I was pleasantly surprised today when I came home from work and found the final issue of the AOW in my mailbox... I haven't had time to absorb the entire thing yet, but I did go strait for Kyuss... and his two and a half page stat block.
All I can say is this: DM's, find your players, hug them and tell them anything you always thought you'd have time to say someday... cause when Kyuss hits their characters, I have no doubt it'll be so hard the players will feel it! And if they survive, they will never forgive you for it.
~LAUGHTER in RT~~~ Oh, I can't wait untill my local game store gets it in. You lucky devil you!
Give us the skinny on Savage Tide!
Yes! Tell us about Savage Tide!!! Please!!! Pretty, pretty please!!!
Give us the skinny on Savage Tide!
Skinny huh? I'll pick out some key words: Southern jungles, colonial holdings, pirates, pearls that turn ordinary folk into savage cannibals, Isle of Dread, the lower planes, Demogorgon!
Can't wait!
~wistles~ Oh my... ~voice trails off~ Well now. Eric and James are really trying to pull out all the stops on this one, aren't they? Demogorgon? wow! ~last word said in a small voice~ What are their plans for AP 4 and 5? ~shakes my head~ Good times are a comin'!
TPK Jay--how close are you to the printers in Illinois? I want my issue 135 and I want it now!
Sweet deal. Can you tell us what Authority Points are used for in the adventure? My players and I have been curious about that since "Prince of Redhand."
I don't have the issue yet, but based on AoW Overload I think I can venture a guess about AP's. Probably the character with the most AP's is the one who Zeech challenges (and loses to) and thereby inherits the kingdom.
Sweet deal. Can you tell us what Authority Points are used for in the adventure? My players and I have been curious about that since "Prince of Redhand."
The Authority points are pretty cool... one of the means to weaken Kyuss before the final showdown is to replace despair with hope, there are several encounters that allow you to do just that. In these encounters you can make an "authority check" (APs+Cha mod) to see if folks listen when tell them to seek cover or follow you to safety etc. Likewise you can make an authority check to inprove your bluff, diplomacy, gather info, intimidate or sense motive with Alhasterians.
PS I'm in Columbus OH, usually I don't get the mag until the Tues or Weds after it ships, but sometimes I get lucky!
Darn, now I'm going to HAVE to subscribe for the new AP. I was waiting for the end of AOW, but then decide to just order issues that interest me, but they new AP sounds so awesome. Good bye $40. Oh well, at least its well spent.
Oh, and I hope they have the equalivrint of wormfood for 3.
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Arrgh! How great will that be?!
Just found my old Dragon issue with the pirate theme in it to get some taste!
And my waiting time has been shortened today, as my "COMPLETE CALVIN & HOBBES COLLECTION" arrived - three, damn heavy books with tiger-madness in it!
I will read them slowly, shortening my time to #135!
Can I have Hobbes as my avatar, pleeeease!!!
Sorry, for getting off-topic - back to AP3 now, with...
I just got done converting Calvin ball to d20...
No. Seriously. Pirates?
yar. Once on a mission on a boat I was wishin my mother was in the kitchin cooking chickin fingerlickin! Yar har har. Did you hear about the new pirate movie? It's rated ARRRR!
I think ninjas would be cooler. Do ninjas instead. They always win against those sea farin peg legged drunkards.
Yeah, just replace all instances of pirates with ninjas. Can't be that hard. Don't even change the stats. Have I killed this thread yet?
I sense James Jacobs' print on the third adventure path: dinosaurs, pirates, demons....
From the intro in Eric Mona's editorial, the third adventure path sounds like a lot of fun.
Isle of Dread
:blink:
If the entire sales pitche required to get me obsessed with Ages of Worms was "Dragotha", then this has had an even more intense effect.
To sum; it must be mine.
Please read the above in one of those scary, calm voices you get in horror movies when someone has just threatened to kill someone in an utterly horrific manner because they have simply left them no choice.
Damn editors knowing exactly how to reel in the sales... :)
TPK Jay--how close are you to the printers in Illinois? I want my issue 135 and I want it now!
That does not seem to matter much. I am in St. Louis and anything from Illinois would normally take 2 days. The last issue took two weeks to get to me. Crazy mail people.
-Neomorte
Yarr!! The first issue will be out with plenty o' time for:
International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
And don't forget the mini for the big bad evil guy!
http://www.mcphee.com/items/11618.html
Or other essential pirate gear, ye swabs!
http://www.mcphee.com/categories/pirate.html
Yo ho ho! Arrrooooo! (Truly, I have no affiliation with the websites above... I've just gone loopy in anticipation of the AP3 ;-)
Laeknir
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woohoo! The mailman just dropped off the 1st issue of my new sub :) I can't wait to read the last installment! This is so much better than painfully waiting for the mag to show up at my FLGS. I really like the shop though, so I will continue to buy Dragon at the full cover price from the fine folks at Game Depot in AZ.
*sweatdrop* I just got issue 134 a week ago. -> Is from Belgium.
woohoo! The mailman just dropped off the 1st issue of my new sub :) I can't wait to read the last installment! This is so much better than painfully waiting for the mag to show up at my FLGS. I really like the shop though, so I will continue to buy Dragon at the full cover price from the fine folks at Game Depot in AZ.
Hmm, I subscribe to both Dungeon & Dragon, & I still find ways to spend at Game Depot. I never walk outta there without at least some new dice.
I just began AoW a month ago, but am already excited about the new AP. BTW all of the adventures in the new ish are great...gotta snag some of these NPCs...
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I was pleasantly surprised today when I came home from work and found the final issue of the AOW in my mailbox... I haven't had time to absorb the entire thing yet, but I did go strait for Kyuss... and his two and a half page stat block.
All I can say is this: DM's, find your players, hug them and tell them anything you always thought you'd have time to say someday... cause when Kyuss hits their characters, I have no doubt it'll be so hard the players will feel it! And if they survive, they will never forgive you for it.
Two and a half pages? Sounds great, I'm even more excited about Kyuss, than I was with Dragotha. Just to bad I have to wait til May 10th...
So what kind of weapon is he using? The illustration looks like some kind of axe/morningstar hybrid...
And what kind of hit-dice/levels are we looking at here?
isle of dread? shoot, that's all you needed to say. subscription time! now that's an AP i would gladly run.
So does the Hero of the Pit gifting a city to the dead prophecy come true?
Kyuss and his uber-stat-block? Even Erivatus (sp) only had one page, and that's after all of the explanations for his Divine abilities. I can't wait to see this, nor his conversion into Eberron (which will be nasty).
Isle of Dread? *shudder* Maybe they can combine that with Isle of the Ape from way back...I have to stop before I give them any worse ideas.
Creative Director
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So does the Hero of the Pit gifting a city to the dead prophecy come true?
Yup; the "hero of the pit" refers to Zeech, who worships an evil deity (and is therefore a "hero of the pit", with "pit" being a metaphor for the lower planes). He (mostly unknowingly) played an important role in giving over Alhaster to the dead (Kyuss) by building the foundation to the new Spire of Long Shadows.
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Two and a half pages? Sounds great, I'm even more excited about Kyuss, than I was with Dragotha. Just to bad I have to wait til May 10th...
So what kind of weapon is he using? The illustration looks like some kind of axe/morningstar hybrid...
And what kind of hit-dice/levels are we looking at here?
That's an executioner's mace; very nasty. James, since you're hanging about here, can you confirm that it's "exotic" rather than "martial"...?
My issue arrived yesterday.
I picked it up off the counter in our kitchen and did the "NINTENDO SIXTY-FOUR!" scream followed by some "YES! YES! YES!" fist-pumping.
My wife was not amused.
Oh, boy--that's some serious $#^% the heroes are in for!
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Creative Director
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The executioner's mace is martial, not exotic. It's really not much more than a greatsword that has a x3 crit instead of a 19–20 crit. The versatility in damage type (you can go B&P or B&S) is not enough to justify making it an exotic weapon. Plus, by making it a martial weapon we vastly increase the chances of seeing PCs use them in the campaign once they get some of them from the bad guys. Which is sort of the point of new weapons.
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Hmm, I would note that the excutioner's mace seems to subvert the greataxe, though I noticed the extra 55 gp cost in the mace. When these weapons are designed, does the factor of 2d6 dmg vs. 1d12 come into play? Is 1d12 damage considered superior, due to the fact that there's a 1/12 chance of a 12, rather than the 1/36 chance for a 2d6 weapon?
I ask only because I'm not sure if the greataxe would every again be used in a world where executioner's maces are available (Love the multiple damage types, personally).
Is 1d12 damage considered superior, due to the fact that there's a 1/12 chance of a 12, rather than the 1/36 chance for a 2d6 weapon?
I would say that this is a matter of preference, because while a great axe will generate a 12 more often than a greatsword, it will also generate a 1 more often.
I am conservative to the furthest degree and always favor balance in the 2d6.
Is 1d12 damage considered superior, due to the fact that there's a 1/12 chance of a 12, rather than the 1/36 chance for a 2d6 weapon?I would say that this is a matter of preference, because while a great axe will generate a 12 more often than a greatsword, it will also generate a 1 more often.
I am conservative to the furthest degree and always favor balance in the 2d6.
Always roll more dice when you can...I love rolling more dice! MORE! If they made a greatweapon that did 3d4 I would use it always. Lots of dice = fun.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Always roll more dice when you can...I love rolling more dice! MORE! If they made a greatweapon that did 3d4 I would use it always. Lots of dice = fun.
Agreed. I keep trying to convince my players to do the whole variable modifier thing from UA (e.g. whenever you would have a +2 bonus you roll a d4 and add it to the result instead, etc).
...Is 1d12 damage considered superior, due to the fact that there's a 1/12 chance of a 12, rather than the 1/36 chance for a 2d6 weapon?
It is marginally superior -- 2d6 gives an average of 7, whereas 1d12 gives an average of 6.5. That's about a 8% increase, though it will be less when the near-certain Str bonuses are included.
Jack
math weenie
135 finally made it to Lansing MI yesterday. My students will not be pleased that I didn't finish grading their papers for today's class! An epic end to an epic campaign!
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Still reading and loving the adventure. I'm a novice to high-level play, so it's taking me a LONG time to sift through the encounters, considering how they might play out.
The executioner's mace is martial, not exotic. It's really not much more than a greatsword that has a x3 crit instead of a 19–20 crit. The versatility in damage type (you can go B&P or B&S) is not enough to justify making it an exotic weapon. Plus, by making it a martial weapon we vastly increase the chances of seeing PCs use them in the campaign once they get some of them from the bad guys. Which is sort of the point of new weapons.
I was curious what the Optimizers at the WotC forums would think of the weapon. General consensus seems to be that it's a nice upgrade from the already-lovely Greatsword, as James said. See the following thread for thoughts on how characters with special skills might make the best use of one of 'em:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=9042126#post9042126
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TPK Jay--how close are you to the printers in Illinois? I want my issue 135 and I want it now!That does not seem to matter much. I am in St. Louis and anything from Illinois would normally take 2 days. The last issue took two weeks to get to me. Crazy mail people.
-Neomorte
Same here, Neomorte (St. Peters, MO)- mine are taking 3-6 weeks. :(
Just out of curiosity, what should the CR be for Kyuss as far as awarding experience?
Is there any particular reason that the avolakia ghostpriests in area A2 are loaded up with cure spells, including a quickened mass cure light wounds taking up a 5th level spell slot? Why would ghosts have cure spells?
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I wondered that myself, Jolly, and I assumed this was a carry over from the Wormcrawl Fissure's living avolakias...
I've been guilty of copy-paste errors myself, and I presume one should just switch them all out for inflicts or other spells (since they can automatically convert) depending on your pleasure.
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Boy, oh, boy.
I'm running what'll likely be the second-to-last session for "Whispering Cairn" this coming Monday... and being in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it's likely that the mag will arrive in my box that same day. I see a long night ahead!
Thanks for the details, Jay.
Hey Goblez! I'm in Grand Haven!
I wondered that myself, Jolly, and I assumed this was a carry over from the Wormcrawl Fissure's living avolakias...
I've been guilty of copy-paste errors myself, and I presume one should just switch them all out for inflicts or other spells (since they can automatically convert) depending on your pleasure.
Yeah, this is what I thought I'd do. I'm sure I can come up with some nice substitutes from Libris Mortis }:o)
Yeah, the avolakia shouldn't have prepared those cure spells; it's a copy/paste error that, in our mad rush to get that adventure out the door, none of us caught. We'll post errata for them in that issue's art/map PDF.
Thanks for the quick reply and clarification James! Couple of other quick points of clarification:
1) In are A8, the Hall of Worms, it mentions different colored tiles and the worm pattern, but these are not illustrated on the map. Was there supposed to be a blow-up included of this area?
2) Area B2 is not shown on the ziggurat map. I assume it's the large, unmarked area beyond the four B1 entrances.
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Creative Director
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1) In are A8, the Hall of Worms, it mentions different colored tiles and the worm pattern, but these are not illustrated on the map. Was there supposed to be a blow-up included of this area?
Nope; this was a victim of the breakneck-pace of magazine production. The original turnover (which was a full page) had the pattern on the map, but it didn't transfer well to the half-page format (we had to print it as a half-page due to budget and space constraints), so the pattern didn't appear. By the time we realized this was a problem, we didn't have the time or budget to geenrate a blow-up map of this area.
2) Area B2 is not shown on the ziggurat map. I assume it's the large, unmarked area beyond the four B1 entrances.
Correct.