Twilight Tomb: question to Greg V.

[Bocklin]

Hi Greg,

Just a short question: the product listing on WotC's pages list "The Twilight Tomb" as having a page count of 160. Does it sound possible to you?

For some reasons I had in mind that this module of yours would be a 32-page package of concentrate goodness. Are we really getting 160 pages of prime Vaughan material???

By the way, the plot summary is really attractive: can't wait to see/hear/read more!!

That's all there: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/fracc/953947400

Bocklin, Yuirwood/Star Elves fan

[Bocklin]

Bump.

[Bocklin]

Still not giving up hope! ;-)

[Allen Stewart]

In the odd chance Mr. Vaughn reads this, I have noticed that many of your Greyhawk adventures are around the 10-12th level range. Any chance that you'll release any Greyhawk goodies for lower or high levels? Your work rules.

[Bocklin]

Hi Greg,

Still not giving up on you. I know you're quite busy sparring with your archnemesis on other threads, so I allow myself yet another bump in the hope you spot this one! ;-)

Bocklin

[BV210]

Not sure where Greg is at the moment (perhaps Pett finally managed to abduct him back to jolly old England). Anyway, I asked the same question and he said he was perplexed as he only wrote 32 pages. We surmised that the rest is fluff added by Ed Greenwood to "round out" the Realms-lore.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Whoa! Where did this thread come from?!?!

I don't know how I could have missed it. Usually my ego-inflation radar picks right up on these things. Must be that Pett/Logue conspiracy messing with the circuitry. My apologies for the slow response.

Now to your questions:

Mr. Bocklin, not to dispute my learned brother, but though it was originally to be a 32-page project, WotC asked me to stretch it out a bit. So with the addition of "very, very, very, very, very, very, very" to modify every adjective in the adventure, it rounded out to a tight 160 pages.

Either that or that just got the number of pages wrong in the catalogue. If the final check comes in paying me for a full 160 pages (roughly 120,000 words) of writing I'll let you know first. ;-)

As to Mr. Stewart (my new favorite messageboard fan), funny you should ask. I much prefer writing low-level scenarios and running low-level campaigns. I find them funner, and they're a heck of lot easier to write and playtest. That having been said...I don't know the answer. I started out writing lower-level scenarios and mixed in some higher ones. They didn't get published in order so that fact was disguised, some of my lower level ideas didn't get published at all, and the sheer serindipity of including me in the APs, etc. have all combined to create a pattern of high-level adventures. The next one slated for me is chapter 12 of Savage Tide (level 20+).

As soon as I can get some low-level adventures approved and written I'll be as happy as anyone (writing stat blocks that take up mutliple pages gets old real quick, and really, what can you do with 470 skill points that's worthwhile anyway?)

That having been said, I thank you all for your interest in The Twilight Tomb and anxiously look forward to seeing it in print myself. Provided it made it through the editorial process, there will even be a tie-in with a recent article in Dragon that may be of some interest ::insert shameless plug:: so rush out and buy the 30th anniversary issue if you haven't already!

[Greg A. Vaughan]

P.S.

While we're on the subject of shameless plugs...anyone interested in 160-pagesque works by yours truly should keep an eye on the Necromancer Games website for a little trilogy of adventures that are forthcoming.

Okay, now hopefully the good folks at Paizo don't pull the plug on my messageboards access for the blatant cross promotion.

[Bocklin]

Hi Mr. V,

Thanks for the reply. It sounded too good to be true! But 32 pages are sweet as well.

Bocklin, now rushing to his 30th Anniversary issue for proper analysis

[Bocklin]

Wow! Just succeeded on my Search check. Kardzen of Glarondar and the Grail of Shargrailar, hey?

I am especially excited at this Nartheling thing. But I guess we won't see much of him, right? (i.e. the module is for 3rd level characters).

Just a question: I know of just two sources so far about the Star Elves (Unnaproachable East and Farthest Reach). How did you proceed to write the lore linked to the module? Have you worked with Rich Baker in any way? How much original material will there be about them?

Since this module will make you #1 freelance Star Elf expert, would you consider penning an article for Dragon about these shiny People? I'd buy an extra copy on top of my subscription one. ;-)

Bocklin

[Allen Stewart]

Mr. Vaughan, I'm pleased to hear about your adventure for Savage Tide. Dungeon magazine clearly recognizes your talent as do many of its readers. I hope however that Dungeon will print another Greyhawk adventure of yours before the final issue of savage tide. The next 3-issue trio along the lines of 117-118-119 would be even better. A few compromising photos of Mr. Jacobs or Mr. Mona might help speed up the process. I'll get back to you.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Hmmmm, a star elf article. I'll have to give that some thought. I've always been more of an adventure writer than an article writer, but It may be time to stretch some. I got some practice recently on another non-adventure product so that may help. Food for thought. Thanks for the encouragement, Bocklin.

Mr. Stewart, I'd like nothing better than to do another Greyhawk campaign arc. The only problem is I'd probably have to come up with a proposal for one first. ;-)

As it is I'm finishing up some stuff I've been working on for awhile and have a half-dozen or so ideas for new adventures rattling around in my head (one happens to be a 3-parter), so as soon as they coalesce a little bit I'll get to some ideas cranked out to Erik, James, and Co.

I am interested in those compromising photos, though. You never know when something like that will come in handy.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Oop, sorry, Bocklin. missed your questions. Uh, I can't really comment much on the content (darn nondisclosure agreements) beyond probably what I've already hinted at.

As to the star elves, I used primarily the Unapproachable East along with some outline material that Bruce Cordell had cooked up. I've never worked with or talked to Rich Baker, though it would certainly be my pleasure to do so. And I haven't ever heard of that other title you mentioned. Let me know more about what it is. I'd like to look into to it for ideas about that star elf article you've got me thinking about.

[DitheringFool]

Greg V wrote:

P.S.

While we're on the subject of shameless plugs...anyone interested in 160-pagesque works by yours truly should keep an eye on the Necromancer Games website for a little trilogy of adventures that are forthcoming.

Okay, now hopefully the good folks at Paizo don't pull the plug on my messageboards access for the blatant cross promotion.

I would be interested in hearing these details. I am a big fan of Necromancer Games stuff - matter of fact, my group is going through a lot of their "classic" modules in preparation for The Red Hand of Doom. Doom, I say! Oh, sorry...

[Bocklin]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the reply. "Farthest Reach" is the second novel of the "Last Mythal" trilogy written by Rich Baker. Some say it's one of the best FR trilogy ever. I do. ;-)

In that novel, the main protagonist comes to the Yuirwood and goes on to Sildeyuir in order to discover some forgotten Star Elf lore than he needs. It depicts Sildeyuir as a sad and crumbling world, assieged by you know who.

The whole trilogy is a good read and is quite interesting as it depicts a big turning point for the life of the Elves in the Realms.

Bocklin

Greg V wrote:

Oop, sorry, Bocklin. missed your questions. Uh, I can't really comment much on the content (darn nondisclosure agreements) beyond probably what I've already hinted at.

As to the star elves, I used primarily the Unapproachable East along with some outline material that Bruce Cordell had cooked up. I've never worked with or talked to Rich Baker, though it would certainly be my pleasure to do so. And I haven't ever heard of that other title you mentioned. Let me know more about what it is. I'd like to look into to it for ideas about that star elf article you've got me thinking about.

[DitheringFool]

Greg V wrote:

P.S.

While we're on the subject of shameless plugs...anyone interested in 160-pagesque works by yours truly should keep an eye on the Necromancer Games website for a little trilogy of adventures that are forthcoming.

Okay, now hopefully the good folks at Paizo don't pull the plug on my messageboards access for the blatant cross promotion.

Oh...the Slumbering Tsar.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Ah, a FR novel. I gave up on reading those when I realized they were actually being written faster than I could read. I realized it was a losing battle. Actually, there just got to be so many titles I knew I couldn't read them all and became daunted not knowing which ones I should get. (That having been said, I'm looking at my bookshelf that holds a couple hundred FR and Dragonlance paperbacks). The Last Mythal, eh? I'll have to check that one out.

Yep, Slumbering Tsar is the trilogy. I believe they only have the first one posted. The second one is waiting in the wings. The third one is still under construction (room 359 tonight). They consist of about all the Orcusy goodness you can squeeze into a mere 400,000 words.

[Heathansson]

Slumbering Tsar looks pretty gnarley. Temple of Orcus. Yoips.
Oh, man.
New thread--Tegel Manor...

[Shroomy]

I just got my copy of The Twilight Tomb tonight. I really liked it. It features an unusual setting with two competing factions of monsters vying for control of the "dungeon." I prefer WoTC adventures that make use of their non-core sourcebooks and this one does not disappoint. Not only does it utilize information from several FR sourcebooks, but Libris Mortis gets quite the workout. An added plus for me, as someone who doesn't play in FR, the adventure is very portable to other settings. Good work Greg!

BTW, I wanted to ask what it was like writing for the Forgotten Realms instead of Greyhawk, which is what I associate your work with?

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Shroomy wrote:

I just got my copy of The Twilight Tomb tonight. I really liked it. It features an unusual setting with two competing factions of monsters vying for control of the "dungeon." I prefer WoTC adventures that make use of their non-core sourcebooks and this one does not disappoint. Not only does it utilize information from several FR sourcebooks, but Libris Mortis gets quite the workout. An added plus for me, as someone who doesn't play in FR, the adventure is very portable to other settings. Good work Greg!

BTW, I wanted to ask what it was like writing for the Forgotten Realms instead of Greyhawk, which is what I associate your work with?

Hello, Shroomy. I just popped anote to you on the ENWorld boards. Thanks again, though. It was a lot of fun to write.

As to the FR versus GH. I can only describe it as daunting. I have been a FR fan since the gray boxed set, and have most of the supplemental books. And I have played and DMed in the Realms extensively in the last two decades. But as mentioned above, I have lost track on all the novels and do not always know where the canon is at in regards to any given topic. The same issue exists with GH, of course, but FR seems so much more immersive to me as far as world details. I can only hope that I didn't violate anything with the adventure (or at least that the editors caught it). I can hardly wait to see what the diehads on Candlekeep have to say. I fully expect to get ripped apart, but that's half the fun (the bad half, incidentally). Almost immediately following the release of the dracolich article in the 30th Ann. Dragon issue, a FR expert caught an error of mine in regards to the FR side bar from a single line in a single FR 2e source book (that I happened to own and had read) that was inconistent with what I had written. So I figure I'm doomed on that front. However, hopefully as an adventure in general it will make up for any minute canon shortcomings.

BTW, the tie-in with the Dragon article I mentioned earlier in this thread did make it through the editing (I just bought my copy today), so it's in there.

Thanks again.

Greg

[Shroomy]

I liked the tie-in, though I'm not going to spoil it for all the others!