got my Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (mild spoilers)

[Pants]

So is it true they totally botched the Cambion template?

It's not a template and its on the WotC site as an excerpt here.

The weird thing about the stats is that the ones presented in the 'cambions as characters' part don't match up with the statblock. The statblock is more representative of what a cambion's stats should be IMO (even with the massive Cha hit). Baron and Marquis cambions get stats too

 

[Bad Paper]

does it have to be some absurd planar city?

My issue with Sigil is the idea of a somewhat neutral planar city where angels and demons could sit down and have a discussion or where someone could just kick back and relex. The former really only belongs on the Prime, in secret, IMO. The latter, well, maybe Elysium, but only if you're favored by the gods.

It does need to be a place where the party can chat with fiends and walk across town and chat with celestials. That pretty much sums up the first quest.

How does the adventure get the characters--who, like myself, are unfamiliar with the planescape setting--acclimated to plane-hopping?

The party basically walks along a branch of Yggdrasil that pokes into Sigil. This takes them to Ysgard. No plane shift required. I don't think ps is ever required. Each planar jaunt takes advantage of Sigil's status as City of Doors. Their contact points them in the right direction, tells them how to activate the portal, and the party makes it. Then they have to figure out how to get back. Frankly, I think this is more fun than plane shift+teleport.

If you [as DM] are not familiar with different planes, then make absolutely sure that you read up on them in the DMG, and also keep a notecard of the salient points of each plane (e.g. double caster level on Evil or Chaos spells in the Demonweb, no Teleportation allowed, stronger poison, -2 on Cha checks for L or G characters, etc).

Plane-hopping is fun, though! The party IMC is currently in the Demonweb (the Harrowing, yay), and I have them scared stiff of running into casters or demons (e.g. Hezrou) who can drop a double-caster-level blasphemy. And yes, I will--I mean would, ha ha--do that, thanks for asking. One of the PCs IMC reads this board, so no spoilers, please. They're only about halfway through, so they haven't even gotten to the really outlandish stuff...

 

[Kobold Avenger]

From what I heard, the opening chapter assumes the players start on the prime.

What if the PCs already live in Sigil? What would you do to get them involved?

Have their landlord who happens to be either a drow elf or a demon suddenly become really unreasonable about this months rent?

 

[Obergnom]

What do you think would be good adventures to make a campaign out of this module? Say from level 6 up? I do not like to start a game with the all out epic plot, but want to get into this adventure soon. (I will get it tomorrow, and next week we start a new campaign)

I was thinking about maybe using Fiends Embrace (with its level uped a bit) from Dungeon Mag 121, as that would introduce Grazzt to my players, who do not know much about Demon Lords beside Orcus.
Stil, I would need a second adventure, maybe something with Drow?

 

[Bad Paper]

From what I heard, the opening chapter assumes the players start on the prime.

What if the PCs already live in Sigil? What would you do to get them involved?

well, the hook is to get a certain note into their hands, that points them to a certain tavern. It is reasonable to get this note, or a close variation, into their hands in Sigil.

 

[Ganeldil]

I picked up Expedition to DWP and Eyes of the Lich Queen and I have to say I am much more impressed with Eyes of the Lich Queen. Both great though.

 

[delericho]

Word has it that the cambion in the preview material had a bunch of mechanical oddities, like a big charisma hit (as if it were beauty), and odd stat modifiers.

I got the book today, and this was the first thing I checked. As with the Preview, the "Cambions as Characters" block is really bad. Odd numbered stat modifiers, incorrect skill points given, huge numbers of things missed out.

This is really, really bad. And it's this sort of thing that actually could lead to me boycotting WotC product.

(I have not, as yet, had a chance to look at any of the rest of the book.)

 

[BOZ]

hmm, and i was just thinking yesterday that i couldn't think of any recent WotC releases that i was interested in picking up...

need to revise that a bit.

 

[Nightfall]

Boz,

Give it a try. It is good if a tad complicated.

 

[Felon]

I've had this a few days and can't decide if it's really cool or a waste of time.

The lead-in to Sigil is problematic. The players just get ambushed by some drow, and from there they are expected to just hop into the portal Sigil with little incentive to do so. And once they're in Sigil, they're expected to make a beeline for the Styx Oarsman, even though they just stepped into Oz on acid.

Details are not handed out in any of organized manner, a problem which is largely the result of the Tactical Encounter format. The DM will find himself flipping back and forth between looking for where some bit of info was revealed. Some stuff is really buried; a creature called Nidbogg is referred to repeatedly throughout the Yggdrasil section, but you have to be in the middle of reading a tactical encounter to actually find out what they're talking about.

Even by Weapon of Legacy standards, Spidersilk and Thass impose some pretty stiff penalties. I can't imagine any player wanting the benefits they provide at those costs.