WotBS Recommendation for WotBS

[Blackbrrd]

I have just read through the Player's and DM's guide for WotBS, as well as the intro for the first two modules: The Scouring of Gate Pass and The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar.

My first impression is that it's a really solid piece of work.

• The Player's guide give lots of detailed info about the starting place of the campaign and should help bring it to life. At the same time it's quite compact and with very little wasted space
• The DM's guide intro reads like a good book and gives a real sense of the setting and campaign.
• The first module has a strong story and merges perfectly with the background information from the Player's guide.
• The second module has some really interesting twist and turns making me really look forward to DM-ing it.

I have previously looked at quite a few modules and discarded them all due to the amount of dungeon crawling and lack of interesting scenery and plot. This campaign looks like the start of an epic tale and has none of the shortcomings other titles have had.

I have previously DM-ed The Red Hand of Doom in Dnd 3.5 which I enjoyed a lot. I think this campaign will give me an even better experience. More interaction with NPC's, more choices for the players and interesting scenery.

It really strikes me after reading through the encounters - all of them push, prod, hints or shows of some of the story, characters or the world. It is really inspiring to read. What I like is that the characters are so closely bound to the people they fight as proceed through the modules.

I think the players will see that putting their thinking hat on will help them in every encounter. Sometimes they get a hint, sometimes they avoid getting an enemy, sometimes their reputation is at stake. I believe the immersion when playing this campaign is going to be very good.

Looking at the huge array of characters, twists and turns presented I am going to wish I was able to run this campaign a second time after I am done with it the first time, so that I can "fix" all the little things I am going to forget. (Not that the players are going to notice, even if I remember giving out half the hints presented, it's going to be great).

This is getting me all excited about DM-ing again, so thanks Enworld!

 

[sfedi]

Personally, I've never seen a pusblished adventure, or adventure path of this quality.

Simple things like the overview of the campaign, are simply absent in most paths.

And the promise of Epic and High Fantasy is 100% fulfilled.

The first time I read it, I didn't feel I could add more choices or turns to the adventures, but now that I have more experience under my belt I think you can tailor it a lot more (whether making it more linear or with more choices)

Currently I'm working on expanding the choices and consequences of each encounter.

 

[Daern]

I'll third that recommendation!
I have found that first scenario is quite open ended, particularly within encounters. There is usually an option for a non-violent solution, or some sort of moral negotiation. For example, three versions of the Confrontation with Shealis were offered: negotiation, and two locations for battle.
With a little work, and poking around this board for suggestions, "Scouring" could take any number of directions... I was preparing for a delve into the Singing Chasm if necessary, but it doesn't look like its gonna happen...
Anyways, yeah, great campaign. Hopefully we'll be wrapping up "Scouring" tomorrow! The Fire Forest should be cool!

 

[sfedi]

SPOILERS!!!

I have found that first scenario is quite open ended, particularly within encounters. There is usually an option for a non-violent solution, or some sort of moral negotiation. For example, three versions of the Confrontation with Shealis were offered: negotiation, and two locations for battle.

Escaping the city is clearly the most open ended part of the adventure, to the point that the adventure just gives you several options there which players probably will take. And suggestions on keeping your options open since PCs will come up with new ways of getting out of the city.
(the only catch with this part is that it is heavily based on the party talking to Erdran Menash)

Anyways, yeah, great campaign. Hopefully we'll be wrapping up "Scouring" tomorrow! The Fire Forest should be cool!

[sblock=OT]
What will you do with the final encounter? Specifically how are you pumping Boreus.
[/sblock]

 

[John Doom]

Fourth'd.

This game is my first time DMing any persistent party in a game with an actual plot. My group is in the Fire Forest right now, and I am constantly being bombarded by my players asking when we can all play again, because we took the holidays off as a break.

This campaign seems to have been truly inspired, and GMs like sfedi make the game even better by releasing updates and changes he has made to things like skill challenges so everything combines to create the ultimate player experience.

 

[Slander]

We're over a year and a half into the (3.x) campaign, and the party has just now started the sixth adventure. Typically, we're at the level in our group where campaigns gets a bit stale, or people start getting bored with their characters. We'd normally wrap up whatever we're doing and start over with a new campaign and new characters.

But this campaign has done a great job by keeping things fresh with varied locales, characters, encounters, and meaningful choices. I say that both as a DM and speaking for my players. Personally, I've never had the tenacity to run a game more than a couple months ... the "Player itch" gets to strong. But WotBS has kept me thoroughly entertained as DM this long, and I can't imagine that changing in the adventures ahead.