Creative Director
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1) The Shackled City HC included a small new adventure written just for the HC. Will there be anything like that?2) Will the HC include only the adventures, or will there be one or more articles as well? You'd think the Sandpoint article from PF #1 would be natural. (For that matter, the "Hinterlands of Sandpoint" article from Brinewall Legacy would also go very well.)
Thanks in advance,
Doug M.
1) There were about 50,000 new words of content created for the Shackled City Hardcover. That's about the equivalent of about 75 pages of content, more or less. We're not adding that much new content to Rise of the Runelords, mostly because I think that we did a pretty great job with Runelords on the first try. That wasn't the case with Shackled City. As our first ever AP, Shackled City had a lot of things that could have been done better, and we addressed those in the hardcover reprint. THAT SAID... there WILL be some new content in the Runelords hardcover. We'll be revising some encounters, explaining other parts in more detail, and in some cases adding entirely new encounters or small dungeon areas to the storyline where they make sense.
2) The hardcover will include the adventures, the article on Sandpoint, a truncated article on Magnimar, an expanded article on Turtleback Ferry, a few parts of the Varisia gazetteer, a heavily reorganized article on Thassilon and Shalast, several of the new monsters that haven't yet been reprinted in hardcover Bestiaries, and all of the magic items and some of the other new feats and spells and stuff that haven't been reprinted in other hardcovers yet. What'll be missing is things like the deity articles, the ecology articles, and the like. The Hinterlands of Sandpoint article will not be appearing... but we'll make sure to include all the info you need to run what parts of the adventure take place in specific areas of those hinterlands.
Wait... WHAT???
ROTRL HC is actually HAPPENING???
After all the begging, sliming, posting, spamming the boards..
AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!
I'll order 1 plz :-)
And to think I ordered Skinsaw Murders with the Black Friday Sale because I thought I'd never see a HC of these!! Sheesh!! :-)
Must say I'm oddly excited about this product...especially with James' comments about how it's being revised. I've been a subscriber since Dungeon and loved reading RotRL as each issue of Pathfinder came out (still love the APs but no longer on the edge of my seat each month). Took me a long time to get around to running it for my group and they, just yesterday, have finally reached Xin-Shalast. We should be done in a few weeks...but I still think I might buy the hardcover when it comes out.
M
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Creative Director
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Boo yah. Good news!
Okay, now I have one more question. (Please don't feel obliged. I'm just curious, here.) Are you tweaking particular encounters or plot points based on feedback in these forums? For instance, you slightly nerfed Xanesha -- she's still a dangerous boss, but no longer a TPK machine. Is that because you noticed that she was passing into legend as "the place where we started over with new characters"?
-- Incidentally, reading through the "obituaries" threads is pretty fascinating. For instance, everyone knows about Xanesha... but that dagger-in-the-throat haunt a bit earlier in the same module has racked up a very impressive body count. If it's not as famous, that may only be because it's killing PCs one at a time, retail instead of wholesale.
Doug M.
One of the very first steps I took in this project was to comb through the RotR forums and sift out all the advice and observations and feedback from people who have actually played the adventures. I collated that all into a multipage document, and whenever I finish a chapter in the book, I go through that chapter's checklist to make sure I fixed all the problems that needed fixing.
Nerfing Xanesha was indeed entirely a result of the outcry on the boards about her being too tough... but I suspect even if there had been NO outcry I would have reduced her powers somewhat on the second go-through since it's pretty obvious to me now that she's way too tough... she had the AC of a CR 18 creature, after all!
And I think part of the reason the haunt was deadly was that haunts were brand new then and players didn't really know how to handle them. They're used to them now, and they're actually quite a bit easier to handle since there are more positive energy effects in the game... but that haunt you mention DID get revised somewhat. Although I can't remember if I nerfed it or just raised its CR or both.
I think James is spot on with haunts.
Just ran the Vekkers' cabin encounters in Spires and the haunts were just right...scared the pants off of the players (who feared the worst) but didn't really cause any permanent damage.
There were a couple in Skinsaw that nearly did in some party members...in fact, there's a bit of a lasting grudge between Merisiel and Kyra over one particularly humerous possession. :)
I think they handled the second batch properly...and they served to tell the story of what happened to the Vekkers very well.
M
Interesting.
I was curious about nerking on Xenesha too. And also wondering if the last act of the AP was going to get any treatment (possibly for more epicness- though im not sure it needs it).
I wish this was coming out now. I just spent close to $180 tracking down a copy of each of the APs to run my group through. It was a mission and half to find the first issue too- but I wanted the real deal and not some PDF.
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Creative Director
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I was curious about nerking on Xenesha too. And also wondering if the last act of the AP was going to get any treatment (possibly for more epicness- though im not sure it needs it).
It will.
** spoiler omitted **
You... You magnificent dinosaur you!
Just going to leave us hanging like that, huh? If we promise to buy the book will you give us more details? ;) My players' characters just rang the doorbell of the Pinnacle last session...
M
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Creative Director
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A few more notes...
hmmm i have it figured out
Wait... WHAT???
ROTRL HC is actually HAPPENING???
I'll order 1 plz :-)
Please feel free to do so right here :)
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Ooo, oooo!!! Can I play? I love guessing games...
The Eye of Avarice is described as the Runewell of Greed turned inside out and chromatic dragons are representative of that sin, I would speculate that Karzoug secured Ghlorofaex's services by making him an offer the mature blue dragon would not refuse...
Though the dragon was a student of Thassilonian lore, his knowledge could not be the equal of one who lived during that time. With Karzoug's help, Ghlorofaex is preparing to become or is in the final stages of becoming a ravener (more than likely a Thassilonian version). Remember, necromancy is not forbidden to a student of Thassilonian greed magic. However due to his age, the dragon is unable to handle the transformation. Perhaps Karzoug convinced the young (compared to the Runelord) dragon that by marking him with a special sign (a Sihedron perhaps...?) and with the proper rituals, the Eye of Avarice could actually be used to aid Ghlorofaex with the final stage of his transformation. The blue dragon that's running around on the surface is a clone (can't be a simulacrum as that is an illusion spell) while the original is now inside the Runewell after having smeared his blood on the anima focus.
Just speculation on my part....
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My turn! My turn!