Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="The_Fan" data-source="post: 4275794" data-attributes="member: 11607">Now that some articles are out, I think I will take this opportunity to rate them. Please feel free to criticize my entirely biased opinions:KotS in Eberron:I like this. Very interesting article. Lots of intrigue, good previews of how some things will work in Eberron. All done by not altering the framework of the adventure, just changing a few details here and there. Just one problem: How much intrigue can there possibly be in a town this small? Jeez, this place is worse than Casablanca. I remember one Eberron campaign where I seriously had to draw a diagram for my players so they could keep the plot straight after several adventures. Starting players off with a diagram plot? Mmm...maybe not such a good idea. Overall though, good article, but remember KISS.Rating: B+KotS in Forgotten Realms:I'm not sure I'm qualified to review this. I've never been a big fan of Faerun, and I'm not sure the new version will help. I tried to look at it from the perspective of a Faerun fan, but even then I found a lot of problems. Why couldn't some of the extra encounters happen in the original? The characterization of Ninaran is pretty much the same, just expanded slightly, and the encounter at the hut is kinda tacked on. The cult is okay. The moonstone pendants seem inviting trouble by making the powerful effect of the dragon statues something that can be carried around. Maybe a fan of Faerun would like it more. I don't know, but I didn't care for this.Rating: DShadowfell Sidetreks:I'll give these an overall rating, but discuss them individually:The kobold ambush seemed okay at first, but left me scratching my head over the kobold hurler. So...he only has two shots and then he's forced into melee? Ouch.The hobgoblins are a nice varied mix. Gives a good hook and provides foreshadowing for the next adventure, more so than the random blue blob from the original module.The graveyard exterior seems like a better followup than Ninaran's cabin, but it strikes me as a bit of a "gotcha!" when more undead show up. Also, what does Maw look like? Is it a ghoul? a large-mouthed zombie? Something else? A picture would be nice.Hidden Victims also seems like a "gotcha!" Thought you beat the ghouls? Well, here's some crit-proof zombies that just appeared out of nowhere! There's no way to find out the backstory of them either, and the motivations just seem so...stupid. "We're safe in here, behind this nice sturdy brick wall. Yup. Nice and...air? Oh bugger."Overall, they seem like nice ideas somewhat flawed in execution. Might be able to work with them and make something good, but for now it seems just a bit lacking.Rating: CWarforged:This. This alone is worth the price of admission. I thought that the races in the back were only marginally playable, but by one article the warforged has been brought up easily to full PC status. The simple background is close enough to the Eberron one while also giving them a solid place in The World (needs a name). The paragon paths are interesting, being the first paths open up to more than one class. Only one role, but two classes. Interesting. I also like the new system of attached components. No extra cost? Nice. Though some (orbs!) the advantage is obvious and perhaps a bit too good, for others (weapons) the advantage is dubious and the penalty obvious. Also, why not make it embedded if possible? What is the downside?Rating: A-Yeenoghu:I mentioned that they had a Demonomicon of Iggwilv article about Yeenoghu to a friend. He asked me what language I was speaking. I said Geek. I liked this article, despite the fact that, knowing a lot about zoology, humanoid hyenas are pure nightmare fuel for me. Especially the females. (Look it up on wikipedia. Or don't. You'll sleep better.) Moving away from that terrifying subject, Yeenoghu himself seems pretty solid. I like the extra background on The World and how exactly the Nerath empire was destroyed fighting gnolls, of all things. It was a little hard to believe in the backstory, but seeing some of the more powerful gnolls presented makes it believable. Particularly...oh god, ZAIDEN! RUN! As for his realm, I guess there's not much to say about it. It's pretty much your standard layer of the abyss. A very highly populated one it seems. Must have cheap rent.Rating: BOverall (not average): B+Other than the Faerun article, this is looking good so far. The format is good and the landscape layout makes it much easier to read on a computer without scrolling all over the place. I'll amend this when future articles come out, but right now it's shaping up nice.</blockquote>

Verification