I thought the 3e version was excellent (I haven't seen the DJ version), and I eagerly backed this one. I'll be happy to provide more information once I get my copy.
D&D 5E Necropolis: the lone and level sands.......
- Thread starter GuyBoy
- Start date
Quickleaf
Legend
Yes, they sent out the PDF copy. I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing and compare to the original, but it's very nicely done.
The mixup of old (black/white) and new (color) art feels a bit haphazard, but many of the new color pieces are just fantastic.
The character tracking sheet in the Appendix is super helpful, putting a bunch of necessary info the DM needs to keep track of right there on one sheet.
Monster conversions are decent, but nothing yet stands out as innovative. I've actually converted many of the Necropolis monsters to 5e before this release, and mostly favor my own versions (surprise). But the addition of the mummified giant spider is super cool, both conceptually, artistically, and mechanically!
There are tons of NPC conversions, just like in the 3e original. Honestly, it's excessive as several NPCs could have been grouped into "close enough" pairings. But that is true to Gygax's original, so I understand the design choice.
The cartography can be divided into 2 categories. The main tomb map by Alysa McFaden is awesome. I love her attention to detail – you can see the love that was poured into that map. EDIT: Also, I am fully onboard with their OSR move to place zoomed in views of segments of the tomb map inline with the text for easy referencing. Just makes it so much easier for the DM that way.
The regional map of Khemit is similarly excellent.
Then all the other smaller dungeon maps are pretty bleh, feel very much like a pen sketch with the paintbucket tool single color fills.
Some player-facing material in the appendix I wasn't expecting, 3 new cleric domains: Death (a different version), Malefic, and River. Plus many of the new spells from the original have been converted.
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