Stormwrack: Buying?

[green slime]

A little over a year ago I stopped buying every new book coming out from WotC. I realized that I used maybe 1/4 of my books at all, and only a handful of them regularly. Many books had only seen token use at any games, like browsing through them for ideas or a PC considering a or a feat or item from one. The $30+ I spend on each book could go to other things to improve my gaming experience, like miniatures & scenery/terrain, or other games, or saving up for Gen Con, but spending $30 or $60 a month on one or two new hardcovers I'd practically never use was something I just couldn't justify to myself.

Maybe I'm not as addicted as some other people, but I'm still happy

Heretic!!
We're out of steaks!
Burn him at the cellery!

 

[green slime]

Yes, because you wanted a book wholly unlike the rest of the environment series.

[OGL]And sound travels better underwater than it does through air. Aquatic elves just have vocal cords that take advantage of that.[/OGL]

Sound travels faster underwater and therefore trying to discern the direction of the source of the sound is far more difficult

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sound travels faster underwater and therefore trying to discern the direction of the source of the sound is far more difficult

[OGL]-2 circumstance penalty to Listen checks![/OGL]

(The OGL content is my gift to D20 players everywhere.)

 

[JustKim]

Ugh. Look, it was asked that people give their thoughts on the book and I did. Your attitude of telling me what the environment series is and isn't is a little obnoxious and I'm not interested in seeing what direction you want to take this next, so just declare yourself winner of an internet argument, okay? Stormwrack is the greatest book in the world and I was a fool to ever be disappointed in it. Top notch.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Ugh. Look, it was asked that people give their thoughts on the book and I did. Your attitude of telling me what the environment series is and isn't is a little obnoxious and I'm not interested in seeing what direction you want to take this next, so just declare yourself winner of an internet argument, okay? Stormwrack is the greatest book in the world and I was a fool to ever be disappointed in it. Top notch.

I'm not trying to be obnoxious at all.

I just think being annoyed that a book isn't what it wasn't purported to be is a little pointless.

 

[Ranes]

What's an underwater city like when everyone and everything can move in three dimensions, and the sun may well be unknown? How does being underwater affect the normal flow of an adventurer's life? What happens when the party "camps" underwater? What replaces potions and scrolls? How does being underwater affect your carrying capacity, weight, dragging ability? How do aquatic elves speak elven and common underwater, and for that matter how does anyone speak underwater? Dozens more questions go unanswered.

It is a shame that the book doesn't address these questions. I would have liked to have seen WotC's take on them and I wouldn't have thought it was beyond this book's remit to answer them. I'll be buying the book, sure enough, for all the stuff it does have but the questions you raise, JK, are indeed missed opportunities.

 

[thalmin]

I understand disappointment that Stormwrack didn't cover the undersea; early hype indicated underwater was part of the book. Most people would not consider sinking, monsters, drowning, pressure, hypothermia, and light diffusion to cover underwater. A bit too Madison Avenue there. But I don't think this book could have properly dealt with the undersea environment while still covering the water's surface. Perhaps, once the standard series is finished, more exotic environments will get the treatment: underwater, fiery, cloud, space?
I am enjoying this series, but would rather see less exageration in the hype.

 

[Turjan]

Perhaps, once the standard series is finished, more exotic environments will get the treatment: underwater, fiery, cloud, space?

As 'fiery' is mentioned: Does anyone know whether we will see the 'City of Brass' some time? And I thought space will be extensively covered by 'Hackjammer' ! j/k

 

[Aeolius]

Because everything is different underwater. What's an underwater city like when everyone and everything can move in three dimensions, and the sun may well be unknown? How does being underwater affect the normal flow of an adventurer's life? What happens when the party "camps" underwater? What replaces potions and scrolls? How does being underwater affect your carrying capacity, weight, dragging ability? How do aquatic elves speak elven and common underwater, and for that matter how does anyone speak underwater? Dozens more questions go unanswered.

Do you see how this book might not have lived up to my expectations?

You might be interested in looking over books like Into the Blue by Bastion Press and The Deep by Mystic Eye Games. "The Coral Castle", an undersea city, is detailed in the Stronghold Builder's Guide, while suitable alternatives to potions and scrolls can be found in Complete Arcane.

However, I do agree. WotC did leave enough room for a supplement or two completely dedicated to undersea adventures.

 

[Steverooo]

I will probably buy all of the environment series, someday, assuming I live long enough. I voted "Undecided", just in case...

Okay, subtract one from the "Undecided" and add it to the "Yes" votes, which overwhelmingly predominate. I just ordered Frostburn and Stormwrack.