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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8437815" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>The third one seemed like a strong closer, but that might be because I mostly remember the final scene, which made a pretty good impression. There were some other parts that stuck out, like Malik el Sami yn Nasser managing to fumble the "shadow stone" or whatever it was, and seeing a divine sign, and realizing to his dismay that it couldn't have been from Cyric, since Cyric never sent him signs (except when he was angry). Oh Malik, will you ever win? (Probably not, considering what fate awaited him at the end of the book.)</p><p></p><p>While I don't rightfully recall the heroes mowing their way through hordes of illithids, phaerimm, beholders, etc., I do agree with the problem inherent in that imagery, as any one of those is a mid-tier boss character who shouldn't be used as cannon fodder. Not so much because each of them is a potential tyrant/manipulator in their own right (although they are), but also because their game stats don't really lend themselves toward being dispatched like mooks...at least, not unless the heroes' have levels far in excess of what the bad guys' Challenge Ratings are. Mystra's Chosen can pull that off; the local adventuring company, not so much.</p><p></p><p>I agree Galaeron's whole "you must embrace your own dark side to master yourself" thing seemed pretty obvious. I mean, Star Wars notwithstanding, that bit of pop psychology seems like it's everywhere now, to the point of being trite. Just ask Michael Cera:</p><p></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]IHHZvNx3zrw[/MEDIA]</p><p></p><p>I'm still not sure how that even works in terms of game mechanics. I mean, I've mentioned the Wisdom loss associated with the original version of that feat; was this him gaining it back somehow? An alignment change? I recognize that there are issues involved with turning D&D into narrative fiction, but I still prefer the former to inform the latter. Things like this are why I maintain that D&D isn't a game about telling a story (or, for that matter, a "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling_game#Role-playing_games" target="_blank">storytelling game</a>"), and shouldn't really try to be, since that gets into issues of pounding a square peg into a round hole.</p><p></p><p>I'll also agree that the Princes of Shades don't do their best as a collective of powerful, evil arch-wizards. I mean, I get that the good guys have to win, and that if you have villains who are equally powerful, perspicacious, and prepared as the good guys - plus have superior numbers and a home-field advantage - that probably won't happen, but it's still frustrating to see the same villainous flaws put forward again and again, where people who should know better spend their time trying to sabotage each other even when the opposition is fighting to make them <em>all</em> lose. It's depressing, and a bit redundant; we already have the Zhentarim for that.</p><p></p><p>But at least that closing scene, where Telamont intimidates a dracolich, was pretty cool.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8437815, member: 8461"] The third one seemed like a strong closer, but that might be because I mostly remember the final scene, which made a pretty good impression. There were some other parts that stuck out, like Malik el Sami yn Nasser managing to fumble the "shadow stone" or whatever it was, and seeing a divine sign, and realizing to his dismay that it couldn't have been from Cyric, since Cyric never sent him signs (except when he was angry). Oh Malik, will you ever win? (Probably not, considering what fate awaited him at the end of the book.) While I don't rightfully recall the heroes mowing their way through hordes of illithids, phaerimm, beholders, etc., I do agree with the problem inherent in that imagery, as any one of those is a mid-tier boss character who shouldn't be used as cannon fodder. Not so much because each of them is a potential tyrant/manipulator in their own right (although they are), but also because their game stats don't really lend themselves toward being dispatched like mooks...at least, not unless the heroes' have levels far in excess of what the bad guys' Challenge Ratings are. Mystra's Chosen can pull that off; the local adventuring company, not so much. I agree Galaeron's whole "you must embrace your own dark side to master yourself" thing seemed pretty obvious. I mean, Star Wars notwithstanding, that bit of pop psychology seems like it's everywhere now, to the point of being trite. Just ask Michael Cera: [MEDIA=youtube]IHHZvNx3zrw[/MEDIA] I'm still not sure how that even works in terms of game mechanics. I mean, I've mentioned the Wisdom loss associated with the original version of that feat; was this him gaining it back somehow? An alignment change? I recognize that there are issues involved with turning D&D into narrative fiction, but I still prefer the former to inform the latter. Things like this are why I maintain that D&D isn't a game about telling a story (or, for that matter, a "[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling_game#Role-playing_games]storytelling game[/url]"), and shouldn't really try to be, since that gets into issues of pounding a square peg into a round hole. I'll also agree that the Princes of Shades don't do their best as a collective of powerful, evil arch-wizards. I mean, I get that the good guys have to win, and that if you have villains who are equally powerful, perspicacious, and prepared as the good guys - plus have superior numbers and a home-field advantage - that probably won't happen, but it's still frustrating to see the same villainous flaws put forward again and again, where people who should know better spend their time trying to sabotage each other even when the opposition is fighting to make them [i]all[/i] lose. It's depressing, and a bit redundant; we already have the Zhentarim for that. But at least that closing scene, where Telamont intimidates a dracolich, was pretty cool. [/QUOTE]
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