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[Spoilers] Arkgeist Chronicles
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<blockquote data-quote="EarthSeraphEdna" data-source="post: 7830932" data-attributes="member: 49309"><p>Elfaivar in book #8 seems underbaked, yes. This is not even a matter of word count, since I think you placed too much effort and word count into places that never see in-game action, such as the various Elfaivaran colonies. There is not enough spotlight on things that are actually bound to come up and provoke questions, like Seedism, how the Holy Wars even started (my DM and I poked into this matter deeply and realized that the chronology and conquests of Crisillyir do not actually add up), the various sects of the Vekeshi, and how the enclaves genuinely work. We talked about this in another thread, and I do not think the Kasvarina angle, as it relates to Elfaivar, is all that well-explored. There are a tiny few news reports that hint at radical revenge cultists, but we never really see how this plays out on-screen, nor do we see the various modes of Vekeshi mysticism.</p><p></p><p>I am playing a non-Vekeshi eladrin, so I was naturally asking many questions about Elfaivar over the course of book #8, and my DM had to make up most of the details. Much of the lore on the Elfaivaran colonies saw no in-game action at all.</p><p></p><p>I like the way my DM handled the Ascetia angle (my DM forgot to include their very well-written "graves of Elfaivar" section), but the baseline method of presenting Ascetia came across as shoehorned to me. There was minimal foreshadowing on all of these eladrin ghosts having conveniently wound up in one specific Gyre plane, let alone the prospect of resurrecting a bajillion eladrin women, or even the significant consequences of suddenly resurrecting so large a population back into the Waking, which itself is a very thought-provoking topic. Plus, it did not help that the way the Great Malice played out was different from the established rules on the Sacrament of Apotheosis, which was quite puzzling.</p><p></p><p>Magic being inconsistent works in some settings, but I do not think it works particularly well in <strong>this</strong> setting, not when the adventure path makes a big fuss about viewing the world through a scientific lens and building pieces of "arcanotechnology." All throughout this adventure path, our group has been playing with two distinct thrusts: one, <strong>"scientifically" understanding the world and its many magics and technologies</strong>, and two, <strong>using our superheroic skills and magics to change up the status quo of the whole world on many cultural, political, magical, and technological</strong> levels.</p><p></p><p>The adventure path's baseline has been sufficient to support #2, because while <em>Zeitgeist</em> can be played in a lackadaisical manner with unambitious parties, it has a strong foundation for letting an ambitious group really shake up the status quo and change the world in vast, sweeping ways. But the adventure path has been shaky at best for #1, and that has been a huge disappointment, because it makes trying to develop new ways of using magic and technology a crapshoot at best. It is tough to play an inventor, especially a magical inventor, of all the "arcanotechnology" that the adventure path loves to emphasize, when various important pieces of magic keep changing from book to book. The way planar traits and planar lighthouses work is the most egregious example of this.</p><p></p><p>I think that you accomplished the first of your goals, Ryan Nock. I strongly appreciate the broad strokes of the storytelling, if not the finer details when more closely zoomed-in. The broad strokes of each major plot point make for an absolutely incredible narrative. The "layered mystery," as you put it, has had rough edges when closely scrutinized, but overall, it has made for the single best adventure path I have had the pleasure of experiencing.</p><p></p><p>I see that for the "sequel," you will be trying to throw some metaphorical bones towards those few groups who tried to play <em>Zeitgeist</em> in a more bombastic, "scientific," overturning-the-status-quo manner, those groups who used the course of the adventure path to change the world into a wild society of heavy arcanotechnology and abundant otherworldly magic. I strongly thank and appreciate you for doing so.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EarthSeraphEdna, post: 7830932, member: 49309"] Elfaivar in book #8 seems underbaked, yes. This is not even a matter of word count, since I think you placed too much effort and word count into places that never see in-game action, such as the various Elfaivaran colonies. There is not enough spotlight on things that are actually bound to come up and provoke questions, like Seedism, how the Holy Wars even started (my DM and I poked into this matter deeply and realized that the chronology and conquests of Crisillyir do not actually add up), the various sects of the Vekeshi, and how the enclaves genuinely work. We talked about this in another thread, and I do not think the Kasvarina angle, as it relates to Elfaivar, is all that well-explored. There are a tiny few news reports that hint at radical revenge cultists, but we never really see how this plays out on-screen, nor do we see the various modes of Vekeshi mysticism. I am playing a non-Vekeshi eladrin, so I was naturally asking many questions about Elfaivar over the course of book #8, and my DM had to make up most of the details. Much of the lore on the Elfaivaran colonies saw no in-game action at all. I like the way my DM handled the Ascetia angle (my DM forgot to include their very well-written "graves of Elfaivar" section), but the baseline method of presenting Ascetia came across as shoehorned to me. There was minimal foreshadowing on all of these eladrin ghosts having conveniently wound up in one specific Gyre plane, let alone the prospect of resurrecting a bajillion eladrin women, or even the significant consequences of suddenly resurrecting so large a population back into the Waking, which itself is a very thought-provoking topic. Plus, it did not help that the way the Great Malice played out was different from the established rules on the Sacrament of Apotheosis, which was quite puzzling. Magic being inconsistent works in some settings, but I do not think it works particularly well in [B]this[/B] setting, not when the adventure path makes a big fuss about viewing the world through a scientific lens and building pieces of "arcanotechnology." All throughout this adventure path, our group has been playing with two distinct thrusts: one, [B]"scientifically" understanding the world and its many magics and technologies[/B], and two, [B]using our superheroic skills and magics to change up the status quo of the whole world on many cultural, political, magical, and technological[/B] levels. The adventure path's baseline has been sufficient to support #2, because while [I]Zeitgeist[/I] can be played in a lackadaisical manner with unambitious parties, it has a strong foundation for letting an ambitious group really shake up the status quo and change the world in vast, sweeping ways. But the adventure path has been shaky at best for #1, and that has been a huge disappointment, because it makes trying to develop new ways of using magic and technology a crapshoot at best. It is tough to play an inventor, especially a magical inventor, of all the "arcanotechnology" that the adventure path loves to emphasize, when various important pieces of magic keep changing from book to book. The way planar traits and planar lighthouses work is the most egregious example of this. I think that you accomplished the first of your goals, Ryan Nock. I strongly appreciate the broad strokes of the storytelling, if not the finer details when more closely zoomed-in. The broad strokes of each major plot point make for an absolutely incredible narrative. The "layered mystery," as you put it, has had rough edges when closely scrutinized, but overall, it has made for the single best adventure path I have had the pleasure of experiencing. I see that for the "sequel," you will be trying to throw some metaphorical bones towards those few groups who tried to play [I]Zeitgeist[/I] in a more bombastic, "scientific," overturning-the-status-quo manner, those groups who used the course of the adventure path to change the world into a wild society of heavy arcanotechnology and abundant otherworldly magic. I strongly thank and appreciate you for doing so. [/QUOTE]
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