Well, the time has come for me to cancel my Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription - we're now coming to the end of the 1st Edition materials, and I've decided I'm not going to move on to 2nd Edition (partly because I've not been terribly impressed with what I've seen, but mostly because I'm basically never going to play it). There's one final volume coming, being issue #144, which brings an end to the current Path.
However, there's a small problem: the next subscription package contains both that final volume and also issue #145, the first volume in the next Path (and therefore the first 2nd Edition Path).
This is slightly tricky: I definitely do want volume #144, but definitely don't want volume #145, but they come together, so...
(What I think will most likely happen is that I'll cancel, and then use some store credit I've somehow accumulated to purchase the final volume and its PDF. But we'll see - their customer service has generally been outstanding, so it's possible they'll have this covered.)
Wednesday, 26 June 2019
Zodiac
I've been musing on the set of constellations for Terafa - this was something that never quite got defined in all the previous versions of the setting, but is definitely something that should be covered. Broadly speaking, what's needed is twelve or so nice, iconic figures around whom you can spin all sorts of legends, stories and material.
It also occurs to me that the latest version of D&D just happens to have twelve classes...
So, let's have the sign of the Barbarian, the Bard, the Cleric, the Druid, the Fighter, the Monk, the Paladin, the Ranger, the Rogue, the Sorcerer, the Wizard, and the Warlock. That should do rather nicely...
It also occurs to me that the latest version of D&D just happens to have twelve classes...
So, let's have the sign of the Barbarian, the Bard, the Cleric, the Druid, the Fighter, the Monk, the Paladin, the Ranger, the Rogue, the Sorcerer, the Wizard, and the Warlock. That should do rather nicely...
Tuesday, 25 June 2019
Morgrave Miscellany
I've largely taken to ignoring the DM's Guild, mostly since I'm barely gaming any more, because the quality is necessarily very uneven, and because frankly I've got no chance of keeping up anyway. However it does have one extremely nice feature, which is that as WotC open up the various settings it gives scope for an interested creator to expand his or her creation, potentially in ways that WotC never would (due to market pressures). And so, very occasionally there will be a product on there that screams "must have" to me.
That is the case with the "Morgrave Miscellany", an Eberron sourcebook from the creator of the setting, Keith Baker, with mechanical help from Ruty Rutenberg (who is a new name to me).
The Miscellany comprises four chapters: one on classes, one on other character matters, a third on running a game in a noir style, and then a set of noir-ish adventures (actually, for 0-level characters).
As the name perhaps implies, this one is very much a mixed bag. The material for the classes is generally good (and, since this represents the bulk of the document, it is probably worth the price of entry by itself). Likewise, the expanded options for Dragonmarks (in chapter two) are also interesting and likely to see use. On the other hand, I'm unlikely ever to use the new feats (not a fan of feats in general), and I found the material on races rather bland.
The chapter on running a noir game was interesting, but should be filed under "you'll probably never use this" - it's mostly techniques that should only be attempted by a pretty skilled GM... but a pretty skilled GM will probably be aware of them without this book. I was also very much not a fan of the adventure material that rounds out the book, partly because I have no interest in 0-level adventure material, but mostly because it all struck me as too short and far too linear to be worthwhile - there's very little inspiration on offer here.
The upshot is that this is one has a conditional recommendation. It's good if you want more material for classes, especially material slanted towards Eberron. And there are some good ideas here. But it's not as polished or as consistent as most of the published Eberron books, or indeed the "Wayfarer's Guide".
Bottom line: I'm not at all unhappy I bought this, but I suspect it's unlikely ever to see any actual use.
That is the case with the "Morgrave Miscellany", an Eberron sourcebook from the creator of the setting, Keith Baker, with mechanical help from Ruty Rutenberg (who is a new name to me).
The Miscellany comprises four chapters: one on classes, one on other character matters, a third on running a game in a noir style, and then a set of noir-ish adventures (actually, for 0-level characters).
As the name perhaps implies, this one is very much a mixed bag. The material for the classes is generally good (and, since this represents the bulk of the document, it is probably worth the price of entry by itself). Likewise, the expanded options for Dragonmarks (in chapter two) are also interesting and likely to see use. On the other hand, I'm unlikely ever to use the new feats (not a fan of feats in general), and I found the material on races rather bland.
The chapter on running a noir game was interesting, but should be filed under "you'll probably never use this" - it's mostly techniques that should only be attempted by a pretty skilled GM... but a pretty skilled GM will probably be aware of them without this book. I was also very much not a fan of the adventure material that rounds out the book, partly because I have no interest in 0-level adventure material, but mostly because it all struck me as too short and far too linear to be worthwhile - there's very little inspiration on offer here.
The upshot is that this is one has a conditional recommendation. It's good if you want more material for classes, especially material slanted towards Eberron. And there are some good ideas here. But it's not as polished or as consistent as most of the published Eberron books, or indeed the "Wayfarer's Guide".
Bottom line: I'm not at all unhappy I bought this, but I suspect it's unlikely ever to see any actual use.
Saturday, 8 June 2019
Legacy of Fire
At the weekend I had an epiphany that led me to the realisation of the next campaign: I've decided to convert and run the "Legacy of Fire" adventure path. (Huzzah!) This is the third "Pathfinder" path, although it's actually a set of D&D 3.5e adventures (as it predates the publication of the Pathfinder RPG). This is largely irrelevant - as I am, and would be, running 5e I would need to convert the path anyway.
Anyway, it's good to have the decision made, and in plenty of time so that I can get a conversion together before it's needed. Although, actually, it's only 90% made - there's a slight possibility that WotC might happen to publish a must-run adventure some time between now and the end of "Storm King's Thunder". Though if they do, they haven't announced it yet - "Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus" is not that adventure.
Anyway, it's good to have the decision made, and in plenty of time so that I can get a conversion together before it's needed. Although, actually, it's only 90% made - there's a slight possibility that WotC might happen to publish a must-run adventure some time between now and the end of "Storm King's Thunder". Though if they do, they haven't announced it yet - "Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus" is not that adventure.
Saturday, 1 June 2019
Curse of the Dragon's Gold
Legend has it that when the world was new, seven great progenitor dragons soared in the skies. Their names have become legend: Pride, Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, and Lust. These were in the days before the Arrival of Man, and even the sundering of the elven people was yet to come.
In time, the great dragons amassed hoards befitting their might, and they retired to their slumbers, ever wary of those who would dare steal from them. But in doing so they made a fatal mistake, for by departing the skies they abdicated the fear their presence engendered, and in time all the great dragons fell before heroes who should have feared them. (Some versions of the tale tell that the great wyrm Sloth was never slain, but slumbers still within the deeper places of the world.)
However, the ancient legends also tell of the curse of the dragon's gold. So long did the beasts slumber, and so mighty were they, that their hordes became imprinted with the essence of the beasts. And, in turn, that essence was communicated to the heroes who stole from them.
And thus were created the Dragonborn: children of the great dragons, infused with the elemental powers that they possess, but also intrinsically bound to the same curses of their progenitors: pride, wrath, greed, gluttony, envy, and lust.
(For their part, the Dragonborn tell a different story. They claim to be the oldest of all the races, predating even the elves, and to have ruled a great empire across all the lands. As they were displaced by the elven people, so to was the legend of the dragon's curse popularised. As with all such things, the truth is unclear.)
In time, the great dragons amassed hoards befitting their might, and they retired to their slumbers, ever wary of those who would dare steal from them. But in doing so they made a fatal mistake, for by departing the skies they abdicated the fear their presence engendered, and in time all the great dragons fell before heroes who should have feared them. (Some versions of the tale tell that the great wyrm Sloth was never slain, but slumbers still within the deeper places of the world.)
However, the ancient legends also tell of the curse of the dragon's gold. So long did the beasts slumber, and so mighty were they, that their hordes became imprinted with the essence of the beasts. And, in turn, that essence was communicated to the heroes who stole from them.
And thus were created the Dragonborn: children of the great dragons, infused with the elemental powers that they possess, but also intrinsically bound to the same curses of their progenitors: pride, wrath, greed, gluttony, envy, and lust.
(For their part, the Dragonborn tell a different story. They claim to be the oldest of all the races, predating even the elves, and to have ruled a great empire across all the lands. As they were displaced by the elven people, so to was the legend of the dragon's curse popularised. As with all such things, the truth is unclear.)
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