The 9 dead Gods in it are públic knowledge at this point, being a playtester is not required.
D&D 5E Yawning Portal vs Tomb of Anilhilation
The 9 dead Gods in it are públic knowledge at this point, being a playtester is not required.
Demetrios1453
Hero
The 9 gods were mentioned in an interview or two around the announcement.
Sent from my VS987 using EN World mobile app
I wish I was a playtester. No, all that information is readily available to the public in the most recent issue of Dragon+, where they previewed the book.
Honestly with all the information available online one can very easily piece together the structure of the adventure. I was able to figure out much of Storm King's Thunder's broad story strokes well before hand, and I believe I know the general layout of this adventure also.
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In addition, I seem to recall Mike or one of the others mentioning that Tomb of Horrors wasn't even originally going to be in Yawning Portal (probably because it was the inspiration for ToA), and it was only after someone else pointed out that it really should be (since it's the most famous crawl there is) that they decided to add it.
ccs
41st lv DM
Yeah, it's almost like any moderately experienced DM could write this stuff....
The only difference (other than final production values) is WoTC isn't signing our paychecks.
It's clear that fifth edition has been trying to resurrect the feeling of "classic" D&D since day one, but with a more user-friendly system that's more likely to invite new players to the game. I've read that a number of people like 5th edition for that very reason.
As such, it makes sense for the Wizards team to draw inspiration from known classics, and provide that material to the veteran players, which allows them to re-live the glory days. It also gives them the opportunity to take old-school, deadly adventures and transform them into story-heavy adventures in a more modern, less deadly style. Here are some examples of how they did so:
Curse of Strahd - Inspired by Ravenloft from way back when, Curse of Strahd re-designs the castle, re-imagines Strahd's character, and creates new vision of what the lands around Strahd's castle might have looked like. It also stepped away from the AD&D vision of Strahd's domain sharing a plane of existence with other villains, keeping the story simple and concise (and easier for newer players to enjoy). Absolutely NO ONE that I've encountered has complained about this re-imagining, making this one of the most popular 5e adventures I've come across (heck, I've even run it; and I pretty much exclusively homebrew)
Storm King's Thunder - Inspired by Against the Giants, which was a series of dungeon crawls back in the day.
Princes of the Apocalypse - Inspired by the Temple of Elemental Evil
In fact, the only adventure that I can think of right now that isn't inspired by a classic adventure is Rise of Tiamat/Hoard of the Dragon Queen; and that might just be because my D&D lore-fu isn't actually that strong.
So, as someone who normally homebrews my adventures - am I excited for Tomb of Annihilation? Actually, yes! Not only is it a re-imagining of a classic, but it's the kind of plot and adventure locale (and PC levels) that I would like to run.
As such, it makes sense for the Wizards team to draw inspiration from known classics, and provide that material to the veteran players, which allows them to re-live the glory days. It also gives them the opportunity to take old-school, deadly adventures and transform them into story-heavy adventures in a more modern, less deadly style. Here are some examples of how they did so:
Curse of Strahd - Inspired by Ravenloft from way back when, Curse of Strahd re-designs the castle, re-imagines Strahd's character, and creates new vision of what the lands around Strahd's castle might have looked like. It also stepped away from the AD&D vision of Strahd's domain sharing a plane of existence with other villains, keeping the story simple and concise (and easier for newer players to enjoy). Absolutely NO ONE that I've encountered has complained about this re-imagining, making this one of the most popular 5e adventures I've come across (heck, I've even run it; and I pretty much exclusively homebrew)
Storm King's Thunder - Inspired by Against the Giants, which was a series of dungeon crawls back in the day.
Princes of the Apocalypse - Inspired by the Temple of Elemental Evil
In fact, the only adventure that I can think of right now that isn't inspired by a classic adventure is Rise of Tiamat/Hoard of the Dragon Queen; and that might just be because my D&D lore-fu isn't actually that strong.
So, as someone who normally homebrews my adventures - am I excited for Tomb of Annihilation? Actually, yes! Not only is it a re-imagining of a classic, but it's the kind of plot and adventure locale (and PC levels) that I would like to run.
Prakriti
Hi, I'm a Mindflayer, but don't let that worry you
Compare Star Wars with The Empire Strikes Back, and you'll find a lot of the same characters and themes. That's kinda how sequels work, y'know?
And one of the reasons that Tomb of Horrors was re-released in Tales from the Yawning Portal was so that the latest generation of fans can play the original before they play the sequel. If anything, Tales from the Yawning Portal will enhance people's enjoyment of Tomb of Annihilation.
Demetrios1453
Hero
Wow, if you are quick with the pause button, that spoils a lot, including the likely final boss. I'm planning on DMing it, so spoiling it is no big deal for me (actually, given the new monsters listed, it makes me want to run it more!), but players get to see it, it might ruin some of the surprises.
