[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!

 

[delericho]

I imagine in a few years, once they get a nice backlog of adventures, they'll start retiring adventures and making them public.

Actually, I'd be surprised at that. WotC's storyline driven model benefits most if people are playing the current storyline. So they won't want to be competing with the adventures from the storyline of yesteryear.

I think it's actually more likely that they'll just open up at least some of the current AL adventures to the general public, quite possibly by having each future Dragon+ linking to one (as #3 already does).

 

[joeltrog]

DnDTroop Out of the Abyss Review

Also did a quick review of the first 4 levels on my personal blog Add to OP if you don't mind!

dndtroop (dot) com/out-of-the-abyss-review/

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I'll say this much: I really haven't seen anyone talk this much about new adventures for D&D in....well...ages. We spend effort like this reminiscing on the classics, but no modules I can think of for much of 2nd, all of 3rd and all of 4th (except for the bad ones) have gotten this much discussion.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

So far looks pretty good. I know I'm going to need a LOT of prep time for this one, the game will probably go on hold for a couple weeks while I digest this huge book and make a lot of notes. I agree that the format isn't the best, a boxed set with separate maps, hand out and smaller books breaking down things would make it so much easier to use at the table. I haven't looked at all the maps but do I ever miss the simple clear maps of old 1e products where they weren't trying to make it look like a parchment sheet with textures on it. This looks much better at least than Hoard, though that is a pretty low bar to clear.

 

[Staffan]

2nd Ed had a good number of setting-neutral adventures. And unlike the 3e adventures, that actually meant "setting-neutral", not "assumed Greyhawk".

I actually looked at some of the 3e adventures the other day, and the setting-neutral ones (like the original adventure path starting with Sunless Citadel, or Red Hand of Doom) were pretty neutral. Pretty much the only GH references were the names of gods.

 

[smiteworks]

If only there was a digital tool that allowed you to quickly pull up the relevant stats for the NPC you encountered or pull up a map when you need it instead of flipping back and forth between pages... hmmm....

If only we could drag anything we wanted from the adventure down to a convenient hotkey bar of shortcuts. Oh wait... there is. The Fantasy Grounds version will be releasing on the 15th along with the print versions.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

TLR so apologies if already covered, but what are people's thoughts on running OoTA with existing PCs, that are starting at, say, level 6-7? Doable?

 

[halfling rogue]

I like that shorter adventures are getting talked about more with every release. I've been talking about selling shorter modules since the Starter. The only adventure I've purchased for 5e is the Starter because 1) that's the type of adventure that appeals to my group, as everyone has kids and can't invest in anything longer and 2) the price of the APs is frankly way more than I'm willing to spend. I'm not saying it isn't worth the value...I'm saying it isn't worth the value for me and my group (so it's an overlap of point 1). As it is now, if ever I do purchase one of these adventures, my playing time is such that I'll likely not purchase another long AP for a good while as I'd like to get my money's worth out of it, plus I'll probably wait for some ridiculous sale before I even begin to think about pulling the trigger.

But I do think they hear some of the feedback. They did release a free short adventure with the last Dragon+. It's a start!

 

[ShadoWWW]

Hurray! Mike Schley's maps for Out of Abyss are available for purchase on his Zenfolio profile.

 

[Sacrosanct]

TLR so apologies if already covered, but what are people's thoughts on running OoTA with existing PCs, that are starting at, say, level 6-7? Doable?

Totally doable. the campaign is separated into different halves, so to speak. So you can skip the entire first 100 pages and go right to Gauntlgrym for the second half and get the actual plot mission of the campaign. In fact, it is suggested that PCs be level 8 when they get there. So dropping in existing PCs is very doable.