Mongoose's "The Drow War I - The Gathering Storm"

[Arcane Runes Press]

Well, despite what some feel here, drow are still very popular.

I'll be curious to see what bits it's using.

For example, will it use material from Sheloth, the 3.0/3.5 City of the Drow with the weird NPC stats and abilities?

Will it borrow from Goodman's Guide to Drow or Green Ronin's Excellent Plot & Poison?

Hopefully we'll see some previews for it, and get some web enhancements for it.

Hmmm... I wouldn't bet on stuff from outside companies. When I was freelancing and working there, the general rule was not to use material from other companies.

I'm curious to see what's in the book too - I wrote a Encyclopedia Arcane on Drow Magic, and I'm wondering if any of that material is in there. The Black Rituals are about the right level of power for really high level and epic play, so there's a chance they might be there.

That would make me happy. I'm rather fond of that book.

I'm also interested in the two higher level books in the series - not to run, but to see how Adrian constructs the adventure/campaign to deal with the staggering amount of options and powers high level characters have. I'd be willing to bet that was a nightmare, particularly at levels 20+.

He's a good writer, though. So, I suspect he pulled it through admirably.

Patrick Y.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I'm also interested in the two higher level books in the series - not to run, but to see how Adrian constructs the adventure/campaign to deal with the staggering amount of options and powers high level characters have. I'd be willing to bet that was a nightmare, particularly at levels 20+.

There's plenty of precedent material to learn from, from Gygax to Piratecat's Story Hour.

 

[Arnwyn]

I've been looking forward to this series since it was announced.

But indeed, I too am curious as to who did the maps. If the maps are substandard (no grids, ugly computer generated), it gets a 'no-buy' from me. But otherwise, I can't wait to see this.

 

[trancejeremy]

Mongoose's stuff usually depends on the author. Adrian Bott is pretty much Mongoose's best (at least I've thought so), so this should be pretty good

 

[Cavalorn]

I'm also interested in the two higher level books in the series - not to run, but to see how Adrian constructs the adventure/campaign to deal with the staggering amount of options and powers high level characters have. I'd be willing to bet that was a nightmare, particularly at levels 20+.

It's a nightmare I haven't actually had to live through yet, seeing as I'm still working on Book Two at time of writing!

But I know what I'm going to do, and how.

He's a good writer, though. So, I suspect he pulled it through admirably.

I really appreciate the vote of confidence.

Matt, how much am I allowed to tell people about the series?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Tell, tell!

How much is from Mongoose's other drow books?

How much of it is in the, er, Underdeep?

What the heck are you going to do for the epic level stuff?

Is this a mostly modular work that doesn't necessarily impact the rest of the game world (the starting location is a drop-in area, for instance), or do you detail how it impacts everything else?

Does the campaign make assumptions beyond baseline D&D vis-a-vis technological or magical levels?

Is this 100 percent adventure, or can we look for new spells, feats, prestige classes and monsters as well?

 

[Cavalorn]

Tell, tell!

Well, I'm not sure I'm permitted to, since the trilogy is a work in progress.

I think I'm probably on safe ground if I say the following, picking up on one of your queries:

Impact is what it's all about. The last thing I wanted was a scripted ride down a plot railroad. Battles can be lost as well as won, and the choices the Players make have definite consequences.

The scope of the campaign expands steadily as the story progresses. Even by the end of the first book, the fates of nations (dramatic drumroll) hang in the balance, with no one outcome being guaranteed. Without giving too much away, the Players have a considerable level of involvement in how events play out. For example, if the story involves a battle, then there is a section that details the consequences of both victory and defeat, and the plot does not fall apart if the 'right' outcome does not happen.

 

[Crothian]

Is trhe campaign set in a specific world? How easy will it be to place this in say the Forgotten Realms or Kalamar or even Eberron? That seems like the greatest difficulty to me. It can take some work to make a normal module fit into a campaign world; so the work it could take to make a 30 level epic campaign trilogy might not make it worth it.

On a seperate not, does the campaign assume the drow are evil and the players are going agasint them? Or could the players be the Drow?

 

[Cavalorn]

Is trhe campaign set in a specific world?

Yes, that was necessary. It really wasn't possible to plot out the progress of a three-volume 'epic' by using 'generic country A' and 'generic dynasty B', or some formulation along the lines of 'whichever kingdom is nearest in your campaign'.

Single location type modules are relatively easy to drag and drop, because they are so insular. Even if you have a gigantic underground labyrinth, the consequences of what goes on inside it are unlikely to affect anything outside of its precincts. The adventures in the Drow War series form part of a saga (even at their most non-linear) so they *have* to have a knock-on impact on the world around them. In design terms, this means that you have to say something about that world.

How easy will it be to place this in say the Forgotten Realms or Kalamar or even Eberron?

My guess is that it would be marginally easier than it would be to transport the Dragonlance series of adventures into those settings...

On a seperate not, does the campaign assume the drow are evil and the players are going agasint them?

The Drow as a race are not a single monolithic force, and the *players* can be evil if they want to - their role as protagonists in the saga is determined by other factors than their alignment. The primary antagonists are Drow, but that doesn't mean that all Drow are the primary antagonists. If you see what I mean.

Or could the players be the Drow?

They could be Drow characters (though this would be an exceptionally challenging way to play it) but they would not get to be the specific antagonist Drow described above.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Will the campaign information be mostly contained in the first book?