New Forgotten Realms adventures to be published

[johnsemlak]

Cand,

yes there is. I forget the title at the moment (Think it might be Player's Guide to the Realms...) but won't be out until 2004.

It's the Player's 'Guide to Faerun, due in March 2004

 

[RyanD]

anybody know why they are publishing high level adventures only?

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this thread - I've been on the road at Dragon*Con over the holiday weekend and am just now getting caught up with my correspondance.

The High Level scenarios we're going to be publishing are unique because they're actually played by a large number of very good high level players and DMs. That's the hardest part about writing good high level content: getting people to "playtest" it who know how to operate at very high levels.

There's a lot of low level and mid level adventure content in stores. There is very little content that addresses the upper power level of the game's range. And unlike 2E games, there are a lot of people who are going to be playing through into the 20th+ level range with their PCs in 3.0/3.5 because the game does a much better job of supporting fun play at those levels than it ever has before.

The High Level Living City scenarios are relatively adaptable to any DM's home game, assuming you've got a sizable "metropolis" to use as the centerpeice, and a generally medeival fantasy world to run them in. If you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms or of Living City, you'll find lots of cool backstory and detail on the Vast and the area around the Sea of Fallen Stars as well.

Ryan

 

[Zogg]

Thanks for the response, RyanD! These adventures will definitely enhance adventuring in the Forgotten Realms. I, however, will probably hold off running a FR campaign (or playing in one) until the new player's guide comes out in March. There's a few questions I need answered (about various things like cleric domains and prestige classes) before I can confidently participate in a FR adventure. That, and I'm really focused on playing AU right now! But good luck to you guys, I will definitely give your adventures a look.

 

[greymarch]

Thanks for the response, RyanD! These adventures will definitely enhance adventuring in the Forgotten Realms. I, however, will probably hold off running a FR campaign (or playing in one) until the new player's guide comes out in March. There's a few questions I need answered (about various things like cleric domains and prestige classes) before I can confidently participate in a FR adventure. That, and I'm really focused on playing AU right now! But good luck to you guys, I will definitely give your adventures a look.

I have no idea why you just posted this. I guess you are trying to bump up your post count.

I have three legitimate questions for Mr. Dancy:

1. How easy will it be to move these adventures from The Living City to another place in the Forgotten Realms? (Waterdeep, Calimport, Arabel, etc...)

2. Will there be an explanation for why the Living City has suddenly become a haven for high level adventures and high level adventurers?

3. Will some (or any) or these adventures be above 20th level, and thus use the Epic level handbook rules?

 

[blindrage]

I can not help but to break out laughing on this thread. OP is making players pay up to $30 a year to playtest the mods he is producing and then sell them to the public. What a joke! He losing money on Living City because he drove most of his player base away with his "nuking" of Raven's Bluff to restart the game from ground zero. He kinda forgot to tell you the only way to play the new version of Living City: Ruins of Raven's Bluff is to have a game day with ten tables or more of players (min of four players at each table) who have to pay at least $5 to join OP. Did he also meation that half the rules (3.0 or 3.5) are rewritten because he or his staff do not like how players are playing/breaking his badly written mods. By the way, he claims that his Living City can be played using core books and the FRCS setting books. But he forgot to tell you that you need to download and print up 45+pages of house rules. GRRRRRRR. Ryan, good luck but you are not going to rip this man off anymore. And tell the public what is really going on at OP!

 

[RyanD]

1. How easy will it be to move these adventures from The Living City to another place in the Forgotten Realms? (Waterdeep, Calimport, Arabel, etc...)

In general, I would say "easy".

The specific issues involved will be how much of the Living City/Vast backstory an individual scenario utilizes.

Most of the High Level scenarios start in Ravens Bluff and then send you elsewhere to play for the bulk of the scenario. That "elsewhere" may be somewhere in the Vast or it might be somewhere in the Realms as a whole, or it may be extraplanar.

In that sense, they're pretty easy to customize to any generic fantasy setting (or any other generic fantasy city in the Realms).

Occasionally there may be elements in the plot that involve characters or past history of Ravens Bluff or the Vast that would require some work on the part of the DM to reconfigure for use elsewhere, but in general, you can probably find a ready-made hook in whatever source material you're using to replace that RB-specific content. For example, a lot of scenarios in the High Level campaign (which forms the queue for the publishing venture) feature Red Wizards and their attempts to gain power in the Vast. It's not that hard to imagine the same kinds of plans bearing fruit on the Sword Coast, or even in the Dalelands.

2. Will there be an explanation for why the Living City has suddenly become a haven for high level adventures and high level adventurers?

That explanation already exists.

Deep beneath the Vast is a magical entity which is often described as a "wild mythal". The wild mythal has been "calling" to people of heroic potential for more than two thousand years, and is the reason that many different settlements have been constructed on the banks of the Fire River in the approximate location of Ravens Bluff.

In addition, the Wild Mythal tends to attract the kinds of challenges that put those settlements constantly at risk - but also generate opportunities for many kinds of characters to rise to meet those challenges and become powerful.

It is assumed that Ravens Bluff is home to characters of all power levels, but the adventures in the High Level Scenario series are all geared for the toughest of the tough - lower level PCs who attempted them would be unlikely to survive the experience.

3. Will some (or any) or these adventures be above 20th level, and thus use the Epic level handbook rules?

Yes and no.

The initial releases will all target EL18, but that's an average for the whole scenario. Some encounters may be higher than EL18 and some may be lower.

Some attention will be given in design to the aspects of the Epic Level rules included in the 3.5 DMG with the assumption that some party members will have reached those levels and will be playing in the scenarios.

Occasionally, Epic Level aspects may appear as monsters or NPCs challenging the PCs as well.

I assume that in Year 2, we'll be raising the target EL to 20, and at that point, Epic Level aspects will become common in the scenarios.

Ryan

 

[RyanD]

And tell the public what is really going on at OP!

I think those are legitimate issues, but there's certainly nothing "secret" about the details. Let me respond point by point.

OP is making players pay up to $30 a year to playtest the mods he is producing and then sell them to the public.

Living City is a commercial venture. We licensed it from Wizards of the Coast because we think we can make a profit running it. Over the past two years that has proved to be pretty challenging - challenging but not impossible.

To play in a Living City event, you have to be a Living City member (unless you're playing a 1st level PC, in which case you can play without a membership). Living City members pay $1 per scenario to play in the campaign.

In addition, we charge a one time $5 set up fee that we use to offset the cost of sending you a nice membership card, setting you up in the database, and various other admnistrivia.

You may opt to buy a membership that has 3 months, or 12 months of unlimited play, so that you don't have to worry about being billed for the $1/scenario fee. About half of the active players initially chose to register using one of those options. 3 months of play costs $10, and 12 months of play costs $30.

Living City memberships are valid for both the High Level and the low level Ruins of Ravens Bluff scenarios.

A Living City scenario usually runs about 4 hours in length. (The high level scenarios play a lot longer, often 12 or 14 hours). When you consider the cost ($1) vs. the entertainment provided, I think the fees are extremely reasonable.

He losing money on Living City because he drove most of his player base away with his "nuking" of Raven's Bluff to restart the game from ground zero.

We have yet to turn a profit on Living City, that's true. However, I don't think that the root cause is our efforts to make the campaign fun to play and interesting to new players.

We're really struggling against the success of Living Greyhawk, which is now nearly 10 times bigger in terms of active players than Living City was at the height of its popularity. Living Greyhawk has attracted a huge number of scenario writers, Judges, and folks interested in helping run the campaign - and a lot of those people used to be active in Living City.

That said, we still have more than 2,000 active Living City participants, and I believe that we are currently growing on the strength of the new directions we're moving the campaign.

He kinda forgot to tell you the only way to play the new version of Living City: Ruins of Raven's Bluff is to have a game day with ten tables or more of players (min of four players at each table)

The High Level Scenarios we're publishing have little to do with Ruins of Ravens Bluff. The High Level scenarios are aimed at highly experienced players with high level characters.

Ruins of Ravens Bluff is designed as a convention-focused, low level campaign that will appeal to people just starting out in the RPGA or who want to be in on the beginning of a new Living campaign.

The smallest possible event that can host Ruins of Ravens Bluff consists of 15 people. Those 12 people play 3 tables each (3 players and 1 Judge) of 3 scenarios, plus one extra table (usually the Judges playing and one of the players Judging). That's a full day of gaming, starting at about 9am and finishing around midnight.

Did he also meation that half the rules (3.0 or 3.5) are rewritten because he or his staff do not like how players are playing/breaking his badly written mods.

Living City does have a comprehensive rulings & clarifications document. Currently, its 15 pages long.

Let me put that in perspective.

In the High Level campagin, you can use the core books, the FRCS, Magic of Faerun, Races of Faerun, Sword & Fist, Defenders of the Faith, Tome & Blood, Song & Silence and Masters of the Wild.

Much of that content was not designed to work together, and relies on a DM's discretion to handle various kinds of situations. A Living Campaign, like Ravens Bluff, doesn't have that luxury - we have to have a consistent set of rulings & clarifications that all players share.

Most of the document is "Clarifications". That means, two or more sources in the rules we use are either in conflict, or a source has incomplete instructions on how to adjudicate its use.

Some portions of the document are "Rulings". Most of the "Rulings" we have issued are restrictions - meaning that they remove various parts of the published material from use.

Interestingly our Rulings & Clarifications document will be getting a lot smaller, because a lot of the issues the document covers have been addressed by 3.5.

None of our Rulings & Clarifications are designed to fix problems with the scenarios. We feel the scenarios are as well designed as most of the content on the market, and better than a lot of the stuff you can buy in your local retail store. Especially after they've been played by the highly critical RPGA player community, and we've had a chance to incorporate their feedback.

Thanks for giving me a chance to explain how the Living City components interact. If anyone wants more information, the official Living City site is www.livingcity.organizedplay.com.

Ryan

 

[NiTessine]

These certainly look interesting... I think I'll be picking up a few. It's refreshing to see a high-level adventure that's not XXXL size, like RttToEE or CotSQ. They're not really modules anymore, but entire campaigns, and I like to write the overarching plotlines myself.

 

[Henry]

Ryan,

Thank you for the clarification. I also wish you the best of luck in the endeavor. I myself will find the high-level encounters of interest.

 

[blindrage]

I think those are legitimate issues, but there's certainly nothing "secret" about the details. Let me respond point by point.



Living City is a commercial venture. We licensed it from Wizards of the Coast because we think we can make a profit running it. Over the past two years that has proved to be pretty challenging - challenging but not impossible.

To play in a Living City event, you have to be a Living City member (unless you're playing a 1st level PC, in which case you can play without a membership). Living City members pay $1 per scenario to play in the campaign.

In addition, we charge a one time $5 set up fee that we use to offset the cost of sending you a nice membership card, setting you up in the database, and various other admnistrivia.

You may opt to buy a membership that has 3 months, or 12 months of unlimited play, so that you don't have to worry about being billed for the $1/scenario fee. About half of the active players initially chose to register using one of those options. 3 months of play costs $10, and 12 months of play costs $30.

Living City memberships are valid for both the High Level and the low level Ruins of Ravens Bluff scenarios.

A Living City scenario usually runs about 4 hours in length. (The high level scenarios play a lot longer, often 12 or 14 hours). When you consider the cost ($1) vs. the entertainment provided, I think the fees are extremely reasonable.

-Or I can find four friends, a house or game store to run the game, and download the Living Greyhawk or other d20 Living games from Rpga for free. After of course I get my Hearld judge number after taking the free judge test from the RPGA site. Ryan, the cost is the one of reasons why Living City is not turning a profit.-


We have yet to turn a profit on Living City, that's true. However, I don't think that the root cause is our efforts to make the campaign fun to play and interesting to new players.

-You "nuked" the city of Raven's Bluff and the new game you have is almost a copy of Living Greyhawk. But unlike LG, you have pay to play Ruins. How much fun is it to play in a game where the GM nuked your game after you gave him ideas how to fix the game and still keep its history?-

We're really struggling against the success of Living Greyhawk, which is now nearly 10 times bigger in terms of active players than Living City was at the height of its popularity. Living Greyhawk has attracted a huge number of scenario writers, Judges, and folks interested in helping run the campaign - and a lot of those people used to be active in Living City.

That said, we still have more than 2,000 active Living City participants, and I believe that we are currently growing on the strength of the new directions we're moving the campaign.

-Ryan, You had over x3 that number about two years ago. Gamedays and homedays were the backbone for Living City. You drove players in droves to Living Greyhawk and other Living games. Living Greyhawk allows for Gamesdays and Home Play and you do not have pay to game.-


The High Level Scenarios we're publishing have little to do with Ruins of Ravens Bluff. The High Level scenarios are aimed at highly experienced players with high level characters.

Ruins of Ravens Bluff is designed as a convention-focused, low level campaign that will appeal to people just starting out in the RPGA or who want to be in on the beginning of a new Living campaign.

The smallest possible event that can host Ruins of Ravens Bluff consists of 15 people. Those 12 people play 3 tables each (3 players and 1 Judge) of 3 scenarios, plus one extra table (usually the Judges playing and one of the players Judging). That's a full day of gaming, starting at about 9am and finishing around midnight.

-Ryan, if you are still using the RPGA membership to part of Living City, you need four players, not three. And having four mods a year for the high level players is not helping you keep players from going to other Living games.--


Living City does have a comprehensive rulings & clarifications document. Currently, its 15 pages long.


Let me put that in perspective.

In the High Level campagin, you can use the core books, the FRCS, Magic of Faerun, Races of Faerun, Sword & Fist, Defenders of the Faith, Tome & Blood, Song & Silence and Masters of the Wild.

Much of that content was not designed to work together, and relies on a DM's discretion to handle various kinds of situations. A Living Campaign, like Ravens Bluff, doesn't have that luxury - we have to have a consistent set of rulings & clarifications that all players share.

Most of the document is "Clarifications". That means, two or more sources in the rules we use are either in conflict, or a source has incomplete instructions on how to adjudicate its use.

Some portions of the document are "Rulings". Most of the "Rulings" we have issued are restrictions - meaning that they remove various parts of the published material from use.

Interestingly our Rulings & Clarifications document will be getting a lot smaller, because a lot of the issues the document covers have been addressed by 3.5.

None of our Rulings & Clarifications are designed to fix problems with the scenarios. We feel the scenarios are as well designed as most of the content on the market, and better than a lot of the stuff you can buy in your local retail store. Especially after they've been played by the highly critical RPGA player community, and we've had a chance to incorporate their feedback.

-Ryan, what feedback? From the players or your inner circle? You never went to us players for feedback. It was your way or the highway, remember? Looks like a lot of us took the highway sir.-

Thanks for giving me a chance to explain how the Living City components interact. If anyone wants more information, the official Living City site is www.livingcity.organizedplay.com.

Ryan

-Ryan, you still have not address the fact that you are making players of the High Level Living City pay to playtest your new venture. I do not think this is fair.- And who is writing the mods Ryan, that company that writing them now? I wonder how long before they just go to WoTC and bypass you to write these mods?