Dungeon #135
Three adventures: 1st-lvl, 10th-lvl, and 20-th lvl.
I can't review Dawn of a New Age because I'm playing the AoW right now. Droolworthy... =)
Funeral Procession, by Mark A. Hart
-Initial response: Neat, a Saltmarsh adventure! I very much like that this adventure is what I like to call a 'loose thread' adventure - it shows the effects that an adventuring party can have in an area, and the PCs have to clean up the mess.
-Followup: Creative use of spells and powers, with a necromancer who doesn't just cackle and cast enervation on the party. There is room for substantial roleplaying during the investigation, with some solid combat to break things up. I like that this adventure (seen from the BBEG's POV) is essentially her attempt to qualify for a PrC. There is an excellent tie-in to earlier adventures and to Tharizdun, and it features my all-time favorite demon prince, Graz'zt.
-Endgame: It scales easily. Very easily. It's easily adaptable - really, you just need a small town (or even a section of a much larger town). For a higher-level party, I would make the crowd in the beginning of the adventure a swarm or two, but that's IMO.
-Takasi Rating: 4. This could take place in an Eberron setting.
Chains of Blackmaw, by Nicolas Logue
-Initial Response: Prison break! Limited resources! OMG! I <3 this adventures!
-Followup: Did I mention I like adventures that make PCs sweat? Roleplaying, roleplaying, roleplaying. Plenty of opportunities for PCs, whether criminal or not. I would love to see how a paladin would try to accept life on the inside. The NPCs are interesting, and I like the wheels-within-wheels aspect of the adventure. What would be a straightforward job is complicated by a prison break worthy of Shawshank.
-Endgame: It scales so easily, it's like butter. There are multiple ways of getting PCs involved, and there are multiple ways of getting PCs out. The art is excellent, and well...what can you say about Nicolas Logue's bio? The random prisoner chart was a bit iffy to me, but it's about the only element I didn't like in the adventure.
-Takasi Rating: 5. This adventure could be an Eberron adventure. Intrigue! Prison break! Beautiful women with knives! (No warforged, though.)
Campaign Workbooks on my next break...
-Takasi Rating: 4. This could take place in an Eberron setting.I was drinking water while reading this post and almost choked to death from laughing so hard.
Heh. Levity. I like it. =0
Isn't the Takasi rating how they measure the strength of tornadoes?...
No, wait...that's the Fujita scale...sorry!
Don't question the grand conspiracy that was uncovered ;)
-Takasi Rating: 4. This could take place in an Eberron setting...
ROFLMAO! I'm not going to get another thing done at work today. Thanks for brightening my day -- no, week! :)
So how much are warforged worth on the Takasi scale?
So how much are warforged worth on the Takasi scale?
My scale is fairly simple:
1 - This is an Erik Mona adventure.2 - This is one of the 80% of adventures that could be an Eberron adventure.
3 - This could fit in an Eberron game. Possibly.
4 - This makes sense in a "standard" Eberron game. A thread will now spawn based on what a "standard" Eberron game is.
5 - Change proper nouns and you've got Eberron.
12 - This is an actual Eberron adventure.
Warforged would be a 12. =)
Dungeon #135
Campaign Workbook:
Stronghold Defenses, by Stefan Kapp
-Initial Response: I rarely find articles about fortifications useful, simply because there is such a wide variety of ways around them in a standard D&D game.
-Followup: After reading the article, I like the fact that it breaks up defense into several styles. I also like that the author mentions that some of these options are staggeringly expensive - something many other resources don't really discuss (Stronghold Builder's Guide, for example).
-Endgame: A useful summary to whet a DM's appetite.
-Takasi Rating: 3 (This could be used in an Eberron setting).
100 Bookshelves, by F. Wesley Schneider
-Initial: Cool! More lists to randomly pull from during a game.
-Followup: The various options are quite detailed. There are no orcs in a 10 x 10 room guarding a chest here.
-Endgame: I will definitely be using this one in my own games. Entry #17 disturbs me.
-Takasi Rating: 4 (This could easily be used in an Eberron setting.)
Polders, by Hal Maclean
-Initial: Interesting. I could expand on this in a campaign.
-Followup: The concept itself is a thumbs-up. The two examples given are varied enough to give you an idea of what you could do with the concept.
-Endgame: I would love to see an article expanding on this in a Dragon sometime. Plus, the word sounds cool. "Polder." You can't but say it. "Polder."
-Takasi Rating: 4 (This could easily be used in an Eberron setting)
Map of Mystery
The House of the Broken Mind
-Initial: Interesting. It reminds me of an orrery.
-Followup: Neat. I like the multiple levels and the well-thought out placement of rooms.
-Endgame: I'm using this as my Temple of Selune in my FR campaign from now on.
-Takasi Rating: 4 (This could easily be used in an Eberron setting)
eheheheh... you are a bad man, sir. ;)
My scale is fairly simple:
1 - This is an Erik Mona adventure.
2 - This is one of the 80% of adventures that could be an Eberron adventure.
3 - This could fit in an Eberron game. Possibly.
4 - This makes sense in a "standard" Eberron game. A thread will now spawn based on what a "standard" Eberron game is.
5 - Change proper nouns and you've got Eberron.
12 - This is an actual Eberron adventure.
Come on now. I ran Gathering of Winds in Eberron and it was excellent.
I would prefer an adaptability scale rather than an Eberron fanboy meter.
I should get 135 in a few days (for some strange reason it's always late), but here's a neat reference to go by:
Add 1 point for every proper noun in the adventure, including NPCs.
Add 1 more point for every proper noun that has been referred to before in previous material.
Add 1 point for every change to the world after the adventure is over.
Add 1 point for every creature, item or rule that is not from the core rulebooks.
Add 1 point for every five paragraphs in the adventure background
Add 1 point for every reference to a timeline (200 years ago, etc).
Add 5 points if the adventure says it takes place in a specific world.
Add 5 points if there is an associated backdrop article.
You're being a good sport, Takasi :)
You're being a good sport, Takasi :)
*laughs* Indeed. Actually, I think it's a neat scale. ;)
Come on now. I ran Gathering of Winds in Eberron and it was excellent.
I would prefer an adaptability scale rather than an Eberron fanboy meter.
I should get 135 in a few days (for some strange reason it's always late), but here's a neat reference to go by:
If you're being serious, this is actually somewhat sensible. It contains a few guidelines I use to judge adventures. You're a good man, Charlie Brown, and I'm glad I didn't compare you to a few of our more famous thread-killers when I first saw you... Because you don't deserve it. I hope. ;p