The New D&D Adventure Is - Tomb of Annihilation!

Tomb of Annihilation is in the Forgotten Realms set in the Lost Continent of Chult - Away from the Sword Coast (the hosts of the live stream are very interested with undead dinosaurs). Acererak is, as many predicted, the source of this plotline as the Archlich is more or less "eating" resurrection magic from the rest of the Forgotten Realms and causing a zombie apocalypse. Pendleton Ward from Adventure Time is a creative consultant on this adventure.

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More updates will be coming through the Dungeons & Dragons marathon live stream live on Twitch throughout the weekend.

 

[GarrettKP]

I.understand all the business reasons for 5his.

As someone who has seen all of this since the beginning ( i was playing around the time of G1's release) and seen it done over and over again for each edition I cannot fathom why fandom wants it this way. Nor can I understand a creative type who wants.to ride on others coat-tails, unless it is purely, like WOTC proper makes it, a financial decison.



:shrug:

Using one named legacy villain for your AP doesn't mean you are riding on someone else coat tails. Honestly we have no idea how much of ToA is similar to ToH, if any at all. Making the exact same dungeon and adventure with a different Lich at the top would not be more creative at all. The creativity comes from what is in the pages, not who's face is on the cover.

Also frankly I think the reason you do not get what the Fandom wants is probably because you are not a proper representation of the average D&D fan anymore. The majority of players are either fairly new, or haven't played in years and have no problem seeing things they are familiar with still existing in the game. The 35 year Vet that has never stopped playing and has played every edition just isn't the norm.

 

[DEFCON 1]

As someone who has seen all of this since the beginning ( i was playing around the time of G1's release) and seen it done over and over again for each edition I cannot fathom why fandom wants it this way. Nor can I understand a creative type who wants.to ride on others coat-tails, unless it is purely, like WOTC proper makes it, a financial decison.

Yeah, and I cannot understand why Big Bang Theory has been the #1 comedy for almost 10 years while Parks & Recreation and Community were barely hanging on from being cancelled. And yet that's how it was. Almost as though my personal tastes were not representative of everyone and in fact I might be the odd one. Humbling, isn't it?

 

[GarrettKP]

I'm not sure I totally agree that the adventure path approach is the main driver for D&D resurgence. I think that a large part is due to external factors. It's anecdotal evidence, but we our 20 something years old group had an influx of 3 separate new players that wanted to learn the game because they are fan of the Big Bang Theory. WotC has been good at taking advantage of this, and 5e is a great game for new players, but I don't think that it would have enjoyed as much success if it had come out right after 3.5.

Do not mistake me. I am not saying the APs are the sole reason for the success. I am saying Wizards of the Coast is. They have capitalized on the cultural boom that has occurred and the way they have handled 5th edition is a big reason why they were able to capitalize on it. It's emergence in Hollywood mixed with the streaming boom that has happened in recent years (a streaming boom that, if I am not mistaken, Wizards kicked off with the Acquisitions Inc live games) has raised the awareness of the game, and the slow paced release mixed with the sort of pandering to the older crowed with these legacy characters is part of how they have kept the edition riding the high it is on IMO.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Yeah, and I cannot understand why Big Bang Theory has been the #1 comedy for almost 10 years while Parks & Recreation and Community were barely hanging on from being cancelled. And yet that's how it was. Almost as though my personal tastes were not representative of everyone and in fact I might be the odd one. Humbling, isn't it?

No, it is clearly indicative of a large "Silent Majority" who believe exactly like I do, but are simply waiting for a flag to rally around.

Or something like that,

 

[JeffB]

Yeah, and I cannot understand why Big Bang Theory has been the #1 comedy for almost 10 years while Parks & Recreation and Community were barely hanging on from being cancelled. And yet that's how it was. Almost as though my personal tastes were not representative of everyone and in fact I might be the odd one. Humbling, isn't it?

I'm not sure I would say it is humbling. I get we all like different things, but I would liken "D&D fandom" and WOTC to my ex-brother in-law.

Since he was a child, he would put Ketchup on everything. Burgers, fries, fish, eggs, broccolli, bacon, carrots, spaghetti (even though it had marinara on it already), tuna fish..pretty much everything but dessert or fruit.

To this day, now in his 40s, he will go to a world class steakhouse in NYC and pour ketchup all over his $60 8oz. filet.

WOTC is putting ketchup on everything.

 

[GarrettKP]

I'm not sure I would say it is humbling. I get we all like different things, but I would liken "D&D fandom" and WOTC to my ex-brother in-law.

Since he was a child, he would put Ketchup on everything. Burgers, fries, fish, eggs, broccolli, bacon, carrots, spaghetti (even though it had marinara on it already), tuna fish..pretty much everything but dessert or fruit.

To this day, now in his 40s, he will go to a world class steakhouse in NYC and pour ketchup all over his $60 8oz. filet.

WOTC is putting ketchup on everything.

WotC is putting Ketchup on everything because their customers are asking for Ketchup.

 

[JeffB]

WotC is putting Ketchup on everything because their customers are asking for Ketchup.

I would say, TSR/WOTC has made such an investment in ketchup over the years, that nobody knows what anything actually tastes like anymore.

 

[GarrettKP]

I would say, TSR/WOTC has made such an investment in ketchup over the years, that nobody knows what anything actually tastes like anymore.

Maybe, but the only reason they started putting ketchup on everything is because it sold better than the things without ketchup.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Chris Perkins said their data shows there is not a high demand for high level APs, and that most DM's prefer to run their own Homebrew for high level games. He said they would happily make a high level AP if and when the data shows that the demand is high enough.

The problem with that philosophy is that sometimes people don't know what they are going to like until they try it. I didn't think I'd like sushi until I had some good sushi, and I'm usually pretty good at making such predictions based on past experiences.

Write an adventure (not a fan of the paths myself) that goes to 20th level, make it awesome and see what the fans say.

 

[Staffan]

Any ideas for where it might go in Mystara?

The Orc's Head Peninsula or the Arm of the Immortals, over in the Savage Coast region (far west of the Known World), would seem like reasonable places to put it.