2006 WotC D&D Product Survivor - Round 9 (Final 10)

[maggot]

PHB II: Twice the fluff of the PHB, half the crunch. And the fluff isn't reall fluff, but more "how to play a wizard". Then some overpowered, unneeded classes.

 

[delericho]

Sorry, but, they ruined Ravenloft completely when they made the Vistani into gypsie halflings.

Isn't it the work of all of two seconds to change them back into humans?

 

[ivocaliban]

Wasn't there a Ravenloft Setting for 3E from Sword&Sorcery?

Bye
Thanee

Yes, and I can't get rid of it.

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is basically a massive updated adventure with a handful of crunch thrown in for flavor and texture. (Kind of like croutons.)

I'll be voting this one off eventually (as I generally have no use for adventures), but for now it's The Twilight Tomb.

 

[Agamon]

How is Vistani not a race of humans? Illumians are, for example. They possess supernatural abilities and powers that I'm sure would give a Level Adjustment. Sure, they also have a different culture, all races and subraces do, but it definitely should've been kept to the original. A mysterious race of humans with mysterious ties to the Mists and supernatural abilities of Ravenloft.

The Vistani weren't a sub-race of humans in I6, they were gypsies. It wasn't until the campaign setting they became supernatural mist people. So they did stick with the original.

 

[Greg K]

I voted for Expedition to Ravenloft. Lame unnecessary changes among other things. Between this and the original 3.0 (or was it 3.5x) Dark Sun article in Dragon, I do not trust the designers at WOTC to handle revisions of old material.

 

[Greg K]

I voted on Expedition to Castle Ravenloft.

Sorry, but, they ruined Ravenloft completely when they made the Vistani into gypsie halflings. Whoever came up with that idea instead of just fleshing out the race in detail deserves to be slapped....seriously what were they thinking? Halflings? How and why do you just throw out the entire concept and vision of Vistani just like that?

A simple slap would be going too easy...

 

[Tarek]

As it happens, I do own the Secrets of Xen'Drik... I thought I hadn't purchased any of the books on the original list, but there, sitting on top of my shelf, it is.

I wish I hadn't bought it. $30 down the drain.

 

[Mouseferatu]

How is Vistani not a race of humans? Illumians are, for example. They possess supernatural abilities and powers that I'm sure would give a Level Adjustment. Sure, they also have a different culture, all races and subraces do, but it definitely should've been kept to the original. A mysterious race of humans with mysterious ties to the Mists and supernatural abilities of Ravenloft.

The Vistani, as they appeared in the original Ravenloft module, were just a culture of gypsies. Madame Eva could try to read the future with the Tarroka deck, but that's as easily interpreted as a magic item or a particular spell.

Even when the campaign setting made them a little more mystical, not all Vistani had abilities that were worth a Level Adjustment--but even if they had, it doesn't change the fact that Expedition never claimed to be, and was never intended to be, a continuation of the campaign setting. As a redux of the original module, their treatment of the Vistani is thematically appropriate, albeit with a few details tweaked.

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

I happen to love Ravenloft also, but my suspicion is that there aren't enough people willing to buy support products to make it viable. A lot of people might buy the initial product, but the various sourcebooks just wouldn't sell enough to be worth the expense.