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[COMPLETE] Looking back at the limited series: Player's Option, Monstrous Arcana, Odyssey, and more!
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8558289" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>Up next is the proof of concept for the "Option" line, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17335/The-Gates-of-Firestorm-Peak-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Gates of Firestorm Peak</em></a>.</p><p></p><p>This particular product is one that I paid little attention to at the time it came out. That wasn't because of anything about the adventure itself, and more that I had very little money for game-related purchases, and tended to spend that on sourcebooks and supplements rather than adventures. As I wasn't able to put a regular group together until I went to college, just as 3E was coming out, it just made more sense; the mechanics (and, for the products that had them, lore) were simply more conducive to making builds for fun, investigations into the canon of various settings, and all the other solitary ways that RPGs can be enjoyed.</p><p></p><p>As much as it seems to be a <a href="https://dmdavid.com/tag/how-the-end-of-lonely-fun-lead-to-todays-trickle-of-dd-books/" target="_blank">thing of the past</a> now, that sort of engagement with the hobby is something I still enjoy now, despite my current group having met for weekly games for over a decade now (pandemic interruptions notwithstanding). And of course, in hindsight I missed out on a lot of content in various adventures, though I've been doing my best to go back and get them now.</p><p></p><p>Bringing things back around, this is an adventure that I only picked up several years ago, despite having skimmed a copy of it at a friend's house back in the latter half of the 90s. If nothing else, Bruce Cordell's name on the cover got me interested in a hurry. I was already aware of the subtle connections he'd been slipping into various products such as <em>College of Wizardry</em> and <em>Return to the Tomb of Horrors</em>, and I couldn't help but wonder if there was anything like that here (though I'm not aware of anything to that effect now).</p><p></p><p>Of course, as the product's sales page notes, there's one thing that this adventure did which was undeniably notable in terms of added lore: this is where the Far Realm was added to the D&D's cosmology. Not just a one-off, this plane (though it always struck me as more of a breakdown of reality than a distinct plane unto itself) would be referenced repeatedly after this, from being the "Outside" mentioned in the <em>Illithiad</em> to being the plane of Xoriat in Eberron's cosmology to being the home of the <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Abolethic_Sovereignty" target="_blank">Abolethic Sovereignty</a> in the Forgotten Realms, etc.</p><p></p><p>I feel compelled to note that TGoFP isn't the first time that 2E expanded on D&D's planar structure. Both <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17526/The-Nightmare-Lands-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Nightmare Lands</em></a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17290/Doors-to-the-Unknown-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Doors to the Unknown</em></a> described how there are four "levels" of reality. The former product dealt with dreams (instances of level 1 reality) and the more notable dreamscapes (level 2 realities), both of which take place in the color curtain that separates the various Border Ethereals from the Deep Ethereal. Standard reality is level 3. And <em>Doors to the Unknown</em> features an instance of reality level 4, "hyper-reality," including the mercurials who live there. Of course, unlike the Far Realm, these didn't see any further use in D&D's cosmology, which is a shame.</p><p></p><p>Beyond that, there <em>was</em> a blurb about a potential new plane of existence called Macrocosm in the monster entry for the chososion, in the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17294/Monstrous-Compendium-Planescape-Appendix-III?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix III</em></a>, but even that was presented as an in-character theory, so it can't really be counted. Although, speaking of new monsters, TGoFP introduced the dharculus, though I recall first seeing it in the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16935/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-4-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol. 4</em></a>. I'm not sure the elder elves mentioned in this adventure were ever given a proper write-up, however.</p><p></p><p>As for the adventure itself...never having played through it, there's little that I can offer. The presentation of Player's Option materials, where they came up, as separate entries was probably the best way to do it, simply because this book had the unenviable task of showcasing the series while still being accessible to the wider D&D audience. To that end, I think it did a decent job, but if the purpose of this module was to show off the "Option" materials in order to wow people into buying them - it even included two double-sided poster maps and some counters to bring in players - it didn't manage to pull that off. This is by no means a bad adventure, but there's a reason why most people don't seem to think of it as their favorite.</p><p></p><p>While the "Option" moniker would be resurrected for one more title, <em>The Gates of Firestorm Peak</em> ultimately feels like an addendum which proves what I said about <em>Spells & Magic</em> coming across as the end of the series. This is simply an epilogue to that end, one which ends with a whimper more than a bang. It's ironic that, for how much it's overlooked now, it's planar contribution is its most enduring one. For that, if nothing else, it deserves to be acknowledged.</p><p></p><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8558289, member: 8461"] Up next is the proof of concept for the "Option" line, [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17335/The-Gates-of-Firestorm-Peak-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Gates of Firestorm Peak[/I][/URL]. This particular product is one that I paid little attention to at the time it came out. That wasn't because of anything about the adventure itself, and more that I had very little money for game-related purchases, and tended to spend that on sourcebooks and supplements rather than adventures. As I wasn't able to put a regular group together until I went to college, just as 3E was coming out, it just made more sense; the mechanics (and, for the products that had them, lore) were simply more conducive to making builds for fun, investigations into the canon of various settings, and all the other solitary ways that RPGs can be enjoyed. As much as it seems to be a [URL='https://dmdavid.com/tag/how-the-end-of-lonely-fun-lead-to-todays-trickle-of-dd-books/']thing of the past[/URL] now, that sort of engagement with the hobby is something I still enjoy now, despite my current group having met for weekly games for over a decade now (pandemic interruptions notwithstanding). And of course, in hindsight I missed out on a lot of content in various adventures, though I've been doing my best to go back and get them now. Bringing things back around, this is an adventure that I only picked up several years ago, despite having skimmed a copy of it at a friend's house back in the latter half of the 90s. If nothing else, Bruce Cordell's name on the cover got me interested in a hurry. I was already aware of the subtle connections he'd been slipping into various products such as [I]College of Wizardry[/I] and [I]Return to the Tomb of Horrors[/I], and I couldn't help but wonder if there was anything like that here (though I'm not aware of anything to that effect now). Of course, as the product's sales page notes, there's one thing that this adventure did which was undeniably notable in terms of added lore: this is where the Far Realm was added to the D&D's cosmology. Not just a one-off, this plane (though it always struck me as more of a breakdown of reality than a distinct plane unto itself) would be referenced repeatedly after this, from being the "Outside" mentioned in the [I]Illithiad[/I] to being the plane of Xoriat in Eberron's cosmology to being the home of the [URL='https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Abolethic_Sovereignty']Abolethic Sovereignty[/URL] in the Forgotten Realms, etc. I feel compelled to note that TGoFP isn't the first time that 2E expanded on D&D's planar structure. Both [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17526/The-Nightmare-Lands-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Nightmare Lands[/I][/URL] and [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17290/Doors-to-the-Unknown-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Doors to the Unknown[/I][/URL] described how there are four "levels" of reality. The former product dealt with dreams (instances of level 1 reality) and the more notable dreamscapes (level 2 realities), both of which take place in the color curtain that separates the various Border Ethereals from the Deep Ethereal. Standard reality is level 3. And [I]Doors to the Unknown[/I] features an instance of reality level 4, "hyper-reality," including the mercurials who live there. Of course, unlike the Far Realm, these didn't see any further use in D&D's cosmology, which is a shame. Beyond that, there [I]was[/I] a blurb about a potential new plane of existence called Macrocosm in the monster entry for the chososion, in the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17294/Monstrous-Compendium-Planescape-Appendix-III?affiliate_id=820'][I]Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix III[/I][/URL], but even that was presented as an in-character theory, so it can't really be counted. Although, speaking of new monsters, TGoFP introduced the dharculus, though I recall first seeing it in the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16935/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-4-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol. 4[/I][/URL]. I'm not sure the elder elves mentioned in this adventure were ever given a proper write-up, however. As for the adventure itself...never having played through it, there's little that I can offer. The presentation of Player's Option materials, where they came up, as separate entries was probably the best way to do it, simply because this book had the unenviable task of showcasing the series while still being accessible to the wider D&D audience. To that end, I think it did a decent job, but if the purpose of this module was to show off the "Option" materials in order to wow people into buying them - it even included two double-sided poster maps and some counters to bring in players - it didn't manage to pull that off. This is by no means a bad adventure, but there's a reason why most people don't seem to think of it as their favorite. While the "Option" moniker would be resurrected for one more title, [I]The Gates of Firestorm Peak[/I] ultimately feels like an addendum which proves what I said about [I]Spells & Magic[/I] coming across as the end of the series. This is simply an epilogue to that end, one which ends with a whimper more than a bang. It's ironic that, for how much it's overlooked now, it's planar contribution is its most enduring one. For that, if nothing else, it deserves to be acknowledged. [I]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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