The Dark Tower...anyone tried it as a campaign?

[Master of the Game]

Alright... I'll do everything possible to phrase the following without spoiling what's coming...
but you may not want to read below- as it kind of sort of maybe reveals something about the final book.
Spoiler

Spoiler

There will come a point in the seventh book where King tells you to stop reading... and not go on. You may want to take him up on that... It was the worst ending of a series EVER, imho (literally almost ruined the entire series for me, and I loved it up to that point).

Really?

Spoiler

Spoiler

I really enjoyed the ending. I don't see any way it could have ended batter. As a matter of fact, from a certain point of view it was a very happy ending.

 

[Vorput]

Out of curiosity, was this your character, a GMPC?

Hmm... perhaps you could call him that- he was more put in as a plot device, than anything else. he was going to be present for the first adventure (which probably would have taken 4-5 sessions)- then move on with his quest... problem came when the party decided they wanted to accompany him. Sort of glad the campaign ended before that point- would have been 5 level 2 character accompanying a level 6 on a vague metaphysical quest I hadn't fully thought through...

Although having him attacked by lobster monsters and losing a hand forcing him to give one of his guns to a PC did cross my mind ;-)

Vorp

 

[Vorput]

Really?

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Spoiler

Seriously? It seemed to me the biggest cop-out. I mean, King even admitted in the book he wasn't completely happy with the ending. People were reading that book to find out what was at the top of the tower, eddie, sus, jake, and Oy had made it their quest to arrive there... then all of a sudden they decide it's not worth it, and you find out the entire series has... what? Been in in Roland's head? Or somehow the universe revolves around him?

So all that stuff with saving the beams, and the rose, and making King keep writing didn't matter because... it all reset anyway? The crimson king and walter were all just plot devices in the story of roland's life? I don't buy it... Dark Tower has this awesome epic feel to it... and ended like a video game that doesn't give you a cool ending when you beat it, but instead restarts you at the title screen. That's MHO anyway.

 

[SpiderMonkey]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Seriously? It seemed to me the biggest cop-out. I mean, King even admitted in the book he wasn't completely happy with the ending. People were reading that book to find out what was at the top of the tower, eddie, sus, jake, and Oy had made it their quest to arrive there... then all of a sudden they decide it's not worth it, and you find out the entire series has... what? Been in in Roland's head? Or somehow the universe revolves around him?

So all that stuff with saving the beams, and the rose, and making King keep writing didn't matter because... it all reset anyway? The crimson king and walter were all just plot devices in the story of roland's life? I don't buy it... Dark Tower has this awesome epic feel to it... and ended like a video game that doesn't give you a cool ending when you beat it, but instead restarts you at the title screen. That's MHO anyway.

QFT. I started that series when I was 16 or 17...which was about 10 years before I was finally able to finish the series. Talk about an epic let down.

 

[Vorput]

QFT. I started that series when I was 16 or 17...which was about 10 years before I was finally able to finish the series. Talk about an epic let down.

Heh, I know what ya mean... and it was only about a 6 year journey for me.

 

[Master of the Game]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Seriously? It seemed to me the biggest cop-out. I mean, King even admitted in the book he wasn't completely happy with the ending. People were reading that book to find out what was at the top of the tower, eddie, sus, jake, and Oy had made it their quest to arrive there... then all of a sudden they decide it's not worth it, and you find out the entire series has... what? Been in in Roland's head? Or somehow the universe revolves around him?

So all that stuff with saving the beams, and the rose, and making King keep writing didn't matter because... it all reset anyway? The crimson king and walter were all just plot devices in the story of roland's life? I don't buy it... Dark Tower has this awesome epic feel to it... and ended like a video game that doesn't give you a cool ending when you beat it, but instead restarts you at the title screen. That's MHO anyway.

Hmm, I didn't get that out of it at all.

Spoiler

To me it always seemed that Roland was being given another chance to do it right. Hence having the horn he kept wishing he had throughout the series. He was a bit closer to doing it the way it was supposed to be done. A gift for saving the world.

That said, I'm glad to not know exactly what is at the top of the tower. I don't think any answer could have been sufficient.

 

[Master of the Game]

Heh, I know what ya mean... and it was only about a 6 year journey for me.

Heh, I tried to read them some 15 years ago or so, but quit during the Wasteland. I couldn't suspend my disbelief any longer. A friend told me to try them again now that they are all out, so over the last few months I read all seven back to back. Just finished last month.

Man, it took a lot to slog through the first three. I hated Drawing of the Three and the WasteLand, but once I got to Wizard and Glass I fell in love.

 

[Stormborn]

Read the first two and thought that bits would make good RPG material. The idea of a gunfighter as knight class was the most interesting part to me. I thought about running something set in a series of city states w/ names like Gilead, Canna, etc and have it be low but pervasive magic - use d20 M or True 20 for the system. Never got around to it.