C'mon it shipped today...I can't wait anymore...
I still haven't gotten my issue of 138 yet :(
Personally, I don't want to see it. Not until I have the magazine in my hands so I can read the articles and adventures associated with the cover.
It appears we'll need a T-rex miniature for the first adventure :P
Best cover I've seen in a long time....
Creative Director
|
Correct. This cover is more of a "Savage Tide" cover than anything else. Fans of the old X1: Isle of Dread should recognize the picture's composition as well. And it also introduces our new iconics: human monk, elven druid, dwarven barbarian, and human wizard. Expect to see a lot more of these four as the Savage Tide rolls in.
Cover of #139 = yum yum yum!!!
Awesome!
Yeah, seeing as how a T-rex is a CR 8 and this adventure is for 1st level characters, I hope they didn't put one in there...
Ohh boy that cover looks cool! You're right, James...I am one of those who played X1 back in the day, and this cover definitely is a cool revamp of that one. Man, I can't wait to read this first adventure...
Correct. This cover is more of a "Savage Tide" cover than anything else. Fans of the old X1: Isle of Dread should recognize the picture's composition as well. And it also introduces our new iconics: human monk, elven druid, dwarven barbarian, and human wizard. Expect to see a lot more of these four as the Savage Tide rolls in.
Was the Adventure play tested with these four characters(Types)
Ah, my mistake :) Although it would be fun to throw in a T-rex just to keep the players on their toes and ready to run :) I'm an evil DM, I know :P
Was kind of hoping for something a little "grander" on the cover, like what Paizo did for AOW on Dungeon issue 124, I don’t know maybe a picture of big D to kick off the AP. It seems that the current cover would have been more appropriate for when the players reach the Isle of Dread.
Was kind of hoping for something a little "grander" on the cover, like what Paizo did for AOW on Dungeon issue 124
I know what you mean. When I first saw the cover of 124, I thought it was pretty amazing and summed up the consequences for failure. Even more so when you realise that there was even more to that picture, when it emerges that the green worms were pouring out of Kyuss rather than just emerging from the horizon (which is what I had originally assumed).
|
Creative Director
|
Savage Tide is not as apocalyptic as Age of Worms; it's a big campaign, but it's not something as huge as the End of the World, so if the cover conveys that it's not a epic as Age of Worms, I guess that's okay.
More to the point, the cover is a re-imaginaing of the original Isle of Dread cover, an homage to the adventure that is really the core inspiration for the whole campaign.
More to the point, the cover is a re-imaginaing of the original Isle of Dread cover, an homage to the adventure that is really the core inspiration for the whole campaign.
Isn’t the Isle of Dread only in the AP 1/3 of the adventures. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but I would have thought you would want to have a cover that would have encompassed the whole AP.
Isn’t the Isle of Dread only in the AP 1/3 of the adventures. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but I would have thought you would want to have a cover that would have encompassed the whole AP.
It's got Danger, Exotic Locales, and a Homage to a classic adventure. What's missing? An explicit call-out of who the big badguy is? The Whispering Cairn cover works because it doesn't make the ultimate baddy that obvious. I'd rather not have the big D on the cover of the first adventure, let the PCs find out over time as they learn what their in for.
|
Creative Director
|
Isn’t the Isle of Dread only in the AP 1/3 of the adventures. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but I would have thought you would want to have a cover that would have encompassed the whole AP.
The PCs reach the Isle of Dread at the end of adventrue 3 and leave it at the start of adventure 8. It's the location where the campaign spends the most time (Sasserine gets only 2 adventures, Scuttlecove 1, the ocean 1, and the Abyss only gets 3 and a half, really). Isle of Dread themes run through the earlier and later adventures (even moreso than pirates and demons); it's certainly the most iconic and traditional of the locations the campaign visits. It wouldn't be the same campaign without the Isle of Dread elements, to tell the truth, so as a result it seemed to be the best way to introduce the campaign.
Plus, dinosaurs are neat. And while we've not really made much of an attempt to hide Demogorgon's involvement in the adventure, it certainly doesn't work for the context of the campaign itself to show him off from the start.
Finally, keep in mind that the covers also have to serve as enticements for the newsstand buyer. Not everyone knows what Demogorgon is, and if they don't, they might not realize what's going on. Pretty much everone recognizes what a dinosaur is, so it's a lot easier to get our point across that way. This is the reason you don't see obscure D&D monsters that often on the cover of the magazine. Even mind flayers are a bit too obscure; both of the recent mind flayer covers did poorly in the newsstand arena; I think because they look too much like aliens and not enough like sword & sorcery monsters? Or maybe they're just too gross?
ANYway... trust me when I say that the cover for #139 does indeed represent Savage Tide well, even if it might not seem to at this early stage in the game.
I personally can't wait to get issue #139 in my hands. Unfortunately with age, children, coaching responsibilities, and...oh yeah...a job!!!...I am reduced to play via messageboard campaigns and using an online client. Having said that I am very exicted to begin a Savage Tide campaign. I am currently running a Shackled City campaign and still immersed in Life's Bazaar.
James, congratulations on your inaugaral issue and I hope that you have a long and exciting tenure.
Will the sister magazine Dragon be publishing complimentary articles for the campaign as it did with the AoW campaign?
Weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
Will the sister magazine Dragon be publishing complimentary articles for the campaign as it did with the AoW campaign?Yup; they'll be called "Savage Tidings" and they start in issue #348.
Crud. I'll have to subscribe, then. Thanks for killing the bank account....sigh. ....LOL!