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The Next D&D Book is JOURNEYS THROUGH THE RADIANT CITADEL
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<blockquote data-quote="Levistus's_Leviathan" data-source="post: 8582503" data-attributes="member: 7023887"><p>I mostly agree on both of these. I'm perfectly happy with the whimsical nature of Prismeer in Witchlight, because it fits what a lot of people know about fairy tales. Not everyone can or should be pleased by a single D&D book, which was kind of the point of my last post. IMO, these types of books have a really important place in recent releases. Not just because they're good for new DMs and people that just want something new, but also because this book is using a lot of different cultures and mythologies that D&D hasn't been to before, as well as the fact that these kinds of books are perfect for giving freelancers their "big break" in the publishing industry.</p><p></p><p>I mean, sure, but I also don't think that the fact that some people don't like the world is at all a good criticism of an adventure book. Seriously, the adventure is great. Netherdeep is an awesome and terrifying location, the Rival Party is full of genuinely likeable and relatable NPCs that would be really easy to get the party to attach to (either as enemies or allies), Ruidium is a great way to reinforce the urgency of the adventure as well as give some cool (and dangerous) magic items for the party to use, and the story's subversion on the classic "Chosen One" trope is really interesting and a great basis for an adventure, especially with how it relates to the other lore of the setting. Furthermore, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and the Tal'dorei books make continuing the story after the main quest is complete, or allowing the party to go on a random side quest mid-adventure, extremely easy and they give some great plot hooks that literally no other D&D setting book can hope to compare to.</p><p></p><p>The closest comparison that I could make with how well the different Critical Role books can/do complement each other is by showing how badly the various Forgotten Realms adventures connect with the SCAG. The SCAG really doesn't have any adventure hooks, any advice for running adventures in the setting, doesn't have any new monsters, magic items, or adventures to tie into any of the Sword Coast adventures, and how difficult it is to use one of the cities from the SCAG in one of the adventures in the Forgotten Realms. When I was running a Forgotten Realms adventure I had to constantly flip back and forth between the SCAG, Storm King's Thunder, and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, searching for random information spread across the poorly formatted books in order to get an idea of how to work the different cities and villages into the players' travels through the Sword Coast and its main settlements.</p><p></p><p>Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is just objectively better designed and implemented setting book than the SCAG. Netherdeep is much easier to follow and find information in than basically all of the Forgotten Realms adventures and has a more solid plot hook.</p><p></p><p>And I say all of this that hasn't watched any of the seasons of Critical Role, doesn't particularly like Tal'dorei, and was first introduced to the setting through Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. The book is just great. All other 5e setting books should strive to be as good as it is. The SCAG wishes that it could be as good as Explorer's Guide to Wildemount.</p><p></p><p>I didn't mention Strixhaven, so I didn't see how it relates to my post. I don't like Strixhaven. The book is almost as bad as the SCAG, for me.</p><p></p><p>Again, Netherdeep is absolutely that sort of an adventure. Even if you don't like the theme, Witchlight also follows that same "kinda kitchen sink, kinda linear adventure" pattern. Both Icewind Dale and Descent into Avernus also have that formula.</p><p></p><p>I was just reacting to how you seemed to automatically despise the book even when it hasn't been released yet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Levistus's_Leviathan, post: 8582503, member: 7023887"] I mostly agree on both of these. I'm perfectly happy with the whimsical nature of Prismeer in Witchlight, because it fits what a lot of people know about fairy tales. Not everyone can or should be pleased by a single D&D book, which was kind of the point of my last post. IMO, these types of books have a really important place in recent releases. Not just because they're good for new DMs and people that just want something new, but also because this book is using a lot of different cultures and mythologies that D&D hasn't been to before, as well as the fact that these kinds of books are perfect for giving freelancers their "big break" in the publishing industry. I mean, sure, but I also don't think that the fact that some people don't like the world is at all a good criticism of an adventure book. Seriously, the adventure is great. Netherdeep is an awesome and terrifying location, the Rival Party is full of genuinely likeable and relatable NPCs that would be really easy to get the party to attach to (either as enemies or allies), Ruidium is a great way to reinforce the urgency of the adventure as well as give some cool (and dangerous) magic items for the party to use, and the story's subversion on the classic "Chosen One" trope is really interesting and a great basis for an adventure, especially with how it relates to the other lore of the setting. Furthermore, Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and the Tal'dorei books make continuing the story after the main quest is complete, or allowing the party to go on a random side quest mid-adventure, extremely easy and they give some great plot hooks that literally no other D&D setting book can hope to compare to. The closest comparison that I could make with how well the different Critical Role books can/do complement each other is by showing how badly the various Forgotten Realms adventures connect with the SCAG. The SCAG really doesn't have any adventure hooks, any advice for running adventures in the setting, doesn't have any new monsters, magic items, or adventures to tie into any of the Sword Coast adventures, and how difficult it is to use one of the cities from the SCAG in one of the adventures in the Forgotten Realms. When I was running a Forgotten Realms adventure I had to constantly flip back and forth between the SCAG, Storm King's Thunder, and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, searching for random information spread across the poorly formatted books in order to get an idea of how to work the different cities and villages into the players' travels through the Sword Coast and its main settlements. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is just objectively better designed and implemented setting book than the SCAG. Netherdeep is much easier to follow and find information in than basically all of the Forgotten Realms adventures and has a more solid plot hook. And I say all of this that hasn't watched any of the seasons of Critical Role, doesn't particularly like Tal'dorei, and was first introduced to the setting through Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. The book is just great. All other 5e setting books should strive to be as good as it is. The SCAG wishes that it could be as good as Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. I didn't mention Strixhaven, so I didn't see how it relates to my post. I don't like Strixhaven. The book is almost as bad as the SCAG, for me. Again, Netherdeep is absolutely that sort of an adventure. Even if you don't like the theme, Witchlight also follows that same "kinda kitchen sink, kinda linear adventure" pattern. Both Icewind Dale and Descent into Avernus also have that formula. I was just reacting to how you seemed to automatically despise the book even when it hasn't been released yet. [/QUOTE]
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