TheSword
Legend
I think the campaign books have been very different so far and have catered for different things.
The two Dragon Queen books were very linear and also straightforward to run but consequentially very railroading as befits an introductory module. Far too much so for my taste.
Princes Of the Apocalypse was the opposite and felt like a true open plan sandbox to me. There were a lot of threads to tie things together in chapter six. It’s biggest criticism - that it is too easy to get over your head - had a simple solution. Treat the surface forts as level 1 and drop enough hints about the other forts that they recognize the temples below as level 2, and decide to clear out most of level 1 first. Most parties I see are very reluctant to leave enemies behind them.
Out of the Abyss felt like a series of mini adventures linked by what was effectively a setting guide for the underdark - along with an overall campaign theme. While detail was missing in some area, I found it massively inspiring as a story arc.
Storm King’s Thunder was the most tenuous for me. I felt it was too broad geographically while the locations were a bit uninspiring, that might just be personal preference though. Ultimately I thought the adventure background and the main storyline the weakest of all the campaigns.
Lastly (for me) Curse of Strahd was quite simply the best adventure I have read or DM’d in 20 years and it is a very high bar to expect all the others to live up to. The perfect mix of sandbox, storyline and setting.
I haven’t seen Tomb of Annihilation yet. I’m kinda hoping someone else will run it for me.
The recent campaigns all offer something different and most break away from the heavily scripted and quite often unrelated slog that Pathfinder APs have turned into. We’ve really struggled with the last few we ran. Shattered Star was effectively one long linear series of rooms for the first two books, with some slightly more interesting locations we never made it past book four because of the sheer time it took.
Also I can really tell that Pathfinder APs have installments written by varying authors, the quality and in some cases the theme can vary wildly. I like how 5es campaigns feel unified. About to start Dming Princes and to be honest I can’t wait.
I want them to keep doing what they’re doing - trying new things and using what they learn.
The two Dragon Queen books were very linear and also straightforward to run but consequentially very railroading as befits an introductory module. Far too much so for my taste.
Princes Of the Apocalypse was the opposite and felt like a true open plan sandbox to me. There were a lot of threads to tie things together in chapter six. It’s biggest criticism - that it is too easy to get over your head - had a simple solution. Treat the surface forts as level 1 and drop enough hints about the other forts that they recognize the temples below as level 2, and decide to clear out most of level 1 first. Most parties I see are very reluctant to leave enemies behind them.
Out of the Abyss felt like a series of mini adventures linked by what was effectively a setting guide for the underdark - along with an overall campaign theme. While detail was missing in some area, I found it massively inspiring as a story arc.
Storm King’s Thunder was the most tenuous for me. I felt it was too broad geographically while the locations were a bit uninspiring, that might just be personal preference though. Ultimately I thought the adventure background and the main storyline the weakest of all the campaigns.
Lastly (for me) Curse of Strahd was quite simply the best adventure I have read or DM’d in 20 years and it is a very high bar to expect all the others to live up to. The perfect mix of sandbox, storyline and setting.
I haven’t seen Tomb of Annihilation yet. I’m kinda hoping someone else will run it for me.
The recent campaigns all offer something different and most break away from the heavily scripted and quite often unrelated slog that Pathfinder APs have turned into. We’ve really struggled with the last few we ran. Shattered Star was effectively one long linear series of rooms for the first two books, with some slightly more interesting locations we never made it past book four because of the sheer time it took.
Also I can really tell that Pathfinder APs have installments written by varying authors, the quality and in some cases the theme can vary wildly. I like how 5es campaigns feel unified. About to start Dming Princes and to be honest I can’t wait.
I want them to keep doing what they’re doing - trying new things and using what they learn.
Last edited: