Secrets of Xen'drik -- who has it?

[Kunimatyu]

Inquiring minds want to know about it!

 

[Jason Bulmahn]

Inquiring minds want to know about it!

I've got it, but I don't think I count on this one.

That said, I am pretty excited to see what everyone thinks of the book.

Jason Bulmahn
Co-author of said book

 

[dargoth3]

I wonder how many sites in the Book will be drawn from DDO.........

 

[Glyfair]

I wonder how many sites in the Book will be drawn from DDO.........

I'm thinking few if any. More than likely the sites in DDO were drawn from the development for this book.

 

[megamania]

Doesn't matter. I'll buy the book on sight either way. Its excellent timing as the group will be in Xen'drik this fall/winter to finish the Creation Schema campaign.

 

[Grymar]

I'll want to see it before I buy. Plus one of my players is buying it (yikes!) so most of the "Secrets" will already be known by him before I ever get to use them.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

So anyone has this? Will it be far better received than MMIV?

 

[shaylon]

I preordered this through Amazon and as of last night it hasn't shipped. After reading Keith Baker's "The Shattered Land" and a few of the articles in Dragon, notably the one on the Drow, I knew that this would be a book I wanted.

I will post back if I get this soon and let you know what I think.

-Shay

 

[Dark Psion]

I got it and I am stuck at home while the plumber is here, so...

Chapter 1: Welcome to Xen'drik
How do you get there?
Dangers of Travel.
Dealing with the Sahuagin that guide ships thru the Thunder Sea.
Stormreach city guide (NPCs, buying and selling stuff and some of the intrigues)
Dar Qat city guide (Riedran city, why the Inspired need to learn of the war between the Giants and the Quor-Tarri, and a sidebar for the Half Giants from the XPH)
The Lands of Xen'drik: A Beautiful Map with every land type you want; Marsh, Jungles, Desert, Frozen wastes, Volcanic fields, Crystal Wastes and Rivers.

Chapter 2: Adventure Sites
Ancient Harbor
Colossal Monument
Desert Canyons
Dreary Marsh
Fog Lake
Forsaken City
Honeycomb Caverns
Mountain Glacier
Old-Growth Ruins
Primitive Camp
Quori Outpost
Volcanic Fields
Ziggurat Ruins
These include examples of encounters, using some monsters I have not seen used before like the Abeil (Bee People) and have examples of the "left over" magics of the Giants.

Chapter 3: Encounters
Drow (This is the first time in a long time I have enjoyed seeing the Drow, especially since there is not a spider in sight.)
Xen'Drik encounters:
(Other) Adventurering Groups
Plants, Animals, Two-Headed T Rex, Giant Factions, Goliaths, Abel & Formorians, Lizardfolk, Monkey Court, Raptorans, Scorpions, Jungle Fey have a court here, Yak Folk, Yuan-Ti, and Shulassakar: Winged Yuan-Ti who are actually good followers of Couatls.

New Monsters
(FYI, I have to say I don't like the new monster entries. The Stat block is all crunch and the text is all fluff, I prefer a balanced mix)
Alchemy Beetle
Dream Serpent
Jungle Giant
Primordial Giant template
Scorrow (Scorpion Drow)
Tentacle Spider
Quorcraft Warforged
Warforged Scorpion
Yuan-Ti Wretched (This entry is the best for looking at the new monster format. The stat block is on one side and all the text is on the other, so you can really see the difference.)

Encounter Traps: Sample of traps encounetered in Xen'Drik

Chapter 4: Adventures in Xen'Drik
Several Legendary sites, rumors, hooks, curses, artifacts, lycanthropy, sample rewards and 100 adventure ideas.

Chapter 5: Xen'Drik Unveiled
Prestige Classes: Landforged Walker: A Warforged Druid or Ranger who is one with the land.
Primal Scholar: An Expert on Xen'Drik
Scorpion Wrath: Drow elite warrior

A few Feats, the most interesting is Echo Spell: 1 hour after casting, it returns to you, but now as if your caster level was 4 levels lower.
Equipment of the the Drow, Giants and Yuan-Ti.
Magical and Psionic Locations
Artifact Spells
New Magic Items and Artifacts (And if you are reading Keith Baker's novels, the device Pierce found is called a Docent and is here too.)
It also mentions that magic can go a little wild in Xen'Drik due to the leftover magics of the Giants.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Looks solid! Are all the Adventure Sites mapped out on the Xen'drik map, or is it generally left up to the DM (like eberron campaign setting xen'drik)?