[UPDATED AGAIN!] PRINCES OF THE APOCALYPSE - First Review!

The first comments on Princes of the Apcalypse are in. Fildrigar is the first to rate and comment on the adventure in EN World's ratings system, and gives it a score of 5/5. The adventure doesn't technically hit the shelves until April 7th (or March 27th - next Friday - in preferred stores), so I'm not sure how Fildrigar got hold of one, but there it is!

[UPDATE -- the author has deleted his review.]

UPDATE 2 -- he has kindly reposted it!

Click on the image below, read the comment, and as soon as you get your copy be sure to rate and comment on it yourself!

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[Fildrigar]

Is this predetermined in the module, or does it depend on how the PCs progress through the adventure? That is, could one group end up fighting Olhydra while another group ends up fighting Imix?

It entirely depends on the path the party takes to the end. ( Or the path their DM directs them along. ) And I wouldn't want to be in the party fighting Imix, because, reasons. ( Fire, bad. Lava, worse. )

 

[pukunui]

It entirely depends on the path the party takes to the end. ( Or the path their DM directs them along. ) And I wouldn't want to be in the party fighting Imix, because, reasons. ( Fire, bad. Lava, worse. )

LOL. Fair enough. Still, it's good to know that the ending isn't predetermined as such. Yes, one prophet successfully summons their prince(ss), but which one succeeds is up in the air, so to speak. That gets a thumbs up in my book.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

LOL. Fair enough. Still, it's good to know that the ending isn't predetermined as such. Yes, one prophet successfully summons their prince(ss), but which one succeeds is up in the air, so to speak. That gets a thumbs up in my book.

I am guessing the scenario is like this. The Prophets have started summoning their Elemental Prince. The party can say go to the Water Area and take down Gar, then to the Fire Area to take down Vanifer, then by the time they go and take down Aerisi in the Air area Marlos has finished summoning Ogrémoch. However if they went and took down Marlos instead of Aerisi, then by the time they beat Marlos Yan-C-Bin would be summoned. Same situation for the other Prophets.

 

[pukunui]

Exactly.

 

[Fildrigar]

I am guessing the scenario is like this. The Prophets have started summoning their Elemental Prince. The party can say go to the Water Area and take down Gar, then to the Fire Area to take down Vanifer, then by the time they go and take down Aerisi in the Air area Marlos has finished summoning Ogrémoch. However if they went and took down Marlos instead of Aerisi, then by the time they beat Marlos Yan-C-Bin would be summoned. Same situation for the other Prophets.

It's a little bit different from that. Each "lower temple" has an area where the prophet for that element is generally found. The first of those areas you enter, you face that prophet. As soon as one dies, the rest of the prophets are called away. The sub level devoted to the Elder Elemental Eye has an alter area where you will face one of the remaining three. The Nodes of the remaining prophets have them there, attempting to summon "their" Prince. The final prophet who remains alive succeeds with the summoning just as the party arrives.

 

[Fildrigar]

Are any of the adventures underwater? I'm curious if the water genasi get tto use their swimming and water breathing features in game.

There is, as you would expect, a lot of water in the water node. It's not completely underwater, though.

 

[DMZ2112]

I really dig this book from page 243 on. The setting conversion suggestions are full of love and well received, and the concept art reminds me of my favorite pieces from D&D3. I actually had to check to see if they'd brought Lockwood back (they hadn't ). But it's too little to justify a purchase.

The adventure content seems really useful, but I'm not in the habit of using published adventure content. Overall I find the worldbuilding content underwhelming -- it doesn't really tell us much about the Realms, probably because it is so out of place. This is a Greyhawk conflict transplanted into a world that already has enough conflicts of its own.

The book seems like an excellent product; it's just too focused for me.

As this is what we can expect to see as the primary source of D&D tabletop material going forward, I want to want to buy these books and support the hobby. But in return they have to provide more kinds of support for my table beyond pretty maps and inspired encounter design. The effort is there, but it's going to take more content diversity to win my dollar.

 

[Fildrigar]

I really dig this book from page 243 on. The setting conversion suggestions are full of love and well received, and the concept art reminds me of my favorite pieces from D&D3. I actually had to check to see if they'd brought Lockwood back (they hadn't ). But it's too little to justify a purchase.

The adventure content seems really useful, but I'm not in the habit of using published adventure content. Overall I find the worldbuilding content underwhelming -- it doesn't really tell us much about the Realms, probably because it is so out of place. This is a Greyhawk conflict transplanted into a world that already has enough conflicts of its own.

The book seems like an excellent product; it's just too focused for me.

As this is what we can expect to see as the primary source of D&D tabletop material going forward, I want to want to buy these books and support the hobby. But in return they have to provide more kinds of support for my table beyond pretty maps and inspired encounter design. The effort is there, but it's going to take more content diversity to win my dollar.

Love all of the concept art in the back. It's really good. I *very* strongly suspect that a Forgotten Realms setting book will be one of the next products we see.

And I disagree about this being a Greyhawk conflict. But, I did set RttoEE in the Realms, so I might be biased.

 

[DMZ2112]

Love all of the concept art in the back. It's really good. I *very* strongly suspect that a Forgotten Realms setting book will be one of the next products we see.

I'm not sure why you'd think that given the total absence of evidence and clear statements to the contrary made by the developers.

And I disagree about this being a Greyhawk conflict. But, I did set RttoEE in the Realms, so I might be biased.

Yeah, I think that if I moved the Ruins of Undermountain to Oerth it would be evidence of a setting bias.

 

[Mercule]

And I disagree about this being a Greyhawk conflict. But, I did set RttoEE in the Realms, so I might be biased.

It is, but only from a certain point of view </kenobi>.

As someone who picked up the game while Gygax was still actively writing stuff, his work has always had a special charm -- even though I generally ran in a homebrew setting. When the FR gray box came onto the scene, it had its own character, so to speak, which didn't wow me, but wasn't horribly offensive, either. As it gained steam, though, it seemed to take elements that were strongly tied to Greyhawk and co-opt them. That has, in large part, driven my disdain of the Realms becoming the default setting of D&D.

There's no good reason why Elemental Evil stuff couldn't work just fine outside the Realms, and I'm actually all for treating the Realms fairly in the appendix. Officially placing the latest installment of Elemental Evil in the Realms, though, feels a bit like another cup of salty urine being dumped on an old wound.

As long as things are relatively easy to relocate to, say, Eberron or my 30-year-old home brew, I won't yelp too much. I get the benefit of an assumed/default setting and the Greyhawk ship has sailed. If the Tyranny of Dragons modules are more representative -- a lackluster adventure that I found too hard to decouple from the Realms -- then my purchasing of future adventures will be pretty limited. Unfortunately, with four kids, a full-time job, and multiple volunteer/extracurricular activities, most of what I want to buy is adventures that are fun and easy to run. The high school/college GM in me shudders at the thought, but it's the reality of my stage of life.

Edit: This wasn't intended as a setting/edition/whatever flame, and I hope it doesn't read that way. Please go back to discussing the adventure.