What is Ptolus?

[Mr. Beef]

Don't worry about influences of AU and Arcana Evolved (which is basically a revised and expanded AU). Ptolus is definitely 3e/3.5e. Unearthed Arcana, which is often confused with AU and AE, is a book of rules options for 3e that Wizards made.

That's what I was thinking of, Unearthed Arcana, thank you for pointing that out. Didn't Cook do UA as well or was that someone else? Then I have never heard of AU or AE and may take a look at them once I get a chance to go to my FLGS.

By the way, my review is the one linked to by Psion above (which was a pleasant surprise, with him being the EN World reviewer emeritus and all). Sorry it didn't provide the kind of info you were looking for.

I looked at it and was suprised how good it was. Lots of detail and gave me a lot of stuff to work with. It was even better than the RPG.net review I found. I was just bemoaning the fact that there was no "official" review for it on the EN World review page, which is the first place I go if I want information on anything.

I've seen some dispute whether Ptolus is, as Monte said, "D&D turned up to 11." I think it is, as it really takes many of D&D's core assumptions and runs with them. What does that mean? Well, it doesn't shy away from the implications of magic and monsters existing in the game world. Ptolus is rife with magic and monsters. It's a fun setting, with a ton of potential. It's big, colorful, and has more than a touch of the kind of "wahoo!" feel that made something like the City State of the Invincible Overlord (another fantastic RPG city) so cool. The City State is pretty much THE "wahoo!" RPG city, with all manner of bizarre and outright strange denizens and locations; Ptolus only looks more sedate due to the amount of work Monte put into making the whole thing hang together logically (given the core assumptions of D&D). That's not a knock on the City State; the City State is a classic example of old school RPG city design, where Ptolus is a classic example of new school city design. Both are fun in their own ways.

In terms of sheer size Ptolus is D&D turned up to 11. With everything I need to run a game in one book (albeit a very large book) for one set price and not having to worry about purchasing another two or three books to get all the flavor of the world is just good in my eyes. Everything I have read about it makes it a rather good jumping on point.

Here are some bits of coolness I like about Ptolus; this is more a stream-of-consciousness listing: a good-aligned ogre mage who may be the key to saving the world; centaurs running around in armor; a vigilante group that is essentially a bunch of butt-kicking nuns; a big cemetery that's kinda sedate by day, but don't be there when the sun goes down; a "home base" for the PCs that they can be awarded with if they manage to save the city (plenty of hooks for this to happen); a big honkin' dungeon complex beneath the city (the Banewarrens, a great module Monte did a few years back, is included on the CD that comes with the book)...plus tons more stuff. I mean, I was amazed by all the adventure hooks.

Everything you point out is something that makes D&D fun to me. The vigalante group of nuns sounds like something I would have never come up with. I'm not to hot on dungeon crawls though. I've never been in one at all, and I'm not looking forward to running one. I know the game is called Dungeons and Dragons but it just seems like if you've been in one Dungeon you've been in them all.

In my opinion, Ptolus has the most potential of any city made for d20 to conjure up a magic all its own.

Thank you for your opinion. I've just about made up my mind, and I want to order which ever one I choose by the end of the week so I'll have it just after the new year.

I just wish I could hear more about Worlds Largest City. After the (mostly) positive reviews I heard about Worlds Lagest Dungeon I figure that it would be good as well.

Thank you Colonel

Mr. Beef

 

[Mr. Beef]

Unearthed Arcana (WotC Book) = Alternative rules and new options

D'oh! I got mixed up. I must be dyslexic or something because I should have known that. Its been so long since I looked at it and I guess I got mixed up.

Arcana Unearthed/Evolved (Malhavoc Press) = Monte Cook's Diamond Throne Campaign Setting.

I just googled it and it looks good.

Thank you for pointing that out.

Mr. Beef

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Didn't Cook do UA as well or was that someone else?

No, it was a number of WotC staff members who did UA.

Have to admit that for as much of a fan of Monte as I am, Arcana Unearthed and Arcana Evolved left me cold.

Regarding dungeoncrawls...they don't have to all be the same. It really depends on the writer of the adventure and the DM who runs it.

 

[Mr. Beef]

No, it was a number of WotC staff members who did UA.

Ahh, now it clicks in my brain. I looked at it a long time ago after heraing how revolutionary it was and decided to check it out. It was a big yawner to me. D&D to me is always going to be a roll a D20 and add your bonuses to hit and then if you hit, roll your damage and add bonuses if any. WotC just streamlined things with 3.0, but there are a few things I want to add from AD&D that I liked and want to see in the game. Like bonus XP based on a certain numer on a stat starting at first level. Like for Rogues, if they got a Dexterity of 15 or higher at first level then you get a 5% or 10% bonus to XP because that's what a lot of Rogue skills require.

Have to admit that for as much of a fan of Monte as I am, Arcana Unearthed and Arcana Evolved left me cold.

I'm sure they look good and are loaded with information, but I'm just barely scratching the surface with Mr. Cook's career. Now that he's leaving the gaming community I feel that I'm going to be missing something. Ptolus would be my first major purchase of something by Mr. Cook, and I want it to be good so I'm not left thinking, "This guy's a hack."

Regarding dungeoncrawls...they don't have to all be the same. It really depends on the writer of the adventure and the DM who runs it.

I almost fell for Worlds Largest Dungeon to run in 2005, but I never got to purchase or DM it because I was working and never had the time to run anything let alone play anything.

It just seems that most dungeon crawls involve killing things and little roleplaying. A city setting allows the players to interact with NPC's and gives the DM something to do besides keep track of initiative count and monster hit points. As a player, the FR campaign that I was in in 2003 and 2004 was in Cormyr and the DM was good at giving the atmosphere of the city of Susail. I just like city settings because they allow players to play their characters like they want to instead of the one dimensional killing of monsters in dungeons.

Thank you Colonel.

Mr. Beef

 

[Toscadero]

I just finished running my players through The Banewarrens (which comes free as a PDF with Ptolus). I found that it did a great job of creating a "dungeon" that had a reason for existing. Since it is located below Ptolus, it also had a lot of sections that led interaction with various groups that exist in the city above. Definately not a standard Dungeon Crawl.

You may want to download the Player's Guide to Ptolus which is available as a free download at Montecook.com. It is a 32 page player's handout for the players. It gives a good feel to the world and Ptolus. And it is free.

The big book comes with enough adventures to go to 6th level. In addition to the Banewarrens, it also comes with a PDF of the Night of Dissolution which is levels 6-10 roughly. Plenty of hooks, adventures and general ideas.

Well worth the money.

 

[Mr. Beef]

I just finished running my players through The Banewarrens (which comes free as a PDF with Ptolus). I found that it did a great job of creating a "dungeon" that had a reason for existing. Since it is located below Ptolus, it also had a lot of sections that led interaction with various groups that exist in the city above. Definately not a standard Dungeon Crawl.

Thank you for giving feedback about one of the adventures of Ptolus. I was wondering what was all involved with theose adventures that came with the book on CD.

You may want to download the Player's Guide to Ptolus which is available as a free download at Montecook.com. It is a 32 page player's handout for the players. It gives a good feel to the world and Ptolus. And it is free.

I'm downloading it now so I should be able to look at it tomarrow morning and make my final decision. Well I was, until I could not get to Drive Thru RPG that has the download. Maybe tomarrow.

The big book comes with enough adventures to go to 6th level. In addition to the Banewarrens, it also comes with a PDF of the Night of Dissolution which is levels 6-10 roughly. Plenty of hooks, adventures and general ideas.

My main question is, does it have enough pre-generated adventures to take players form Level 1 to Level 20 or am I going to have to make a few adventures along the way?

Well worth the money.

It's good to hear from someone who has put it to use.

I've about made up my mind. If I can download the Players Handbook for Ptolus then reading that will be the clencher on whether I get it or not.

Thank you Toscadero.

Mr. Beef

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My main question is, does it have enough pre-generated adventures to take players form Level 1 to Level 20 or am I going to have to make a few adventures along the way?

There are adventures in the book to go from 1-6. On the CD are TWO adventures to let you go from 6-10 (Banewarrens and the Night of Dissolution, both also available as hard copies). Beyond that, there are fully statted out locations to let you go from 10-20. Quite a few levels have overlap.

The statted-out locations that aren't actual modules have plenty of hooks for characters to go there; frankly, by the time they're the right level, I suspect most characters will be raring to go to the Dark Reliquary, for instance, at least until the first time they get chased out of there screaming.

And that's assuming you never have the characters do a freeform urban adventure thing, which would be hard to avoid.

The setting is also explicitly designed to let you put almost any dungeon underneath it, if you're so inclined. Monte's Queen of Lies is back in print and fits into a very specific spot under Ptolus. The older Demon God's Fane and one of Monte's Atlas modules also were designed for Ptolus and can be re-Ptolusized more or less instantly.

There's at least a dozen Goodman Games DCC modules that could be dropped into Ptolus with almost no work at all. Hell, you could even stick Rappan Athuk or the World's Largest Dungeon under the city with zero trouble. I'm likely to stick the "Expedition to" versions of the Ruins of Greyhawk or Undermountain under Ptolus IMC.

 

[Mr. Beef]

There are adventures in the book to go from 1-6. On the CD are TWO adventures to let you go from 6-10 (Banewarrens and the Night of Dissolution, both also available as hard copies). Beyond that, there are fully statted out locations to let you go from 10-20. Quite a few levels have overlap.

Thanks for the information. I'm willing to do the work after they reach level 10 because by that time I will have enough experience to make adventures without the need for hand holding. I just hope they don't turn out TPK's.

The statted-out locations that aren't actual modules have plenty of hooks for characters to go there; frankly, by the time they're the right level, I suspect most characters will be raring to go to the Dark Reliquary, for instance, at least until the first time they get chased out of there screaming.

This is good to hear because I don't want to do all the work, in my home made setting, of locations for them to go and then have to railroad them into going there.

And that's assuming you never have the characters do a freeform urban adventure thing, which would be hard to avoid.

Freeform urban adventure can be fun. That's how the 3.0/3.5 D&D game I played in a few years ago was once we got done with the major arc of the game.

The setting is also explicitly designed to let you put almost any dungeon underneath it, if you're so inclined. Monte's Queen of Lies is back in print and fits into a very specific spot under Ptolus. The older Demon God's Fane and one of Monte's Atlas modules also were designed for Ptolus and can be re-Ptolusized more or less instantly.
There's at least a dozen Goodman Games DCC modules that could be dropped into Ptolus with almost no work at all. Hell, you could even stick Rappan Athuk or the World's Largest Dungeon under the city with zero trouble. I'm likely to stick the "Expedition to" versions of the Ruins of Greyhawk or Undermountain under Ptolus IMC.

I'll have to look at these. Thanks for the tip. I know about Worlds Largest Dungeon and that's another 20 levels unto itself. I'll stick with what Monte Cook has in the setting book.

Thank you Whizbang Dustyboots

Mr. Beef

 

[sckeener]

I'd be interested to hear how much people have enjoyed/read Ptolus that got it for Christmas.

I'm betting they haven't read very far but are enjoying it.

So how many people have gotten Ptolus for Christmas?

 

[Kristivas]

How much longer will you be able to buy Ptolus as a book? I really hate PDFs.