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Out of the Abyss
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<blockquote data-quote="Stormrazor2000" data-source="post: 6701148" data-attributes="member: 86453"><p><strong>3 out of 5 rating for Out of the Abyss</strong></p><p></p><p>To begin with, I should provide a disclaimer that, though I am probably in the minority, I prefer story/plot/event driven adventures. While I enjoy a sandbox now and then, it still needs to have a strong goal and interesting set pieces. So take that into consideration for any bias.</p><p></p><p> I was really intrigued by the premise of Abyss. Pitting characters against Demons, Drow and weird Underdark creatures with interesting NPCs to interact with and cool locations to explore. The overarching plot of stopping demon lords on the rampage seemed good too. </p><p></p><p>After reading through it the authors clearly nailed the interesting NPCs and strange locations part. However the execution fell short for me in two areas. Plot/Motivation and interesting and challenging encounters and situations. In fact when reading through it, the book felt far more like a campaign setting with a random encounter generator then an adventure. This might be somewhat due to the layout of the material which did not lend itself well at all to DMs trying to pick up threads of that is going on and getting a big picture. </p><p></p><p>From a plot perspective the entire first half of the adventure really boiled down to escape the Underdark alive and on the way get hit over the head multiple times that demon lords are spreading madness. I felt like that plot could have been covered well in one or two chapters at most because a lot of it felt like it was just repeating the same theme. Yes there are mini-adventures in the locations, but again they really didn’t feel inspiring or like they advanced the story. They just again, reinforced that demon lords are on the loose. I would have been ok with the repetition even, if it felt like the madness was getting worse, giving it more of a sense of urgency. But it really felt like in each location the PCs had to uncover that there is something wrong and NPCs are slowly going crazy. </p><p></p><p>Once the PCs finally make it to the surface world. There is only a brief chapter about getting downtime. This was a huge letdown. It was a perfect opportunity to show vs. tell that what was unleashed in the Underdark is a threat to the surface world too. Instead all we get is NPCs in the underdark telling the characters that the surface world is next. An opportunity squandered to get players who are from the surface world really invested and motivated. I would have preferred this chapter to be expanded and the previous chapters shortened. </p><p></p><p>The final part of the book is a bit more railroad, and honestly a bit formulaic, but at this point I (at least when reading through it) felt like I would really struggle as a player or DM to be very invested at that point.</p><p></p><p> To sum up, I think Out of the Abyss could best be described as an awesome campaign setting book, with a mediocre adventure attached. If your group loves sandboxes where they come up with their own motivations and goals and the “big” story arc is really secondary to that, then I think you will definitely enjoy this. Or if you are looking for a great Underdark setting book, this is a must buy. Beyond that it is a pass.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Stormrazor2000, post: 6701148, member: 86453"] [b]3 out of 5 rating for Out of the Abyss[/b] To begin with, I should provide a disclaimer that, though I am probably in the minority, I prefer story/plot/event driven adventures. While I enjoy a sandbox now and then, it still needs to have a strong goal and interesting set pieces. So take that into consideration for any bias. I was really intrigued by the premise of Abyss. Pitting characters against Demons, Drow and weird Underdark creatures with interesting NPCs to interact with and cool locations to explore. The overarching plot of stopping demon lords on the rampage seemed good too. After reading through it the authors clearly nailed the interesting NPCs and strange locations part. However the execution fell short for me in two areas. Plot/Motivation and interesting and challenging encounters and situations. In fact when reading through it, the book felt far more like a campaign setting with a random encounter generator then an adventure. This might be somewhat due to the layout of the material which did not lend itself well at all to DMs trying to pick up threads of that is going on and getting a big picture. From a plot perspective the entire first half of the adventure really boiled down to escape the Underdark alive and on the way get hit over the head multiple times that demon lords are spreading madness. I felt like that plot could have been covered well in one or two chapters at most because a lot of it felt like it was just repeating the same theme. Yes there are mini-adventures in the locations, but again they really didn’t feel inspiring or like they advanced the story. They just again, reinforced that demon lords are on the loose. I would have been ok with the repetition even, if it felt like the madness was getting worse, giving it more of a sense of urgency. But it really felt like in each location the PCs had to uncover that there is something wrong and NPCs are slowly going crazy. Once the PCs finally make it to the surface world. There is only a brief chapter about getting downtime. This was a huge letdown. It was a perfect opportunity to show vs. tell that what was unleashed in the Underdark is a threat to the surface world too. Instead all we get is NPCs in the underdark telling the characters that the surface world is next. An opportunity squandered to get players who are from the surface world really invested and motivated. I would have preferred this chapter to be expanded and the previous chapters shortened. The final part of the book is a bit more railroad, and honestly a bit formulaic, but at this point I (at least when reading through it) felt like I would really struggle as a player or DM to be very invested at that point. To sum up, I think Out of the Abyss could best be described as an awesome campaign setting book, with a mediocre adventure attached. If your group loves sandboxes where they come up with their own motivations and goals and the “big” story arc is really secondary to that, then I think you will definitely enjoy this. Or if you are looking for a great Underdark setting book, this is a must buy. Beyond that it is a pass. [/QUOTE]
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