Okay - we've all seen the Favorite Dungeon adventures threads. How bout your least favorite? Which ones have you played that just didn't do it for you?
Have you played any and didn't really like them? Which ones? Why?
|
As long as I haven't done better (which I haven't), I dare not say officially which adventure(s) in Dungeon I don't like!
It's a hell of work to get published...
Just because I didn't like a theme doesn't mean it wouldn't work for me.
When it's published, it's also technically ok!
So, it's just about the "theme" (sorry, maybe I lack the right word for what I mean) of an adventure which might not suit a personal campaign/taste, but this doesn't say anything about a quality of an adventure.
Oh, and in case anyone is getting this wrong - I had no intention of offending the thread-starter. I would like to read about those adventures. The above is correct for me - and not written in stone!
LOL!! How funny! I just ran that the other day! It wasn't too bad. I took out the part about it being the guy's Pet because only an idiot would hear about his missing pig and the "monster" showing up (being the same size) and not figure that out.
And the Elvis guys put a hurtin' on the PCs and got away, so they'll no doubt show up again later as recurring villains. (I didn't show the players the pic though!) Not a bad little adventure.
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
The art made me think of Snap, Crackle, and Pop (the Rice Crispies...elves?). I didn't think it would be fare to put them up against sword weilding PC's.
Okay - we've all seen the Favorite Dungeon adventures threads. How bout your least favorite? Which ones have you played that just didn't do it for you?
Have you played any and didn't really like them? Which ones? Why?
I tend to find that I stop reading the adventure if its just not working for me so I probably don't even know all that much about the ones I don't like. I do know that if I read every adventure in an issue then it was a rocking issue of Dungeon - while I become unhappy if two or more adventures in an issue don't seem to be worth my while. I also know that some of the time an adventure can loose me and be counted as a phenominal module by another person.
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
Hmm...I know the adventure you talk of and I thoght it had some possibilities. But if you run a gritty campaign then avoid this one like the plague.
|
LOL!! How funny! I just ran that the other day! It wasn't too bad. I took out the part about it being the guy's Pet because only an idiot would hear about his missing pig and the "monster" showing up (being the same size) and not figure that out.
And the Elvis guys put a hurtin' on the PCs and got away, so they'll no doubt show up again later as recurring villains. (I didn't show the players the pic though!) Not a bad little adventure.
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
Smart move not showing them the picture. Even good artists can have an off day.
As long as I haven't done better (which I haven't), I dare not say officially which adventure(s) in Dungeon I don't like!
It's a hell of work to get published...
Just because I didn't like a theme doesn't mean it wouldn't work for me.
When it's published, it's also technically ok!
So, it's just about the "theme" (sorry, maybe I lack the right word for what I mean) of an adventure which might not suit a personal campaign/taste, but this doesn't say anything about a quality of an adventure.Oh, and in case anyone is getting this wrong - I had no intention of offending the thread-starter. I would like to read about those adventures. The above is correct for me - and not written in stone!
I totally agree with you on this. I think your thoughts on this matter are the way to go. There is no need to say which published adventure we did't like. So continue writting in, boys and girls, I look forward to (at least) reading ALL your adventures!
Ultradan
|
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
|
Okay - we've all seen the Favorite Dungeon adventures threads. How bout your least favorite? Which ones have you played that just didn't do it for you?
Have you played any and didn't really like them? Which ones? Why?
I like all the adventures I read. I DMed one that didn't turn out how I expected, but it wasn't that I didn't like it.
This adventure took place in a sewer/landfill. Now, in hindsight I can see how that might be a real turn off for some players but the adventure was really, really good.
I started it and had problems right off the bat. No one wanted to dive into the slurge. They were not just grossed out but freaked out.
This group never attacks each other's characters, but one incident of poo-flinging led to a brawl between two of them. And I don't mean a funny, slinging-poop brawl like some hyped up monkeys, but a really violent fight that could have ended badly if the other PCs hadn't intervened.
I have to complement the writer, he really freaked my players out. But they were so skittish and so nervous that it actually made me uncomfortable to watch.
I wouldn't have believed an adventure could be so well written and exciting but could so unnerve veteran players. If I run it again, it will be sans sewage.
I like all the adventures I read. I DMed one that didn't turn out how I expected, but it wasn't that I didn't like it.This adventure took place in a sewer/landfill. Now, in hindsight I can see how that might be a real turn off for some players but the adventure was really, really good.
I started it and had problems right off the bat. No one wanted to dive into the slurge. They were not just grossed out but freaked out.
This group never attacks each other's characters, but one incident of poo-flinging led to a brawl between two of them. And I don't mean a funny, slinging-poop brawl like some hyped up monkeys, but a really violent fight that could have ended badly if the other PCs hadn't intervened.
I have to complement the writer, he really freaked my players out. But they were so skittish and so nervous that it actually made me uncomfortable to watch.
I wouldn't have believed an adventure could be so well written and exciting but could so unnerve veteran players. If I run it again, it will be sans sewage.
So they'll wade hip deep in the blood and gore of their enemies but nearly become physically ill at the sight of sewage?
No where did I say they are bad writers, or that they are bad adventures. Come on, anybody willing to submit something for public consumption has to be ready to suffer the slings and arrows of maybe somebody not digging it.
They're big boys (and girls), they can handle that. No need to baby them. The fact that it gets published is testamant alone to their skills.
I appreciate very much all the cool adventures in Dungeon Magazine. That said, some just don't appeal to me (or my campaign.) And that's okay. (Lord of the Scarlet Tide is one that didn't work for me. Too many like encounters - there, see, that wasn't so bad.)
I was just curious to see if others feel the same way. Where better to do that than the "Dungeon Magazine" messageboards.
As long as I haven't done better (which I haven't), I dare not say officially which adventure(s) in Dungeon I don't like!
It's a hell of work to get published...
Just because I didn't like a theme doesn't mean it wouldn't work for me.
When it's published, it's also technically ok!
So, it's just about the "theme" (sorry, maybe I lack the right word for what I mean) of an adventure which might not suit a personal campaign/taste, but this doesn't say anything about a quality of an adventure.Oh, and in case anyone is getting this wrong - I had no intention of offending the thread-starter. I would like to read about those adventures. The above is correct for me - and not written in stone!
I totally agree with you on this. I think your thoughts on this matter are the way to go. There is no need to say which published adventure we did't like. So continue writting in, boys and girls, I look forward to (at least) reading ALL your adventures!
Ultradan
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
No where did I say they are bad writers, or that they are bad adventures. Come on, anybody willing to submit something for public consumption has to be ready to suffer the slings and arrows of maybe somebody not digging it.
You would be surprised. The community that posts here is relatively small and includes a significant number of contributors. It's hard to be criticized, particularly when your entire body of work consists of a handful of adventures. I learned the hard way after forcefully complaining about the map for Shut-In. Even though you've shown greater sensitivity than I did in that post, a thread encouraging criticism probably isn't going to attract all that much feedback.
Sebastian
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
I agree with Edward Wehrenberg. A writer (or editor, for that matter) who puts himself in front of the public best be prepared to face criticism. You have to learn to take it, and sometimes to learn from it.
I'd love to hear which adventures didn't knock your socks off, and why.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
You would be surprised. The community that posts here is relatively small and includes a significant number of contributors. It's hard to be criticized, particularly when your entire body of work consists of a handful of adventures. I learned the hard way after forcefully complaining about the map for Shut-In. Even though you've shown greater sensitivity than I did in that post, a thread encouraging criticism probably isn't going to attract all that much feedback.Sebastian
I think your correct. A lot of posters will jump to a contributers defence as well. There is no way I'd start lobbing stones at say something Greg V. wrote unless the game was really worth the candle. You not only get on the bad side of a contributer but you make a bunch of other posters annoyed with you as well.
There are times when one feels they have a valid point and its worth while to go down this path because you really feel strongly about something but its best if one picks their battles.
I think constructive criticism is every bit as important as being praised. Writing is a learning process and not everything you do is going to raise the rafters. Hollow Threats (my first adventure in Dungeon) didn't garner anything but a few grumbles on enworld, and I remember one guy writing that it was 'drok' (naturally being British I merely stiffened my upper lip and began a fruitless search for the word in dictionaries). However, it was a great learning process for me although the criticism stung a little, its just something you have to take, learn from if possible, and get on with it.
Learning what type of adventures go down well and what don't will help everyone who contributes to the magazine (which seems to include many people on this board) and saying why it doesn't work for you helps most.
Rich
P.S. Having said that, if you don't like bits of the thrilling adventure 'Prince of Redhand' appearing in the next Dungeon Magazine please don't mention it until after the steel cage deathmatch is over and Vaughan lies defeated and broken...
Vote Redhand!
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
This isn't Fluffy Goes to Heck, is it? From Dungeon #4?
There is no way I'd start lobbing stones at say something Greg V. wrote unless the game was really worth the candle.
Well, I will.
Its a pretty small stone though. As much as I love dovetailing past adventures to the present - I kinda thought that having Belgos and Silussa (the evil happy couple from D3 Vault of the Drow) show up in "Wrath of the Abyss" (Dungeon 119) jumped the shark. I realize one of the primary points of the adventure was to be sentimental, but really (and this is a general critism of the entire magazine) I think it would be more constructive to focus on introducing new villains that a new generation of D&D players can remince about in twenty years than bad guys we 30-somethings know we killed when we were 12. In fact that sounds like a cool thread....
In closing, very nice series of adventures (that one little encounter just bugged me). 9 out of 10.
Matt
PS Thanks for the kind words on Menagerie, Ultrazen. I for one hope everyone gets to critque more of my work.
I'd lkike to offer up a compliment here to Ultrazen. The second I saw this thread, I expected to be treated to a flame war of epic proportions. I didn't follow it for a few days but checked back this morning to see one of the best thought out, constructive bits of feed back for adventures I've possibly ever seen.
This is a dicey topic to go into and Ultrazen handled it with a lot of tact. He was able to state what he perceived to be the shortcomings of the adventures he was talking about, but did so without making any inflammatory remarks. Kudos to you.
That having been said I think Adventures with monsters are stupid. So are the people who write them. And so are traps... and dungeons with walls..... and creatures that are more than 3 feet tall....
Vampires 1: The Blood of Malar (#126)
I thought it was difficult to follow, and the chief antagonist's name I have yet to figure out how to pronounce. I got the feeling while reading this that anyone playing it (and possibly running it) risked accomplishing very little except a lot of frustrated running around trying to figure out what they could or should be doing. Perhaps a bit more space, or at least more space given to the adventure instead of explaining how it fit into Realms canon, would have helped. (But I wouldn't have wanted that little gem of The Managerie cut to make room.) The adventure seemed to assume metagame knowledge of the Realms to figure out what was happening. Either that or the DM was expected to know a lot about the metaplot and explain it after Knowledge rolls. Personally I've found the former to be unsatisfying in play and the latter quickly forgotten. However, the second part of this story arc was absolutely fantastic. If only every villain used his minions so effectively. I'll likely run this story arc if and when I get a high-level group in Waterdeep for a while, but the intro will need a bit of a rewrite. Otherwise I'm afraid I'll end up with players sitting back wondering just why they should be trying to take out the bad guys who seem to be trying to take out some other bad guys.Other minor stuff -
Oriental adventures aren't for me. The feel, action, and behavior of creatures and/or NPCs don't adapt well to other settings. However, if you're going to do these, you might as well do them right and not water them down so that they are little different from traditional fantasy. They don't show up often enough to detract from the value of the magazine.
Well I already feel I have to be that guy and jump into the discussion. I really really liked this adventure. I very much thought it was one of the best made this year.
I agree with the pronunciation problem but that comes up a lot really in fantasy gaming - if we don't want our archvillians to be Jane and Bob we are kind of stuck with this. Accent and such can change this sort of thing as well. I'd just go with whatever sounds right to you - but say it to yourself out loud before running the adventure to avoid the problem of accidentally ending up with a villain named something like 'Imawidget'.
OK on reflection I see a lot of your points. Basically however I felt that the chase scene - and this whole adventure was mainly a big chase scene - was exceptional. I don't run Forgotten Realms and know very little about the world so I really just more or less ignored most of the background fluff and condensed it down to - In a big city a Vampire wants to hunt down another Vampire.
Still looking this over and even with the side bar on Malar, the side bar on Blood Root and a slightly extended intro we are really talking about roughly a page. That seems like a small price to pay to make the many many fans of FR happy. For the rest of us - well some work fitting this into your own campaign will be needed. Most of real info pertains to the situation at the start of the adventure and then to the big chase scene later - obviously you'll have to work to make sure that the players get into the scene.
That said I think the chase scene itself is one of the best things I've seen written. Its exciting and unusual without being so hard to do that its essentially unworkable. I felt this was what really made this adventure exceptional even compared to the generally good adventures found in Dungeon.
That said this is not a good adventure to just drop into the game. The DM really needs to understand what the various antagonists in this adventure can do because its a complicated scene. Furthermore the DM needs to figure out specifically how he plans on running this chase scene - what kind of a mechanic is going to be used. There is only some superficial suggestions in the adventure for dealing with this but in reflection thats probably a good thing. Imagine how many pages would be needed to try and cover every method a high level party might utilize to do a chase - its impossible. One could write 10 pages on that alone. Best to just leave this to the DM as he should know really what his party is capable of and what they might try. What the NPCs do in each circumstance though is nicely detailed.
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.This isn't Fluffy Goes to Heck, is it? From Dungeon #4?
I don't think so. I believe this to be an early 3.0 adventure featuring artwork by Ron Spenser. Though Ron is a favorite of mine (particularly for his work on Werewolf: the Apocalypse), his prepensity for sideburns on characters is only surpassed by Phil Foglio. So the villainous halflings in this adventure do look abit Elvisie. Still I don't think that really hurt the adventure though. And Ron if you are out there I love you and if I ever write an uber-violent dire animal adventure I want you to illustrate it.
On that topic, artwork that reflects the tone of the adventure is an absolute boon (cartoony for humorous or lighthearted adventures like mine, dark for grim horror - like the "Styles", that sort of worn-look they have going on in "Age of Worms", and the Sumi-esk style of "Palace of Plenty", etc...)
GGG
Here's my list:
- Palace of Twisted King. The most trivial adventure since The Orc And The Pie. Three rooms with some meenlocks in them. I suppose this was just filler in an already crammed issue (SCAP conclusion, 30 Best Adventures, etc.).
- Secrets of the Arch Wood, and anything else by Skip Williams (having read his free adventures on WotC site). One-dimensional dungeon crawls devoid of plot, seemingly just showcases for (what he thinks are) interesting monsters.
- Fiendish Footprints. Seems like Leati started off with a good idea for an interesting magic item with a nice history, and wanted to build an adventure around that. We get another one-dimensional dungeon crawl, (although kudos for using NPC levels for the villains). The fiendish foot maybe should have been submitted as a campaign workbook write-up.
- The Amarantha Agenda. Basically just one glorified encounter with a lot of trimmings; not a lot of depth here. Again, may have suffered from having three other features in the same issue.
3G, in my humble defense, the original draft had Belgos as a bitter widower sans his succubus bride. She was added in by a vengeful editorial staff clearly bent on undermining an otherwise magnificent adventure.
Then I take it all back Greg. Eleven out of ten for you.
::Balls fist and decries editorial staff knowing full well they won't get to the next batch of submissions until mid-March (by which time they will have forgotten his ire)::
-GGG
Well, I will.Its a pretty small stone though. As much as I love dovetailing past adventures to the present - I kinda thought that having Belgos and Silussa (the evil happy couple from D3 Vault of the Drow) show up in "Wrath of the Abyss" (Dungeon 119) jumped the shark. I realize one of the primary points of the adventure was to be sentimental, but really (and this is a general critism of the entire magazine) I think it would be more constructive to focus on introducing new villains that a new generation of D&D players can remince about in twenty years than bad guys we 30-somethings know we killed when we were 12. In fact that sounds like a cool thread....
In closing, very nice series of adventures (that one little encounter just bugged me). 9 out of 10.
Matt
PS Thanks for the kind words on Menagerie, Ultrazen. I for one hope everyone gets to critque more of my work.
Thing is this is not really much of a blow. Your not trashing the guys work but pointing out the one fly in the ointment. No one had any real problem with complaining about the indestructable box in Salvage Operation - in part probably because the module was exceptional - except for this damn box.
I don't think, by criticism we mean don't point out the problems in otherwise good adventures but its a whole different ball game if I'm aiming to reduce some authours work to literary slag. Generally I'll just not bother - certianly not without a really good reason anyway.
Thing is this is not really much of a blow. Your not trashing the guys work but pointing out the one fly in the ointment. No one had any real problem with complaining about the indestructable box in Salvage Operation - in part probably because the module was exceptional - except for this damn box.I don't think, by criticism we mean don't point out the problems in otherwise good adventures but its a whole different ball game if I'm aiming to reduce some authours work to literary slag. Generally I'll just not bother - certianly not without a really good reason anyway.
So you want me to slag someone?
If we are talking about least favorites, or to paraphrase Erik: things that just don't fly for me, then bending time and space to squeeze a bit of sentimental thought-candy into print does kinda bug me.
I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who have never played in my favorite D&D worlds, with my favorite villains and would look at an encounter like the one I discribed as overstated monster-in-a-box fare (especially without any sort of foreshadowing or development). So why not just save some space and put in a new monstrous couple as perhaps a wink-and-a-nod to the originals, but make them significantly different. I doubt the word count would have changed considering the set up they had to give to resurrect these characters.
To be clear. I have no problem with resurrecting old modules for 3.5 (like what WotC has done with "Tomb of Horrors" and "White Plume Mountain"). I have no problem updating settings (like Greg's triology does). I also don't have a problem with winks and nods to other settings and adventures (like Tenser's speech in a recent Dungeon or the editors adding bhuts to the monastary in "The Winding Way" in homage to X4, which was quite cool but robbed me of a proposal). What I do have a problem with is updating a setting and then leaving the characters the way they where when most of us were in junior high (at least by the "Average Age of Dungeon Readers" thread). I don't mind a little rail-roading here and there but that one encounter really stuck in my craw as a problem not olny with the adventure but the magazine (and to a large extent - the hobby itself). Rant nearly complete....
Really D&D should be about imagination. Nostalgia, while it has it's place, doesn't do much but rehash what has gone before. Really when was the last time someone asked you about your character and their adventures? Kids need new stuff not our hand-me-downs otherwise they are going to do something else with their money and freetime.
So, less blatant nostalgia, and more artificailly intelligent dream cathedrals attached to stony the heads of undead planet-sized monkey king gods please.
And to the editors: Yes, you will be getting that proposal or one just like it. ;)
GGG
|
|
I'd love to hear which adventures didn't knock your socks off, and why.
When I read an adventure (I'm sorry, that always sounds wrong to me... I'll always think of them as "modules"), I look for those moments when the players say, "oh cool," or, "what?!"
When I see a pure "dungeon crawl", I generally pass it over without reading through to the end.
Poor art also tends to turn me off, and the angular variants of cartoony art might be hard to do "well", but I just can't appreciate it. Putting those two together, I'm sure you can quicly imagine which modules I haven't finished reading recently.
Look at AoW for contrasts. There are some pretty good dungeon crawls, but they always have a good amount of "wow" moments where the DM gets to do significant role playing and the players get a surprise or two that isn't just a rust monster jumping out of the shadows... though a jumping rust monster might be a cool idea!
I'm also running Greyhawk, so I tend not to spend more time on an Eberron or FR module than it takes to determine how much work it would be to convert. Eberron tends to be the hardest, and while I applaud Dungeon doing content for those settings, they're just not where my head is at these days.
So you want me to slag someone?
If we are talking about least favorites, or to paraphrase Erik: things that just don't fly for me, then bending time and space to squeeze a bit of sentimental thought-candy into print does kinda bug me.
I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who have never played in my favorite D&D worlds, with my favorite villains and would look at an encounter like the one I discribed as overstated monster-in-a-box fare (especially without any sort of foreshadowing or development). So why not just save some space and put in a new monstrous couple as perhaps a wink-and-a-nod to the originals, but make them significantly different. I doubt the word count would have changed considering the set up they had to give to resurrect these characters.
To be clear. I have no problem with resurrecting old modules for 3.5 (like what WotC has done with "Tomb of Horrors" and "White Plume Mountain"). I have no problem updating settings (like Greg's triology does). I also don't have a problem with winks and nods to other settings and adventures (like Tenser's speech in a recent Dungeon or the editors adding bhuts to the monastary in "The Winding Way" in homage to X4, which was quite cool but robbed me of a proposal). What I do have a problem with is updating a setting and then leaving the characters the way they where when most of us were in junior high (at least by the "Average Age of...
I've never really given this that much thought before but I think I agree with GGG. The buzz of nostalgia suffers when you see that these iconic villains haven't really moved on in the world. Belgos and Silussa even in their current hermit-like existence should be closer to epic level villains instead of on par with the threat that they posed 20+ years ago. So if your group is a bunch of 30+yo dinos like mine who remember the classics, then it's a letdown.
BUT I have to disagree with "the kids" going and finding something else to do. Isn't it all new to them?
BUT I have to disagree with "the kids" going and finding something else to do. Isn't it all new to them?
My primary complaint for this encounter lies in the paragraph or two of backstory that won't mean anything to someone new to D&D just picking up the adventure. The rest of the adventure did an admirable job of hiding its sequel status. And to us old timers who played through the GDQ set, it did seem just a little too convienent that so many of that series' standbys (not just characters but similar situations) showed up in Greg's triology, which I will say was fabulous, the players subconsciously knew something like deja' vu was happening, but they couldn't place it until the point they recognized their adversaries and yelled "Oh come on." donned their helmets and revved their hogs' engines in preparation for the leap over the aquarrium. Belgos and Silussa are after all a rather unique pair (discounting the similar couple in the Dungeon of Graves).
Also I have to say I love Greg's original idea for just having Belgos show up. The image of dispirited and vengeful vampire widower doomed to spend his immortal life without the one woman(?) he loved(?). It's just too good not to use (or not, in this case). That set up would have used about the same number of words and not required a wish or miracle.
GGG
So there's my two cents. You may now return to your regularly scheduled criticisms...of which I haven't seen nearly enough in regards to Richard Pett yet.
Uh, he probably spells "specter" with the "e" at the end ("spectre"). Oh, nevermind that's the way the Monster Manual has it. Skip Williams would have failed my third grade spelling test too. That's how I used to spell it until I realized I could get better grades if I didn't insist on fighting "the Man". All in all I guess I'm just another brick in the wall.
D@mn you D&D for screwing up my life with your accursed Anglicisms!
Ye Great Green God
|
|
I'd love to hear which adventures didn't knock your socks off, and why.Since the editor has asked, I'll try to do this as constructively as I can. None of these I think are inherently bad, but each missed the mark on some important element that made the adventure frustrating for the DM and/or players to prepare for and/or run/play.
The Demonskar Legacy (#104) and Test of the Smoking Eye (#106)
Demonskar had a very railroady feel in that one Alek Tercival had to die no matter what, even if the PCs defeated his attackers. The characters are told that returning to Cauldron would mean certain doom (though nothing terribly doomful seems to have happened once they do return later) and that they should immediately go plane hopping with a suspicious character who appears under suspicious circumstances. If a group likes the mysterious and unexplainable then I suppose this could work. There were redeeming virtues though like the Cauldron tax riots and NPC encounters on Occipitus. I was happy to see that the Age of Worms avoided another situation that could have been similar to this by giving several ways to handle the doppelgangers in The Hall of Harsh Reflections.Iron Satyr (#108)
Why is the demon still around? Shouldn't it have returned at the end of the battle as stated in the Gate spell description? Or do I not understand how Gate works? How could a village forget a near epic spell battle and the resulting iron demon left behind? It's a 30-foot tall iron demon. Why is it called a satyr? Does it have a pan flute or something? Why has this never been investigated before? Long-term exposure produces petrified stone? Wouldn't a simple divination or good knowledge check tell someone what it is? Can't the whole problem be solved by a few Rusting Grasp spells or somebody's pet rust monster? It's a neat creature and the planar encounters and locations like the tower are different and interesting, but the entire setup seems implausible.The Clockwork...
I have to agree with you on at least the test of the smoking eye. This one adventure totally wrecked the entire continuity of the SCAP for me. I mean what if the players don't want the template? Which is why i ended the shackled city campiagn with the Demonskar adventure. Another was Asylum: why would the party care that Adimarchus was imprisoned or not? To kill him they have to break him out? Why not just contact Grazz't to reinforce the prison?
So there's my two cents. You may now return to your regularly scheduled criticisms...of which I haven't seen nearly enough in regards to Richard Pett yet.
Uh, he probably spells "specter" with the "e" at the end ("spectre"). Oh, nevermind that's the way the Monster Manual has it. Skip Williams would have failed my third grade spelling test too. That's how I used to spell it until I realized I could get better grades if I didn't insist on fighting "the Man". All in all I guess I'm just another brick in the wall.
D@mn you D&D for screwing up my life with your accursed Anglicisms!
Ye Great Green God
'Rumour' would be my bugbear - a bugbear my friend that wears fiendish awakened false teeth! (Hey, that gives me an idea...). Honestly, where does the 'u' go all of a sudden? One quick trip across a pond and it vanishes poor chap, that and all those 'z's suddenly appearing, you don't know the half of it!
And, my triple-g friend, I have noticed a distinct cozyness between you and mr Vaughan - so called author of 'Dreadful Literacy' (Dungeon #131) et all. Do I hear the words mast, hang, and colours charging on the back of a fiendish dire owl-bear!?
Aha - the conspiracy has been unmasked you cad.
|
Here's my list:
- Fiendish Footprints. Seems like Leati started off with a good idea for an interesting magic item with a nice history, and wanted to build an adventure around that. We get another one-dimensional dungeon crawl, (although kudos for using NPC levels for the villains). The fiendish foot maybe should have been submitted as a campaign workbook write-up.
Have to disagree with Obscure about Feindish Footprints. I think it all boils down to how you run the module. I made retreiving the Foot the mission of the new party cleric. During the dungeon crawl all the vampires attacked at once. The mage threw up a Wall of Fire and the players watched in horror as the hungry vampire spawn lept through and were reduced to ash while the leader, who was wearing the Foot (I gave it fire immunity) just walked through it unharmed and attacked. It was a tough fight till one of the PCs managed to rip the necklace from the Vamp's neck and destroy him with fire. The players and I thoroughly enjoyed that adventure.
|
|
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.This isn't Fluffy Goes to Heck, is it? From Dungeon #4?
No. From Dungeon#91 titled the legend of garthulga.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
Here's my list:
- Palace of Twisted King. The most trivial adventure since The Orc And The Pie. Three rooms with some meenlocks in them. I suppose this was just filler in an already crammed issue (SCAP conclusion, 30 Best Adventures, etc.).
I loved that adventure. It may have been small on location, but it was all about atmosphere. Sure, if you run it as just a few rooms with some monsters at the end (like Orc & Pie), it's boring and generic, but if you run it as written, it's creepy. I particularly like the fingers and hair that are discovered if the characters poke around. The length was perfect for a one session adventure.
Sebastian
|
Contributor
|
About the only adventure i did not like and don't use is the one that had a giant pet pig dressed up as a warthog(go figure)and a gang of halfling bandits with Elvis Presely sideburns. THe Nodwick cartoon illustrating the only possible end of the scenario was way better.
That one would me my fault Cold Steel, though for the record most halflings have those Elvis side burns(its a halfling thing, you wouldn't understand). Still, the picture beats the elf with the mullet in the PHB. However I do dig the goofy stuff (which means you probably didn't like Box of Flumph either).
I too agree with Erik, criticism is a good thing, and we can take it. Keep 'em coming.
Tim "author of the adventure with the pig" Hitchcock
That one would me my fault Cold Steel, though for the record most halflings have those Elvis side burns(its a halfling thing, you wouldn't understand).Tim "author of the adventure with the pig" Hitchcock
It's the hair that used to be on their feet. You remember, from back in the days they were barefoot, pudgy homebodies. That was before they became the grim, supermodel nomads they are today in 3.0.
-GGG
Hey, I said it was just Belgos in mine and the rest was the foul plottings of...well, just look above.
Actually you bring up a good point in regards to Belgos and Silussa. Belgos sat around for some time with a stake in his chest (not conducive to leveling) before being found and "resurrected" by the drow. And Silussa spent a while dead before the two retired to guarding their little backwater cave. That being said, you will note that Belgos did gain 10 levels and Silussa 8, so it was intended that they show the progress of the years in their passive guardian careers.
I agree with you. Such blasts from the past should not be static (unless the story has them in suspended animation or something). An attempt is made to avoid this, but if unsuccessful the failure is mine.
first off, hope all of u had a great xmas and new year celebration!
i'm loath to reply so late but that's life (yes i have one apart from the boards) plus i'm too tempted not to reply to a genius like yourselfi'm certainly not seeing a failure in including 1e in new adventures, it's just the context, seeing as it's meant to appeal to those of us who remember the classics with fondness
i can't help thinking that if Vault of the Drow were converted to 3.5 that Belgos and Silussa would get very similar write ups to what they have in #119, "on par with the threat that they posed 20+ years ago." ie 12th level PC's. if 1e vampires, demons, et al (monsters) could have had class levels, apart from being too ghastly to contemplate, it just wasn't possible. so pardon my rudeness, but to say that they only earned their levels in the interim seems like a cop out based on the differences between editions
how long did u figure that they were dead before the drow revived them? for the rest of the events in D3 and Q1, a few months at most? (see *** below)
to quote myself again, "haven't really moved on in the world": powerful CE beings, i wonder at just how loyal and grateful they should be to be revived. their current situation seems like a step down from who they were in VotD. are they so easily cowed into (what seems like) prolonged guarddog servitude? for how many years i can't remember offhand - 18***?
i just have fond memories about the encounter with these two meriting a "special lethality" warning from EGG in VotD, a feeling which i guess is what all this nostalgia guff is on about, esp in these days of CR and EL (blecchh, for me the dragons don't go on holiday just becuse you're first level)
***PLEASE forgive me (and correct me) if i'm amiss in the timeline or story (the mere thought of researching my opinions makes me feel ill), i would love some expert input. *slurp* i think the Istivin arc was the best thing in Dungeon at the time and jumped from a great height on the SCAP resolution which read like a piece of dry toast in comparison. *extract nose from unmentionable area*
BUZZ!!! talking to myself again "sigh"
also,
my personal solution (when i get round to running the Istivin arc which may end up being next millenium) will be one of two options:
your original submission ie Belgos by himself, somehow robbed of his free will by Derakhshan and augmented with some EEE powers
or
(despite my personal distaste and lack of expertise with templates) some kind of unholy spawn from a hidden nursery in hex R247, spirited away and raised (ie parented) by Derakhshan, vampiric succubus? or abyssal vampire?, again with some EEE powers
i think that solves my "18 years of loyalty" question
(back to some heavy Petting)
(Tjs Qfuu, uif tvckfdu tffnt up cf bddvtupnfe up uif tztufnbujd tisfeejoh pg ijt bewfouvsf eftjho mphjd, j tvhhftu zpv uijol pg bopuifs xbz up voefsnjof ijt NBTTJWF FHP)
too much time on my hands today :)
Greg V- Your Istivin series brought me back to Dungeon after a long hiatus. I had heard of Maure Castle and other Greyhawk elements. I decided to pick up a Dungeon, which was one of the Istivin series, I think the second. From there I have been hooked. I am going to become a subscriber but have been spending all my time and free money searching down back issues. Great job!