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

[Umbran]

I didn't know Justin was banned from EN World. Anyone know the story there? Feel free to PM me rather than post it here.

Mod Note:
Is your curiosity worth the red text and moderator hairy eyeball for violating the "don't discuss moderation in-thread" rule?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Yup. Dead hobby any second now......

I don't think he's going as far as "dead hobby", but I think he's trying to imply the quality of adventure-writing is going to go downhill and even that remains to be seen.

I have to say I am pretty surprised WotC let this go out like this, because LMoP was such a cool product, and it's a real shame for the rest of this to be a mess.

 

[darjr]

I don't think he's going as far as "dead hobby", but I think he's trying to imply the quality of adventure-writing is going to go downhill and even that remains to be seen.

I have to say I am pretty surprised WotC let this go out like this, because LMoP was such a cool product, and it's a real shame for the rest of this to be a mess.

I do have issues with this adventure. Though my biggest issue I don't think he mentions. But he does mention some of them.

Also I must admit I have a bias on this adventure.

Edit: changed to bias. I think I'm a fair judge, but I do have a bias.

 

[Parmandur]

Yup. Dead hobby any second now......

Well, you see, if we don't all play the One True Way it will lead to chaos and ruin. Because...reasons.

 

[Parmandur]

I do have issues with this adventure. Though my biggest issue I don't think he mentions. But he does mention some of them.

Also I must admit I'm not a fair judge for this adventure.

It's not perfect. The best part is Lost Mines (and that endgame Dungeon). It's...kind of regular regulation D&D? With some tentacles?

But to make it out like they "forgot to key a whole dungeon"? Kooky.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I like his whimsy actually. I just don't think he's as good a DM or adventure writer as some people make him out to be. He's not bad but he's not the god of D&D either.

The whimsy is probably what he’s strongest at.

 

[Distracted DM]

I don't think he's going as far as "dead hobby", but I think he's trying to imply the quality of adventure-writing is going to go downhill and even that remains to be seen.

I have to say I am pretty surprised WotC let this go out like this, because LMoP was such a cool product, and it's a real shame for the rest of this to be a mess.

If half of the book is an existing product, and you can repackage and resell it (and end the availability of it on your digital platform for new users) then it seems like a cost-effective move.

It takes a lot less work to put out than a completely new product, you have its sterling reputation to sell it to new and old users, and you make the original version unavailable to acquire on the platform that you're heavily pushing.

WotC is trying to move product, not preserve a legacy of quality.

 

[Charlaquin]

Lol

He is an excellent dungeon master and a prolific adventure writer, but it really is quantity over quality since the days of 2E.

I was not really blown away by what I saw of his DMing on Dice, Camera, Action, but a lot of that is just down to style preferences, not to mention I’m sure DMing for an actual play show is a very different challenge requiring different skills than DMing a home game. And it really has no bearing on his writing either way. He’s certainly prolific as an adventure writer, and I have found his 5e work to be among the better material this edition. But I still think “overrated” is a fair description.

 

[Charlaquin]

I like his whimsy actually. I just don't think he's as good a DM or adventure writer as some people make him out to be. He's not bad but he's not the god of D&D either.

Agreed!

 

[Charlaquin]

Everything else aside:

Are we stil actually worrying about the "logic" of a dungeon adventure that is designed in an explicitly gamist way? Come on. You knew what you signed up for when you picked up the D&D PHB: dungeons AND dragons (or hydras, as the case may be).

There are likely very reasonable complaints to be made about any WotC adventure. The designers behind them are a) human, b) have preferences, and c) working under time constraints. Nothing is going to be perfect. But your complaint is "the adventure does not delve deeply enough into the ecology of this series of rooms full of monsters"? In 2023. I'm sorry, but no.

Such a critique is certainly consistent with Justin Alexander’s expressed preferences. Personally, if we concede for the sake of argument that text does suggest that the hydra must have been sealed in there for centuries (that still seems to be debated), I’d consider it a minor mistake, worth an “I thought this was weird so I changed it” at most.