I never thought I could be convinced to pay 120$ on something without first seeing it

[comareddin]

I am talking about the Ptolus setting by Monte Cook. When I think about the books I bought for 3E, no book got me as excited as this one except for the PHB. I never bought a RPG product without skimming through the pages, be it at the bookstore or my friend's house. However I am giving serious thought to pre-ordering this product. The website says it offers so much stuff that it looks almost unreal. Monte is talking about a campaign setting that has all the important details fleshed out for you. This might not appeal to many DMs, specifically for those who like to create something from scratch by themselves or those who only want some checkpoints and fill everything in between, but for a DM like me with precious little time left for gaming let alone preparing games, the Ptolus book looks like my favorite dish served on a golden plate with Muses providing dinner entertainment.

So, what are your thoughts on the product? Am I exaggerating some aspects of it? Are my expectations too high? Especially those people who attended the presentation at Gen-Con sometime ago, could you please share your thoughts.

Com

 

[jdrakeh]

Am I exaggerating some aspects of it? Are my expectations too high?

Possibly. The first RPG product that I have purchased sight unseen in two years is the 30th Anniversary Edition of Tunnels & Trolls - as long-time fan of the game, all that I needed to do was read the shiny ad copy at the Fiery Dragon site and I was hooked. I pre-ordered this in late August through my FLGS. I picked it up last night. You will read my review soon and it should serve as a valuable lesson about buying things sight unseen. Remember:

A. Ad copy is designed to sell product, not inform the consumer.
B. Ad copy can be misleading and often is - deliberately.
C. Sometimes, fandom can blind you.

I've known all of these things for a while, but my 30th Anniversary Edition of T&T has served as a sharp reminder, putting things back in perspective for me. Read my review (it should be posted here within the next three or four days) and you'll get a better idea of what I mean.

 

[crazy_cat]

I pre-ordered as well.

What the hell, if I dont like it I'll re-sell it on eBay.

That said I quite like both Arcana Evolved and Iron Heroes, even if I dont really use them, so I'm banking on Ptolus being at least OK given previous Malhavoc publications.

 

[Dirigible]

I'll say this - they know how to make a product look appetizing. I haven't been this interested in somehting that I wans't going to buy since Iron Heroes.

 

[trancejeremy]

I hate to sound shallow, but I simply can't get past the name. I keep thinking of Discworld, particularly the novel "Pyramids" and even more particularly, the character "Ptraci" from it.

I had the same trouble with Kalamar. I kept thinking of giant squirds and Admiral Ackbar

 

[DarkSoldier]

I had the same trouble with Kalamar. I kept thinking of giant squirds and Admiral Ackbar

"Admiral! comareddin is about to drop $120 without seeing the product!"

"It's a trap!"

 

[Mark Hope]

I had the same trouble with Kalamar. I kept thinking of giant squirds and Admiral Ackbar

Anything that makes you think about giant squid can't be bad ...

As for Ptolus, I keep reminding myself that I don't need it, that it's probably too expensive and I'll never find the time to run it or incorporate it into my own games.

It isn't working though. I want it. It looks so shiny. I must have it. I must!

 

[Imruphel]

This is the product I wish Monte had done instead of Arcana Unearthed. That's not meant to say that AU/AE are not good (quite the opposite) but it's going to be great having a Malhavoc product that can be used with D&D3.5E... plus the story hours etc... impress with how much history and background material there is for this setting.

 

[Digital M@]

I have to say, after reading through the entire sight, I am excited about the product, except for the fact that it is described as a dungeon crawl. I know even the best dungeon crawls can get boring after your 20th room/cavern.

I also don't like how you have to pay now for a product that is not shipping until Aug 2006. Publish dates are always iffy at best, and how do you get your money back if you change your mind?

Anyway, I will keep tracking this

 

[comareddin]

I have to say, after reading through the entire sight, I am excited about the product, except for the fact that it is described as a dungeon crawl. I know even the best dungeon crawls can get boring after your 20th room/cavern.

I also don't like how you have to pay now for a product that is not shipping until Aug 2006. Publish dates are always iffy at best, and how do you get your money back if you change your mind?

Anyway, I will keep tracking this

Monte does mention on his site that he recently finished writing the book. By looking at the dates and stuff, it took him eleven months. All the remaining time will be spent on editing and fine tuning the book. They have many months for that so I guess the product will meet the deadline.

Com