D&D 5E Running Rime of the Frost Maiden

[Wasteland Knight]

Well it’s not like WotC doesn’t have a history of producing hare-brained adventures for 5e... so I’d say it‘s fair enough to assume this likely follows the pattern. And sorry if there are some of us who expect more from this publisher.

I totally agree except for the bolded part. I'm not sorry one bit.

 

[DEFCON 1]

What other publishers are producing adventure path books of this size do you think are hands-down better than WotC's? What lessons and examples should WotC be taking from?

 

[robus]

What other publishers are producing adventure path books of this size do you think are hands-down better than WotC's? What lessons and examples should WotC be taking from?

I've heard good things about Paizo's efforts. People seem to have high praise for Rise of the Runelords for example. But I've not run them.

But I'd also say that just because everyone is probably doing a poor job, doesn't mean WotC could be doing a better job - they are the 800lb gorilla in the RPG space after all.

I guess I don't understand why the state of the art hasn't gotten better after all these years. At least I don't understand why obviously useful information for DMs is not included (like encounter difficulty expectations etc - which I believe is an aspect of Paizo's offerings?).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Check out his thoughts on Velynne Harpell.

He pointed out there’s a section in the adventure where she gets plot armor and can’t be killed due to her importance to the adventure.

He also comments on the ridiculousness of expecting players not to immediately attack an obvious necromancer.

Maybe someone should comment on the ridiculousness of killing the person offering to help when your home is under attack by a dragon?

Actually, if the players are homicidal maniacs who are stupid enough to kill the (non-evil) necromancer who is trying to help them, then they could continue the adventure by reading her journal.

Not that I would want to continue DMing the adventure for such a moronic group of players.

 

[Ancalagon]

I've heard good things about Paizo's efforts. People seem to have high praise for Rise of the Runelords for example. But I've not run them.

But I'd also say that just because everyone is probably doing a poor job, doesn't mean WotC could be doing a better job - they are the 800lb gorilla in the RPG space after all.

I guess I don't understand why the state of the art hasn't gotten better after all these years. At least I don't understand why obviously useful information for DMs is not included (like encounter difficulty expectations etc - which I believe is an aspect of Paizo's offerings?).

at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Alexandrian has written about this. The tl,dr is that important unwritten rules/advice for DMs were well, not written down and knowledge was lost with time.

Whither the Dungeon? – The Decline and Fall of D&D Adventures

I've talked in the past about how D&D 5th Edition doesn't teach DMs how to run dungeons. In fact, it doesn't even teach them how to key a dungeon map (or provide an example of a keyed dungeon ma

thealexandrian.net

This can lead to terrible adventure structures.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Writing down to much detail is a recipe for a railroad.

 

[robus]

Writing down to much detail is a recipe for a railroad.

I don't think that necessarily follows?

 

[Eltab]

Writing down to much detail is a recipe for a railroad.

It is a recipe for a division-point yard: 1001 tracks going every which way and many important services available but it is not clear how to get where you want to be or in what order things might best be done.

If anybody ever tries to follow my notes and collected 3e materials for my Tiamat campaign ... if their head does not explode, only Indiana Jones will be able to locate and rescue them.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

Huh. Not every campaign assumes 'kill necromancer on sight'.

This is set in the Forgotten Realms. I've read many, many FR supplements over the years and I honestly can't remember ever seeing a Necromancer in FR who wasn't Evil.

 

[tolcreator]

I'm planning on combining the characters of Velynne and Dannika Greysteel into a character called... Dannika Greysteel. Who I'll make a divination wizard and who does lots of scrying in their spare time. That way when then show up out of the blue with 3 dog sleds, or finds out where the McGuffin is and why we need it, they'll have divined it or scryed it etc.