Perkins' Foreword From OUT OF THE ABYSS

WotC's Chris Perkins on the Alice in Wonderland themes of D&D 5th Edition's Rage of Demon's Out of the Abyss by Green Ronin Publishing.

 

[Curmudjinn]

Hmm. It's interesting to note that Salvatore actually wrote the novelization of Attack of the Clones, which I thought was one of his best novels. The characterization in that book, especially of Anakin, is IMO much better than what I read in Salvatore's more recent novels, which seemed to be in a rush to conclude their storyline so Drizzt and his party could move on to Rage of Demons.

All in all, I don't mind Salvatore being directly involved in the planning of this adventure... but I really don't like Troy Denning's involvement. IMO he's one of the worst authors to have written D&D novels, and it saddens me to think of all the better FR authors who seem to have been abandoned by WotC while Denning is still getting work.

Salvatore also wrote a book called The Highwayman, which might be some of his best work, imho. Very good characterization.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

I didn't' ask "How much Drizzit is too much?"; I asked "How much Drizzit do you think they got on it?" -- completely different question!

What is the proper unit of measurement for amount of Drizzit? Grams? Litres? Hertz?

I am also quite looking forward to this product. The underdark is one of the environments that interests me the most. I also greatly enjoy the wackier tone of some of the situations we've been hearing about. I know that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the sense of humor that this thing seems like its going to have.

 

[rets82]

You'll find stuff of higher quality than Salvatore on Zil's and God's lists, for sure...but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the Drizzt books. I mean, just because Citizen Kane exists doesn't mean there's no place for King Kong.

Yes Hawkeyefan that was what I was trying to get at, you have made it plain, which is what I should have done. I need to try to remind myself that as this is the internet I should avoid sarcastic comments or questions, and that I am likely wrong any time I post my opinion. /wink =P

I love and read mostly fantasy novels because those are the ones I most often enjoy. Many are set in FR which I think is a fun world to adventure in, through reading or D&Ding. As I said before my own taste is likely awful. But as long as I am enjoying myself I will continue to read the "worst" novels written, as well as some of the internet approved ones. =P As before happy reading what ever you are in to.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yes Hawkeyefan that was what I was trying to get at, you have made it plain, which is what I should have done. I need to try to remind myself that as this is the internet I should avoid sarcastic comments or questions, and that I am likely wrong any time I post my opinion. /wink =P

I love and read mostly fantasy novels because those are the ones I most often enjoy. Many are set in FR which I think is a fun world to adventure in, through reading or D&Ding. As I said before my own taste is likely awful. But as long as I am enjoying myself I will continue to read the "worst" novels written, as well as some of the internet approved ones. =P As before happy reading what ever you are in to.

I agree. I've read plenty of Salvatore's books, and enjoyed them for what they are. I've read plenty of the other authors folks have listed as being "superior" to Salvatore, and found them to be a mix of enjoyable, amazing, and poor.

Salvatore gets a bad rap because he has certain tropes that he just can't avoid, and because he's pretty aware of exactly the type of work he is doing, and does not apologize for it.

 

[epithet]

Sometimes I wonder what an online community like this might be like if content creators were actually encouraged to participate in discussions, instead of being met with vitriolic hostility in the forum threads about their work.

 

[Morrus]

Sometimes I wonder what an online community like this might be like if content creators were actually encouraged to participate in discussions, instead of being met with vitriolic hostility in the forum threads about their work.

It used to be like that. The internet changed a few years ago. If it's any comfort, moderated communities like this are much more pleasant than unmoderated places like Twitter, Facebook, etc.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Sometimes I wonder what an online community like this might be like if content creators were actually encouraged to participate in discussions, instead of being met with vitriolic hostility in the forum threads about their work.

If Chris Pramas or Rich Baker or Monte Cook or Creighton Broadhurst (Raging Swan) or Chris Perkins or (I can keep listing people) pop in I will happily play fanboy. But for those whose work I don't like, I will comment on that if it's consistent with the topic of the thread.

BTW, I don't like RAS's writing because of the silly names and a few other things but he's a great guy who treats his fans really well. And I do understand why his stuff is popular even if I don't like it.

Anyway, check out the AMAs on this site. The engagement there has been really positive.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

New preview from Critical Hits. This really looks great!

I particularly like the "if-then" bits about how the place changes depending on the PCs' actions.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

New preview from Critical Hits. This really looks great!

I particularly like the "if-then" bits about how the place changes depending on the PCs' actions.

It makes it quite apparent that the environment and the creatures change depending on the actions (or even inaction) of the PCs. I love how the denizens can either be allies or enemies.

 

[hawkeyefan]

That preview page makes it sound really dynamic. I am really looking forward to this adventure! Thanks for posting that [MENTION=30770]Brent_Nall[/MENTION].