D&D 5E Revel's End... magi-tech that jumps the shark!

[FitzTheRuke]

Similar to the brick in the Honor Among Thieves trailer. I thought the brick was the best part of the trailer.

Apparently the prison in Honor Among Thieves IS Revel's End.

Same here. We lost that fight.

Me too. I MUCH prefer low-magic.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

The 5e DMG has Antimatter Rifles and Laser Pistols as well.

 

[MarkB]

Apparently the prison in Honor Among Thieves IS Revel's End.

So, WotC are doing a stealth tie-in? They really need to work on their marketing.

Either way, I'm happy for Revel's End to be getting some more attention. Plot-wise it was one of most interesting and yet least well-developed locations in Rime of the Frostmaiden.

 

[Tonguez]

Sound like Ebberon, not my taste but still legit fantasy

 

[Oofta]

Haven't had a chance to read this, but it would all fit right in for my campaign. The stagnant pseudo medieval setting with no magic outside of adventurers never made sense to me. I don't go to Eberron levels of magi-tech, but interactive illusions? A magical control panel? Pretty par for the course. If it bothers you, it's easy to change the fluff.

So it's a matter of taste and preference. The game hasn't jumped the shark just because it doesn't stick with old school Gygaxian dungeons. There is far worse, more nonsensical imagery in older mods.

 

[jerryrice4949]

Is it bad that I find myself more intrigued than horrified by this summary?

Me too. Sounds kind of cool. I think it speaks to no matter what they do someone is upset. If they use the same old things people are unhappy. Try something new and innovative and some people are unhappy.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

So, WotC are doing a stealth tie-in? They really need to work on their marketing.

Yep. It seems so. I've seen a lot of missed "no-brainer" cross-promotion lately - like when the first Wonder Woman movie was out, DC had nearly all Wonder-Woman related graphic novels out of print. I'm getting pretty jaded on the subject.

 

[Oofta]

-- duplicate --

 

[not-so-newguy]

As someone who has inserted "Cavemen with Lasers" into his campaigns in the past, I think it's fine. Embrace the Gonzo!

 

[Parmandur]

Matches the general tone of a lot of modern fantasy.

 

[bedir than]

So, WotC are doing a stealth tie-in?

It's not stealth, they mentioned it during Rime of the Frostmaiden, where John Francis Daley is credited as a writer and they mentioned it in their press interviews for Golden Vault.

Before the D&D movie premieres, you should play these adventures

The latest, publishing in February, is basically a tie-in to Honor Among Thieves

www.polygon.com

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I liked all the stuff being complained about.

 

[DRIZZN'T]

Magi-Tech? Fine with me!

Anything that breaks out of the same old "pseudo-medieval high-fantasy superhero" thing that dominates most of D&D, is OK with me.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I was excited for Golden Vault's promise of 13 heist scenarios, but after perusing the 'Prisoner 13' scenario on D&D Beyond, I fear not only for the quality of this product, but for the fate of D&D's interpretation of fantasy gaming as I know and love it. Granted, I'm getting long in the tooth, but this is getting ridiculous.

My observations require spoilers, so:

Spoiler: Prisoner 13 jumps the shark

You can't just slap an 'it's magic!' label on everything and still hope to maintain some verisimilitude and continuity. Yes, I am aware of Clarke's quote ("Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”), but that doesn't work in reverse... high technology concepts shouldn't be inserted into fantasy and then just accepted as magic.'Prisoner 13's' egregious violations of this include:
1. A quest monologue shamelessly stolen from 'Mission: Impossible.' (OK, that's not a direct magic-tech issue, but it paves the way.)
2. A holographic interactive map that shows patrol routes and unlocks doors
3. Prolific and convenient continual flames, magical heating, arcane locks, and anti-magic fields
4. A surveillance hub with what is essentially a computer console that controls gates, doors, and a public address system.
These aren't magic, this is unjustifiable technology that is anachronistic (even in the context of the FR) hiding behind a cheap label of 'magic.'
It's lazy.

I feel the same effects could have been accomplished while honoring magic as magic. How about a small staff of wizards using scrying and a crystal ball for surveillance? And the wizards have to cast and dispel their arcane locks?
Anyway, this is just another step in D&D moving from fantasy to heroic fantasy to fantasy superheroes to now science fiction without lasers. Ugh.

Every single one of those things are perfectly fine, and I've used similar things in the past. As others have said, it's a state-of-the-art magic prison holding some of the most dangerous prisoners in the region, funded by a group of immensely rich states who can afford such things. Complaint number 3 is particularly baffling, as that's the minimum to be expected in such a place. Heck, the higher nobility and rich merchants in the FR have some of those in their homes and workplaces!

 

[overgeeked]

high technology concepts shouldn't be inserted into fantasy and then just accepted as magic...

May I introduce you to:

AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions (Basic) - Wizards of the Coast | Maps/Terrain/Game Aids | D&D Basic | DriveThruRPG.com

AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions (Basic) - Have you ever wondered why, in a world full of magic, there are no enchanted labor-saving devices? Few magical modes of

www.drivethrurpg.com

S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1e) - Wizards of the Coast | Adventures | AD&D 1st Ed. | DriveThruRPG.com

S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1e) - The Grand Duchy of Geoff has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort

www.drivethrurpg.com

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor (Basic) - Wizards of the Coast | Adventure Modules | DriveThruRPG.com

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor (Basic) - On every side the storm clouds gather. To south and east, the Great Empire of Thonia plots to end Blackmoor's independen

www.drivethrurpg.com

And it's follow-up adventures.

There's a long, long, long tradition of sci-fi in this "fantasy" game. There were robots in the original three books.

It's lazy.

jumped the shark

Welcome to WotC's D&D.

 

[overgeeked]

As someone who has inserted "Cavemen with Lasers" into his campaigns in the past, I think it's fine. Embrace the Gonzo!

The more gonzo the better.

 

[Lord Shark]

The Principalities of Glantri (in D&D's Known World) had canals patrolled by water-elemental-powered boats with wands of magic missiles mounted on their bows. Glantri City also minted coins with continual light cast on them.

None of this making-magic-into-technology approach is in any way new or modern; it's been encouraged by D&D's making magic something predictable, carefully defined, and infinitely repeatable from the very start.

 

[Lanefan]

An "interactive" illusion where there's an Illusionist maintaining it and having it react or behave as other people ask it to - fine.

An interactive illusion that runs itself? That's a bit OTT for me, and I say this as someone who's already introduced various non-medieval elements inti his game: a zeppelin, spaceships, robots (that don't always function quite as designed!), sci-fi air defenses, and so forth.

 

[Reynard]

An "interactive" illusion where there's an Illusionist maintaining it and having it react or behave as other people ask it to - fine.

An interactive illusion that runs itself? That's a bit OTT for me, and I say this as someone who's already introduced various non-medieval elements inti his game: a zeppelin, spaceships, robots (that don't always function quite as designed!), sci-fi air defenses, and so forth.

Magic mouth.

 

[Reaper Steve]

I'd like to thank all those that have replied to this thread so far. You helped me to realize that I missed that Revel's End was previously covered in Rime of the Frostmaiden, and that almost all of the issues I have with its portrayal in Keys From the Golden Vault already existed verbatim in that previous publication. That doesn't really change my opinion, but I do want to acknowledge that this means it's not a Golden Vault issue. I've added an edit to the OP to capture that.