Fortress of the Yuan-Ti: Ari saves 3.5!

[DM_Jeff]

This post contains genuine admiration and a bit of sarcasm.

Yes, after all the moaning and wailing about D&D lasting five minutes or three to four encounters before the party goes to camp or whatever (something that’s never actually happened more than once or twice at my table in 7 years, but that’s beside the point) our own Vampiric Rodent has saved the day. Notify WotC. You can cancel 4e now, the problem is solved.

Ari Marmell has written Fortress of the Yuan-Ti. This is the adventure that’s third in a series that began with Barrow of the Forgotten King and The Sinister Spire. I ran Barrow and detailed the session at this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=188241

Assuming this isn’t a spoiler, this last module involves, you guessed it: a Yuan-Ti fortress. So if the players are supposed to attack such a thing, is this even possible considering the pathetic attempts by the propaganda engine to convince us 3.5 can’t handle it? Yup, Ari just uses a little patch.

Understanding the running danger of such an adventure, he’s written in where the players should be awarded Unearthed Arcana Action Points for achieving specific story goals throughout the adventure, specifically so they can be used to allow extra uses of per day or per encounter class abilities, enhance feats and spellcasting, and add-ons to 1d20 rolls.

I haven’t read the entire adventure yet, but what I’ve skimmed looks good so far. There’s a weapon of legacy in here and liberal use of WotC sourcebooks to stat out the various encounters. There are lots of maps with this one too. Can’t wait to dig into it more, but so far I’m very pleased.

-DM Jeff

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

... so if you institute some fairly major house rules, you can get away from the limitations of per-day resources? ...

A compelling argument, sir!

 

[Psion]

Assuming this isn’t a spoiler, this last module involves, you guessed it: a Yuan-Ti fortress.

INSERT "NO WAI" OWL HERE

 

[MrFilthyIke]

INSERT "NO WAI" OWL HERE

 

[Mouseferatu]

Understanding the running danger of such an adventure, he’s written in where the players should be awarded Unearthed Arcana Action Points for achieving specific story goals throughout the adventure, specifically so they can be used to allow extra uses of per day or per encounter class abilities, enhance feats and spellcasting, and add-ons to 1d20 rolls.

Here's the funny thing. That statement is only sort of accurate.

(Potential spoilers follow)










When I turned in the manuscript, there was indeed a point system, but it wasn't the action point system that wound up in the final product. Essentially, certain actions and victories throughout the module granted points, by which the DM could measure how well the PCs had disrupted the yuan-ti's final ritual. Depending on how many points the PCs gained, the final encounter was weakened. (It's similar, in some ways, to what Paizo has done with some of their adventures, where the final opponent can range anywhere from CR 22 to CR 30, depending on what the PCs accomplish.)

In addition to granting points, a few specific victories also stripped specific abilities from the final encounter. The result was a system in which the final encounter could range anywhere from a CR 9 to a CR 16.

(Obviously, CR 16 is too tough for most level 8 parties. It was, frankly, almost impossible to even get through the module without racking up enough points to drop the CR; the 16 was purely a baseline.)

Development changed that to the "action points you can only use in the final encounter" system currently found in the module.

Some people will prefer the action point system, and that's fine. For those who are interested in seeing more detail of the original system, I'm talking to Chris about possibly getting it up on the web site as an optional variant. And if that falls through, I'll be making it available on my own web site.

I haven’t read the entire adventure yet, but what I’ve skimmed looks good so far. There’s a weapon of legacy in here and liberal use of WotC sourcebooks to stat out the various encounters. There are lots of maps with this one too. Can’t wait to dig into it more, but so far I’m very pleased.

I hope you find that a more detailed reading lives up to expectations.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So if the players are supposed to attack such a thing, is this even possible considering the pathetic attempts by the propaganda engine to convince us 3.5 can’t handle it?

Is it possible to threadcrap your own thread?

Why is it necessary to start flinging poo at 4E in a post about Fortress of the Yuan-Ti?

 

[GlassJaw]

Is it possible to threadcrap your own thread?

Why is it necessary to start flinging poo at 4E in a post about Fortress of the Yuan-Ti?

This post contains genuine admiration and a bit of sarcasm.

Emphasis mine.

 

[DaveMage]

One day amazon will actually ship this to me.

One day...

 

[Mouseferatu]

One day amazon will actually ship this to me.

One day...

If it makes you feel any better, I don't have my author's copies yet, either.

 

[Psion]

Is it possible to threadcrap your own thread?

It may be, but I'm afraid the original post is exempt under the "original intent" clause.