D&D 5E Anybody Seen/Played Frog God's Tegel Manor?

[Retreater]

If you want it, get Tegel Manor 5e while you can. FGG announced tonight on FB they are severing ties with JG and won't be reprinting the book due to anti-Semitic social media comments by the owner of JG.

This is a shame because of all the talented designers and great products attached to JG. As I posted in another thread, I hope Bob Jr. will sell off and distance himself from JG and let these books live on in the gaming culture without the stigma of his comments.

 

[Weiley31]

If you want it, get Tegel Manor 5e while you can. FGG announced tonight on FB they are severing ties with JG and won't be reprinting the book due to anti-Semitic social media comments by the owner of JG.

Well that's just Bloody great. I was really interested in purchasing it too. But if I do that, then I'm supporting a racist jerk.

 

[Jd Smith1]

If you want it, get Tegel Manor 5e while you can. FGG announced tonight on FB they are severing ties with JG and won't be reprinting the book due to anti-Semitic social media comments by the owner of JG.

Time to buy it, then. I was putting it off, but that's how it goes.

 

[Zarithar]

I backed the KS for Tegel Manor for a couple of reasons:

1. The original is a classic plain and simple and I was excited to see a modern conversion/update.
2. Frog God puts out quality products

I like lists, so I'll continue with that format. First, the good:

1. The artwork is great
2. The bestiary is good. More monsters that I can drop in to any game I am running as I see fit. Always a plus.

The bad:

1. The TEXT is horrible. You are presented with walls of text for each section of the book describing rooms, locations, etc. There is no apparent organization to this.
2. No boxed text. Yes I know it is "old school" but I was there and playing in those days, and let me be the first to tell you that boxed text is NOT a new concept. It has been around for decades and is used for a reason. At the very minimum I want a short description of the room/location that I can then summarize or paraphrase as I see fit (or read in its entirety).
3. The map is a confusing mess. Absolutely horrible and hard to navigate or make sense of.

Now - before people accuse me of bashing Frog God, I want to reiterate that for the most part I love their products. I also backed Tome of Horrors which is an excellent and quirky monster book. I love it. In addition, I was a backer of Sea King's Malice, a module which is laid out in a logical way with my beloved boxed text! Rappun Athuk is legendary for its size and complexity - but let me tell you - it is far easier to navigate/understand than Tegel Manor.

Had I know about these issues before I backed, it would have been a hard pass from me.

 

[Retreater]

@Zarithar have to completely agree with you on the map. It's so busy and hyper-detailed that I can barely read it and I miss important features like numbers, text, and doors. Also agree that Rappan Athuk is easier to navigate.
I was running Tegel intending a brief interlude for my party to run in and run out with a defined mission. However, they have gotten lost inside the halls by deciding to explore more deeply. They may get more than they bargained for since they are only 6th level.

 

[Jd Smith1]

The map is great if you use a VTT. Since I plug descriptions onto the VTT map, the lack of boxed text doesn't bother me, and the ability to highlight the pdf also eliminates a need for boxed text.

But at its core, this is a JG product, and you should not expect a GM-friendly product. Back then GM'ing wasn't for the faint of heart.

 

[Zarithar]

But at its core, this is a JG product, and you should not expect a GM-friendly product. Back then GM'ing wasn't for the faint of heart.

Maybe GM'ing a JG product... but I had no issues with most of the TSR modules I ran.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Unfortunately, it is pretty labor intensive. The good news is that FGG is working on putting its material into World Anvil. I'm not sure where Tegel Manor fits on the timeline, but I would get it on WA in a heart beat rather than having to data enter such a large adventure into Realmworks.

Also, I believe that Tegel Manor will be available in Fantasy Ground soon. I don't have enough experience with FG to know how well it works for navigating and using adventure content beyond the maps. However, having the Tegel Manor maps all prepped for VTT use might be enough to justify the cost of buying FG and the Tegel Manor content on it.

World Anvil looks great, so I'll wait for that, thanks.

 

[amethal]

Well that's just Bloody great. I was really interested in purchasing it too. But if I do that, then I'm supporting a racist jerk.

As I understand it, per their licensing agreement with Frog God, all the money Judges Guild gets from Tegel Manor goes towards meeting their commitments on the City State of the Invincible Overlord kickstarter (which is currently 5 years late).

How that's working out in practice I have no idea (updates on the kickstarter are a bit sparse).

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I’m glad I didn’t back City State.