D&D 5E Justin Alexander's review of Shattered Obelisk is pretty scathing

[Ruin Explorer]

A lot of the DnD sphere this year has been more on the negativity side than critique. Take every opportunity possible to whinge about WotC and DnD, always take the most negative possible read on all situations, etc. these complaints are usually high on emotion and low on substance.

Really?

I mean, I guess I've seen a split.

Reviews of actual D&D adventures (and to a lesser extent other products) have tended to be relentlessly positive, to the point of avoiding all but the mildest critique and often intentionally downplaying things that turn out to be quite serious flaws for a lot of people using the adventures.

Has WotC caught a lot of flak? Yes. But this is a year where WotC has made some incredibly headline-worthy bad decisions. The OGL deal is practically legend at this point. People who know nothing about TT RPGs know about it!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

You are not a bad person if you like something of low quality.

Thank god! < clutches his middle-seasons of Archer tightly to his chest >

I also inexplicably love janky 7/10-type FPSes. I love them more than really polished 9.5/10-type FPSes. I don't know why. I think there's something wrong with me and I blame Jurassic Park: Trespasser.

 

[Parmandur]

And drilling down on "he's factually incorrect on the last level" glosses over all the other things he's saying.

Is there a hydra that's been sealed away for centuries with no way to eat? Are there areas of the dungeon where the inhabitants had no way to get to their current location?

I know you get uncomfortable with people criticizing stuff, but that doesn't make the criticism baseless.

Here's the thing: I knew from a casual read through (which is all that I have done so far) that he is misrepresenting Zorzula’s Rest by complaining that a single room boss arena isn't keyed with multiple encounters. I'm not sure if he does this because he didn't understand what he read, or is intentionally misrepresenting it for...some reason I can't even fathom?

I'm not sure without doing a deeper dive if he is honestly representing any of the other issues: maybe, maybe not. Which is why I don't normally read him, because this is not an isolated case. He goes off half-cocked.

 

[jdrakeh]

That's a shame. Justin is one of a few RPG reviewers whose opinions I still trust.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

And drilling down on "he's factually incorrect on the last level" glosses over all the other things he's saying.

Is there a hydra that's been sealed away for centuries with no way to eat? Are there areas of the dungeon where the inhabitants had no way to get to their current location?

I know you get uncomfortable with people criticizing stuff, but that doesn't make the criticism baseless.

In the hydra’s case he is wrong again. The water leads to an underground wellspring the Hydra came from, it’s a recent arrival.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In the hydra’s case he is wrong again. The water leads to an underground wellspring the Hydra came from, it’s a recent arrival.

Thank you.

 

[Parmandur]

In the hydra’s case he is wrong again. The water leads to an underground wellspring the Hydra came from, it’s a recent arrival.

Yeah, kind of figured thst would be the case. He had a similar slapdash approach to his "fixing [campaign]" posts I've read before.

Which is ironic considering the vitriol he aims at what he is misrepresenting as slapdash writing.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Justin Alexander disliking a WOTC due to lack of simulation type consideration?!? I would never suspect such a scenario!!

But seriously, if you're hard-core enough to know about Justin Alexander, then you most likely share his concerns (or are at least aware of them).

Note that I don't think he ever gave an En5ider adventure a bad review. Something to think about,eh?

 

[Gradine]

FWIW, I've found that Alexander has some of the best critical analysis and advice for dungeon-crawl design I've ever read. I've also found his mystery design advice extremely spot on. He's got his preferences though, and a chip on his shoulder about them

 

[Zaukrie]

In the hydra’s case he is wrong again. The water leads to an underground wellspring the Hydra came from, it’s a recent arrival.

I don't see recent arrival? I see "long ago" that the water entered the area....but who knows?