New WotC adventure return to Slaughtergard? Any good?
- Thread starter Gundark
- Start date
tomBitonti
Hero
Brief description of Slaughtergarde (possible spoilers)
I picked up a copy today (16-Dec-2006), and have been looking over the contents.
Here is my initial review:
I paid $22.46, but the list price is $24.95. (My friendly local gaming store gives me a 10% discount.)
So far, I have only just started to read through the module contents, so I can only review the physical contents of the module. If I have time, I'll add a followup note that details the contents in some detail.
The module packet contains :
* The folder itself, which has pockets for the loose material, and encounter charts printed inside.
* A 64 page campaign guide, itself consisting of:
** 1 title page, and 1 credits page
** About 5 pages of introduction and background information;
** About 10 pages of locale information, including a large two page campaign map, and a single page map of the major city in the locale;
** About 4 pages detailing important organizations in the locale;
** About 42 pages of information on the adventure sites, including 5 pages of site maps, two pages of general information about the sites and their inhabitants, and about 37 pages of encounters, in the same format as the new Ravenloft adventure;
** 1 page of product listings;
* A 64 page second book with more information about adventure sites, consisting of:
** 1 title page and 1 page of credits;
** 1 page of generic side information;
** 60 pages of encounters, also in the new Ravenloft format;
** 2 pages of adverts for WOTC products;
* A 16 page player's guide, consisting of:
** 1 title page and 1 page of credits;
** 1 full page campaign map;
** About 1 page of introduction;
** About 2 pages of character concepts, as suggestions to new players;
** About 3 pages of information about organizations in the campaign area;
** About 7 pages of prestiege classes relating to the organizations;
** Two pages of new magic items, mostly related to the organizations noted above;
* A single, double sided, foldout with maps of several of the encounter areas. This is about 2 feet by 3 feet, and is *not* a battlemap, but is several different areas placed onto a single large printout.
* Four double sided pages, each with two full color print outs on each side, of important locations or items. These are very similar to similar illustrations from other products (for example, Tomb of Horrors), but are in full color. There are a total of 16 illustrations. The illustrations are very nicely done.
Comments on component quality:
* The pocketed folder is nice, but not entirely usable to contain the loose contents, as it is fairly light cardstock, and does not hold the loose materials securely. You will want to get a more sturdy and secure folio for the loose materials.
* The printed books are full color, however, only the illustrations make use of any vibrant colors; interior backgrounds are either white or yellowish. Font selection is the same as for other WOTC products. The yellowish backgrounds are in three shades, with some light patterning of entounter locations as a kind of watermark. The medium shade obscures the text lightly; the dark shade obscures it quite a bit.
* The encounter area pages have no additional illustrations; each of the prestiege classes has a 1/2 page illustration. I thought all of these were of the better quality for WOTC products.
* There are no other illustrations, and the borders are normal (hence not excessively large);
* The maps are well drawn; there is are no keys, but that is hardly necessary, as the encounter pages describe each location in considerable detail; there is one problem, which is that the door symbols (several of the doors are "special", and have distinct symbols) are somewhat faint;
* Each encounter is detailed on one or two pages, with the following standard sections: Setup, Tactics, Monster Listing, Conclusion, Room Features, and Room Diagram. There are occasional sidebars with important information about the encounter area.
* As stated before, the separate illustrations are printed in brilliant, full color. These are quite nicely done. My only caveat is that the page material is rather thin, and will not suffer handling very well.
* The separate encounter maps are OK, but not really exceptional. Four separate areas are mapped, with sufficient detail in three of the areas to make the maps useful. One of the maps is of a simple, octagonal room, and seems hardly necessary.
* The player guide does *not* allow for photocopying.
* I am aware of no online bonus content, but I haven't looked too hard for such.
Some initial comments (some spoilers here):
* The module takes characters from 1'st to 6'th level.
* The campaign area is about 200 miles by 150 miles, with one important city, several towns and villages, one major river, and a number of encircling mountains;
* The area is not tied to any major campaign (Faerun, Eberron, Greyhawk), although, the module has suggestions for placement into either Faerun or Eberron.
* There are three major sites, which are one or two map page dungeon crawls;
* Each site has travel to and from the site, and exploring the site itself;
* Basically, each site covers two levels of character advancement; the module recommends about 5 encounters which travelling to each site, and 5 more on the way back.
* The campaign area details include two major organizations that the player characters can join. These are nicely done and include a number of prestiege classes and magic items specific to each organization, although, the prestiege classes are not usable for player characters while running the module, as none of them may be entered before 7'th level.
* There is room for most basic races (humans, elves, half-elves, gnomes, dwarfs, and half-orcs), and for the core classes. Adding other races or classes would require some DM effort, as these would be exotic for the area.
* From what I have seen so far, the encounter levels are appropriate; several of the encounters include higher CR creatures which have been penalized by one manner or another by the encounter setup; this is creatively done, and adds spice to the encounters.
I picked up a copy today (16-Dec-2006), and have been looking over the contents.
Here is my initial review:
I paid $22.46, but the list price is $24.95. (My friendly local gaming store gives me a 10% discount.)
So far, I have only just started to read through the module contents, so I can only review the physical contents of the module. If I have time, I'll add a followup note that details the contents in some detail.
The module packet contains :
* The folder itself, which has pockets for the loose material, and encounter charts printed inside.
* A 64 page campaign guide, itself consisting of:
** 1 title page, and 1 credits page
** About 5 pages of introduction and background information;
** About 10 pages of locale information, including a large two page campaign map, and a single page map of the major city in the locale;
** About 4 pages detailing important organizations in the locale;
** About 42 pages of information on the adventure sites, including 5 pages of site maps, two pages of general information about the sites and their inhabitants, and about 37 pages of encounters, in the same format as the new Ravenloft adventure;
** 1 page of product listings;
* A 64 page second book with more information about adventure sites, consisting of:
** 1 title page and 1 page of credits;
** 1 page of generic side information;
** 60 pages of encounters, also in the new Ravenloft format;
** 2 pages of adverts for WOTC products;
* A 16 page player's guide, consisting of:
** 1 title page and 1 page of credits;
** 1 full page campaign map;
** About 1 page of introduction;
** About 2 pages of character concepts, as suggestions to new players;
** About 3 pages of information about organizations in the campaign area;
** About 7 pages of prestiege classes relating to the organizations;
** Two pages of new magic items, mostly related to the organizations noted above;
* A single, double sided, foldout with maps of several of the encounter areas. This is about 2 feet by 3 feet, and is *not* a battlemap, but is several different areas placed onto a single large printout.
* Four double sided pages, each with two full color print outs on each side, of important locations or items. These are very similar to similar illustrations from other products (for example, Tomb of Horrors), but are in full color. There are a total of 16 illustrations. The illustrations are very nicely done.
Comments on component quality:
* The pocketed folder is nice, but not entirely usable to contain the loose contents, as it is fairly light cardstock, and does not hold the loose materials securely. You will want to get a more sturdy and secure folio for the loose materials.
* The printed books are full color, however, only the illustrations make use of any vibrant colors; interior backgrounds are either white or yellowish. Font selection is the same as for other WOTC products. The yellowish backgrounds are in three shades, with some light patterning of entounter locations as a kind of watermark. The medium shade obscures the text lightly; the dark shade obscures it quite a bit.
* The encounter area pages have no additional illustrations; each of the prestiege classes has a 1/2 page illustration. I thought all of these were of the better quality for WOTC products.
* There are no other illustrations, and the borders are normal (hence not excessively large);
* The maps are well drawn; there is are no keys, but that is hardly necessary, as the encounter pages describe each location in considerable detail; there is one problem, which is that the door symbols (several of the doors are "special", and have distinct symbols) are somewhat faint;
* Each encounter is detailed on one or two pages, with the following standard sections: Setup, Tactics, Monster Listing, Conclusion, Room Features, and Room Diagram. There are occasional sidebars with important information about the encounter area.
* As stated before, the separate illustrations are printed in brilliant, full color. These are quite nicely done. My only caveat is that the page material is rather thin, and will not suffer handling very well.
* The separate encounter maps are OK, but not really exceptional. Four separate areas are mapped, with sufficient detail in three of the areas to make the maps useful. One of the maps is of a simple, octagonal room, and seems hardly necessary.
* The player guide does *not* allow for photocopying.
* I am aware of no online bonus content, but I haven't looked too hard for such.
Some initial comments (some spoilers here):
* The module takes characters from 1'st to 6'th level.
* The campaign area is about 200 miles by 150 miles, with one important city, several towns and villages, one major river, and a number of encircling mountains;
* The area is not tied to any major campaign (Faerun, Eberron, Greyhawk), although, the module has suggestions for placement into either Faerun or Eberron.
* There are three major sites, which are one or two map page dungeon crawls;
* Each site has travel to and from the site, and exploring the site itself;
* Basically, each site covers two levels of character advancement; the module recommends about 5 encounters which travelling to each site, and 5 more on the way back.
* The campaign area details include two major organizations that the player characters can join. These are nicely done and include a number of prestiege classes and magic items specific to each organization, although, the prestiege classes are not usable for player characters while running the module, as none of them may be entered before 7'th level.
* There is room for most basic races (humans, elves, half-elves, gnomes, dwarfs, and half-orcs), and for the core classes. Adding other races or classes would require some DM effort, as these would be exotic for the area.
* From what I have seen so far, the encounter levels are appropriate; several of the encounters include higher CR creatures which have been penalized by one manner or another by the encounter setup; this is creatively done, and adds spice to the encounters.
theredrobedwizard
Explorer
Looks to be worth the covercharge then. Good.
-TRRW
-TRRW
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I like the basic concept. I look forward to hearing more so I can see if it's portable enough to be inserted into Ptolus and its environs.
Theron
Explorer
Whizbang Dustyboots said:
I think it would be a pretty easy fit. Praemal has certainly had its share of extraplanar invasions and weirdness. The setting is very generic, which means there's no exclusion of any of the core races, so you might have to tweak it a bit on that front (or not.) While the core deities are mentioned here and there, none is hard-coded into the adventures, so Lothian could easily be slipped in.
Come to think of it, one could probably have an entertaining time using this as a lead up to a Ptolus game. Have the PCs start off in the Valley of the Obelisks as newbie adventurers. Over time, they explore the ruins of Slaughtergarde and become big deal-local heroes. Then send them off to Ptolus where they find themselves very small fish in a big adventuring pond.
(Note to self: Don't get ahead of yourself. Try running this for a while first, OK?)
