WotBS [WotBS] 5ed. still a thing?

[Tormyr]

Just curious if there's been any news on the print-on-demand version?

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Nod_Hero]

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

Sorry to bother but I wonder if you have any information about shipping times for the PoD during our "new normal" era?

(I ordered it as soon as I saw your link and I got a notice that it shipped on October 2nd.)

 

[Tormyr]

Sorry to bother but I wonder if you have any information about shipping times for the PoD during our "new normal" era?

(I ordered it as soon as I saw your link and I got a notice that it shipped on October 2nd.)

It looks like it took a little over a month for the PoD to become available, so my guess is a similar amount of time.

 

[Tormyr]

Or it could arrive today. I ordered mine on September 30, and it shipped October 2, so just under 2 weeks (which is still somewhat normal if I recall correctly).

 

[Nod_Hero]

Or it could arrive today. I ordered mine on September 30, and it shipped October 2, so just under 2 weeks (which is still somewhat normal if I recall correctly).

Got mine also, thanks for the reply!

 

[kudvat]

I have the old 3.5 campaign book and I was wondering, can the game be run solely from the Roll20 material? Or is that essentially electronic resources like tokens, handouts, and maps, and one would still need to purchase the 5e adventures (or maybe just reference the 3.5 adventure)?

Also, I know work flow is very COVID impacted, but is there a tentative release date of a 5e omnibus/4 volume compiled set? I'd rather not purchase the adventures a la carte.

Is there any sort of bundling discount for all the adventures or the whole shebang (meaning adventures and Roll20 content)?

 

[Tormyr]

I have the old 3.5 campaign book and I was wondering, can the game be run solely from the Roll20 material? Or is that essentially electronic resources like tokens, handouts, and maps, and one would still need to purchase the 5e adventures (or maybe just reference the 3.5 adventure)?

Also, I know work flow is very COVID impacted, but is there a tentative release date of a 5e omnibus/4 volume compiled set? I'd rather not purchase the adventures a la carte.

Is there any sort of bundling discount for all the adventures or the whole shebang (meaning adventures and Roll20 content)?

Each Roll20 adventure has the entire content of the adventure, including the text, so you don't need to also purchase the PDFs. All you need to do is read the text, customize what you want, and run the adventure.

The adventure text is included as handouts which are cross-linked to each other, NPC character sheets, and the 5e compendium as well as automate dice rolls called for in the text (such as trap damage). The 5e character sheets automate the dice rolls for the portion of the sheet on which you click.

I plan to put together an omnibus for PoD purposes, as well as bundles with a marginal discount when all the adventures are released, but realize, there are about 40 hours that go into each of the PDF and Roll20 versions for each adventure. Each adventure has 25+ hours of gameplay, so $10/adventure is a great price for a campaign that will keep your group occupied for a couple of years.

You can get links to the adventures from my marketplace page.

 

[kudvat]

Good to know, thanks for the Roll20 info!

 

[kudvat]

As I started doing my refamiliarization read-through, I noticed adventure 1 starts at 3rd level, not first, and adventure 12 will be 21st level. I was curious what about 5e made you increase the level ranges - are 1st level 5e characters that much less survivable than 3.5/PF? Is 21st level a result of wanting the level progression spread out over the adventures, or are 5e 20th level characters somehow mechanically not powerful enough?

Biggest question: given the increased starting level, are there any recommendations of how to do levels 1-2 in world? I like the idea of the characters seeing the world pre-assassination and the watching the power balances shift. I like the idea of fear of a neighboring conqueror suddenly changing to celebration swiftly swinging back to fear of uncertainty, but I don’t know the setting well enough to set it up.

 

[Tormyr]

As I started doing my refamiliarization read-through, I noticed adventure 1 starts at 3rd level, not first, and adventure 12 will be 21st level. I was curious what about 5e made you increase the level ranges - are 1st level 5e characters that much less survivable than 3.5/PF? Is 21st level a result of wanting the level progression spread out over the adventures, or are 5e 20th level characters somehow mechanically not powerful enough?

Biggest question: given the increased starting level, are there any recommendations of how to do levels 1-2 in world? I like the idea of the characters seeing the world pre-assassination and the watching the power balances shift. I like the idea of fear of a neighboring conqueror suddenly changing to celebration swiftly swinging back to fear of uncertainty, but I don’t know the setting well enough to set it up.

5e balances against damage and hit points more than AC and to-hit bonuses. IMO, level 1 PCs are one step above paper mâché, so level 1 is not a great place to start PCs that you want to run through a story that can last several years in real time. There is an enemy at the end of adventure 1 that can 1-hit kill a level 3 PC if it rolls really well.

On top of that, I took a cue from the 5e version of Zeitgeist, where it starts at 3rd level because the PCs are professionals at this point. In a similar vein, the Resistance is short on people for this mission, but they are not going to just grab anyone off the street. Choosing the PCs means there is at least a chance of success.

As for level "21", it is optional. You can run level 20 for the last two adventures. I wanted to give the players a chance to learn their characters for two adventures: one at level 3 and the next at level 4. After that, the adventures take the PCs through 2 levels each. WotBS has some story options for running the last 3 adventures in any order, saving who the players hate the most as the last bad guy. So each of the last 3 adventures can be run at level 19, 20, or "21", and there is a means to adjust the difficulty accordingly. At my table, the players have the option of an ASI/Feat, choosing a level to multiclass into/continue a multiclass, or choose an epic boon from the DMG.

I can think of a couple suggestions for an intro:

1. Run an adventure around Gate Pass that gets the heroes noticed by the Resistance, setting up the events of adventure 1. The downside is that there is less opportunity to show the world pre assassination.
2. Run an adventure in southeast Ragesia just after the assassination. The scourge is starting, and spellcasters and their families are fleeing toward Dassen and Gate Pass. This could be run as a caravan protection operation where the heroes are hired muscle or fleeing themselves (maybe a little of both). The downside is that this might remove some of the impact of the Gate Pass connections in the Player's Guide because the heroes are only in Gate Pass for a few weeks.
3. Run an adventure pre-assassination, that highlights a region the players will return to during the campaign. Each has its own merits. Dassen can be "traditional" Greyhawk style fantasy. Sindaire could be the last days of the rebellion before the assassination. Ostalin, Ragesia, and southern Shahalesti are largely untouched. The heroes could aid Rivereye Badgerface in his mission to steal the intelligence before they get separated and try to meet up again in Gate Pass.

At my table, I had the players come up with their background stories and how they ended up in Gate Pass. We then just started at level 3.

In the long run, you know yourself and your players best. What you come up with will probably work well.