Testament
First Post
Emirikol said:1. Non-fantasy names. Bahb = Bob. Jhill = Jill. Jahk = Jack. This is crap and the players know it because prounouciation is what REALLY matters.
2. Lack of a couple of peasants the PC's can talk to (give a couple names..good fantasy names anyways). Some writers get lazy and just say, "With a successful gather info check DC 2, they learn..."
3. Lack of coherence with the world of Greyhawk. Jeez, mention something Greyhawkish OTHER than the GODS' NAMES once in a while!
4. Lack of ongoing storyline. Even in regional scenarios, the long-term storylines are hard to follow. I've noticed that players like to see recurring NPC's (not always the arse-kissing goody-two-shoes-hiring-kind either) in multy-part scenarios. FORMER RPGA head RObert Weise goes off on LEGACY OF THE GREEN REGENT on the EBERRON: markofheroes yahoogroup saying that even in that campaign (which isn't "living") the storyline is darn near impossible to follow and it becomes a series of meaningless combats. I think this is a problem with the presentation. I think players need more handouts, "The story so far..."
5. Too much fluff for the DM. There are PAGES of unnecessary text that is put into scenarios. Stuff like, "When the players finish when encounter #2, the DM should proceed to encounter #3." DUH! Sometimes, there are PAGES of DM's background that will never be revealed to the players. AFAIAC, there should be NO background that isn't revealed to the players. If the NPC has a motivation, let the players find out why.."OH, he's just that way" isn't good enough or it could just as well be scripted.
6. TOO EASY. There are a lot of encounters where whiny-butt players say stuff like, "WE ALMOST DIED!" Woo hoo. So, you didn't die and you're whining? OK, next time I'll throw in some environmental factors...
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1. I personally haven't seen this. Heck, over in Perrenland the main problem people have is that many of the names are unpronouncable. I say, spare a thought for Geoff, the naems there are all Welsh Gaelic. What's your region?
2. That's a beef I have too. I've found cores to be the biggest offenders there. I only find it acceptable in some situations (like one regional I played where you start in an army camp. At chow time.)
3. Having never played original Greyhawk, I can't say. I'm loving the flavour, once again, of my regionals.
4. Ether Threat, I'm looking in your direction. SAME TO YOU BRENDINGUD! That said, from the LGR mods I've seen, it is worse. I've seen no such problem in Perrenland though, we just finished a saga that's been going since year 1. And its been clear as day, as have our other multi-part stories.
5. No argument here. Keep 'em short and sweet, ink carts are expensive.
6. GAH!? Have you seen "A Tiger? In Ahlissa?!", "Every Passing Breeze", "Through Nature to Eternity"? As written, all of these mods feature GUARANTEED TPKs. Some are cakewalks, but I've come across many more that are the opposite. Yes, a lot of them were regionals.
Oh, and Merric, I found that in Circle of Sin too. We ended up helping mainly to stop the witch hunt from hitting the Trithereonites, the heck with the Pholtans. And if you want to help the players out, order an Intro mod or 2 from the Perrenland triad. They're designed for 1st level characters.
Ironically, the level kicks are my biggest beef with the Campaigns system. IMHO, it absolutely destroys any sense of accomplishment when you level, in Greyhawk, Force and Arcanis you work for your reward (dear Gods, do you work for it in Arcanis, especially Nish!) In LGR and MoH, its like "meh, kick comes around an I'm fine". I don't know, maybe if they get ALL the mods out on time in MoH you'll actually be able to stay at least 1 level ahead of the curve. Or maybe, they could have an outbreak of common sense and make the mods SCALEABLE!
Rant over, I now return you to your regular programming.
