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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1270 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Apr 2015 : 18:55:57
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Was able to pick up a copy of the campaign in question yesterday. I've thumbed through it, and I'm going over it in a little more detail today, but my first impressions were as follows:
1. The first thing I noticed is that the free pdf has more PC races in it than the actual print book. Unless I missed it, only the Genasi are printed in the tome. That was a little bit of a disappointment, as if I want a "doesn't need electricity to read" copy of the Deep Gnome, Goliath, or Aaracocra, I'll need to shell out extra cash to Kinko's, unless I want to settle for an inkjet "print will run if the pages get sneezed on by a passing cat" copy printed at home. But, then again, I guess I shouldn't complain about free material too much.
2. Magic items. This was kinda nice. Magic items are the one thing I don't like creating on my own if I don't have to. There are a few creative little ideas in here. I like the Balloon backpack.
3. Lore layout. As the title of chapter two indicates, we are given a brief history of the Dessarin Valley. Without pouring over tomes for any possible lore inaccuracies or clarifications, this looks kind of nice. You're given a brief update on the "state of the Realms" post-Sundering that pertains to this region. You're also given a very brief history of the area.
The text repeatedly emphasizes that the common adventurer has little knowledge of the rich and detailed history of the region, and leaves any further delving into the area's history up to the DM.
I kind of like this approach. It means all of my older books are still useful for fleshing out details. The chapter shows what cities and locales are of note in the area, and if I want to flesh it out more, I can use books I already own.
For newcomers to the Realms, this also will make the pdf store at DnDClassics relevant to them. As a new comer, you are given just what you need to run the campaign. You're given an idea of where to start digging if you want to flesh out the history of the Realms a little more for your players, but if all you want to do is a beer and pretzels kinda run through, you've got what you need to get through.
Contrary to my complaint in other threads here at the Keep, the campaign book makes it easy to find lore in the module. Most of it is right in this chapter.
My experience with the Tyranny of Dragons book was less user friendly. I felt like I had to dig through the whole book to pull a few pieces of lore. But as both of those books are on loan to a friend who's running the campaign, I can't go back and review the layout to see if I need to rethink my position.
4. Artwork. Love it. I really want to find out who did the art on pages 18 and 37. I'd love to have a print of those to hang in my game room. One is a scene of adventurers in some ruins with the countryside behind them, the other is a depiction of the Stone Bridge crossing the Dessarin River.
5. Monsters. Always love me some Monster Stats. Gives me crunch that I can just pull up and use rather than tweak something to suit my needs. Not that customizing monsters is hard in 5E, at least not to me, but if my work is already done for me, I'm not going to quibble. In this section, I've got various flavors of cultists that can easily be re skinned as npc mages with different talents and focuses. I've got a Medusa that is a little tougher than the one in the Monster Manual, and it also gives me an example of how they add abilities to a base creature so when I begin fiddling with that, I have examples to check my work against. And I've got some powerful NPCs that can, again, be tweaked and re skinned to use against my PC's in other, higher level games.
The last thing of note is the way the Campaign's encounters are laid out. At first glance, it doesn't look like it's quite the same as Lost Mine of Phandelver. That's kinda sad, because LMoP was laid out in such a way I could almost just follow along the booklet as my PC's went, using monster stats I'd written out on 3x5 cards as needed.
This layout looks like I'll have to do a lot more page flipping. Seeing as it is more of a campaign than a mere adventure, I guess I can understand that, and my first impression may be wrong.
But, anyway, those were my first impressions. I'll revisit here when I've looked at it in more detail.
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- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
Edited by - Delwa on 12 Apr 2015 18:56:33
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 12 Apr 2015 : 20:39:13
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| Supposed to have my copy delivered Tuesday. Interested to take a look and see what's what. |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - 13 Apr 2015 : 18:09:00
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I'm interested to know what you think. I read Chapter Two from start to finish last night.
I'm not intimately familiar with any prior lore on the Dessarin Valley, but I enjoyed what I read. I felt that I had enough material to run the region if I wanted to, but I do want to dig into older products and see what further history is there.
I love the way the NPC's were presented. I have enough detail that I'm not just starting from a "Fighter 1, Male" stat block (not that there's anything wrong with those) and having to develop personality on my own. I feel like I have enough tidbits I can flesh out the characters to taste, or just use it as is.
As a campaign sourcebook, I'm happy with the layout and presentation. But if you're going to run adventures, I suggest putting the various NPC's on 3x5 cards and keeping them handy, to avoid flipping back and forth in your book.
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- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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Mapolq
Senior Scribe
Brazil
466 Posts |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - 13 Apr 2015 : 19:24:27
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I'd say that's about right.  Now that you mention it, it does remind me of the Cormyr, Shadowdale, and Anarouch series of adventures as far as its organization and layout. Maybe even a little like Mysteries of the Moonsea?
But the focus of the book is definitely more on the Campaign story arch.
Edited for Clarification. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
Edited by - Delwa on 13 Apr 2015 19:29:03 |
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My First Impressions on Princes of the Apocalypse
