One trend I've noted recently in adventures like Throne of Iuz and Fiend's Embrace is that while they make use of certain priminent Greyhawk NPCs as "off-stage" background material, these same NPCs are not integrated into the adventures themselves in any meaningful way.
Is it too much to ask for NPCs like Iuz and Iggwilve to actually APPEAR in the adventures they inspire? I think it would be quite cool, even if it was just a cameo.
Does this stem perhaps from the (kooky, IMHO) mindset that if an PCs appears, there absolutely HAS to be complete stats furnished for them? I can see how that might make using powerful NPCs annoying, but still... Not every NPC is supposed to be fought in every adventure.
Creative Director
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Graz'zt's a CR 24 monster. Iggwilv's probably even tougher. Iuz is a deity. Having them (or any simiarly powerful villain) show up in an adventure is something that can easilly end a campaign, so we tend to avoid having such encounters in Dungeon except for in really high-level adventures. For low-level adventures, it seems silly to expect that a deity or a CR 20+ monster would even care to notice what a bunch of 3rd-level characters are up to, let alone taking a personal hand in such matters.
All that said, we have had some of the big baddies show up in Dungeon adventures. Orcus makes a cameo in "Headless" (issue #89), the githyanki lich queen's all over the place in "The Lich Queen's Beloved" (issue #100), the party gets to fight a powerful aspect of Asmodeus in "Strike on the Rabid Dawn" (issue #111), and they get a chance to fight a minor demon lord in "Maure Castle" (issue #112). And at least two infamous D&D villains will make their presence known physically in the upcoming "Age of Worms" Adventure Path.
Now that's what I'm talking about!
Can you say which ones, or is it a house secret?
EDIT: Now that I think about it, you do have a point. Fiend's Embrace is rather low-level for that. Throne of Iuz is just about right, though, if I recal the power level correctly. I wouldn't have Iuz show up to brawl, but maybe just have him pop up in magically-projected form to express his displeasure at the PCs for ruining his plan and promise revenge. That would have been sweeeeeet.
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Creative Director
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Can you say which ones, or is it a house secret?
I can't say until issue #124 is out. We'll be including a brief overview of the entire "Age of Worms" Adventure Path in that issue to help DMs plan campaigns even though they'll have to wait each month for the next adventure to arrive. Until then... my lips are sealed.