Tomb of Annihilation Is Here - What Do You Think?

Today's the day - WotC's latest Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Tomb of Annihilation, is out! Head on down to your friendly (or unfriendly) local (or not so local) gaming (or comic) store and pick up your copy. Alternatively, if you use a virtual table top, it's available for Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.

 

[SmokeyCriminal]

I'm afraid you're correct, which makes me sad. I, personally, feel that the semi-generic nature of D&D is one of its best traits and is probably the biggest reason why I still come back to it despite flirtations with other systems. It's always been the game system that best balanced both the complexity vs. ease of learning axis as well as my desire to create my own world while supporting me with default lore to fall back on and multiple example settings to mine. Coalescing around any given setting is a huge, huge negative, in my mind and will probably drive me away from D&D, in the end.

The fact that it's the Realms, which I love in D&D with the same passion as Clinton loves Trump in the White House, is just the icing on the cake.

I fully understand the financial incentive for WotC to morph the "D&D RPG" into the "Forgotten Realms RPG". I just don't like it. They probably have about six months to announce actual, formal support for another setting before I give up and find another system for my next campaign. I could ignore all the Realms stuff in 5E -- it's a mighty fine system -- but I want to be active in the community for whatever game I'm playing. If the conversation is always around the Realms and everyone is playing in the Realms, it just isn't any fun. I'm encouraged by the most recent UA poll, but we'll see.

Nathan Stewart the Senior Director of D&D has already confirmed that they will be doing other settings. It was during one the last Fireside Chat on Twitch. I don't know if they will do ALL of the other settings but during his answer he does mention Ebberon, Spelljammer, Greyhawk, and I think Darksun. He says the only thing that some people will be mad about is the cadence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6XqKdZZJKc

At 41:20

I really like these Fireside Chats with Nathan and I HIGHLY encourage everyone here to watch them live. Nathan will answer a lot of questions and be very straight forward and honest. The viewership is still very low (100-ish) So it is VERY likely that he will see and answer your question, and they do lots of giveaways for free swag which you have a decent chance to win (someone has already won twice). Also, they take suggestions and ideas seriously (someone asked why they didn't include two D20 dice in their sets considering the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic, and it seemed like Nathan liked the idea and would look into it). Finally, if more people watched the stream it will encourage Nathan to keep it going and make it a priority, which can only benefit us all here.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

It has a lot of Realmslore in it. References to gods, old novels, Thay, and more. It's probably the most actual Realms in an adventure.

Well that's disappointing. I was considering getting it to set in Eberron, but if that's going to be a hassle and a half they may have unfortunately lost a sale.

... Barovia (which is in the Shadowfell).

Debatable. According to Chris Perkins, "Ravenloft [or Barovia, can't recall] is where it's always been." (Quote from memory.)

That would most likely put it in the Ethereal Plane, unless "always been" means "since 4e".

The DMG is also a bit vague. It says you can reach such places from the Shadowfell, but stops short of saying they are located there.

Although the 5e DMG does commit the unpardonable crime of defining the Dark Powers as actual beings. That's like giving the Lady of Pain stats. (Or worse: killing off Drizzt.)

 

[Jester David]

For those asking (quite a few pages back) about playable Grung - they are (sort of) available already. (info here)


The death curse is in effect within Chult. If you die, you cannot be resurrected. The only way to get your character back is to enlist a surrogate from the ones proved here on the WoTC website (don't know if this info is also in the book).
One of those surrogates is a Grung Rogue (available at Tier 1 and Tier 2)
Not sure how many will actually use it though as it has this mechanic:

WATER DEPENDENCY.
If you fail to immerse yourself in water for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of
that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by immersing yourself in water for at least 1
hour.

This product on the DMsGuild also contains modified lizardfolk and wilden:
http://www.dmsguild.com/product/220608/Return-of-the-Lizard-King?filters=45680_0_0_0_0_0

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Having just purchased it on D&D Beyond, and had a quick glance so far. It it looks interesting and am keen to incorporate it into my campaign asap. Plenty of stuff to mine for ideas in this one even if you don't run the whole thing.

Dwellers of the Forbidden City was my first, and still my favourite, module so will look at incorporating the original version into it and like the fact it is playing homage to the original.

My main beefs? As with most of the new adventures (they are too big to call modules) is the introduction of new races for the sake it of. Grungs? They'll be replaced with the original Bullywugs in my game, I like the flavour of the Batari but will instead use the original Tasloi instead... and swap Chult for the Amedio Jungle region in Greyhawk.

Stormdale

uhhh you do know that Grung are not a new race. They are a just a fairly obscure old race of Tree Frog people. I find them much more interesting then the toad bullywugs. Don't get why you want to replace them. The batari have always been in chult as well if I recall.

 

[Demetrios1453]

It references a lot of Chult. Much like how SKT referenced bits of pieces of the lore of the North. But more so as there are characters from novels set in Chult, references to what happened in Chult during the Spellplague, lots of Chult gods, and the like. Bits of it might be tricky to entirely work into Eberron. Even Acererak's tomb, which - spoilers - the gods of Chult are involved with.

Now I don't have the book yet (only the monsters from D&D Beyond), but if those are the Nine Trickster Gods, those are actually new as of this adventure. Before this point, Chult only had Ubtao as a deity (with Eshowdow/Shar as a minor undercurrent), along with your typical yuan-ti, goblin, etc deities.

 

[Azzy]

No, I just don't think there are very many Realms-centric adventures out there to begin with. Most Realms stuff has all been mainly setting material and gazetteer stuff, with most adventures made specifically for the Realms falling in the 'Living Realms' type of thing. On top of that, Realms-cetric modules are all from like the mid '80s on... and all of these repurposed "classic" adventures that are being used for the 5E APs are the really old ones that came out before then back in the '70s and early '80s. I mean, it's not like WotC is repurposing 2E or 3E generic adventures either.

Here's what I could dredge up on FR modules.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

I went to pick it up today and the book was already sold out from my FLGS. They were even surprised by how quickly it sold and they purchased 40 copies. They said adventures normally don't sell this quickly.

I'll wait until next week to pick it up when they're stock comes back in.

 

[Marandahir]

Undeserved Punishment and Heritage aren't up in the DM's Guild Adepts section, though the other 8 Day-1 DLC adventures are up.

The book itself is great. Fun mix of sandbox jungle adventure and death trap dungeon adventure.

 

[The Hierophant]

uhhh you do know that Grung are not a new race. They are a just a fairly obscure old race of Tree Frog people. I find them much more interesting then the toad bullywugs. Don't get why you want to replace them. The batari have always been in chult as well if I recall.

I certainly didn't know this. Bullywugs come from the Fiend Folio. Where do Grungs originate?

 

[JesterOC]

I certainly didn't know this. Bullywugs come from the Fiend Folio. Where do Grungs originate?

I see it mentioned online as Greyhawk Adventures 1988. Never owned that book though.

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