Scales of War finale!
- Thread starter Klaus
- Start date
Pbartender
First Post
Hawke
First Post
Looks kind of neat, though I don't have the fortitude to push through that many dragon encounters at the end of an epic arc. I know Dave commented on it, but as it is I'm sacking one to two-thirds of the combat encounters in the SoW campaign otherwise it would take my group a decade to complete. We're having a lot of fun doing the most exciting and unique encounters without running through endless
if you can guess what adventure we're on.
We'll see how much I deviate from the AP as I go on... I already have 3 adventure swap-outs between now and the end... but overall its nice to see the final product.
Githyanki
We'll see how much I deviate from the AP as I go on... I already have 3 adventure swap-outs between now and the end... but overall its nice to see the final product.
So, if you killed the god of murder, that would eliminate murder from the game world?
If you killed the god of death, that would eliminate death from the game world?
Heck, if you kill the god of evil, that would eliminate all evil from the game world?
This does rather amuse me, as such an idea has some importance in terms of morality and personal responsibility. No one's greedy because of who they are, but they're greedy because Tiamat exists, and are thus not responsible for their greed.
Not necessarily. It may not be that Tiamat makes them greedy; Tiamat may merely be responsible for giving them the capacity to be greedy.
Think of it like a gun: If Tiamat gives you a gun, you have the capacity to take that gun and shoot someone with it. But Tiamat didn't make you shoot anybody: She just made the gun available.
Same thing with greed: Tiamat didn't make you greedy. She just made greed available.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
Yes, possibly.
Of course it is possible that someone else might try to "snatch" the domain if possible. That's what the Raven Queen did, and Orcus is planning if he ever kills her.
As Beginning of the End says - not necessarily. Tiamat didn't make anyone greedy. But she gave the potential for greed. Some people fulfilled that potential, but that required their own decision.
The Forgotten Realms followed the idea that if you kill a god of a particular portfolio, that portfolio ceases from the world until someone takes it up again. The death of Mystra caused the loss of level 10 spells (1st time) created wild magic and dead magic zones (2nd time) and the Spellplague (3rd time). When Cyric was dethroned from the lord of the dead in the novel "Prince of Lies" people of Faerun were unable to die until that mantle was taken up by his old adventuring buddy Kelemvor.
Though they have applied this principle unevenly. Lord Bhaal's death didn't cause any dent in the capacity of humanity to murder, nor did Bane's death bring an end to all tyrannies. Moander's death didn't stop things from decaying either.
Though they have applied this principle unevenly. Lord Bhaal's death didn't cause any dent in the capacity of humanity to murder, nor did Bane's death bring an end to all tyrannies. Moander's death didn't stop things from decaying either.
Wait a minute.
I haven't followed this path too closely, but
[sblock]
When killing Tiamat removes greed from the world, woldn't valour (or wind, or whatever his potfolio in 4E is) have ceased to exist when Bahamut was dead? Was anything like that mentioned? I guess not considering the surprised reactions in here.[/sblock]
I haven't followed this path too closely, but
[sblock]
When killing Tiamat removes greed from the world, woldn't valour (or wind, or whatever his potfolio in 4E is) have ceased to exist when Bahamut was dead? Was anything like that mentioned? I guess not considering the surprised reactions in here.[/sblock]
Still he was dead for a time, or?
The Little Raven
First Post
In his wisdom, he understand Tiamat's plan and set aside a portion of his essence to be protected in case she succeeded. He never fully died.
TarionzCousin
Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
Hopefully a drow goddess will take over his portfolio until he can secretly regain his Wand and reclaim his place as the Lord of Undeath...
... or something like that.
Windjammer
Adventurer
Since people are already reminiscing about the entire Scales of War adventure path (exactly what I was actually hoping for in clicking on the thread), I'd like to hear some redeeming features you found when reading/playing it over the past 18 months. Beyond the obvious one (PirateCat's adventure), what adventures or (even) individual encounters would or did you consider worthy to be dropped into your own campaign? And did really no one try to run it as a unified experience?
Pbartender
First Post
Umbraforge can have a surprising amount of role playing potential, if the DM and players let it... First, in the investigation around Overlook, and then later as they move around the mercenary camps in Umbraforge trying really hard to not attract attention.
Simply casting several of the ostensible "bad guys" (especially Sarshan) as "not really bad but not especially good either, just very mercenary and very likely currently dealing with the wrong people" turns a few of the unnecessary combat encounters into absolutely fascinating role playing encounters.
Also, for my players, Rufus the Necromancer (as played by Peter Lorre) is undoubtedly the most memorable NPC to yet come out of this adventure path. He's the only guy in town who can get them any magic they need, but he's so creepy to deal with, that they only use him as a last resort. I'll likely keep him on as a recurring character for later campaigns.
Simply casting several of the ostensible "bad guys" (especially Sarshan) as "not really bad but not especially good either, just very mercenary and very likely currently dealing with the wrong people" turns a few of the unnecessary combat encounters into absolutely fascinating role playing encounters.
Also, for my players, Rufus the Necromancer (as played by Peter Lorre) is undoubtedly the most memorable NPC to yet come out of this adventure path. He's the only guy in town who can get them any magic they need, but he's so creepy to deal with, that they only use him as a last resort. I'll likely keep him on as a recurring character for later campaigns.
FourthBear
First Post
Oh, I think there's a lot of worth within Scales of War. It's a pity that it chose to lead with the weakest and blandest adventure of the whole lot.
Siege of Bordrin's Watch is a good adventure all on its own, with a example of how to mix a fairly linear series of encounters with a sandbox environment. I think the city of Overlook and the surrounding areas have a lot too offer. Overlook itself has a lot of interesting conflicts (religious, political, criminal), a decent history and some fun NPCs. It's too bad that the first town of Brindol was never described this way in the first adventure.
Shadowrift has some very odd plot assumptions and railroading, but also has a very interesting site in the Umbraforge, IMO.
Lost Mines of Karak has a nice scene in Dunesend with the Warden. Very Thundarr the Barbarian.
The Temple Between is a great example of a big, ambitious adventure with a great mix of exploration, investigation, combat and role-playing encounters. I wish more adventures would emulate it.
Beyond the Mottled Tower may have some irritating plot issues, but I've heard several people note that the various combat encounters are a lot of fun. The scenes dealing with the disaster early in the module seem like they could be transferred pretty easily to any campaign.
I think the entire arc from Haven of the Bitter Glass to Tyranny of Souls is exactly what I wish the rest of the campaign had been. It's straightforward, has a good narrative moving things forward, lots of chances for the heroes to play a political/social role and a good climatic ending. I think at the end, the players should feel like they really accomplished something. If you're interested in a Paragon-tier invasion/war campaign, I would give it serious consideration.
The Epic Tier feels like it's disjointed and starts with too much happening without the PCs properly motivated. Again, the authors choose to keep the players in the dark about what they're trying to accomplish for the first half of the tier. The locations and encounters seem fine. I think a DM could liven up the plot and NPCs without too much trouble. Monadhan and the Mantled Citadel both have some interesting locations and oddball effects. The bits in Hestavar could be expanded out pretty well with the Dragon article, as could the City of Brass.
Siege of Bordrin's Watch is a good adventure all on its own, with a example of how to mix a fairly linear series of encounters with a sandbox environment. I think the city of Overlook and the surrounding areas have a lot too offer. Overlook itself has a lot of interesting conflicts (religious, political, criminal), a decent history and some fun NPCs. It's too bad that the first town of Brindol was never described this way in the first adventure.
Shadowrift has some very odd plot assumptions and railroading, but also has a very interesting site in the Umbraforge, IMO.
Lost Mines of Karak has a nice scene in Dunesend with the Warden. Very Thundarr the Barbarian.
The Temple Between is a great example of a big, ambitious adventure with a great mix of exploration, investigation, combat and role-playing encounters. I wish more adventures would emulate it.
Beyond the Mottled Tower may have some irritating plot issues, but I've heard several people note that the various combat encounters are a lot of fun. The scenes dealing with the disaster early in the module seem like they could be transferred pretty easily to any campaign.
I think the entire arc from Haven of the Bitter Glass to Tyranny of Souls is exactly what I wish the rest of the campaign had been. It's straightforward, has a good narrative moving things forward, lots of chances for the heroes to play a political/social role and a good climatic ending. I think at the end, the players should feel like they really accomplished something. If you're interested in a Paragon-tier invasion/war campaign, I would give it serious consideration.
The Epic Tier feels like it's disjointed and starts with too much happening without the PCs properly motivated. Again, the authors choose to keep the players in the dark about what they're trying to accomplish for the first half of the tier. The locations and encounters seem fine. I think a DM could liven up the plot and NPCs without too much trouble. Monadhan and the Mantled Citadel both have some interesting locations and oddball effects. The bits in Hestavar could be expanded out pretty well with the Dragon article, as could the City of Brass.
Windjammer
Adventurer
Thanks for those helpful comments!
Similar Threads
