Dungeon 161 - The Temple Between

[Shroomy]

The newest adventure in the Scales of War AP, "The Temple Between" by Ari Marmell was released tonight.

Dungeon Adventure: The Temple Between

 

[Mouseferatu]

While I have to say I wish the artist had gotten the snout as I described it, I'm otherwise utterly in love with the opening picture.

 

[Shroomy]

While I have to say I wish the artist had gotten the snout as I described it, I'm otherwise utterly in love with the opening picture.

Its a very cool pic. That artist did some of my favorite pictures in the MM.

 

[Admiral Caine]

I've been keeping an eye peeled for any comments about this one. I usually enjoy reading what people think. Also, I'm considering running this AP when my Runelords AP is done- just so that my group gives 4E a fair opportunity in actual play.

So I'm curious as to what folks think. Also, a common complaint thus far has been the lack of a sense of "what is going on" in a "big picture" sense and I wondered if this Chapter was seen to have alleviated that or not.

 

[Frozen DM]

While I believe this is one of the best adventures yet in the adventure path (especially since it has so many great role-playing opportunities and some very cool combats), it does not alleviate the "lack of big picture" problem, it makes it worse.

Yet another new enemy group is introduced, tentatively linked to previous groups. A bit more of the reasons why the villains are stirring up trouble in the region is given, but once again, the true plot to the campaign is left shadowy and ill-defined

Unknown to [...], they themselves are merely pawns on a larger board; schemes far more devious than a simple [...] are afoot. But this is a discovery, and a challenge, for a future adventure. For now, the PCs have more than enough on their plates as it is.

Interesting hint at a larger plot, but still no indication as to what it is, and if it even exists. To date I wouldn't be able to run this AP since as a DM I need to know a lot more before I can start. Hopefully the plot will be revealed before the Epic Tier adventures start.

 

[avin]

Thanks for the two-headed troll. It deserves a miniature more than the Troll King.

Spitting Trolls look like Jungle Trolls from MM3EIII?

 

[Pseudopsyche]

Interesting hint at a larger plot, but still no indication as to what it is, and if it even exists. To date I wouldn't be able to run this AP since as a DM I need to know a lot more before I can start. Hopefully the plot will be revealed before the Epic Tier adventures start.

Suppose I were only interested in running an AP for one tier. Do the heroic-tier Scales of War adventures have a coherent and largely self-contained plot, at least? I'm not sure I'd want to commit to 30 levels of play up front anyway.

 

[Frozen DM]

Suppose I were only interested in running an AP for one tier. Do the heroic-tier Scales of War adventures have a coherent and largely self-contained plot, at least? I'm not sure I'd want to commit to 30 levels of play up front anyway.

So far, in my opinion, the Heroic tier adventures have a loosely related plot, more of a running theme of a land gearing up for war. But there is no satisfying conclusion to any of the open plot threads, to many mysteries are left unresolved and without serious re-work it lacks a proper conclusion. The elements that do tie the adventures together may not be obvious to players, so the DM would have to be a lot more explicit in explaining how the threads are related together.

My suggestion is, if you want to make the Heroic Tier stand on its own, rework the last adventure to make the villain the mastermind behind the previous plots, and not a pawn. You'd have to tie some of the other villains closer to him, but it could be feasible.

The climax of the final heroic-tier adventure is quite good and cinematic, and if you resolve some of the loose plot points, it can stand as a good conclusion to a heroic tier campaign.

 

[Admiral Caine]

Thanks to the respondents of this thread.

If WOTC is reading this thread, I'm still considering running this.. but golly, I wish there was some indication of where this story is going.

I support 4E and Pathfinder, but I really think Paizo is more sensible in regard to disseminating information about the AP. If the players spoil it for themselves, that is their problem.

Please consider this when the first Paragon Tier Chapter comes out, please!




Unless.. no one knows? Don't answer that. Just figure it out and tell us DM subscribers.

 

[Frozen DM]

Unless.. no one knows? Don't answer that. Just figure it out and tell us DM subscribers.

I'm pretty sure that WOTC has the overall plot defined (at least at a high level). I'm not sure why they refuse to provide details for DMs who want to plan out a more structured campaign, and not be caught by surprise when certain events occur. In the latest adventure several NPCs rise to prominence in the story-line. They were mentioned in passing in previous adventures. Had the DMs known that before hand, it would have made it easier to foreshadow their importance. The one thing I've learned in my years as a DM is players do not react well to NPC's that show up just before they become important. For the players to really be involved, you need to lay down some groundwork.

I'm really hoping WOTC eventally provides an overview of the campaign, because at this point I can't run the campaign for at least another year (until the last part is released). This isn't too bad since we're finishing off Age of Worms at the moment, but we'll be done that before the Scales of War AP is done, and I really don't feel like starting it without an idea of where it leads.