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Storm King's Thunder
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<blockquote data-quote="Prakriti" data-source="post: 6895431" data-attributes="member: 6855149"><p><strong>2 out of 5 rating for Storm King's Thunder</strong></p><p></p><p>It seemed like every new adventure improved on the last. Hoard of the Dragon Queen was a rocky start, but things started to improve with Princes of the Apocalypse. Then came Out of the Abyss -- an excellent adventure -- and Curse of Strahd, a solid 5 out of 5. Now, however, we have our first backward step. Storm King’s Thunder is a total mess.</p><p></p><p>To begin with, this adventure involves a great deal of exploration, but the provided map is tiny compared to the area it encompasses, and it doesn't have a grid. We really need something better than this. Curse of Strahd, for comparison, came with a big, fold-out map of Barovia (which didn't even need it -- Barovia is small enough that characters never need to spend a night outdoors). This adventure, however, has characters leaving well-traveled roads, traversing wilderness, and making week-long journeys. If any adventure needs a big, fold-out map, it’s this one -- something to spread across the table and get players excited about exploring. As it is, chapter 3 looks like a boring slog, and it'll take a first-rate DM to keep players interested as they spend yet another week traveling from one place to another.</p><p></p><p>As for the plot -- others have criticized it, and I have to agree: There's very little there. On looking through Storm King's Thunder, my first thought for a possible subtitle is "An Adventure without a Plot." The giants are little more than a back-drop for most the story, and the book does a very poor job of involving the players in any meaningful way. They spend a large chunk of the adventure running errands for random villagers and shopkeepers while everyone sits around, scratching their heads and wondering what's gotten into the giants.</p><p></p><p>Which is a big issue for me. For most of the adventure, the characters aren't heroes. They're just random people who wander around and happen to be nearby when disaster strikes. That's not how I envision my heroes, nor does it really comport with the game's own guidelines. Levels 5-10, for example, are supposed to represent characters as "Heroes of the Realm." But for most of Storm King's Thunder, the characters are about as heroic as deliverymen. They spend an awful lot of time pooping around and doing favors for random villagers.</p><p></p><p>For example: For defending the town of Triboar, the characters are "rewarded" with a quest to deliver horse harnesses to a nearby frontier town. According to the "Developments" section: "When the characters arrive at Noanar's Hold, they are told that they can find Amrath Mulnobar in the keep overlooking the village. Amrath takes the harnesses off their hands without so much as a thank you. Thus ends the quest."</p><p></p><p>Thrilling. </p><p></p><p>We're also told in a further four paragraphs that if the characters are "inclined to spend the night in the White Hart Inn" (and why would they be?) they'll encounter some brothers who do some suspicious things, and if the characters investigate, they'll uncover some provincial intrigue. Also thrilling. And inconsequential. Unfortunately, the book is filled with "quests" and vignettes like this that have nothing to do with the larger story. </p><p></p><p>In the end, Storm King's Thunder is a mess. As a sandbox, it might work. But even then, the DM has a lot of work cut out for him if he wants to make it halfway compelling.</p><p></p><p>2/5</p><p></p><p>I leave you with a series of nitpicks:</p><p></p><p>- None of the dungeons have boxed text. DM's, you're on your own.</p><p></p><p>- The actual adventure begins at level 5. The first chapter is a rush-job to get players to level 5, and it’s not very good.</p><p></p><p>- The maps are disappointing. Many are 1 square = 50 feet or 1 square = 20 feet, which makes them useless as battle maps. Granted, most of the dungeons are 1 square = 10 feet, which converts fairly well to virtual tabletops, but the maps don't look detailed enough to withstand so much magnification. In the end, I have to wonder how Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds were able to convert this adventure into an online module.</p><p></p><p>- There are no player options.</p><p></p><p>- There are few new magic items and monsters.</p><p></p><p>- “Rune magic” adds nothing new to the game. Runes work just like any other magic item. Find one, attune to it, enjoy some magical benefits. They never tie into the plot.</p><p></p><p>- The characters are given an airship, but they do nothing to deserve it. A group of strangers literally flies up to them and asks if they want it. Really. </p><p></p><p> - At one point, the characters are tasked with looting burial mounds before they can advance the plot. But they only need to loot one, and most of the burial mounds are dull as dishwater. For example, one mound has a pair of elk nearby. That’s it. The characters can fly in, take the relic, wave goodbye to the elk, and leave. Mission accomplished.</p><p></p><p>- Even if you wanted to salvage the adventure for parts, there’s very little worth taking. The dungeons are unimaginative and don’t offer much in the way of traps or puzzles. Most dungeons are just a matter of going from one room to the next, killing the giants inside.</p><p></p><p>- A lot of the adventure’s word-count is wasted on insignificant details about places that the characters will probably never visit. A trading post in Triboar is allotted three paragraphs, detailing the proprietors, their relationship with the local lords, their hidden treasure stash, the Perception check needed to spot it, and the stash’s contents. None of this is germane to the plot, nor is it likely to ever come into play. Unfortunately, each of the three starting towns get a similarly verbose write-up, recording every insignificant detail.</p><p></p><p>- The characters start in 1 of 3 towns. They need to loot 1 of 9 burial mounds. They need to defeat 1 of 5 giant lords. In the end, probably 80% of the book’s content will never see play, either because it’s unnecessary to the plot, or because it’s irrelevant fluff. This means that, of all the published story-lines, SKT is the shortest. </p><p></p><p>- Advancing the plot requires some unfortunate rail-roading. For example, in order for the story to move from the aimlessly-wandering-the-wilderness phase to the looting-the-burial-mounds phase, the party has to be convinced to trust a random frost giant they meet and follow him to a temple. Until this encounter takes place, the story can’t advance, and the book doesn’t take into account the possibility that the characters might attack and kill the giant, or that they might simply distrust him or not see the value of visiting the temple. Considering the whole plot revolves around fighting and killing giants, this seems like a grave oversight. </p><p></p><p>- So many other things. The only reason I’m not giving SKT a 1/5 is because Tyranny of Dragons is probably worse.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Prakriti, post: 6895431, member: 6855149"] [b]2 out of 5 rating for Storm King's Thunder[/b] It seemed like every new adventure improved on the last. Hoard of the Dragon Queen was a rocky start, but things started to improve with Princes of the Apocalypse. Then came Out of the Abyss -- an excellent adventure -- and Curse of Strahd, a solid 5 out of 5. Now, however, we have our first backward step. Storm King’s Thunder is a total mess. To begin with, this adventure involves a great deal of exploration, but the provided map is tiny compared to the area it encompasses, and it doesn't have a grid. We really need something better than this. Curse of Strahd, for comparison, came with a big, fold-out map of Barovia (which didn't even need it -- Barovia is small enough that characters never need to spend a night outdoors). This adventure, however, has characters leaving well-traveled roads, traversing wilderness, and making week-long journeys. If any adventure needs a big, fold-out map, it’s this one -- something to spread across the table and get players excited about exploring. As it is, chapter 3 looks like a boring slog, and it'll take a first-rate DM to keep players interested as they spend yet another week traveling from one place to another. As for the plot -- others have criticized it, and I have to agree: There's very little there. On looking through Storm King's Thunder, my first thought for a possible subtitle is "An Adventure without a Plot." The giants are little more than a back-drop for most the story, and the book does a very poor job of involving the players in any meaningful way. They spend a large chunk of the adventure running errands for random villagers and shopkeepers while everyone sits around, scratching their heads and wondering what's gotten into the giants. Which is a big issue for me. For most of the adventure, the characters aren't heroes. They're just random people who wander around and happen to be nearby when disaster strikes. That's not how I envision my heroes, nor does it really comport with the game's own guidelines. Levels 5-10, for example, are supposed to represent characters as "Heroes of the Realm." But for most of Storm King's Thunder, the characters are about as heroic as deliverymen. They spend an awful lot of time pooping around and doing favors for random villagers. For example: For defending the town of Triboar, the characters are "rewarded" with a quest to deliver horse harnesses to a nearby frontier town. According to the "Developments" section: "When the characters arrive at Noanar's Hold, they are told that they can find Amrath Mulnobar in the keep overlooking the village. Amrath takes the harnesses off their hands without so much as a thank you. Thus ends the quest." Thrilling. We're also told in a further four paragraphs that if the characters are "inclined to spend the night in the White Hart Inn" (and why would they be?) they'll encounter some brothers who do some suspicious things, and if the characters investigate, they'll uncover some provincial intrigue. Also thrilling. And inconsequential. Unfortunately, the book is filled with "quests" and vignettes like this that have nothing to do with the larger story. In the end, Storm King's Thunder is a mess. As a sandbox, it might work. But even then, the DM has a lot of work cut out for him if he wants to make it halfway compelling. 2/5 I leave you with a series of nitpicks: - None of the dungeons have boxed text. DM's, you're on your own. - The actual adventure begins at level 5. The first chapter is a rush-job to get players to level 5, and it’s not very good. - The maps are disappointing. Many are 1 square = 50 feet or 1 square = 20 feet, which makes them useless as battle maps. Granted, most of the dungeons are 1 square = 10 feet, which converts fairly well to virtual tabletops, but the maps don't look detailed enough to withstand so much magnification. In the end, I have to wonder how Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds were able to convert this adventure into an online module. - There are no player options. - There are few new magic items and monsters. - “Rune magic” adds nothing new to the game. Runes work just like any other magic item. Find one, attune to it, enjoy some magical benefits. They never tie into the plot. - The characters are given an airship, but they do nothing to deserve it. A group of strangers literally flies up to them and asks if they want it. Really. - At one point, the characters are tasked with looting burial mounds before they can advance the plot. But they only need to loot one, and most of the burial mounds are dull as dishwater. For example, one mound has a pair of elk nearby. That’s it. The characters can fly in, take the relic, wave goodbye to the elk, and leave. Mission accomplished. - Even if you wanted to salvage the adventure for parts, there’s very little worth taking. The dungeons are unimaginative and don’t offer much in the way of traps or puzzles. Most dungeons are just a matter of going from one room to the next, killing the giants inside. - A lot of the adventure’s word-count is wasted on insignificant details about places that the characters will probably never visit. A trading post in Triboar is allotted three paragraphs, detailing the proprietors, their relationship with the local lords, their hidden treasure stash, the Perception check needed to spot it, and the stash’s contents. None of this is germane to the plot, nor is it likely to ever come into play. Unfortunately, each of the three starting towns get a similarly verbose write-up, recording every insignificant detail. - The characters start in 1 of 3 towns. They need to loot 1 of 9 burial mounds. They need to defeat 1 of 5 giant lords. In the end, probably 80% of the book’s content will never see play, either because it’s unnecessary to the plot, or because it’s irrelevant fluff. This means that, of all the published story-lines, SKT is the shortest. - Advancing the plot requires some unfortunate rail-roading. For example, in order for the story to move from the aimlessly-wandering-the-wilderness phase to the looting-the-burial-mounds phase, the party has to be convinced to trust a random frost giant they meet and follow him to a temple. Until this encounter takes place, the story can’t advance, and the book doesn’t take into account the possibility that the characters might attack and kill the giant, or that they might simply distrust him or not see the value of visiting the temple. Considering the whole plot revolves around fighting and killing giants, this seems like a grave oversight. - So many other things. The only reason I’m not giving SKT a 1/5 is because Tyranny of Dragons is probably worse. [/QUOTE]
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