Secrets of Xen'drik: my favourite parts

[blargney the second]

I picked up Secrets of Xen'drik a few days ago, and have had a chance to read through most of it now. I like it! There are lots of good things, and only one thing that bothered me (lack of index). Here are my favourite parts, in no particular order:

1) Wayne Reynold's two-page illustration of the battle with a fire giant. Honestly, this is what sold me on the book. OMG.
2) Chapter 4's adventure frameworks. These things are awesome - they're one of the major glues of the whole book. There are 16 frameworks, and each one ties one or more sites from Chapter 2 with at least two or three encounters from Chapter 3. What's best is that the frameworks can easily be linked together to form entirely customizable campaign arcs.
3) Artifact Spells. Very potent spells that can only be cast once per year. I love the fact that you can find them in ruins, but you have to go adventuring back to the same spot to memorize it again after you've cast it. I think they're a great and flavourful innovation.
4) Lots of interesting and useful sidebars. Adventure ideas, suggestions for customization, quotes and passages that I can give straight over to my players. Good stuff!

-blarg

 

[NarlethDrider]

SCORROW!!!

 

[Remathilis]

I liked the write-up on Stormreach: the whole Tortuga feel, and the shops and setting is very evocative.

 

[Hawking]

A friend of mine is really into the Landforged Walker. He's always called the warforged 'tree-men' (referring to their juicy wooden insides), and since he's such a fan of them, this class pretty much exemplifies his warforged image.

Personally, I enjoyed the locations. Considering their customizability, they're sure to come in handy for me as a DM, especially since I've just told my players "Go wherever you feel."

 

[blargney the second]

We're two sessions into my new Xen'drik campaign, and I am so loving this book. There's one PC who heard rumours of a city of gold and wants to find it, another who is looking for artifact spells that turned up in his research, and one who grew up in Stormreach.

It's getting a lot of use!

 

[megamania]

All of the above and more. I like the use of the Death Giant in the adventures. The many mini adventures and how to link them is good.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Pit Swarms: Love them, use them.

 

[MerricB]

The new trap encounter. Woo. Great stuff.

Cheers!

 

[blargney the second]

I'm planning to use a trap encounter for our next session.

 

[Remathilis]

Everything between the front and back covers