D&D 5E Rime of the Frostmaiden Post-Mortem (Spoilers)

[Ruin Explorer]

So what adventures did you find easy to run as-is? I'm needing something else and it sounds like RotFM isn't for me...

Er literally nothing for 5E I'm afraid, I'm thinking of older and non-D&D stuff. I imagine they exist though - probably something 3PP.

 

[edosan]

Er literally nothing for 5E I'm afraid, I'm thinking of older and non-D&D stuff. I imagine they exist though - probably something 3PP.

I'd love to know if you can remember specifics though - I find it way easier to convert a decent adventure than to fix a broken one.

(I even made another thread asking for suggestions if we are derailing things here)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd love to know if you can remember specifics though - I find it way easier to convert a decent adventure than to fix a broken one.

(I even made another thread asking for suggestions if we are derailing things here)

I have never seen an adventure that can't be broken by sufficiently creative PCs!

 

[edosan]

I have never seen an adventure that can't be broken by sufficiently creative PCs!

Agreed, but I feel like there is a significant difference between "PCs are going to throw something at you out of left field" and "this adventure has fundamental flaws in logic and gameplay that the editor apparently chose to ignore"

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Agreed, but I feel like there is a significant difference between "PCs are going to throw something at you out of left field" and "this adventure has fundamental flaws in logic and gameplay that the editor apparently chose to ignore"

I agree. What I disagree with is that Rime has any of those. IMO it's the best WotC full length campaign. I think sometimes what some people see as flaws are simply a clash of DM style. Just because you don't understand the logic does not mean other people do not understand the logic. I don't understand chaos theory, but that doesn't make it "fundamentally flawed". IMO, Curse of Strahd is deeply flawed, and I know of two attempts to run that campaign that have flopped. But I admit my opinion is subjective.

 

[pukunui]

I agree. What I disagree with is that Rime has any of those. IMO it's the best WotC full length campaign. I think sometimes what some people see as flaws are simply a clash of DM style. Just because you don't understand the logic does not mean other people do not understand the logic. I don't understand chaos theory, but that doesn't make it "fundamentally flawed". IMO, Curse of Strahd is deeply flawed, and I know of two attempts to run that campaign that have flopped. But I admit my opinion is subjective.

And I had a helluva lot of fun running Tyranny of Dragons and don’t think it’s anywhere near as flawed as most people make it out to be!

A lot of it is opinion.

 

[BenTheFerg]

Agreed, but I feel like there is a significant difference between "PCs are going to throw something at you out of left field" and "this adventure has fundamental flaws in logic and gameplay that the editor apparently chose to ignore"

100% agree.
It simply seems some folks are blind to terrible editing/ flaws in Rime & other 5e campaigns or simply think that terrible is normal or see running such things as a badge of honour....
Whereas to gripe & share concerns/ solutions to collectively identified problems is a sign of weakness & that you, the raiser of the concern, are actually a shite GM, and get gas-lit for your troubles.
I don't think it's worth arguing to TBH. Oh well!

 

[Scott Christian]

100% agree.
It simply seems some folks are blind to terrible editing/ flaws in Rime & other 5e campaigns or simply think that terrible is normal or see running such things as a badge of honour....
Whereas to gripe & share concerns/ solutions to collectively identified problems is a sign of weakness & that you, the raiser of the concern, are actually a shite GM, and get gas-lit for your troubles.
I don't think it's worth arguing to TBH. Oh well!

I don't think anyone is blind to some of the difficulties in Rime. I have yet to see anyone say it's perfect.

And the closest to a "shite DM" I can recall was my response to a fictitious dialogue between a DM and players. And even then, I specifically stated I was not calling out the person who wrote it as a bad DM. In fact, I said it was more than likely he was good.

But a person is allowed to argue that you see a bunch of flaws and others have had nothing but positive experiences, right? A person is allowed to look at your supposed terrible editing and say they see no such thing, because in their experience (or in my case experiences) there were no editing glitches. And a person is allowed to say, perhaps the difference is any multitude of things: table chemistry, DM prep, problematic player, player focus, DM focus. Right? Can a person say those, or are they just "blind?"

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I have yet to see anyone say it's perfect.

There is no such thing as perfection. The perfect module is infinitely long and the author hasn't finished it yet.

With Rime, I adjusted dog sled speeds to something more realistic, the secrets weren't as effective at sowing mistrust as I had hoped, and the combat was far too easy at the levels suggested - especially the boss fights. Otherwise, it ran well.

 

[BenTheFerg]

I don't think anyone is blind to some of the difficulties in Rime. I have yet to see anyone say it's perfect.

And the closest to a "shite DM" I can recall was my response to a fictitious dialogue between a DM and players. And even then, I specifically stated I was not calling out the person who wrote it as a bad DM. In fact, I said it was more than likely he was good.

But a person is allowed to argue that you see a bunch of flaws and others have had nothing but positive experiences, right? A person is allowed to look at your supposed terrible editing and say they see no such thing, because in their experience (or in my case experiences) there were no editing glitches. And a person is allowed to say, perhaps the difference is any multitude of things: table chemistry, DM prep, problematic player, player focus, DM focus. Right? Can a person say those, or are they just "blind?"

Scott.....

Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion.
And lots of us are having fun despite these problems! As said there is lots of great material in there & with hard work, an experienced GM can make it work.

Sadly there has been the implication at times that if folks can't / find it difficult to run Rime/ 5e campaigns, then they are a hopeless GM.

Whilst I have enjoyed many aspects of Rime as it is (thus deciding it was worth the effort!), I & lots of others have simply bemoaned the FACTS that there are logical inconsistencies & a failure by WotC to up their game.

Rather than shoot the messenger, it would have been more constructive to focus on: how can this be improved in discussion.

But the problem is that we do not have an agreed 'reality' & that folks like me are too often portrayed as not having read the book properly ()/ not being an experienced GM (yeah, whatever!) or simply rubbish at running games.

Oh well!