[UPDATED] Out of the Abyss Reviews Have Started Rolling In

I just found one of the first reviews of Out of the Abyss. I thought it could be nice to keep all links to reviews in one thread, so here is the first I found:

http://diehardgamefan.com/2015/09/0...he-abyss-dungeons-dragons-fifth-editiondd-5e/

The previews have been okay, but this review is what has me stoked. This kind of adventure is right up my alley. Can't wait for it to show up!

 

[CapnZapp]

Let me be a voice that says the drow outpost is fine.

Not perfect, but fine. Unless the rest of module is worse, I see no need to lower a review score, unless you feel a need to get back at WotC for previous transgressions...

 

[Eric V]

Probably similar issues people have with the rulebooks?

So, if I understand the Dungeons and Donuts review correctly, the ending is

[Don't know how to use spoiler tags...so, read the review I guess?]



Not sure how I feel about that... :/

 

[graves3141]

It's challenging to run the APs as written because of the poor organization of information. All of them are overwritten and actually running an area usually means flipping back and forth between 3 or 4 places in the module to get all the information you'd want to use as a DM.

I'd guess they are overwritten because the APs are doing double duty as campaign sourcebooks. I wonder if it would be easier to write and organize the APs if there was a FR Campaign Guide to reference instead of including a bunch of world info in the APs themselves. I don't know, maybe just more time organizing the text would fix the problem too.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I agree with that donuts review. I knew right from the start that I'd have to do a lot of reading and prep work before running this.

On the bright side, the way the book is written, even if you don't ever run the campaign, it can easily be used as a campaign setting guide for the Underdark. Tons of random tables lots of independent areas you can drag and drop into your own campaign. I would go so far as to say the entire first half of the book is 95% campaign setting, 5% actual campaign plot stuff.

 

[Nebulous]

I just found one of the first reviews of Out of the Abyss. I thought it could be nice to keep all links to reviews in one thread, so here is the first I found:

http://diehardgamefan.com/2015/09/0...he-abyss-dungeons-dragons-fifth-editiondd-5e/

This review makes me want to finish Princes even FASTER. Comparisons to Call of Cthulhu? That's like one of my favorite game systems, and Masks of Nyarlathotep was the best campaigns I ever ran, so yeah, that's nostalgic. As well as comparisons to Dungeon Crawl Classics and the 1e feel. Man I can't wait to see this product.

 

[Nebulous]

Wow, dungeondonuts said it was the best AP so far and then gave it three out of five stars.

What makes people keep saying the APs are unorganized? Is it just a matter of the campaign world/setting info and the story elements not being separated well?

I'm running Princes and really like it, but the good stuff is scattered throughout every page of the book. Relevant interconnected bits are clumped here and there, and reading it multiple times is necessary, as well as copious notes between sessions. Even simple things, like the introductory player hooks, I FORGOT to use as I was so focused on the 15 pages of Red Larch (which, incidentally, is probably far too long, and the Side Trek at the END of the book for the Delvers served as my introduction to the plot instead for 3rd level characters, not many details in the Red Larch chapter. So my Princes wasn't even very chronological.

In retrospect, it also might have been better to clump the Haunted Keep, the Temple, and Elemental Node all together to reduce flipping.

 

[Cadriel]

I'd guess they are overwritten because the APs are doing double duty as campaign sourcebooks. I wonder if it would be easier to write and organize the APs if there was a FR Campaign Guide to reference instead of including a bunch of world info in the APs themselves. I don't know, maybe just more time organizing the text would fix the problem too.

Yeah, and beyond that there's just a lot of description, to the point where it's hard to tell the sort of "ornamental" detail from the critical game points.

With the material published so far, I really think that a lot of it would be better if cut out from the overarching plotline. Out of the Abyss has some really solid Underdark-as-hexcrawl resources that could readily be worked in with other short adventures to create a less story-focused game, or for the DM to create their own story around.

 

[Queer Venger]

I just found one of the first reviews of Out of the Abyss. I thought it could be nice to keep all links to reviews in one thread, so here is the first I found:

http://diehardgamefan.com/2015/09/0...he-abyss-dungeons-dragons-fifth-editiondd-5e/

Great review, thanks for sharing!

 

[Mad Zagyg]

Here's what they should do. Wizards, if you're listening, heed this advice:

These unwieldily campaign hardcover books are the worst format you could choose to put your adventures in. It's also too much information to drop at once for anyone seeking to run the adventure. They are cumbersome to read as 256 page books. For DMs who like to feel really prepared before running an adventure, slogging through these huge tomes and hoping all bases are covered before starting seems like a really impractical way to present the material. Also, when you're actually running it, flipping back and forth between the huge number of maps and plot details is a pain. We can scan, buy, print, or download the maps ourselves, but why not just present them properly in the first place?

Six months between releases seems to be universally disliked by the 5e player base. It's too short of time to run a 1-15 campaign and too long a time to wait if a particular campaign book doesn't interest you. As a game store owner, I can tell you that it also feels like a glacial release schedule that makes for little to discuss and talk about with customers. "What's new for D&D?" "Well, there's this campaign book that you saw last time you were in five months ago."

You should release these adventures in three parts, presented in the old-school, softcover, folio format. Each book should contain a removable map book in the back with really relevant details or maps printed on the inside cover. Charge $24.99 for each of the three adventures (this was the price for Red Hand of Doom in 2006). This allows for a much better release schedule (every two months) instead of the too-slow schedule of every 6 months, and it really shouldn't amount to much more in the way of work.

I will also entertain your offer to be the new R&D project manager.

 

[Celtavian]

Here's what they should do. Wizards, if you're listening, heed this advice:

These unwieldily campaign hardcover books are the worst format you could choose to put your adventures in. It's also too much information to drop at once for anyone seeking to run the adventure. They are cumbersome to read as 256 page books. For DMs who like to feel really prepared before running an adventure, slogging through these huge tomes and hoping all bases are covered before starting seems like a really impractical way to present the material. Also, when you're actually running it, flipping back and forth between the huge number of maps and plot details is a pain. We can scan, buy, print, or download the maps ourselves, but why not just present them properly in the first place?

Six months between releases seems to be universally disliked by the 5e player base. It's too short of time to run a 1-15 campaign and too long a time to wait if a particular campaign book doesn't interest you. As a game store owner, I can tell you that it also feels like a glacial release schedule that makes for little to discuss and talk about with customers. "What's new for D&D?" "Well, there's this campaign book that you saw last time you were in five months ago."

You should release these adventures in three parts, presented in the old-school, softcover, folio format. Each book should contain a removable map book in the back with really relevant details or maps printed on the inside cover. Charge $24.99 for each of the three adventures (this was the price for Red Hand of Doom in 2006). This allows for a much better release schedule (every two months) instead of the too-slow schedule of every 6 months, and it really shouldn't amount to much more in the way of work.

I will also entertain your offer to be the new R&D project manager.

I wonder if they're wary to release multiple books because if players don't like the first module, they won't buy the others. If they release it in one book, players have to buy the whole hog or nothing.