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<blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1978122" data-attributes="member: 13098">I always took Isle of the Ape to be geared toward punishing characters.&nbsp; Not in the sense of administering discipline or &quot;getting back&quot; at&nbsp; them.&nbsp; More in the tone of emphasizing that that PCs are going to undergo some brutal experiences and if they aren't careful/prudent, they will have their butts handed to them on a platter.&nbsp; I would argue that the module design is questionable.&nbsp; It does strip away a lot of the problematic magics and reduces the party to scrounging for any scrap of success.&nbsp; Not that this is a bad thing, but the particular method of achieving it is heavy-handed.&nbsp; That being said, I always liked the module.&nbsp; I never ran a party through it because I didn't think any of my friends would enjoy it.&nbsp; Or survive it.&nbsp; &nbsp; Let me emphasize for those who have never read it.This is a brutal module.Your PCs will likely lose almost all their cool toys.&nbsp; They will fight to keep their health.&nbsp; They will struggle to keep their spellcasters viable.&nbsp; They will face dang tough challenges that could put them into TPK land in a hurry.&nbsp; They will have to creatively address every situation to maximize their ability to win while minimizing their loss of resources.&nbsp; That means using the absolute least number of spells, losing the least number of HP, being able to feed themselves, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; This module really emphasized the value of attrition for me.&nbsp; I have used attrition on a smaller scale.&nbsp; But I have yet to find the really magical group of players that could take on the Isle of the Ape with any hope of success.&nbsp; One day, I hope to.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BSF, post: 1978122, member: 13098"] I always took Isle of the Ape to be geared toward punishing characters. Not in the sense of administering discipline or "getting back" at them. More in the tone of emphasizing that that PCs are going to undergo some brutal experiences and if they aren't careful/prudent, they will have their butts handed to them on a platter. I would argue that the module design is questionable. It does strip away a lot of the problematic magics and reduces the party to scrounging for any scrap of success. Not that this is a bad thing, but the particular method of achieving it is heavy-handed. That being said, I always liked the module. I never ran a party through it because I didn't think any of my friends would enjoy it. Or survive it. Let me emphasize for those who have never read it. [b]This is a brutal module.[/b] Your PCs will likely lose almost all their cool toys. They will fight to keep their health. They will struggle to keep their spellcasters viable. They will face dang tough challenges that could put them into TPK land in a hurry. They will have to creatively address every situation to maximize their ability to win while minimizing their loss of resources. That means using the absolute least number of spells, losing the least number of HP, being able to feed themselves, etc. This module really emphasized the value of attrition for me. I have used attrition on a smaller scale. But I have yet to find the really magical group of players that could take on the Isle of the Ape with any hope of success. One day, I hope to. [/QUOTE]

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