the better ones available to me, especially for the price I'm paying. But I'm told the saddle isn't ready yet, and should be available for me to pick up in another week, should I care to go through the inconvenience of returning, rather than receiving it with the horse, as originally agreed upon.
After a week, I call the seller to inquire about my saddle. I am told it still isn't ready, but to make up for the wait, it's now a really really cool saddle instead of just a regular old run-of-the-mill saddle, and it will be ready any day now. So I wait a few days and call back. Still no saddle. And a few more. Still no saddle. And yet even a few more days, and still... no saddle.
Of course, I could buy another saddle. After all, I paid the man for the horse, and the saddle was supposed to be an extra; I answered the ad for the horse, and I got the horse. But I don't want to do that; I was told I'd get a saddle with the horse.
Or I could ride the horse bareback, waiting patiently for my saddle and making do without it until it arrives. But that's a little more difficult to do, and it still doesn't change the fact that I was supposed to have my saddle by now.
Of course, I could buy another saddle. After all, I paid the man for the horse, and the saddle was supposed to be an extra; I answered the ad...
Are you crazy? My family can't ride a horse bareback, we need a special saddle, a custom brand named Eberron orthopedic model. They're very difficult to locate, but this breeder promised he could get us one. And on top of that we really needed it for my kid's birthday last week. You should have seen all the crying children. The children, think about the poor children!
I don't like Licorice jelly beans.
Me neither. I think that Jellybeans ought to be sweet, and there's nothing sweet about licorice. I'm also not a fan of Good n' Plenty's, or that stuff they put outsideof Indian restaurants.
Has anyone had the Harry Potter flavors? They have vomit, booger, grass, dirt, fish, and a couple of other ones I can't remember.
I thought the vomit flavor was kind of spicy.
Thanks for the update Mr. Eric. I just spent about an hour reading all this cause I got back from a vacation and Im guessing the longer it takes the better it will be. By the way, unless they were ambushed by a crazy gnome named Gubbeffet, my slave work force of 5 kobalds, 3 ogres, a lemure named Buddy, a crazy orc named Groff with a man living in his toe, a lvl 5 male human sorcerer, and a brownie should be there in two days to help.
P.S. How the heck do you get those avaters! I want something cool like a drow... Anyone got help advice?
I would like to repeat what Nived stated a few posts back substituting Forgotten Realms for Eberron. I would also like to add that I have already created a lot of additional material for the campaign including rewriting a large portion of 3 faces of evil and need a break. Help me Paizo, you're my only hope.
Thanks for the update Mr. Eric. I just spent.....
P.S. How the heck do you get those avaters! I want something cool like a drow... Anyone got help advice?
When you're logged in, click the "My Account" at the topmost of your page (it's so small so you have to look for it) then just edit away your messageboard settings. Good luck!
So maybe a better horse-based analogy...
Okay, I said I was done but I could not resist this excellent analogy by the severed head. That was great and all but you know what the difference here is?
I am the best trainer south of the mason Dixie line that races thoroughbred horses and I told my number one breeder that I loved his horses so much that I agreed to purchase every stallion that he foaled over the next year. Half way through the year he told me that his son just entered the saddle making business and as a token of his gratitude for being such an outstanding customer of his, he would throw in a saddle with the next horse that was born. Unfortunately his son was thrown from a horse the following week and blew the third vertebra in his lower back and was in the hospital. This would obviously put a setback in the promise to deliver the complimentary saddle with the next foal since he would be in traction and unable to move for 3 weeks. Of course I understood his dillema and since the saddle was a gift I told him not to worry. I couldn't bear to tell him that I actually make saddles as a hobby so I already had guite a few favorites of my own (this last sentence might be a stretch for some people to decipher the analogy but I went out on a limb).
After the third week in which the doctors told him that he would be released, they keep running into complications with blood type, infections, etc. and in the end, the whole family (grandparents, nephews and all) pitched in to make the best saddle ever as a token of my loyalty and understanding.
In the meantime, the horse that was supposed to come with the saddle placed first in the Black Licorice Jelly Bean Derby.
Yee-Haw
(now I am REALLY done ... LOL)
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Wow...just....*wow*.
Mssrs Strohm, Mona and Jacobs: I am a subscriber (your data won't let me update to reflect that) and all I can say is that the work on the magazine is excellent - the work on the downloadable add-ons is above and beyond the call. It is extremely appreciated. I hope you get the ENnie for it. It would be well deserved.
The attitude of entitlement displayed here on this thread is disgraceful.
Just...*wow*.
Anyways - the majority of us are sane and thankful. :D
Thanks for the update Mr. Eric. I just spent.....
P.S. How the heck do you get those avaters! I want something cool like a drow... Anyone got help advice?
When you're logged in, click the "My Account" at the topmost of your page (it's so small so you have to look for it) then just edit away your messageboard settings. Good luck!
Thank you so much, I am now to be known as the big ugly guy with a stick!
We will enter the 3FoE again in a few hours...
That´s why I have a question to Erik, James and the whole Dungeon Crew:
Will there be Artwork of Diamond Lake NPC´s or locations in the Overload?
Some art of the Bronzewood Lodge, the Twilight Monastery or the Wee Jaas clergy for example? Unfortunately three of my players come from these sites. Or perhaps some portraits of illustrious persons like Sheriff Cubbin, Governor Neff, Lazare, etc.?
My players love Your Handouts and I don´t mind waiting. If there is no such Artwork I will provide them with my own selection from the web.
Thanks in advance and greetings from old Europe.
Wow...just....*wow*.
Mssrs Strohm, Mona and Jacobs: I am a subscriber (your data won't let me update to reflect that) and all I can say is that the work on the magazine is excellent - the work on the downloadable add-ons is above and beyond the call. It is extremely appreciated. I hope you get the ENnie for it. It would be well deserved.
The attitude of entitlement displayed here on this thread is disgraceful.
Just...*wow*.
Anyways - the majority of us are sane and thankful. :D
My god, people (including myself) want something we were promised in a product we paid for?!?!?!11111>!>!>!?!?!?1
MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!
The fact that there are so many people one these boards that would just roll over and say "I don't feel entitled to what you promised me" just stuns me. Every promise I have made in my career I have delivered upon. Not always on time, but then I keep my "customers" up to date on delays (which Erik has done). If you never expect the best from people you do business with all you're going to get is crap.
I'm glad the staff at Paizo doesn't have this kind of attitude regarding their basic integrity. I don't mind waiting but don't tell me I don't have the right to feel "entitled" to a product that I was promised. If the overload was originally a "Web Freebie" then your argument would hold water, but it was to be part 2 of 2 continued from Issue 124 in Issue 125.
(For those out there that are just trying to push my buttons by telling me I shouldn't feel entitled to a FREE download that's free to see what I'll do next about a free PDF that is absolutely free --> :P)
A watched clock never boils!
ASEO out
I never realized not only was I waiting for the Overload but because I'm running AOW in Forgotten Realms there is supposed to be a web enhancement from Wizard's website for a map of the area around Daggerford. AHHH so much waiting AHHHHHH.
Well thats ok cause I'm switching my group to do online through Fantasy Grounds so it will take me a while to set it up anyways
I don't see why so many people are taking offense on behalf of Paizo. I don't recall there being a single post on this thread that has been rude or ungreatful. People are simply asking Paizo for updates on the ETA for promised material, and Paizo has been kind to answer regularly. At most, some people may be a little impatient, but they are not taking it out on Paizo as some posters here would have us believe. They are simply eager to get their hands on the high quality product Paizo consistently delivers.
I have to concur with the poster that said, its not all in the tone, but in the number of posts per day asking the exact same thing, often by the same posters, followed up by the "this isn't free" comments that started to get on my nerves.
But I'm better now. We are all one big family, and I have moved on. Plus the meds kicked in . . .
And Amalica, I think this is the only download from WOTC on the subject . . . the free (or is it?) North boxed set PDF that has the Daggerford area detailed in its own booklet within.
http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/pdfs/thenorth.zip
scootrose, that might be true for you, but again, I'm not a subscriber, and I wouldn't be buying these if it wasn't for the 'promised saddle' at all.
KightErrantjr. I'm not furious with Piazo, and this will be my third post on this stupidly massive thread, and I'm only making it to make one point clear.
I'm more upset about being told that I shouldn't be upset than I am about the Overload being late.
Is it really us complaining about it that's making this thread so long, or it is the people who jump on and tell us that we have no justification for being exasperated. Every day that goes by since the original promised date (and yes I know they changed the ETA since then, and Eric thanks for keeping us informed) makes our frustraition greater. Meanwhile these hollow arguements of loyalty to paizo grow less and less.
Here's the thing, I'm stareing at a session this weekend that I am ill prepared for, and yes I can rewrite the module, hell I have the ability to run a 1 to 20 campaign with nothing but the core books... but I quite frankly don't have the time or the inclination anymore, I've found sessions are just as much fun with a fraction of the prep time because of a prepublished adventures.
Now if Overload isn't out by this weekend I can cancel game (which would get people frustraited and annoyed with me), I could try to convert the module myself (which I really don't have time for), or I could just go run something else, which, knowing my group, would probably lead to dropping AoW altogether.
Guess what? I don't want either of those three things to happen.
This is my situation, I don't expect everyone's to mirror mine. I'm letting Paizo know that now, two weeks after I bought 125 at full newstand price that I'm not happy about the situation, as I'm sure they're not either. I've let them know that I like their work. Every single time I posted on this thread I made it a point to tell them I like the adventure, I like their magazines, and I think they do good work! Still I don't have everything I need. I need, I don't care if you don't need it but I do... and I was told I was going to recieve it.
If you can't tell this isn't a rant about Paizo right now. Erik and other guys come on and tell us status and what's going on. Having followed other companys (Like Sovereign Press) who deal with licensing from Wizards, I've seen the 'approval' phase take time. I understand. This rant is directed at those telling me that the feelings I have, mainly frustration, are somehow unjustified.
They are not late with the Overload. They are just building the suspense. What showmen!
While people wait, I recommend they check out "Order of the Stick" which can be found here:
http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=1
Now you have a Web intermission...Is it free? or is someone going to pay me for this bonus material?
Speaking of which, Kyle (The Downer Artist) Web page is still down despite the notice saying it would be back up on the 25th. I want the money I didn't pay for his web page back.
Is there no truth in the web anymore?
Is Sally Struther’s Alien baby a lie?
“At long last Sir, have you no decency?”
“Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so.”
“Oh, the Humanity!”
ASEO out
Oh, I was just pointed out why I posted previously . . . one of the things that is very unique about the web is that when someone writes things, sometimes they may be more free to say whatever due to anonymity, but I think more importantly its very hard to get the "tone" of what someone is saying by simply reading words. Someone may just be mildly annoyed but someone else might read their post as very cranky. . . you are right. I am no more valid in telling you how you should feel than someone telling me I shouldn't defend the staff . . . we get to feel however we want, and I think lots of us here have taken some works on a page and married them to emotions and tones that did not exist when it was posted.
But as I said, the meds have kicked in . . . so I don't care and I love you all . . .
... one of the things that is very unique about the web is that when someone writes things, sometimes they may be more free to say whatever due to anonymity, but I think more importantly its very hard to get the "tone" of what someone is saying by simply reading words.
Your mention of anonymity reminds me of "John Gabriel's Greater Internet (Unprintable) Theory (JGGIFT)." I'd post a link to it, but there isn't a work-safe/minor-appropriate one that does it justice, nor a way to describe it without using really naughty words. Google is your friend. ;-)
"I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time."
Herbert Bayard Swope
US editor & journalist (1882 - 1958)
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I can see why some people would want to defend the editors etc. from paizo for the stupidly long delay on this supplement. They're fan-boys (or girls) that dont want to bite the hand that feeds them. Or else they're "up-and-coming" RPG writers that don't want to bite the hand that feeds them. Or, they're softies that have never had to make noise about a company's (albeit unintentional) shoddy practices.
I understand why you're upset, I can't claim to be overjoyed myself. My viewpoint, however is that not only would I wish for some understanding in similar circumstances, but also that we are a community in a very real way. Roleplayers have been heavily ostrasiced for a long time. Things are getting better, but most of us on these boards can likely remember what high-school was like 'back in the day' for those who read sci-fi and fantasy, much less played RPGs. My point is, families fight, but they remember that they ARE family.
Dan F.
sTress
This comment is probably wasted on you (as you will never read it) but perhaps it will be useful to others.
You may have no interest in this community, but we do. I cannot allow you to insult the people who post on these boards nor can I allow you to undermine a legitimate discussion with wildly inflammatory remarks.
If you can't be civil and courteous to the people in the community you are addressing, you should not post on these boards.
I can see why some people would want to defend the editors etc. from paizo for the stupidly long delay on this supplement. They're fan-boys (or girls) that dont want to bite the hand that feeds them. Or else they're "up-and-coming" RPG writers that don't want to bite the hand that feeds them. Or, they're softies that have never had to make noise about a company's (albeit unintentional) shoddy practices.
Proof positive of the JGGIF Theory!
Thank you, sTress, and don't forget to collect your compensation for subject participation on your way out.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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It's over.
I've finally finished the remaining bits of Age of Worms Overload. It still must be laid out (with John Gallagher's awesome concept art) and the whole shebang still needs to be approved by Wizards of the Coast. This process should take a little less than a week, making a delivery about this time next week a strong possibility. I will do everything in my power to make this happen quickly, as many of you have been patiently (or impatiently, in some cases) waiting for quite a while now.
Until that day next week when the gnashing of teeth and the wailing of the innocent can finally cease, here are some interesting statistics:
Total Number of Words in Age of Worms Overload: 24,632
Total Number of Words in an Average Dungeon Adventure: About 15,000
Total Number of Microsoft Word Pages: 47
I'm thinking you guys are going to be very pleased with the final document when it appears. I won't say that the wait will have been worth it, but I can pretty much assure you that you'll find the content worth every penny you paid for it. ;)
In the meantime, please enjoy the following Diamond Lake rumors, excerpted from the final file:
Rumors in Diamond Lake
A successful DC 15 Gather Information check can garner one of the following rumors (roll 1d10):
1. One of the lodgers at the Able Carter Coaching Inn is a rich mine manager from the neighboring village of Blackstone. He has no guards, and several trunks for an extended stay. He’d better watch himself, ‘cause if I know it, you can bet I’m not alone. [True]
2. Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff loathes the presence of the Twilight Monastery monks in his town, and plans to attack the monastery soon with the sheriff’s boys and some mercenaries from the Free City. [Party True. Neff loathes the monastery, but is too afraid of Izenfen to strike. He has employed no mercenaries from the Free City, but the presence of Auric, Tirra, and Khellek is probably to blame for the confusion.]
3. Did you hear about what happened at the Spinning Giant last month? There was some kind of fight inside, and when the sheriff’s boys tried to go in to make an arrest, the soldiers forced the lawmen to leave. My cousin was there, and swears that a couple of those Heironeous clerics stood up to them sheriff’s boys, too. [True. Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff’s goons are no longer welcome on “soldier” property.]
4. Last week me mate Barwik were on the Elmshire Road when he come across a dozen armored warriors. They weren’t the garrison militia, neither. Had a flag with the symbol of Manzorian the Archmage, what lives near Elmshire. Barwik thinks he plans to invade Diamond Lake! [Partly True. The archmage has indeed marshaled a force in the northern hills, but he has no ambitions upon Diamond Lake.]
5. No one has seen Mestal Fixx, Balabar Smenk’s right-hand man, in more than two weeks. I might be imaginin’ things, but Smenk seems more on edge lately. I wonder if something big is about to happen? [True. Last week, Balabar Smenk awoke from a pleasant night’s sleep to stare into the eyes of Mestal Fixx’s disembodied head, courtesy of a pack of grimlocks aligned with the Ebon Triad. Smenk fed the body to his dire apes, and nervously maintains that Fixx is away on business.]
6. Somebody’s moved into the Old Observatory. I saw a crew of Balabar Smenk’s boys hauling all kinds of unusual contraptions and gear from a carriage parked outside the building. Heavy cloth sheets covered just about everything, but I could have sworn that some of the things they unloaded were huge glass tanks. [True. A handful of miners saw Kullen and his gang moving the necromancer Filge into the Old Observatory, a key location in "The Whispering Cairn.”]
7. I hear Luzane Parrin’s been hanging on the arm of Chaum Gansworth lately. My wife saw them leaving Lazare’s House together last week, so there’s something going on. So much for Gansworth’s neutrality! [True. Parrin and Gansworth have been lovers for months.]
8. They say a horse was killed in Tilgast’s walled stable last week. Opened from ear to ear. Old Tilgast had to pay the visiting merchant a fortune to keep things quiet, but the men who hauled away the carcass revealed everything one night at the Feral Dog. A lot of people are thinking about pulling their horses out of Tilgast’s, but it’s not as if the Lakeside Stables are any better. [True. The horse attack was a Smenk move to weaken Tilgast’s beloved side-business.]
9. Old Ragnolin Dourstone seems like one of the better mine managers, but I heard he was run out of Greysemere after he caved in his own mines on his agitating workers. [True.]
10. I hear that one of the freaks escaped his cage at the Emporium. Crazy little bugger called “Demon Boy.” Bright red skin, obsessed with fire, you can’t miss ‘im. Word is Shag Solomon will pay 100 pieces of gold to the first one what can turn ‘im in. [True. Unfortunately for would-be bounty hunters, the nasty little creature has already departed Diamond Lake to find fame and fortune in the free-wheeling Free City.]
Thanks for all the interest and support out there. It has made a very, very stressful time a wee bit more bearable.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
I can pretty much assure you that you'll find the content worth every penny you paid for it. ;)
Alright, smartypants! You're just *trying* to heat the flame war back up, aren't you?
:-)
Oh Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!