I got #140 yesterday and just got a chance today to really look at it. As one of the authors for the Savage Tide, I got a chance to read the original drafts of several of the adventures as they were finished since we all had to make sure everything was knit together well and cohesive. I really liked Nick Logue's "Bullywug Gambit" the first time I read it, but after seeing what James Jacobs, Jeremy Walker, and James Sutter did to transform it into a right proper Dungeon adventure, I'm totally in awe. And frankly I can't wait to see what they do to the one I wrote.
Nick, I really loved the stiltwalker and the new rules for using stilts in the game. I honestly have never seen them used and congratulate you on showing me something totally new. Great innovation! Way to go, Were_Cabbage!
Oh, and sorry about that level loss at the hands of Vaughn and Pett, but with this adventure you should definitely earn the level back and be close to the next bump up ;)
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I got #140 yesterday and just got a chance today to really look at it. As one of the authors for the Savage Tide, I got a chance to read the original drafts of several of the adventures as they were finished since we all had to make sure everything was knit together well and cohesive. I really liked Nick Logue's "Bullywug Gambit" the first time I read it, but after seeing what James Jacobs, Jeremy Walker, and James Sutter did to transform it into a right proper Dungeon adventure, I'm totally in awe. And frankly I can't wait to see what they do to the one I wrote.
Nick, I really loved the stiltwalker and the new rules for using stilts in the game. I honestly have never seen them used and congratulate you on showing me something totally new. Great innovation! Way to go, Were_Cabbage!
Yes, this adventure is great, really GREAT !
I have just read it very quickly, and it's awesome (in my humble opinion !).
Oh, and sorry about that level loss at the hands of Vaughn and Pett, but with this adventure you should definitely earn the level back and be close to the next bump up ;)
James, give Nicholas his level back !!
He deserves it...
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Way to go, Were_Cabbage!
Oh, and sorry about that level loss at the hands of Vaughn and Pett, but with this adventure you should definitely earn the level back and be close to the next bump up ;)
Hands of Pett and Vaughn? Are those anything like the Hand of Vecna?
Still looking forward to my copy of the Gambit.
;)
GGG
The adventure I've been penning for Dungeon thought itself radical for making good use of stiltwalking.
I'm crushed.
Oh well, there's always more ideas. This is just so indicative of how things tend to go for me. MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, BOY! Gotta remember that at all times.
Nic just keeps coming up with great adventure after great adventure. This one has some sublime moments (the stiltwalkers, the hall of hanging silks, the great Navesh Wyvernsting amongst many others) as well as some wonderful subtle nods to other adventures (Tammeraut's Fate and Barrier Peaks amongst others). He has a total ease and fantastic knowledge of how to use the rules to make great situations, has a wicked sense of imagination and writes adventures that are just awesome to read and play.
There, I said it.
And I HATE HIM!
Huzzah!
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The adventure I've been penning for Dungeon thought itself radical for making good use of stiltwalking.
I'm crushed.
Oh well, there's always more ideas. This is just so indicative of how things tend to go for me. MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, BOY! Gotta remember that at all times.
I'm crushed for you. That's just wrong.
But...as well as you write, are you sure the whole thing falls apart because the stiltwalking gimmick is gone? Can something replace it? I'd hate to see you send a Porsche to the crusher because the clutch went bad.
I feel compelled to throw in my dash of praise as well. Thanks for a great adventure full of wild imagination and creativity. Good work sirrah!
STAP really started with a hard one-two punch. I'm really looking forward to more.
Good work sirrah!
Since Nick does Shakespeare, he'll probably figure you're really a Rich Pett fan, Eltanin. ;)
Well, I'm very psyched because I'm unexpectedly getting a chance to run a couple of the early adventures in the AP for my new group. (Giving the regular DM a break). We'll definitely have fun with the crocodile room in the Lotus Dragon lair, and with the stiltwalkers. Oh yes, and the green mushroom cloud hanging over Kraken's Cove.
Excellent job so far--as usual, I could hardly keep myself from spending an evening reading Nick's dungeon when I got my copy last week.
Thanks all!!!
This was a really good time to write, mostly because I got to have a face-to-face meet with Erik, James, Jeremy and James at Paizo before I got started on it, and it was awesome shooting ideas back and forth.
I love how Rich sends an assassin after me and then praises my adventure...you're fooling no one Mr. Pett!!! ;-)
Thanks again guys, writing an adventure path adventure is even more nerve wracking then writing another because there is a lot of pressure to really make it a cut above anything else you do. Thanks for the kind words, I've been sweating bullets!
I'm looking forward to next month's installment!!! If me and James unleashed a one-two combo, I can't wait to see Rich's staggering hook!
Nick
I can't wait to get home to read 140 now. It came in right before I left town and I left it behind. Can't wait for my current campaign to end so I can start the STAP!!
The adventure I've been penning for Dungeon thought itself radical for making good use of stiltwalking.
I'm crushed.
Oh well, there's always more ideas. This is just so indicative of how things tend to go for me. MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, BOY! Gotta remember that at all times.
I'm crushed for you. That's just wrong.
But...as well as you write, are you sure the whole thing falls apart because the stiltwalking gimmick is gone? Can something replace it? I'd hate to see you send a Porsche to the crusher because the clutch went bad.
The stilts were not relevent to the main plot but they provided a very effective bit of color considering the environment. Either I keep them for glamor or I drop them but I'll now probably cut the part where someone fights on them.
Thanks for the kind words, Heathansson. You've given me a second wind. :)
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Right on. I just get pissy and scrappy and want my pound of flesh when the figurative Norns pull the whole "life/unfair/he he we have an ironic sense of humor/" line of crap.
That stilt thing is like a stilt stabbing me in the cranium.
Also, I hate the feeling that whenever I personally write something I have no earthly clue if it's any friggin good or not.
Right on. I just get pissy and scrappy and want my pound of flesh when the figurative Norns pull the whole "life/unfair/he he we have an ironic sense of humor/" line of crap.
That stilt thing is like a stilt stabbing me in the cranium.
Also, I hate the feeling that whenever I personally write something I have no earthly clue if it's any friggin good or not.
You can buy every book on writing and learn all kinds of techniques and perspectives to improve your writing a thousandfold but I'm not sure that anyone ever thinks that their work, as a whole, is any good. I know many writers feel a certain buzz when they think they've accomplished a perfect opening, ending, turn of phrase, or beautiful description. That said, those favorites often feel so special because they stand out from the tone of the rest of the work. This can identify a stir in the dynamic, an alteration of tone, a ripple in continuity. DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
I started a humorous romance novel that is so funny, merely describing some of the absurd scenes and dialog cause people who don't even find me all that funny in person to laugh begrudingly. However, when I went to write it (from the 130 pages of notes) I found myself lost in poetic descriptions. The first chapter was so dense it seemed to be aiming for a literary award. I lost the tone in a desperate need to prove I could write with the big boys. The overall effect is that the chapter forced readers to slow their pace, which is simply not good for my novel. It was born to fly. I've rewritten it all, losing most of my favorite descriptions, and it's beginning to resemble my original intention.
Sharing your work with other writers can often give you a significant boost, but know who you're showing it to. I knew a guy who had read every book that ever was and he was quite learned on what he liked and disliked despite not being all that great of a writer himself. When he really liked something I wrote, that was usually a sign that most people would be frightened of it. That didn't render his opinion useless, it just proved that his tastes were a hard right from most folk's. Something very worth knowing.
I've never found myself unable to improve with offerings of well meant criticism. March on bravely, werewriter!
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I read the whole Bullywug Gambit. What a strong piece of work.
I love it. I feel like a kid at Christmas every time I score a Dungeon mag now. I forgot to shave yesterday, and my beard had white hairs in it. And now I feel 12 for a few hours.
I loved all the little digs to the modules of yore in the manor. And the bullywug npc's were just comical. Morbid clownery always gives me giggles. I also like the former cook...what a bastich.
I'm taking my kids to the Texas State Fair today, and I hope I don't see any stilt walkers; I'll be tempted to try to push them over to see how hard it is to do so.
I'm taking my kids to the Texas State Fair today, and I hope I don't see any stilt walkers; I'll be tempted to try to push them over to see how hard it is to do so.
lol!
Well, so far, I've scooped the first 2 issues of Dungeon containing the STAP, and I'm enjoying it immensely. The tie-ins to SCAP and the AoW AP are of course enjoyable too.
Matter of fact, I'd even entertain an old school 1st edition style "dual class" kind of approach to the 3 adventure paths.
Start with SCAP (or use an existing character), " dual class " into something new for the 1st level of the AoW AP, hopefully live long enough to complete it. A year or so passes, you " dual class " again for the STAP, rinse, lather, repeat.
At least, that was my biggest love with pre-3E D&D - I could dual class to my heart's content (since I do not *REMEMBER* there being any limits on dual-classing past a 2nd class other than perhaps one's life span) with the same character and still get to play in all these wonderful adventure paths ....
if only I'd taken more of a liking to the SCAP ...
The trick of course would be to play within agreed-upon guidelines. Which would fall under a different thread I suppose.
Thread necromancy!
My players survived Diamondback and the stiltwalkers last night. After the battle, one player said that it felt like a scene from a James Bond movie, early Roger Moore era. He was totally right. (And we both mean it in a positive way.)
My players survived Diamondback and the stiltwalkers last night. After the battle, one player said that it felt like a scene from a James Bond movie, early Roger Moore era. He was totally right. (And we both mean it in a positive way.)
Experienced the same and it was great fun! :D
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I felt that way too, and in fact it was ESPECIALLY true since they dealt with Diamondback by grappling her. Our Mulhurondi Cleric is a master grappler, and while she kept using her escape artist to get out of the grapple, she couldn't do much else.
I accused the cleric of trying to cop a cheap feel on the hot chick (Cha18) in skin tight clothing, and he had no suitable comeback. Very James Bond-esque.
Particularly since I decided to give Diamondback one of the ultimate villain weaknesses, voluntarily giving away vital information because of their overconfidence. As she attacked, she said "The Kellani family sends it's regards!" because she was just sure they'd never live to tell anyone. Classic Bond villain blunder. :)
But yes, that was a really good scene, and the guys around the table really seemed to be getting into it. :)
I'm a bit worried about ole Diamondback. We're running STAP as gestatlt, and I added Ninja to her Battledancer levels. This means she adds her Wis and Cha to AC, and has six uses of Ghost Step (Invisibility) per day. If the wizard doesn't have See Invisibility scrolls handy they may be in serious trouble. The druid/fighter has Blindfight, so that will help but he'll still have to find her. And she's a spring attacker. On the other hand, my PC's are very powerful for their level and played by smart players. So they might survive.
Thread necromancy!
My players survived Diamondback and the stiltwalkers last night. After the battle, one player said that it felt like a scene from a James Bond movie, early Roger Moore era. He was totally right. (And we both mean it in a positive way.)
Sben you rock! I was having the worst day and this totally made it all go away! Thanks man! I used to love Roger Moore bond flicks!!! Great stuff! The scene where he wakes up in the dojo and the crazy fight ensues with the martial arts guys is great fun...I have trouble running a Ninjas and Superspies adventure without stealing that scene...or the one in Kiss of the Dragon where he runs into the dojo to "escape" and finds a class of baton wielding guys in full on martial arts uniforms standing at attention. Awesome set up for an awesome fight! Glad you dug the stiltwalking madness!
I felt that way too, and in fact it was ESPECIALLY true since they dealt with Diamondback by grappling her. Our Mulhurondi Cleric is a master grappler, and while she kept using her escape artist to get out of the grapple, she couldn't do much else.
I accused the cleric of trying to cop a cheap feel on the hot chick (Cha18) in skin tight clothing, and he had no suitable comeback. Very James Bond-esque.
Particularly since I decided to give Diamondback one of the ultimate villain weaknesses, voluntarily giving away vital information because of their overconfidence. As she attacked, she said "The Kellani family sends it's regards!" because she was just sure they'd never live to tell anyone. Classic Bond villain blunder. :)
But yes, that was a really good scene, and the guys around the table really seemed to be getting into it. :)
Nice! I love the exchange of quip and witticism in combat. Nothing makes a fight more fun than roleplaying every moment of it!
I'm a bit worried about ole Diamondback. We're running STAP as gestatlt, and I added Ninja to her Battledancer levels. This means she adds her Wis and Cha to AC, and has six uses of Ghost Step (Invisibility) per day. If the wizard doesn't have See Invisibility scrolls handy they may be in serious trouble. The druid/fighter has Blindfight, so that will help but he'll still have to find her. And she's a spring attacker. On the other hand, my PC's are very powerful for their level and played by smart players. So they might survive.
To Quote James Coburn (really is there a finer actor for the all-around dude audience member?) in Payback: "That's just mean man!"
To Quote James Coburn (really is there a finer actor for the all-around dude audience member?) in Payback: "That's just mean man!"
You know, the fact that you would say this, Nicholas, makes me very proud. (I've played Chimes at Midnight and that final thing was cruel to us!) And it decides it for me: I'm running her that way. Let my characters get a taste of nasty gestalt combos on the DM's side.
You know, the fact that you would say this, Nicholas, makes me very proud. (I've played Chimes at Midnight and that final thing was cruel to us!) And it decides it for me: I'm running her that way. Let my characters get a taste of nasty gestalt combos on the DM's side.
To Quote James Coburn (really is there a finer actor for the all-around dude audience member?) in Payback: "That's just mean man!"
Awesome cthulhu_waits! Go get em!
Personally, I'm especially thrilled with the savage template! I know it's been here for a few months, but I'm just starting the AP tomorrow.
At some point, I'm going to apply the savage template to a half-green dragon barbarian (because monk won't work) and make...The Savage Dragon!
There. My goofball moment of the day.
Personally, I'm especially thrilled with the savage template! I know it's been here for a few months, but I'm just starting the AP tomorrow.
At some point, I'm going to apply the savage template to a half-green dragon barbarian (because monk won't work) and make...The Savage Dragon!
There. My goofball moment of the day.
That's sick!...
I love it!