I was thinking that someday I might run the SCAP. I have all the original Dungeon issues/material. Should I also purchase the hardcover? Is it worth it? I think having it all under one cover seems best, but the price is a bit steep for only a few nuggets of new info. What should I do?
Also, will I be able to buy the SCAP hardcover from Paizo after August of this year after WoTC resumes control of Dungeon?
Thanks for the insight in advance!
Cheers.
I was happy with my purchase. Nice quality built for years of gaming.
Thoth-Amon
I have all the original mag's and I have a few minor regrets. 1st the SCAP started in 3.0 and the hardback doesn't convert anything to 3.5.
also the rumors by chapters go away and are incorporated into one massive all-chapter rumor list that has the party hearing about missing wands in chapter 10.on the other hand, the Mag's dont take use very well and dont talk about imortant NPCs untill late in the chapters. The hardcover gives lots of upfront info about the city thats very usefull and helps tie it all together and lots of sections have additional info.
If you can afford it, buy the hardback.
I belive there are some used versions out there cheep too.
Skech is asking the same question I've been wondering. My main concern, though, is about the storyline itself. I also have all the magazine issues for this AP so I wouldn't so much be looking for the nitty-gritty adventure content as just some clarification and polish on the story itself.
For example, in paperback form, the Path starts out as a plot to open the gates of Carceri but somehow turns into plan to free a specific person in Carceri. Is that addressed at all?
What about the big reveal of the Beholder in Lords of Oblivion? I've never been clear to how the PCs are supposed to suddenly go "Oh!" and then go hunt him down, is that cleared up any?
Is their anything added that gets the people from the priestess' note to the Soul Pillars? As originally written, it's just "the note says they're working out of this weird cave...and here we are."
Does Drakthar's Way add anything to the campaign other than just a level boost to make it through Flood Season?
Does Drakthar's Way add anything to the campaign other than just a level boost to make it through Flood Season?
I started my group at 2nd level so they could get through Jzadirune easier and with less frustration. I don't think they will need Drakthar's Way so I'm going to be skipping it. While it does provide some interesting situations (I like the throne room), it does seem like deja vu if you run it right after Jzadirune. It is another dungeon under someone's place in the city. Plotwise, it doesn't really add anything.
After the big dungeon battle of Jzadirune and the Malachite Fortress, I think my group will be happy to have a breather and enjoy the Flood Festival activities (until a certain cleric casts Sending).
I have all the original mag's and I have a few minor regrets. 1st the SCAP started in 3.0 and the hardback doesn't convert anything to 3.5.
You are mistaken my friend. The Hardcover does an excellent job of updating everything to 3.5 The one thing it does not do however, is provide the shiny new stat block format for all the encounters. But then agian, that's what The RPGenius is for.
For example, in paperback form, the Path starts out as a plot to open the gates of Carceri but somehow turns into plan to free a specific person in Carceri. Is that addressed at all?
It's adressed in far more detail than the magazines. In all, the plot suffers because of the meager outline at the beginning of the design process. Delvedeeps and others have adressed this issue in far more detail than the HC ever could.
What about the big reveal of the Beholder in Lords of Oblivion? I've never been clear to how the PCs are supposed to suddenly go "Oh!" and then go hunt him down, is that cleared up any?
Same here, I'm afraid. There's not a very good link between the seperate encounters at the end of the campaign. This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the game becomes much more free-form. Players have a sense that they can run arround the city and do as they please. Each location could have a few more hooks, though. Perhaps that is a subject for a new thread... hmmm...
Is their anything added that gets the people from the priestess' note to the Soul Pillars? As originally written, it's just "the note says they're working out of this weird cave...and here we are."
The note has been improved, but there is nothing extra to get the PCs to Karan Kural. Maybe some more hooks again.
Does Drakthar's Way add anything to the campaign other than just a level boost to make it through Flood Season?
There is a lot of room for improvement in Drakthar's way. As written, it is another underground stronghold in which monsters took up residence. I made a few changes and turned it into the premier route the cagewrights took to smuggle material components for the tree of shackled souls into the city.
Slaad, I'm your new biggest fan (although I vaguely recall being your fan for something before, so I may have to make the leap to 'groupie').
I've been really hoping for a comparison review of the hardback vs. the magazines, thanks for coming through.
We didn't find Drakthar very interesting to play. It is too similar to Jziderune/Malachite, and not as colorful.
However, without it I think my PCs would have died in Flood Season. There were 6 of them, so they were behind in levels and treasure, and I hadn't had enough practice running them. Flood Season was touch-and-go as it was (if the PCs had gone in the front door of the Lucky Monkey instead of the back, we believe it would have been a TPK--it was that close). We started the PCs at second level but that advantage had already vanished by this point.
My GM's other play group flatly refused to go vampire hunting ("We're not up to it") and he had to change Drakthar to an evil priest. They didn't care for the scenario either.
We did see some tie-ins with Drakthar's Way being a major smuggling route--it was our first clue to Vervil Ashmantle and the Blue Duke. But this wasn't really enough to make it interesting in itself. (And I always wondered why these goblins were behaving in this stupid way, drawing attention to themselves. If there was a good explanation, I missed it.)
Mary
