I've been scratching my head over whether or not to pick up WotBS. I'm wondering what those of you who have had a chance to read through / run the campaign (to any extent) think of it.
I'm interested in running either version (3.5 or 4E), but if anyone can offer some insights on how Pathfinder-friendly the 3.5 version is (conversion, balance, etc.), I'd appreciate it.
Comments that are free of spoilers are desired. : )
Conclusion: "All in all it's a module I would thoroughly recommend."
I ran the 4e version and it's something I would recommend since the campaign goes past level 10. (I don't like the save-or-die mechanic or the extremely large spell lists of clerics, druids and wizards and the large amount of planning you have to do to use all those spells at higher levels in 3.x)
You review is just what I was looking for. It was very insightful, and I like that you touched on skill challenges - I sometimes have trouble eyeballing their difficulty.
You also make a good point about high-level play. Although I don't particularly mind meddling with 3.5's multitude of spells, I believe that there would likely be a variance in preparation time for the later stages of the campaign, depending on version.
I expect this will be fun. : ) So my last question would be: Is it worth the extra $100 for the additional material in the full-color book? I'm leaning towards that almost for novelty alone.
It's good enough I just ordered a hard copy of this. I've read some of the PDFs and liked what I saw. Something like this though needs to be in print so in a few weeks it will be mine!
I played in the 3.5 version up to the end of adventure 9, and would heartily recommend it.
A friend of mine, and fellow player in that same campaign is converting the WotBS into Pathfinder as he goes, and is having great luck. His players are present on adventure 4.
He has rebalanced many of the encounters to the Pathfinder CR system, and even incorporated several of the Pathfinder Advanced Players Guide Playtest classes.
He has an ENWorld account, so I'll see if I can get him to post here, as he has an ENWorld account. He may have a fair amount of information you could make use of should you purchase the 3.5 version.
I'm running the game online here (see sig). One of the things I'm really liking about it is how it's a pleasant cross between a mega-adventure and unrelated adventures. Being multiple adventures means that it's not one giant slog. PCs accomplish specific goals and travel from one location to another. It keeps the game from being monotonous.
At the same time, there are certain elements that relate the different adventures thematically. How PCs making shades-of-grey moral decisions comes up on these boards a lot, but there's also the importance of dreams and the significance of weather and the environment, especially in extremes, that keep the modules feeling related. And much-later events are fore-shadowed in earlier adventures.
If I had the time I'd definitely be running this game in real life. I rate it "worth spending my own money on", my highest recommendation.
I'm the one Volaran is talking about. I played in the 3.5 version up to 9, and am currently running the game.
Pathfinder suits the game well. Conversion hasn't been hard at all really, since the campaign was written to allow modification (it seems like each adventure was designed to also be usable on it's own or to fit into another campaign if desired).
I follow the 'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff' approach. If an NPC has low face-time, I might ignore some of the lack of skillpoints or whatever. I do CMB/CMD conversion on the fly (it's just BAB + Str and then add Dex for most NPC anyways, maybe keep in mind the size modifier). It helps to know Pathfinder pretty well going into this.
The current group I'm running was only 3 players, and going by personal experience and the stories I've read on these boards, I had given each PC a little boost to round out covering the 4 bases.
I've also started this game with Fixed Hitpoints (max HD for 4 levels, and then 50% HD for the rest). Makes for easier NPC tweaking.
Overall, I've found that adding an extra NPC or two, or adding a good 10-30 hitpoints per NPC (depending on how critical or "boss-like" they are) covers most of the conversion work.
Any loss in feats or skillpoints due to the conversion can be handwaved. I give those NPCs Knowledge checks as if they had ranks or assume a skill focus feat here or there.
What I do end up doing (and consider the fun part of DMing), is rewrite some special encounters or memorable NPCs with the Pathfinder classes in mind (especially the Advanced ones).
One thing I had to do with the changeover that you might run into as well:
*SPOILERS*
The Inquisitors in 3.5 are built with the Magic domain, and are often kitted with arcane wands that assume they are able to use them. Now, since they are a modified cleric already, what with lack of normal channeling in favor of counterspelling, I decided to just create a new "Inquisition Domain" that gave the benefits I wanted.
If you'd like that information, just let me know. It's worked well so far.
I've also recreated the three Witches encounter in adventure 3 with the Pathfinder Advanced class (the Witch). That was a fun encounter...
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Regarding the campaign itself, I must agree with pneumatik. It pays a lot of attention to details of the environment, the effects on the "normals", and gives a wide variety of locales. Encounters are often more than just "kill the enemy". Guards intend to knock out first, resorting to killing if threatened or if necessary... dragons can me negotiated with... Celestials might become your enemies (and not because you aren't Good aligned). Running away, or using non-lethal damage, or simply achieving the goal and avoiding combat are all reinforced in this game.
I really like that they give lots of opportunity to roleplay beyond combat, and allow a lot of "in the city, interact with the people" time, without sacrificing the mood or adventuring spirit somehow.
A simple dungeon crawl it is not.
I haven't played the 4e version, so I don't know about that one, however the 3.5e version really showcases what can be done with just the core rules. Everything in those rules are taken into account. If there would be a spell or magic item or class ability that would make a situation more simple or trivial, it is used, reinforced, or accounted for.
