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Markustay
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  04:32:51  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Interestingly, the MtG guys are working on releasing the next set, Ixalan - a realm with dinosaurs. Coincidence?

Also pirates, undead (vamps), goblins, and merfolk. Of course, the undead in ToA are liches, AFAIK. Chult still has its Jungle goblins, right?

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 01 Oct 2017 04:57:08
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moonbeast
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  06:29:07  Show Profile Send moonbeast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Just got it today. Barely had a chance to read it, but man they ruined the al-mi'raj by focusing on the 1e and not the 2e version. I mean it was nothing special before, but its main ability was that this unicorn-horned rabbit could basically teleport short distances, so it became something interesting to hunt. Then of course, there were the rare psionic ones that could control wind, control light, telekinetically hurl stuff, levitate and set stuff on fire. Granted, the psionic ones were funny, but the others at least giving them the teleportation made them interesting....



Just started reading my copy. Overall, ToA looks solid, has lots of great info. Plus the full sized continental-sized Chult Poster Map insert is a huge bonus. Great production values.

And yeah, I did look at the Almiraj bunnicorn…. and I thought the stats were quite uninteresting, nothing to write home about. Then again, I did like the fact that they said the DM should consider the Almiraj an option for Wizard familiar. Awesome!

And I remember that most familiars (cats, badgers, ravens) are ordinary un-interesting animals. Although a few Familiar creatures really do stand out: Pseudogragon, Tressym, Quasit, Imp, etc.

Acererak ranks up as a CR 23 monster, which rates him at the level of 5E's other Demon Lords (Rage of Demons etc), etc. I thought Ras Nsi was under-statted being only a CR 7 monster. He is after all a "cover art villain" (he appears on the cover of several ToA products, like the D&D minis, etc) for this campaign, and Ras Nsi is more likely to be encountered and fight the PCs than Acererak (who may not even present himself to the PCs). Given his genocidal history of the great evils he has done, Ras Nsi should be stronger with higher stats. I'd say at least a CR 10 creature.

In any case, minor stat/challenge discrepancies don't ruin this for me. As a DM, I could easily make Ras Nsi a higher CR boss monster if it makes it a better challenge for the PCs. I could also re-instate a minor Almiraj ability like the previous editions, maybe giving the creature a minor teleport ability similar to blink dogs or displacer beasts. But I'll go bug Jeremy Crawford first, they do sometimes change their minds and make some minor rules changes (in the form of Official Errata) based on player feedback.


Edited by - moonbeast on 01 Oct 2017 06:41:59
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moonbeast
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  06:34:00  Show Profile Send moonbeast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

Interestingly, the MtG guys are working on releasing the next set, Ixalan - a realm with dinosaurs. Coincidence?

Also pirates, undead (vamps), goblins, and merfolk. Of course, the undead in ToA are liches, AFAIK. Chult still has its Jungle goblins, right?



Ixalan is already released a few days ago. They've been working on it for months, probably at the same time that Tomb of Annihilation was in production.

And did you notice one thing in common? Both Ixalan and Tomb of Annihiation feature the "feathered dinosaurs", which is the modern re-imagining of Jurassic lizards. I'm talking about feathered Tyrannosaurs, feathered velociraptors.

About 20+ years ago, the Hollywood/fiction trope was that those nasty carnivorous dinos were ferocious sleek lizard-like predators (as portrayed in Jurassic Park). But more recent discoveries by archaeologists have supported that T-Rex likely had (some) feathers!

Both Ixalan and Tomb of Annihilation feature feathered dinos.

Edited by - moonbeast on 01 Oct 2017 17:14:06
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Markustay
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  06:55:10  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm thinking this AP/setting need a city of intelligent gorillas. Every setting has a city of intelligent gorillas (I believe the Conan/Kull ones were even shapeshifters). I am sure Richard Lee Bryers would give that his stamp of approval.

quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast

I thought Ras Nsi was under-statted being only a CR 7 monster. He is after all a "cover art villain" (he appears on the cover of several ToA products, like the D&D minis, etc) for this campaign, and Ras Nsi is more likely to be encountered and fight the PCs than Acererak (who may not even present himself to the PCs). Given his genocidal history of the great evils he has done, Ras Nsi should be stronger with higher stats. I'd say at least a CR 10 creature.
Was that the same guy that was the antagonist in the Ring of Winter? Yeah, CR7 is way too low for a dude who's been around a thousand years... he may even be older than Elminster.

OH, and he's a Chosen, so YEAH... WAY too low. LOL

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 01 Oct 2017 06:58:33
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  15:32:59  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I dunno... Ras Nsi's power comes from Ubtao, and unless they change him for the book, it's all he can do. Yes, he's been around for half of forever, and he's got the literal undead hordes -- but that's it. He isn't a high-level necromancer or anything else -- just a guy who uses a divine ability to raise the dead.

He's had that one ability for years, and it's all he's needed -- so he didn't develop anything else. You take away his one ability, and he's got nothing.

It's like a general in an army. The general has a lot of power because of his position -- but he himself may not be all that.

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moonbeast
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  17:12:11  Show Profile Send moonbeast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, in a minor defense of the ToA campaign, they do give a reason as to why Ras Nsi is "weak"…..

SPOILER Alert:

….it's because he's cursed by his ally-of-convenience Acererak. The curse is akin to a progressively necrotic/debilitating disease. And dumb Ras Nsi doesn't know that it's Acererak that is responsible for his curse! But part of the campaign is that the PCs will discover this, and can attempt to use this information to turn Ras Nsi against Acererak.


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Markustay
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  17:32:22  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well then, that makes some sense, but its an awfully convenient McGuffin to nerf a major character in Chult. It also seems kind of weird Ubtao allows this to go on, but then again, Ubtao is more of a non-entity, most of the time.

I would think age alone (after a millennia) would make you a canny adversary, even without any powers. His wisdom should be around 25 (IMG, I have I have it where wisdom increase with each century of life, so most humans don't really get to enjoy this phenomena). It also helps explains why the more ancient a chromatic dragon is, the less-likely it is (usually) to just act impulsively and 'attack on sight' - you can actually make deals with older chromatics. But of course, unless we have some VERY old dinosaurs, I've gone a bit off-topic.

Which brings me back around to Acerarak, and why they used him here - it seems he is the only lich who is impervious to this 'with age comes wisdom' rule-of-thumb. No matter how powerful he is, he still acts like a monster in a dungeon, instead of some ancient, diabolical entity (like Larloch, or Vecna). He is the ultimate 'underachiever'. LOL

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 02 Oct 2017 07:03:22
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 01 Oct 2017 :  18:58:03  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I still don't see an issue with Ras Nsi having a low power level...

To be one of Ubtao's barae requires only two things: an above-average Wisdom and an open slot among the barae. That's it. It's nothing special... Artus Cimber could have had that position, if he wanted it, and he wasn't a local or a follower of Ubtao.

Nsi has had his ability to make a literal undead army for most of his existence... Even the most powerful necromancer can't raise undead the way Nsi does.

The locals aren't a threat to him; he's a bara of their deity, and even if they felt like going against him, he's surrounded by undead. Non-locals aren't going to be a threat to him, also because of that army of the undead.

And with his control over the undead, there is no need for him to directly involve himself in anything... So while I would agree that simple age would raise his Wisdom score, I would also say that he's had no need to do anything that would increase his XP, and thus he's stayed at a low level.

You don't need high levels when you've got enough minions to deal with all of your problems.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 01 Oct 2017 19:59:18
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TomCosta
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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  01:36:45  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I would just add that in 5E your challenge rating is nothing like your level. You could be an 11th level yuan-ti spellcaster with a flametongue sword and bracers of defense and have a challenge rating of say 7 because the CR is based on fighting a party of individuals at a certain level. (Plus, 5E's math is purposefully friendlier to having low level creatures having impact , so a swarm or kobolds could still be a threat to a high-level characters (in contrast to 3E) and you don't need 4E's minion rules at all.)
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  02:16:50  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I have to ask, would this be a good book for non-gamers, or is it mainly an adventure module?



Its more of an adventure module. However, it does give a modest amount of update to Chult.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  02:56:42  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So, one of the things I'm noting. The nine trickster gods of Omu. They "possess" a host, but they can basically only "ride them" and subtly "influence them". They share the person's experiences. While they "ride" you, you gain certain special abilities that are related to that being. Sounds almost exactly like Vestiges, except for the part where they can only "possess" someone who comes into contact with something inside of this dungeon. That being said, I would expand the ability that "binders" have to include not just beings trapped where vestiges go, but also spirits in the world, and these are definitely primal spirits. In my variation of warlocks that are called "spirit shamans" and my other variation called "occultist binders" (in the complete red book of spell strategy) these would make excellent entities that can be now called canon spirits to be bound for certain abilities (for instance, I'jin the al'miraj would make an excellent spirit that you call upon to increase your dexterity) and it also gives you an idea of their personalities.

Throw in here some other interesting "facts" regarding this new Omu culture and this adventure. In 3e, Acererak was a vestige as well (so prior to 1386 at least)... not sure if he was ever mentioned in 4e.


putting some spoiler space. It won't really ruin the adventure, but some may not want to know the history.





ToA page 92
The Omuans' greed and hubris angered the gob Ubtao, causing him to turn his back on Omu two hundred years ago -- long before he abandoned the rest of Chult

So, let's call that roughly the 1289'ish timeframe with maybe an additional couple decades tagged on.

Then we have the nine trickster gods showing up and offering "power" to the Omu people. Then ToA page 92 again

For nine decades, the city folk, the city folk lived by the mantras of their trickster gods.
So, now we're talking possibly around ~1379 - ish.... so just around the time of the spellplague.

Then ToA page 92 again

A little over a century ago, Acererak entered Omu and slew all nine trickster gods. He then enslaved the Omuans and forced them to carve out a tombfor their defeated gods. When the tomb was complete, Acererak murdered the Omuans and sealed them in the tomb with their false gods.

So, why did I point all that out? By my looks, something with the spellplague freed Acererak from "the place where vestiges go". He then setup this place as a means to gather soul energy. Ostensibly he's doing it to feed some atropal entity. So, he's "growing an undead god body".

For that matter, what is this atropal? We know that Tenebrous was ALSO a vestige... and he was like an undead god as well.... could the atropal actually be Tenebrous escaped from the place where vestiges were?

Then let's just throw another interesting fact on the fire. Amon was ALSO a vestige who sounded a LOT like Amaunator.... and he ALSO appeared right after the spellplague.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  05:44:02  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Okay, I just flipped thru this book for the first time... I withdraw everything I'd said about Ras Nsi. I was describing the guy from the novel The Ring of Winter -- not the yuan-ti. Yeah, I read how he lost his powers from Ubtao and became a yuan-ti, but I think that was a clumsy way of forcing old lore into a new mold. If I'd written the book, in addition to respinning Acererak, I'd've used that yuan-ti baddie -- but given him an entirely different name and backstory. It would have been easier and less jarring than breaking old lore like that.

They did the same with the Ring of Winter by saying it's a CE intelligent artifact, when it was previously explicitly statted up as something to be used for good. From page 144 of the Heroes' Lorebook: "Another limitation is that the Ring can only serve the powers of good. Any attempt to use it for an evil purpose results in the attempt backfiring on the wielder, much like a poorly worded wish."

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 02 Oct 2017 05:45:26
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Markustay
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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  07:14:10  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So basically they just took the name and dash of backstory and tacked it onto a whole new character. Gotcha.

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Then let's just throw another interesting fact on the fire. Amon was ALSO a vestige who sounded a LOT like Amaunator.... and he ALSO appeared right after the spellplague.
IIRC, Amaunator was 'on the rise' again just before the Spellplague hit.

Of course, if you still wanted to keep that premise, all you'd have to say is that certain priests of Lathander received 'visions' of a return of Amaunator, 'the true sun-god', and thus got the ball rolling ahead of time. There is still some sort of connection there between the two deities, but its gotten weirder, if anything, now that BOTH are around.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone

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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  10:15:15  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

So basically they just took the name and dash of backstory and tacked it onto a whole new character. Gotcha.




Officially, it's the same character.

But if they'd called him something else and not gone with that backstory, then there wouldn't have been anything to connect the old Ras Nsi to the new one. I'm willing to bet (admittedly, with no evidence to back it up) that someone thought up the yuan-ti necromancer as an entirely separate individual, and then someone else decided to use Ras Nsi, just to have a connection to older material, and forced the two together.

I'm kind of wondering if that same philosophy is why Dragonbait appears in this one. It seems odd for him to just show up down in Chult on his own...

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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  12:50:12  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

So basically they just took the name and dash of backstory and tacked it onto a whole new character. Gotcha.

quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas

Then let's just throw another interesting fact on the fire. Amon was ALSO a vestige who sounded a LOT like Amaunator.... and he ALSO appeared right after the spellplague.
IIRC, Amaunator was 'on the rise' again just before the Spellplague hit.

Of course, if you still wanted to keep that premise, all you'd have to say is that certain priests of Lathander received 'visions' of a return of Amaunator, 'the true sun-god', and thus got the ball rolling ahead of time. There is still some sort of connection there between the two deities, but its gotten weirder, if anything, now that BOTH are around.



Yeah, I'm kind of getting a vibe of "the door to the prison was thrown open to save an individual" and instead several prisoners escaped as a result. Now, as you say, we have both Lathander AND Amaunator... and Ra... and Tezca... and possibly several others. Then again, we're also seeing possibly Tezca, and Imix, and Kossuth, and Bazim-Gorag as fire entities..... and Bazim-Gorag was also freed JUST around the spellplague as well. As always, the question is who is who, or are they all separate? The answer, not sure, and create confusion in order to make it believable, because mortals should be confused.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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CorellonsDevout
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Posted - 02 Oct 2017 :  22:07:42  Show Profile Send CorellonsDevout a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There was a belief among some of the Lathanderites that the "Deliverance" would occur, and this would herald the return of Amaunataur. I remember this from the Erevis Cale books. Others of the faith viewed the Deliverance as heresy, and then of course, the Spellplague occurred, and Amaunataur suddenly took Lathander's place.

Now, we have both gods. It could be that they are the same (or aspects of the same), and Amaunataur was "dormant" for a while. Then he took over for a century, but then, with the Sundering, he and Lath "split", kind of like Tyche.

Sweet water and light laughter
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moonbeast
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Posted - 03 Oct 2017 :  17:10:46  Show Profile Send moonbeast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

I would just add that in 5E your challenge rating is nothing like your level. You could be an 11th level yuan-ti spellcaster with a flametongue sword and bracers of defense and have a challenge rating of say 7 because the CR is based on fighting a party of individuals at a certain level. (Plus, 5E's math is purposefully friendlier to having low level creatures having impact , so a swarm or kobolds could still be a threat to a high-level characters (in contrast to 3E) and you don't need 4E's minion rules at all.)



Very true, Tom. The CR rating is the monster's "difficulty rating" based on it (the number) being equal to the a four-party adventurers of the same Level. So a CR 7 monster is actually considered a (more-or-less) even match for a band of four Level 7 adventurers.

But still….. even a 5th edition Frost Giant (an ordinary one) has a higher challenge rating than Ras Nsi. That doesn't sit well with me.


Edited by - moonbeast on 03 Oct 2017 17:16:50
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TomCosta
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Posted - 04 Oct 2017 :  02:24:46  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
But there is also a very good reason why that is in the story, and as others have pointed out he's lost favor with Ubtao, so his chosen abilities are gone.
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moonbeast
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Posted - 04 Oct 2017 :  08:50:29  Show Profile Send moonbeast a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

But there is also a very good reason why that is in the story, and as others have pointed out he's lost favor with Ubtao, so his chosen abilities are gone.



To be fair, everyone has lost favor with Ubtao. Uber just got a hissy fit and left. All his former followers are now on their own.

Maybe Ubes found more grateful worshippers in…. Eberron. He'd be re-imagined there as a steampunkish Mecha-Dinozilla.

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sleyvas
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Posted - 04 Oct 2017 :  13:16:50  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by moonbeast

quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

But there is also a very good reason why that is in the story, and as others have pointed out he's lost favor with Ubtao, so his chosen abilities are gone.



To be fair, everyone has lost favor with Ubtao. Uber just got a hissy fit and left. All his former followers are now on their own.

Maybe Ubes found more grateful worshippers in…. Eberron. He'd be re-imagined there as a steampunkish Mecha-Dinozilla.





I'm fairly certain that the reason he disappeared was that he went to Abeir with Maztica, given that its been strongly hinted that Ubtao is Qotal.

Hmmm, and when I was wondering about that Atropal earlier.... I wonder about Eshdowdow.... child of his? Actually Eshowdow? Child of Eshowdow and Shar? Perhaps Eshowdow was formed as some form of intrigue involving Mask and/or Leira working together a few centuries after Mystryl's fall? Is Eshowdow actually an imperfect "avatar" of this atropal? When Ras Nsi destroyed the majority of the Eshowe tribe did this in essence "stillbirth" this atropal (which would be ironic, since he's now protecting the city feeding it)?

I will also note Faiths and Pantheons entry for Ubtao says "Over time, Ubtao's essence began to fragment into numerous nature spirits, one of which was a shadow entity called Eshowdow. Shar recently absorbed Eshowdow, and her activity might mark the end of the agreement forged with Ubtao with unforeseen results." We also know that Sseth was Set acting in the Chultan Pantheon.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas

Edited by - sleyvas on 04 Oct 2017 13:56:19
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farinal
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Posted - 06 Oct 2017 :  20:41:46  Show Profile Send farinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Also I would like to add that the big poster map is just gorgeous. This adventure has been really my favorite 5E adventure book so far. Great stuff! Good storyline, great setting, nice puzzles and dungeon designs and fun, solid side quests.
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shades of eternity
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Posted - 08 Oct 2017 :  21:49:38  Show Profile  Visit shades of eternity's Homepage Send shades of eternity a Private Message  Reply with Quote
yesh they wrote out saurials. :(

check out my post-post apocalyptic world at www.drevrpg.com
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 08 Oct 2017 :  23:38:36  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by shades of eternity

yesh they wrote out saurials. :(



The Shades inexplicably found and attacked the Lost Vale during the time jump between 3E and 4E.

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TomCosta
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Posted - 08 Oct 2017 :  23:46:47  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Where was the saurial thing mentioned. The Dragonbait entry seems to suggest it, but not definitively. And heh, if they can introduce dragon people (dragonborn, ignoring the lame-ish dragonkin that already existed) to the Realms, they can re-introduce dinosaur people.
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shades of eternity
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Posted - 08 Oct 2017 :  23:54:20  Show Profile  Visit shades of eternity's Homepage Send shades of eternity a Private Message  Reply with Quote
dragonbaits npc's narrative

"very few Saurials dwell in the Forgotten Realms and no saurial communities are believed to exist anywhere in the world."

I spent a good chunk of last year writing them back in and around the Netheril situation.

This also contradicts a ton of previous stuff I found from previous editions.

check out my post-post apocalyptic world at www.drevrpg.com
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 09 Oct 2017 :  01:26:54  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Page 112 of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (note how they also changed the name of the place):

quote:
Tarkhaldale (Lost Dale)
Netherese Dale; Population 10,000

In ancient times, Tarkhaldale was a flourishing mining and farming community, trading with the dwarves of the Desertsmouth Mountains and the human realms of Asram and Hlondath. After the spread of the Great Desert of Anauroch and the destruction of the dwarven mines at Tethyamar, Tarkhaldale was abandoned, left to the orc and goblin tribes of the region. Among the few who remained aware of the land, it became known as the Lost Dale.

In the Year of the Turret (1360 DR), a lizardlike race of humanoids named saurials arrived in the dale, enslaved and carried from their home dimension by the lost god Moander. The saurials broke free and enjoyed decades of peace, carving a home for themselves in the forested hills of the Lost Dale.

Today, Tarkhaldale is once again peopled by human settlers. The Empire of Netheril uncovered the hidden saurial villages of Tarkhaldan and drove its inhabitants underground. Few outside Netheril know of the vale’s existence.


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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 09 Oct 2017 01:27:07
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TomCosta
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Posted - 09 Oct 2017 :  06:58:30  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yeah, neither of those sources strike me as definitive enough and frankly given the magic used to hide the Dale, this could just mean it has been restored in the 5E era. That said, I think I would have Tarkhaldale inhabited by mostly shadar-kai refugees from re-fallen Netheril (at greatly reduced numbers) and have the saurials pop up someplace new, or perhaps Dragonbait's presence in Chult is an indication that they found a portal to somewhere near the Chultan Peninsula or that Grypht created one. (This does beg the question of what happened to Alias and her clones. IIRC, there was no indication that they aged.)
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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Posted - 09 Oct 2017 :  10:10:41  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Given the magic used to hide it, the Shades never should have found it. We saw a near-god who knew it was there, who was flying overhead and specifically searching for it, fail to find it. And I doubt Moander would have picked it for his attempted rebirth if it was that easy to find.

Me, I think that explicitly kicking them out of a home that no one should have been able to find, then failing to mention them again for an entire D&D edition, means they were deliberately removing the saurials from the Realms. If they hadn't mentioned the Lost Vale at all, I'd agree that saurials were still around... But instead, WotC made a point of saying they weren't part of the setting any more.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 09 Oct 2017 10:12:37
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
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Posted - 09 Oct 2017 :  11:10:05  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I get the feeling wooly that you have become more anti wotc than usual. Not that its a bad thing.

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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
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Posted - 09 Oct 2017 :  12:33:44  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

Yeah, neither of those sources strike me as definitive enough and frankly given the magic used to hide the Dale, this could just mean it has been restored in the 5E era. That said, I think I would have Tarkhaldale inhabited by mostly shadar-kai refugees from re-fallen Netheril (at greatly reduced numbers) and have the saurials pop up someplace new, or perhaps Dragonbait's presence in Chult is an indication that they found a portal to somewhere near the Chultan Peninsula or that Grypht created one. (This does beg the question of what happened to Alias and her clones. IIRC, there was no indication that they aged.)



Personally wouldn't be upset to find them in Chult. There are already dinosaurs and pterafolk.

On what happened to them in 4e, I have a suspicion that something was done with them in 4e, because the DM's Guild product, Saurials of the Lost Vale has this dedication. If I had to guess, probably in some dragon or dungeon article by BRJ.

Dedicated to Kate Novak. Without her fine work, this book would not be possible.

To Brian R. James, who saved the Saurials in their darkest edition.

And to the good people at the Candlekeep forums and rpg.net whose insights rekindled an old passion.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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