D&D 5E (2014) PotA Worth Buying?

[Remathilis]

It's interesting you say that, because I'm seeing the same issue you're pointing out with Princes in Lost Mine. There's no sense of urgency, no agenda that will get realized if the players do nothing, no time limit, no rising tension. The main villain of Lost Mine is another "sit there and wait" kind of villain, as are the lower rungs on the totem pole.

The group I'm running it with (spoilers)
[sblock]
let Sildar die, so he wasn't around to direct them at the Redbrands, and they presumed that the Rockseeker dwarf had met some unfortunate fate as well, so they went a little aimless in the middle of the adventure, not seeing Cragmaw Castle as their next destination clearly. I was casting about to see what would happen if they didn't uncover Cragmaw Castle and...well....nothing happens, really. If the players never arrive on the scene, maybe at some point the Nezznar gets some magic items? Maybe some more drow show up? Nothing's really in flux, and if the villains get everything they want....no big deal.[/sblock]

I can forgive this because its a Starter Adventure; remember his is supposed to be someone's first exposure to D&D. Having villains not take pro-active measures makes it easier on a new DM. Otherwise, you're asking a new DM to act and react; something that comes with experience and understanding of the rules. A new DM has a lot on his plate already.

Now, ToD and EE, I have no excuses for, but LMoP I can forgive its very inactive approach.

 

[Agamon]

There may not seem like a sense of urgency in PotA from reading through it as a potential DM, but trust me, the players feel it through the events that take place as the party interferes with the cults. In fact, one of the players even said last session, "We need to take these a-holes down before they kill any more innocents."

As for the sandboxy-ness of the adventure, that's the best part, in my opinion. And the flat math of 5e makes it work quite well. Our group of 5 started at 5th level and are now 7th. So far, they went through the areas marked as suitable for 6th level, 9th level, 3rd level, then 7th level, and it's all worked out so far. The only difference is how long they can go without needing to back out to regroup and rest. They play smart. I roll in the open, so no fudging, but I also let them know before we started that the adventure is sandbox, and it's possible they could get in over their heads if not careful.

I don't like APs, and as far I'm concerned, PotA isn't an AP; there's no path. Lots of player agency and me DMing on my toes. That's fun.

 

[Celtavian]

I can give my impressions of Princes of the Apocalypse:

Story is a bit weak. There doesn't seem to be much going on. Some cults are doing some stuff in a particular area. You're never really sure they're doing anything worth stopping. The DM incorporated some hooks with personal quests. They don't seem particularly important for any clear reason. My quest is "Stop this guy" with some nebulous vision of him doing harm to people. I'm not particularly good, so this hook doesn't tie in real well with my background. I much prefer campaign hooks tie in with a character's background. Otherwise, I would prefer we look at the various areas as sources of loot. I don't mind an exploration and looting campaign. I wouldn't mind seeing WotC produce a sandbox or location railroad where you just wander the area to kill things and take their stuff. Princes isn't that type of module. It's like a sandbox that is supposed to have some kind of story, but it isn't made very clear.

Leveling tiers are set up by area. They seem to have a monastery (lower level encounter area) and a temple (higher level encounter area). You can pick and choose which monasteries and temples to take on first since they all fall within the tight relative level range. You should generally start with the monasteries/castles with the lower level guys, work your way to the temples taking out one temple at a time. The temples are all sort of connected, so it's easy to clear the temples.

The enemies are themed around the elements. They are somewhat interesting. Sort of a letdown after Tyranny of Dragons. Dragons were a tough fight. These elemental creatures not so much. I imagine it depends on your party's system mastery. A party relatively new to the game or not particularly proficient at battle might find the elemental creatures interesting to fight. If you like elemental themed monsters, you may enjoy playing with it.

Overall, it's not bad. It's much easier than Tyranny of Dragons because no dragons. The creatures are weaker and easier to take down for an experienced party.

 

[pukunui]

My thoughts on Princes of the Apocalypse remain unchanged since I wrote this a few months ago: Princes vs Tyranny.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I can forgive this because its a Starter Adventure; remember his is supposed to be someone's first exposure to D&D. Having villains not take pro-active measures makes it easier on a new DM. Otherwise, you're asking a new DM to act and react; something that comes with experience and understanding of the rules. A new DM has a lot on his plate already.

Now, ToD and EE, I have no excuses for, but LMoP I can forgive its very inactive approach.

I actually think it sucks a bit MORE in the intro adventure - part of the particular fun of DMing is hurling consequences at player characters for the choices the players make. LMoP doesn't show any consequences for the action of "not doing the adventure."

But it looks like Orcus Throning is something I might have to watch out for in WotC adventures overall. At least that narrows the fix.

 

[Iosue]

For me, the only problem with LMoP is...

[sblock=Spoilers]There's too much time from when Gundren is abducted to when he's rescued. He's abducted the day before the PCs arrive. Even if the PCs clear Cragmaw Hideout in one go, they'll need another long rest before taking on the Redbrands. After they take on the Redbrands, it's another Long Rest before seeking out Cragmaw Castle, and that's assuming they don't pursue any sidequests. It can even take another day or two to find the Castle. That means that there are at least 3 to 5 days before he's rescued. What's happening to him all this time? There's a lot of urgency when he's originally abducted, but after the Hideout and the Manor, the urgency disappears as the game opens up into more of a sandboxy style. I think the sandbox should have been opened up after he was rescued. If I was writing it, I'd have had him held captive in Tresendar Manor, so that he's rescued relatively quickly. You still have the map as an incentive to seek out the Castle. Actually one group I had went after the Castle before facing the Redbrands, so they rescued Gundren pretty early. But going into Cragmaw Castle as 2nd level was rather touch-and-go.[/sblock]

Having both played and run PotA, I think it's a definite buy. It's got a pretty linear story if you want that, but even if you don't (or if you don't find the linear story all that interesting) you still get a fantastically fleshed out mini-sandbox setting.

 

[jrowland]

For me, the only problem with LMoP is...

My players made a conscious decision to let him rot, serves him right for wandering off, and extorted him for better shares of the...uh...thing he seeks.

 

[Henry]

It's one purchase that I find I've regretted buying, though I'm still holding onto it in the hope that I might cannibalize some parts of it for other adventures. I found the setup and hooks too familiar and simplistic, and the writing just not very inspiring to me. The best part of it to me was the sections differentiating the cults from one another, I want to see mire of that for roleplaying purposes. However, I don't think I'll ever run it as-is -- I hate to say it, but after being used to the fantastic setups and back stories that Paizo turns out in their APs, I found it just... Boring, is perhaps the best word?

at least the Tiamat Cycle had some good opportunities for roleplay (though I have other reasons for disliking that one unrelated to its quality, I freely admit the Tiamat one was a good quality adventure).

 

[Cadriel]

I'm going to say yes, although I wouldn't spend the full $50 unless you plan to run it as-is. It's worth buying on Amazon for $33 or so. You could easily reskin 4 or 5 adventures from this between some very cool dungeons (I really like the design in the water dungeon) and locations like the Feathergale Spire and Rivergard Keep.

One factor I don't think a lot of people give it credit for is the monsters and NPCs. The various cultists, priests and villains all have solid stat blocks and as a result you have some great flavorful human opponents for the game. You don't need to be running the whole adventure to make a cool enemy out of an Earth or Fire cult.

The ideas in the book are solid, although if the players think anything they can get to is "safe," they may be in for a rude surprise.

 

[Agamon]

It's one purchase that I find I've regretted buying, though I'm still holding onto it in the hope that I might cannibalize some parts of it for other adventures. I found the setup and hooks too familiar and simplistic, and the writing just not very inspiring to me. The best part of it to me was the sections differentiating the cults from one another, I want to see mire of that for roleplaying purposes. However, I don't think I'll ever run it as-is -- I hate to say it, but after being used to the fantastic setups and back stories that Paizo turns out in their APs, I found it just... Boring, is perhaps the best word?

Just want to make sure we're talking about the same adventure here.

A lot of NPCs, even relatively minor ones, have motivations spelled out for them. There are plenty of opportunities for roleplay, to the point that one of my more combat-oriented players has asked a couple times, "So, are we going to fight something tonight?"

Granted, I get that sandboxes aren't everyone's cup of tea, and can seem simple compared to the mapped-out machinations of the big bad in a true AP. Different stokes, and all. Just offering a counterpoint in regard to roleplay opportunities in the adventure.