Qwillion said:
I am also going to be dropping more clues as to what the fook is going on. I feel it was a major flaw of section A to only include the GM on the story, and provide no motivation for the players to find out what is going on.
i've been thinking about this comment for a couple of day now... trying to find a way to address what you're saying without being negative
first, this is one of the first real complaints i've heard about the book
yes, we all admit on here its failings and limitations because of the scope of the work
and i'm amazed actually at how little anger has come out of this group, considering the internet's love of flames.
that said, the major flaw of A is the repetitiveness of the monsters, something endemic of a large region made for 1st to 3rd level PCs.
not letting the PCs in on it? well, i don't know how to break it to you, but published adventures can't replace the DM. so, how much you clue them into the adventure's details is up to you.
its always been my opinion that published adventures save DMs from doing the busy work... plotting rooms, writing up stats, and thinking up details like stools, iron maidens, and chandeliers (sadly the WLD has little or none of these, but...). so, the book really was made with a top down approach.
i'm sorry if i'm sounding defensive now. i'm not trying to be. i'm hopefully, just coalescing what you do like about the product into the arena of why it works. reading the whole book isn't an easy task, but the more familiar DMs are with the entire plot, the more likely they are to be able to morph things to their own style and whim. which does away with worry about things like... why aren't the PCs more involved with this plot?
and the short answer is... because we as designers don't know which path you're going to take through the dungeon, so creating elements that link regions together thematically is a near impossibility... especially with about a dozen different paths through this mamma-jamba.
lastly, i think the true strength of this product lies in five things.
1. tight templating of rooms. you always know what to look for and where to find it.
2. tactics and encounter conditions. without information like this, you've just got a list of monsters and dungeon dressings... in my opinion
3. plots. some of these plot points are just amazing. some of writers took the ideas they were given and really expanded them into great concepts
4. flexibility. there's almost nothing that can't be changed to suit your style. we didn't a trap or clue so important in region F that you couldn't escape without it.
5. value. $.06 per encounter. enough said?
anyway
i hope you like the book
i hope you have some memorable adventures with it
and i hope someone finishes it soon, so we can hear all the stories about their epic struggle to reach the final rooms of region O
peace
