After complaining about the lateness of my issue #129, I must now say that I am pleased that issue #130 already arrived today (only 5 days later than #129), one week after the shipping date. I like it that way. :-)
Could you give us a review, then? How is the issue?
Could you give us a review, then? How is the issue?
Once I've read it, I can do that.
Well, I haven't read all of mine yet, but as soon as I got it yesterday I read Spire of Long Shadows, and can honestly say it looks to be a Fantastic adventure. Well-written, intriguing storyline, and very atmospheric. Excellent adventure. The regular content, such as Campaign Workbooks and Dungeoncraft (or whatever Monte Cook's article is called, not entirely certain) are all superb as well. Thumbs up on this issue, Paizo!
Don't know if I speak for anyone else, but I'd love to see a reaction to the issue. Review, anyone?
Don't know if I speak for anyone else, but I'd love to see a reaction to the issue. Review, anyone?
I haven't seen it yet. I'm always glad to hear positive responses though (especially to the Campaign Workbooks, where I'm told I have a contribution appearing). I'm hoping my copy will arrive today or Saturday... it usually gets here either one week, or one day before the newstand copies do, so I'll probably be waiting into next week.
- Ashavan
I was one of the first to receive #129 (and to mention it on these messageboards) so I was disappointed #130 hadn't arrived yet. Well, I just got it (seconds before typing so I haven't even broken the plastic yet). The cover art is excellent so I can't wait to delve in.
I'll stop typing now so I can read!
Don't know if I speak for anyone else, but I'd love to see a reaction to the issue. Review, anyone?I haven't seen it yet. I'm always glad to hear positive responses though (especially to the Campaign Workbooks, where I'm told I have a contribution appearing). I'm hoping my copy will arrive today or Saturday... it usually gets here either one week, or one day before the newstand copies do, so I'll probably be waiting into next week.
- Ashavan
Your article is great Ashavan.
Okay, just got done reading #130. If anyone is interested, here are my thoughts ...
{spoiler alert}
I don't play Forgotten Realms so I just skim-read the low-level adventure Within the Circle, but I must say I was fairly impressed. The devil is in the details they say and I liked little caveats like cool descriptions of the yuan-ti tomes. There were a couple newer (at least to me) or rarer monsters but I liked the simple goblin antagonists. Vanilla can be so refreshing when everything is constantly so exotic.
I also liked the Palace of Plenty as the mid-level adventure. I don't normally play Oriental Adventures but despite its distinct "flavor", I think this module shouldn't be too hard to convert to a more standard campaign. The NPCs and creatures were interesting and the maps were clear and should be easy to use. I especially liked the new ghost abilities and new wu jen spells.
The AoW high level The Spire of Long Shadows adventure was good though its pace (heavy explanations) and wordiness were slightly irksome to me. On the other side of that complaint is praise for plenty of opportunities for side-treks, roll-playing, and individual DM additions and modifications. The whole adventure has a more "open" approach with several chances for players to choose the direction of the plotline. The artwork was superlative. I especially like the Harbinger on pg 80. This dude scared me when I flipped the page! The new creatures were cool (and I'm not usually a big fan of new monsters) and very well illustrated.
Dungeoncraft's part 3 of Winging It was great and should prove especially helpful to novice DMs (though it's a nice aid to old salts too).
Campaign Workshop provided incarcerated criminals that I can't wait to transplant into my campaigns at the first opportunity! The article on rumors and juicy gossip should appeal to those who enjoy role-playing "down-time" and slower paced urban encounters or fireside chats. The Swords of Legend article was excellent. I especially liked the "game equivalent" suggestions after each specific description - that helped mesh the fluff with the crunch of game mechanics (which is often the trickiest part, IMO). The Inns and Lodging Houses is helpful for those trying to present a unique stopping point, especially on-the-fly and though not too personally relevant to me, it was a pleasant read.
The magazine wraps up with a cool Jungle Trading Post map of mystery. From cover to cover, interesting, informative, and exciting. Another fine work from Paizo!
Campaign Workshop provided incarcerated criminals that I can't wait to transplant into my campaigns at the first opportunity! The article on rumors and juicy gossip should appeal to those who enjoy role-playing "down-time" and slower paced urban encounters or fireside chats. The Swords of Legend article was excellent. I especially liked the "game equivalent" suggestions...
I always love to hear great things about the Campaign Workbooks (especially mine!) and enjoyed seeing four of them in this issue. Swords of Legend is the most heavily edited of my campaign workbooks so far, which is to say the editors changed quite a bit in places... including the title. I actually spend hours looking over what got changed each time I am published in the magazine to try to glean stylistic clues for what they look for. Beyond the preference for active voice, I still haven't figured it out... but I keep looking at those changes, hoping I'll figure it out.
- Ashavan