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

[Micah Sweet]

They could invite us to a zoom session and just start tossing ideas at us as well. Would be cheaper for everyone.

Come on! You can't sell cardboard-laden overpriced playsets that way!

 

[Sparky McDibben]

For what it's worth, I'm a huge fan of your reviews. Gitp scrubbing them is actually what got me to dig up my old enworld account.

I was recently talking with another RPG reviewer who told me that they didn't want to write negative reviews: You don't feel good, you give the author bad press in an industry that's mostly fighting over pennies, and you invite the ire of a lot of angry fans (see: the mod warning just a few posts up). It's just not worth it, so some reviewers stick to praising the release or just don't say anything at all. And while I get that, it also suuuuucks as a potential buyer that these folks are incentived to release uncritical, surface-level reviews, because I can't actually use them. What good is a reviewer if they never grade something below a 3 out of 5? (looking at you, IGN...)

All this to say, I'm grateful to have folks who are willing to be critical, to give those 1, 2, and 3-star reviews when they think it's appropriate. So I really appreciate what you do.

Thanks, man!

 

[EzekielRaiden]

How does he feel about 4e? From your opinion of him, and the preferences I assume he has based on what I've seen here and the preferences I know you have, he doesn't like it?

Not only does he not like it, he literally straight-up said that what it offers is the antithesis of roleplaying.

And then he gushed over mechanics which do exactly the same thing in Numenera, because somehow those dissociated mechanics are actually good, while 4e's dissociated mechanics are bad. Even though when he complained about the use of dissociated mechanics in 4e, he explicitly said that using them was incompatible with roleplay. Somehow, magically, Numenera's GM Intrusions (which cannot even in theory be mapped to character decisions, unlike 4e powers) are actually the best thing ever and everyone should use them even if they hate dissociated mechanics.

 

[LordEntrails]

Good dungeon design is difficult to do, flat out.

It's not that hard. Just like anything, to do it excellently takes time and skill, and maybe luck or inspiration. But to do it well? No, that just takes a modicum of experience and skill and the proper project leadership.

 

[Parmandur]

Its not a standalone room, did YOU read the adventure? They even note them as seperate rooms

Yes, it is, and yes, that's how I know it is a misrepresentstion.

Like again, i dont think its modernism rotting the minds, but its just a basic organization failure here for no reason, again, even if they dont wanna key it like normal fair. Why not just label them on the map, why is the information a mile down after 2 paragraphs, to the point you dont even know what is which until you sort through all of that. Why is something so simple harder to run for no reason, and could they have handled that basic information delivery better? Like, do you think this is the best way to present this information to a dungeon master, espeically a new one? do you? I dont, i think this is kinda junk, and would prefer them at least label or maps, or just do a normal basic key, or just anything better then this. Like maybe a minor issue fair, but it does show a lack of care and worse of all consistency is a book we spent how much money on? On top of all of the other issues this adventure has on some level, its not a good look, and i dont get why we are defending worse from a billion dollar company for no reason.

It's perfectly well-communicsted. I only did a light read through and remembered it. And no, having a couple corners to the room does not need a key.

The crazy thing is, there are plenty of legitimate criticisms of the adventure: it isn't the best or even third best book with Adventure material WotC has put out in the last 12 months. But it is like a B, B-. Not a F for Forest Oracle.

 

[FallenRX]

Yes, it is, and yes, that's how I know it is a misrepresentstion.

It's perfectly well-communicsted. I only did a light read through and remembered it. And no, having a couple corners to the room does not need a key.

I mean im not even arguing for the major keying bit, im arguing that they should just be labeled on the dm side of the map because its just a better reference since you can just look at it and understand the lay out instead of reading through 2 paragraphs to get basic information of the map/adventure im looking at? Would that not be better?

 

[Micah Sweet]

To be fair, I think WotC is moving in a direction where they don't value much of anything.
1) Bad card prints
2) AI art debacle
3) Spelljammer

They certainly value maximizing profits.

Oh, wait. You meant "creatively".

 

[Charlaquin]

It’s a bit comical. At first I thought he was kidding.

And the start of the blog post? Next he’ll tell us that video games can’t be art or we shouldn’t watch movies on our phones.

I’m not quite sure what you mean with the second paragraph. I will say that he expressed his point unnecessarily abrasively, which seems to be a consistent issue with his communication style. But, I don’t find his actual point disagreeable, let alone comical. Keying areas, even on small maps, is a more efficient way to present the information than descriptive paragraphs, and to one who values that very highly, I can understand it being concerning that a WotC-published adventure is not keying certain maps, especially given the context that the current 5e DMG doesn’t teach keying. Personally, I don’t see it as a big deal. But I see where Justin is coming from - less a concern about the adventure specifically, and more about what he perceives as a continuation of a trend away from a design priority he values very highly.

 

[Parmandur]

I mean im not even arguing for the major keying bit, im arguing that they should just be labeled on the dm side of the map because its just a better reference since you can just look at it and understand the lay out instead of reading through 2 paragraphs to get basic information of the map/adventure im looking at? Would that not be better?

I skimmed it briefly and was able to remember it like a month later here. A couple paragraphs to communicate some very basic information about a single room is nothing.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The crazy thing is, there are plenty of legitimate criticisms of the adventure: it isn't the best or even third best book with Adventure material WotC has put out in the last 12 months.

Thinks back to the books published in the 12 months prior to November 1, 2023.

Sick burn.