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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6707099" data-attributes="member: 6787650"><p>I don't have a ton of time to answer, but PotA did not impress me at all when I flipped through it in the bookstore, whereas OotA impressed me enough that I bought it, rolled up a party of four PCs for solo play so I could test it out before offering it to my players, and then liked it so much that I started a new (off-weeks) campaign with my players before running even the first chapter in solo mode.</p><p></p><p>I love the fact that it functions as kind of an extended DMG for the Underdark (lots of random tables and terrain hazards), the NPC backstories for your fellow slaves, the fact that every chapter has notes on what kind of lighting exists in the area... there are things I hate too (permanent anti-magic zone in the slave pens, of all places--who would waste effort on putting <em>that</em> there instead of just killing the spellcasting slaves?) but so far they've been easy to change.</p><p></p><p>I haven't gotten past chapter two yet, and it's possible my satisfaction could change, but so far I'm still loving it. (I do like what I've glanced at in later chapters, and am looking forward to some nice battles against Duergar elemental knights.)</p><p></p><p>RE: question #3, my speculation is that perhaps the things which I love about OotA (freeform nature) are also things which make it harder for novice DMs to run, because it's not pre-scripted. I'm still fairly new as a DM myself and I admit that I had some trouble getting things rolling the first session--the players weren't eager to gather information or meet NPCs or do anything proactive, and it wasn't until the drow guards attempted to kick one of the PCs and he started a fight that things got back in comfortable territory. It would not shock me if the next session were a TPK and we re-started with a new party back in the slave pens, being a little bit more cautious this time about starting a fight with a whole drow outpost...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6707099, member: 6787650"] I don't have a ton of time to answer, but PotA did not impress me at all when I flipped through it in the bookstore, whereas OotA impressed me enough that I bought it, rolled up a party of four PCs for solo play so I could test it out before offering it to my players, and then liked it so much that I started a new (off-weeks) campaign with my players before running even the first chapter in solo mode. I love the fact that it functions as kind of an extended DMG for the Underdark (lots of random tables and terrain hazards), the NPC backstories for your fellow slaves, the fact that every chapter has notes on what kind of lighting exists in the area... there are things I hate too (permanent anti-magic zone in the slave pens, of all places--who would waste effort on putting [I]that[/I] there instead of just killing the spellcasting slaves?) but so far they've been easy to change. I haven't gotten past chapter two yet, and it's possible my satisfaction could change, but so far I'm still loving it. (I do like what I've glanced at in later chapters, and am looking forward to some nice battles against Duergar elemental knights.) RE: question #3, my speculation is that perhaps the things which I love about OotA (freeform nature) are also things which make it harder for novice DMs to run, because it's not pre-scripted. I'm still fairly new as a DM myself and I admit that I had some trouble getting things rolling the first session--the players weren't eager to gather information or meet NPCs or do anything proactive, and it wasn't until the drow guards attempted to kick one of the PCs and he started a fight that things got back in comfortable territory. It would not shock me if the next session were a TPK and we re-started with a new party back in the slave pens, being a little bit more cautious this time about starting a fight with a whole drow outpost... [/QUOTE]
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