| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Xysma |
Posted - 06 May 2005 : 17:51:58
I found the pending cover art for Sons of Gruumsh an Amazon:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0786936983.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
From what I have gathered, this is to be the first adventure since COTSQ, has anyone else heard anything?
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Patrakis |
Posted - 11 Aug 2005 : 17:13:54
I will buy this tome as i have bought every FR product since 1987 when it was released. I know it's silly but i buy even the not so good products or the good products i know i will never use. In doing so, i hope they never stop making stuff for the realms. It's too bad so many fans of the realms never bought the spider queen supermodules because it probably contributed to WotC decision to stop making FR modules. If i have to front a bit of cash for a product i know i wont appreciate fully to garanty that they will continue making FR products, i will and do.
Of course that is just me. I'm not judging others decisions on this matter.
I'm glad to see another modules for FR and i hope every FR fan buys it, even if it's not completely to their liking or doesn't apply to their campaign of the moment. I hope they do so that maybe WotC will produce more.
Pat |
| Faraer |
Posted - 05 Aug 2005 : 18:11:55
In terms of size, I think 16–32 pages is a good size for a single adventure taking about 4 sessions. Longer than that is a mini-campaign (like FA1), or else so full of background and new monsters/spells that it's more a sourcebook than a module.
Depending on how well Christopher Perkins understands the Realms, this could either be a good Realms scenario -- that combines insight and lore for the setting, a good adventure module in accord with the Realms, and a fun read -- or a module that just happens to be set there and therefore no more desirable than half an average Dungeon issue. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Aug 2005 : 17:18:28
'Tis a given that I'll pick it up, as well. Who knows, there might be some nice Realmslore in it.  |
| Kuje |
Posted - 05 Aug 2005 : 16:37:22
I'll buy it but probably never use it. I buy all FR stuff cause I'm a FR addict. :) |
| Xysma |
Posted - 05 Aug 2005 : 05:32:45
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I was looking around online this morn... The Barnes & Noble website says this tome will be available August 24th.
Well met
Just out of interest, who will be picking up this particular adventure module? I'll certainly be getting it myself, regardless of being very disappointed in the page count. I'm not sure exactly what can be written in a mere 32 pages to make it a worthy adventure, but i'll give it the benfit of the doubt. Nevertheless, I'll continue to plead with the Wizards whom dwell on the Coast to bring back the 128-page adventures, to keep adventuring in the Realms alive 
I'll definitely pick it up. I'm a little disappointed in the page count as well, but a short adventure is better than none at all.
My group has had a lot of fun with the Dungeon Crawl Classics series, and those are pretty short (around 45 pages.) With it being an adventure for 4th level charaters, I think it will be a good starting point for a longer campaign. |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 04 Aug 2005 : 21:57:34
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I was looking around online this morn... The Barnes & Noble website says this tome will be available August 24th.
Well met
Just out of interest, who will be picking up this particular adventure module? I'll certainly be getting it myself, regardless of being very disappointed in the page count. I'm not sure exactly what can be written in a mere 32 pages to make it a worthy adventure, but i'll give it the benfit of the doubt. Nevertheless, I'll continue to plead with the Wizards whom dwell on the Coast to bring back the 128-page adventures, to keep adventuring in the Realms alive |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 04 Aug 2005 : 17:25:00
I was looking around online this morn... The Barnes & Noble website says this tome will be available August 24th. |
| warlockco |
Posted - 25 May 2005 : 10:10:42
quote:
Originally posted by Realmslore
To be fair, we're not talking Dark Sun here. Faerûn is about as European as you can get. Calling the Moonshae's too Celtic, is like saying Cormyr is too French. Is Cormyr french? The similarities are only there if you choose to see them.
An Orc-bashing fest could be fun. Can't wait to see this. |
| Xysma |
Posted - 11 May 2005 : 15:49:13
quote:
Originally posted by Snotlord
Maybe the designer made sure to use critters with a matching mini?
I hope so, I've got hundreds of these things! |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 11 May 2005 : 15:46:13
Eh... can't remember. I'm not even sure it was stated. (This is what I get for quoting hearsay).
The Fantastic Locations series is supposed to include mini-sized maps (again quoting hearsay), so Sons is probably a different kind of beast. Maybe the designer made sure to use critters with a matching mini? |
| Xysma |
Posted - 11 May 2005 : 15:08:27
quote:
Originally posted by Snotlord
Cool! I read somewhere that the adventure utilizes lots of the D&D minis, and is designed for 4th level characters. I'm not sure I'm too happy about the mini part, but if that is what it takes to get FR adventures again, I will not complain. 
I wonder how the minis will be used? I imagine since the minis now come with 3.5 stats as well as the miniatures game stats, they can just reference the minis? |
| Xysma |
Posted - 11 May 2005 : 15:04:30
quote:
Originally posted by Snotlord
Great cover. I don't mind seeing it twice 
I agree, I hope they stick with this cover art. |
| Keravin |
Posted - 10 May 2005 : 21:49:05
I came over here after time away to find out the scope on this book and well if it's Moonsea then that's on my shopping list. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 10 May 2005 : 18:14:52
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Isn't that the same cover that Xysma posted in the first message for this thread?
Is it? Don't ask me. :) |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 10 May 2005 : 18:13:22
Great cover. I don't mind seeing it twice |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 10 May 2005 : 18:08:20
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
BTW Amazon has the cover:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786936983/qid=1115679855/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/103-9624218-4673460?v=glance&s=books
Isn't that the same cover that Xysma posted in the first message for this thread? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 10 May 2005 : 17:04:20
BTW Amazon has the cover:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786936983/qid=1115679855/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/103-9624218-4673460?v=glance&s=books |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 12:11:20
Well met
Interesting indeed, but can we please keep this scroll to discussing Sons of Gruumsh. Feel free, however to continue the discussion on the Moonshae's\Hall of the High King in a new scroll. |
| The Blue Sorceress |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 05:47:06
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Realmslore
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I've always preferred FR material that you couldn't draw immediate real world comparisons to.
To be fair, we're not talking Dark Sun here. Faerûn is about as European as you can get. Calling the Moonshae's too Celtic, is like saying Cormyr is too French. Is Cormyr french? The similarities are only there if you choose to see them.
I dunno... It's hard for me to look at the Moonshaes and not see a strong Celtic flavor, but I've never attached any specific nationality to any of the areas of the Heartlands. I'll grant that French history is not my forté, but I've never seen anything in Cormyr that makes me think of France.
I always thought Tethyr was very French, particularly since they went through a civil war that greatly resembled the French revolution. Cormyr always struck me as more of a semi-utopic England, especially considering their former Imperialistic interest in the Dales (analogous to Canada according to Ed Greenwood himself, I believe.)
-Blue |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 05:39:01
quote:
Originally posted by Realmslore
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I've always preferred FR material that you couldn't draw immediate real world comparisons to.
To be fair, we're not talking Dark Sun here. Faerûn is about as European as you can get. Calling the Moonshae's too Celtic, is like saying Cormyr is too French. Is Cormyr french? The similarities are only there if you choose to see them.
I dunno... It's hard for me to look at the Moonshaes and not see a strong Celtic flavor, but I've never attached any specific nationality to any of the areas of the Heartlands. I'll grant that French history is not my forté, but I've never seen anything in Cormyr that makes me think of France. |
| Brian R. James |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 04:13:23
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I've always preferred FR material that you couldn't draw immediate real world comparisons to.
To be fair, we're not talking Dark Sun here. Faerûn is about as European as you can get. Calling the Moonshae's too Celtic, is like saying Cormyr is too French. Is Cormyr french? The similarities are only there if you choose to see them.
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
The thinking AT TSR was that the Moonshaes didn’t feel sufficiently “Realmsian“
I can certainly appreciate the awkward position Ed must have found himself. In my opinion the Moonshae's didn't need to be pulled into the Realms. What does that mean anyway? What defines “Realmsian“?
To me, the defining feature of the Realms over all other campaign settings, are its distinct cultures with their rich histories. Compare the Moonsea Region with Halruaa. Or Damara with Amn. Compare Mulhorand with the Silver Marches. These diverse cultures *are* the Realms.
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| The Hooded One |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 02:54:49
Sigh.
Realmslore, I just hope you’ll appreciate the irony here:
As one of Ed’s original players, I was “in the loop” on HALLS OF THE HIGH KING, and saw the design directives Ed was given for that project (stapled to every TSR contract in those days as “Exhibit A”).
They included a commandment to: “Bring the Moonshaes more fully into the Realms, update them vis-à-vis the Niles trilogy, and provide a suggested campaign arc set in the Moonshaes.”
The thinking AT TSR was that the Moonshaes (bought separately by TSR from Doug, a very nice man whom I liked at our only meeting, and I know Ed is friends with) didn’t feel sufficiently “Realmsian,” and Ed was the only guy who could fix that. So, yes, HALLS probably DOESN’T sufficiently capture the feeling of the original Niles trilogy.
Of course, Books Department later retconned the dating of the first Moonshaes trilogy to allow for the second trilogy, so HALLS and the novels don’t match anyway, but that’s hardly Ed’s fault.
love,
THO |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 02:27:39
quote:
Originally posted by Realmslore
I'm always surprised when Halls of the High King is mentioned as an excellent module. IMHO, Ed failed in capturing the essence of Douglas Niles' original trilogy. Though it was set on the Moonshae's, that module certainly didn't *feel* like the Moonshaes.
That's funny, I never thought Niles' novels felt much like the Realms either. His version of the Moonshaes was way too 'celtic' for my liking - I've always preferred FR material that you couldn't draw immediate real world comparisons to.
-- George Krashos
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| The Sage |
Posted - 08 May 2005 : 01:59:06
quote:
Originally posted by Gray Richardson
While I have bought every single FR sourcebook published after 3E (and own most of them from 2E.) I myself never bought City of the Spider Queen.
The reason it did not appeal at the time was that I was in the midst of an epic campaign set in the north and had no real interest in taking my players on an epic quest through the underdark to fight the drow.
I think CotSQ was maybe too big and too narrowly focused on one locale and one race as the bad guys to make it one of those "must have" items. It had too limited a utility and appeal to be really successful in the marketplace.
I think I would still like to pick it up for the sake of completeness. But I don't see it anymore anywhere and it hasn't risen high up enough on my list to go hunt it down.
For a long time after the release of CotSQ, I was much the same. I put off purchasing the adventure expressly because I found it lacking in certain aspects when I read through a friend's copy.
In the end however, I did end up buying... but nearly two years after its initial release. And then, the only reason I did purchase it was because I intended to make it a "small" part of my Underdark campaign which had began a few months earlier.
If I hadn't have ran that adventure series in the Underdark, I doubt I would have bought CotSQ.
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| Brian R. James |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 20:39:50
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
A few exceptions such as Halls of the High King and Steven's Undermountain trilogy stand out, but on the whole the rest have been pretty underwhelming.
I'm always surprised when Halls of the High King is mentioned as an excellent module. IMHO, Ed failed in capturing the essence of Douglas Niles' original trilogy. Though it was set on the Moonshae's, that module certainly didn't *feel* like the moonshaes. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 19:03:59
I'll buy it.
I agree with Gray, too: short and sweet is a better approach for them to take. All of the old modules were like that... I wouldn't mind the occasional supermodule, but it needs to be something that appeals to more of the Realms audience. |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 17:02:54
I am very much looking forward to Sons of Gruumsh. The City of the Spider Queen was cool, it is a major commitment that would have sucked up the later half of a Dales campaign. I suspect I'll never get round to run it.
I have good experience with the old 3.0 adventure path (Forge of Fury, Lords of the Iron Fortress, and Bastion of Broken Souls), and think 32 pages is a perfect size for an adventure, as shorter adventures are easier to use.
I hope Sons of Gruumsh is a huge success.
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| Gray Richardson |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 16:47:45
I will add that Sons of Gruumsh does appeal to me precisely because it is short and cheap.
There is very little risk to buying it. It is short enough that I should easily be able to insert it into an ongoing campaign. Even if I end up never running it, it is cheap enough that I am sure I will get to read some fun Realmslore and might pick up a few ideas to use elsewhere so I will not feel that I wasted my money.
I think short and sweet and cheap might just be the magic marketing strategy and I hope it pays off for them. |
| Gray Richardson |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 16:42:30
While I have bought every single FR sourcebook published after 3E (and own most of them from 2E.) I myself never bought City of the Spider Queen.
The reason it did not appeal at the time was that I was in the midst of an epic campaign set in the north and had no real interest in taking my players on an epic quest through the underdark to fight the drow.
I think CotSQ was maybe too big and too narrowly focused on one locale and one race as the bad guys to make it one of those "must have" items. It had too limited a utility and appeal to be really successful in the marketplace.
I think I would still like to pick it up for the sake of completeness. But I don't see it anymore anywhere and it hasn't risen high up enough on my list to go hunt it down. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 07 May 2005 : 16:38:18
quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
Well met
Alas, I believe not, Rudar. Remember, only DM's and collectors are likely to buy adventure modules. Nevertheless, I was quite surprised to hear that CotSQ didn't hit WotC's sales targets. This may be the reasoning behind a much cheaper and small product, to appeal to more fans and to keep the overall cost low.
A lot of DM's didn't use it or even buy it either since it tied in with the Spider Queen novels and we just saw how that ended. It was a mistake for WOTC to make a module that took 2+ years for the novels that tied in with it to end.
I say this from personal experience because I had a past DM ask me about it and also from what I've read a lot on the boards. |
