My group is no where *near* ready to run this adventure but I still must say that this is one of the clearest and most concise adventures I've read in a long time (which, with the high quality of Dungeon adventures, is saying alot!). The plot is simple but presented in such a way as to be far from boring. I think my favorite part is the sidebars with tips on how the NPCs act/react during each section. What could be easier? I've been DMing for 27 years but this adventure just struck me as especially nice for newbies, and even us ol' timers don't mind having it broken down Barney-style every once in a while. I appreciated the glimpses at NPC motives and attitudes without dregging up huge backstories. It just felt like we are given the proper tools and nudged in the expected direction but still left with the all-important DM right to improvise. Perfect! Then there are the happy DM's little treats sprinkled throughout the module. For instance, I liked the random table for figuring what supplies survived the shipwreck (with a little note encouraging individual tailoring by the DM). The saving of one "monster" (the diplodicus) from others was a nice twist on the rescue mission. Lithira just hanging out for flavor (possible interactions nearly infathomable). The little note about how much food the monstrous crab would supply if cooked (so simple and yet so profound!). I found myself giggling gleefully as I read each little nugget.
This adventure promises to be simple to set up and play, for rookies and veterans alike; and impossible to forget.
Great work, Mr. Bulmahn!
I think my favorite part is the sidebars with tips on how the NPCs act/react during each section. What could be easier? I've been DMing for 27 years but this adventure just struck me as especially nice for newbies, and even us ol' timers don't mind having it broken down Barney-style every once in a while. I appreciated the glimpses at NPC motives and attitudes without dregging up huge backstories. It just felt like we are given the proper tools and nudged in the expected direction but still left with the all-important DM right to improvise. Perfect!
I'd like to second this -- I griped about relatively trivial matters in another thread, but the scenario overall is great, and I also particularly liked the NPC attitudes sketched in the sidebars.
A third voice of praise for the layout and tidbits. I'm going to have to replace most of the terror birds with velociraptors or something (my group insisted on stopping at Ruja Island in SWW, and now they're phororhacosed out), but that's easy enough to do. Overall, can't wait to run the adventure.
We've been seeing consistently high quality across the board in the 1st three segments (probably because neither Mr Logue nor Mr Pett would allow the other to outdo him!), and it seems like Mr. Jacobs has assembled a cast of authors to keep STAP at that level. Kudos to Dungeon.
yes, let me add to the kudos on one of the finest adventures i've read in the more recent history of dungeon. this has all the earmarks of a classic adventure movie! action, suspense, drama, frightened NPCs that actually carry the story forward, the use of rising action to heighten the dramatic narrative. it also has a climax that is both deadly, gripping, and informative enought to create a sense of a larger scale plot in the works. the dungeons are also of high calibre, logical, perfectly designed, with plenty of clues to puzzles and perfect placing of monsters and threats. Truly a masterpiece of gygaxian proportions.
This is one for the DMs out there to be truly evil toward the players. only once in a while does a gem of an adventure come out that allows the DM to truly be the adversary and make it tough on the PCs to survive. Clear thinking, level headedness, and a strong focus on tactics are needed in this one for the party's very survival. my party just started the adventure path, but if this is the quality of the next series of adventures, i can't wait to see what the coming quests have in store.
again, great work! keep it up guys!