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Eremite
Learned Scribe
Singapore
182 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Sep 2005 : 09:25:21
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I really enjoyed SK (except for the absence of maps) but have yet to use the material in my games (although I'm working on it!).
I was wondering if anyone on these boards has used it and, if so, how?
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2005 : 10:57:24
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I´ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, but haven´t used anything in neither of my campaigns yet, and probably won´t for a long time. it just does not go with the themes of our adventures (two different campaigns with several sub-plots), so at the most, i´d use some of the lore therein as background for npc´s, like a yuan ti- hunter who´s talk is dominated by fantasizing about a faerun-wide conspirancy of snake-people... 
again: it´s a GREAT book full of fascinating lore, ...but sadly not of much use for me atm. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2005 : 22:34:57
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I have found all sorts of ways to use the material in my campaign. The PC's have been operating in and around Westgate for several months and I have peppered the lands to the south of there with lots of Sarrukh and Yuan-Ti ruins.
However, recent events caused them to flee Westgate for Cormyr across the sea to the north. But along the way they got shipwrecked somewhere in the Pirate Isles far to the east of their intended destination. This has allowed me to utilize some of the great material in Stormwrack. So I am a very happy DM of late. |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2005 : 02:47:20
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I had a group pass through the area, stopping for a night, but haven't gotten them back there yet. But they will. Oh, yes, they will.... |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
Edited by - Melfius on 12 Sep 2005 02:47:38 |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2005 : 05:48:11
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quote:
Originally posted by warlockco
Only thing I have used with regular basis out of the SK, is the Tren, my PCs have grown to hate those things
Guess that means you can tell them they've at least one thing in common with Arilyn and Danilo |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
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Hymn
Senior Scribe
Sweden
514 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2005 : 10:20:11
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| Well I have begun to ever so slowly incorporate it into one of my camps. My group who is currently in the area of Daggerford, and on militia duty for the city, will run into some crazed Yuan-ti bitch with plans of taking over the Western Heartlands. They have already had a run in with a couple of her minions, a small goblin tribe who reveres her as the night mistress. All though once they begin to move closer to the Yuan-ti's home turf they will begin to run into more slithering creatures. |
Sauro moki kara ochiro - Even monkeys falls from trees.
The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant - Miyamoto Musashi |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2005 : 17:46:16
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I think I've used the book for the Creator Races. I don't really like the Yuan-ti, so I wasn't that focused on using a lot of the so-called intrigue placed in the book. I do like some of the newer monsters, though.
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Danubus
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2005 : 07:58:20
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| I am a DM for a NWN persistant world and Ive been using it quite a bit. Im building an entire Western Heartlands server to canon and Im using a lot of info here to build what I think it would look like. Im also going to try and have players be able to be tainted although the NWN engine and our project doesnt really support it. It will all have to be done with minor coding and roleplaying from the games players. |
ADM Western Heartlands-ALFA |
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Brom Greenstar
Acolyte
Argentina
25 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2005 : 13:13:24
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| as Danubus i'm running a western heartlands campaing (pen and paper) so sk is usefull to me, to bad it doesn't have a map! |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2005 : 14:39:04
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I think that is a major reason I don't use it that much. I really think FR sourcebooks should come with maps. Especially ones describing geographic locations (Shining South, Unapproachable East, et al.).
Oh well, those maps in pages are a pain to quick reference because you need to open like three pages at a time to put the map together. Oh well, we can only hope for the future.
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2005 : 09:01:31
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I'm not really using it at all. I might have to relegate it to the "These Are the 3E Realms Books I Don't Use That Much" section of my bookshelf.
That's the one problem I've seen with placing fluff and crunch together in the same book: If you're a DM who wants to be 'always ready', then you need to lug damn near every book around with you to the game.
That's it; my players are going to have to commute to my house from now on! ;)
J. Grenemyer |
09/20/2008: Tiger Army at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. You wouldn’t believe how many females rode it out in the pit. Santa Cruz women are all of them beautiful. Now I know to add tough to that description.
6/27/2008: WALL-E is about the best damn movie Pixar has ever made. It had my heart racing and had me rooting for the good guy.
9/9/2006: Dave Mathews Band was off the hook at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Never, ever read the game books too literally, or make such assumptions that what is omitted cannot be. Bad DM form, that.
And no matter how compelling a picture string theory paints, if it does not accurately describe our universe, it will be no more relevant than an elaborate game of Dungeons and Dragons. --paragraph 1, chapter 9, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2005 : 09:11:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Sanishiver
I'm not really using it at all. I might have to relegate it to the "These Are the 3E Realms Books I Don't Use That Much" section of my bookshelf.
That's the one problem I've seen with placing fluff and crunch together in the same book: If you're a DM who wants to be 'always ready', then you need to lug damn near every book around with you to the game.
That's it; my players are going to have to commute to my house from now on! ;)
J. Grenemyer
Aye, I wish I could win Powerball, so I can have a full set of books at home and at the game store. Since the game store will allow gaming groups to put in cabinets in the gaming room. And since I know the owners fairly well, wouldn't be hard for my group to get permission for room for a lockable bookcase. |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2005 : 18:22:20
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Heck, that wouldn't be that much... just get a couple numbers from the powerball and you're set. I just need to hit 4 numbers in the Cali lotto and my wife and I'd be set for gaming forever.
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2005 : 20:04:22
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| Hm . . . come to think of it I used it for my wild intelligent ape city thread a while back . . . |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 00:34:53
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
Heck, that wouldn't be that much... just get a couple numbers from the powerball and you're set. I just need to hit 4 numbers in the Cali lotto and my wife and I'd be set for gaming forever.
C-Fb
I'm Talking my ENTIRE Library. 1E and 2E material along with all my 3E material. So yes I would need to hit the entire Powerball, especially since I owe alot of family money too.
Once I get done with my Daggerford, Age of Worms conversion. Still working on it, so many NPCS in the North boxed set <whimper>
I plan on adding some Tren encounters as part of the random encounters that the players can run into around Lizard Marsh. Along with some of the other critters. |
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msatran
Learned Scribe
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2005 : 22:08:12
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I really HATE Serpent Kingdoms. I use it, but I hate it. Was it really necessary to statblock powerful Lizard Men who once ruled the world?
Here's how that works in my game. DM: It looks like this guy might be one of the ancient lizard men who used to rule the world.
PC's: I don't think we can fight this guy. Let's get out of here...
The entire point of the Realms was that the ancient stuff was ours to make up. Now we don't have that anymore. Instead we have tons of information about the crown wars, all these other things...
BUT WE STILL DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATED INFORMATION ON...OH...I DON'T KNOW...THE SWORD COAST NORTH! THE LANDS OF INTRIGUE! THE WESTERN HEARTLANDS! THE DALES!
We need this stuff FAR more than we need a sourcebook that contains four pages of a CR33 undead creature. |
Edited by - msatran on 25 Oct 2005 22:10:29 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:06:01
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
I think that is a major reason I don't use it that much. I really think FR sourcebooks should come with maps. Especially ones describing geographic locations (Shining South, Unapproachable East, et al.).
Oh well, those maps in pages are a pain to quick reference because you need to open like three pages at a time to put the map together. Oh well, we can only hope for the future.
C-Fb
And they should be fold-out maps! The new Waterdeep map was annoying because you have to flip pages back and forth.
In the not too distant future, I'll be buying the old City of Splendors box set...
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"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:09:33
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Heck yeah, RF....
That is so on my list of box sets to get. That I want to pick up Spellbound. I need those to round out my geography of the Realms. Excellent call!
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:16:48
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*grins*
As for Serpent Kingdoms, I haven't picked it up yet simply because the subject just doesn't "click" with me. With Waterdeep, I'm going to read about some of my favorite Realms characters. But Serpent Kingdoms? There isn't as much of an emotional connection there, even if the Realmslore is good and the topic is interesting. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:23:26
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Are you saying you don't like the dinosaurs of Chult?
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:27:29
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
Are you saying you don't like the dinosaurs of Chult?
C-Fb
Oh! Well, the dinosaurs are cool...
But I generally prefer people and their lore over "monsters", hence my shying away from the more "monster-themed" sourcebooks (not just FR, but D&D in general). |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:31:44
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You know, Ubtao might be upset.
I understand... sometimes too much crunch is a definite turn-off. That's why I am looking forward to Mysteries of the Moonsea, supposed to major ideas and themes... love it!
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:40:13
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quote:
Originally posted by CrennenFaerieBane
You know, Ubtao might be upset.
I understand... sometimes too much crunch is a definite turn-off. That's why I am looking forward to Mysteries of the Moonsea, supposed to major ideas and themes... love it!
C-Fb
Me too. :) I'll take fluff any day of the week. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 03:52:10
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Serpent Kingdoms is my least favourite FR source book for a number of reasons
1) I dont like the scattered format, the Book is all over the place from the Western Heartlands to the Vilhon reach to Chult to the Shining South.
2) Im predominately a Moonsea and Dalelands DM so Im unlikely to use most the SS material anytime soon
3) NO MAPS!!! How can they write such a scattered book and not include any maps?! |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2005 : 04:24:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Serpent Kingdoms is my least favourite FR source book for a number of reasons
1) I dont like the scattered format, the Book is all over the place from the Western Heartlands to the Vilhon reach to Chult to the Shining South.
2) Im predominately a Moonsea and Dalelands DM so Im unlikely to use most the SS material anytime soon
3) NO MAPS!!! How can they write such a scattered book and not include any maps?!
1 and 2 didn't bother me so much as 3. Lack of maps is a bad thing, especially for a book covering such a broad area as this one. |
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Bocklin
Learned Scribe
Germany
151 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2005 : 14:54:27
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Actually I used it quite a bit. The campaign I am DMing is set in the Silver Marches and I organised a revamped, adapted version of "the Speaker in Dreams" based in Yartar.
Instead of a Mind-Flayer, the Boss was a Dark Naga with levels in the Naga Slavemaster PrC (not "slavemaster", but don't remember the exact name). I had him be originally from the Serpent Hills. Also, instead of wererats I used weresnakes and there was a whole "serpentkind" atmosphere.
All in all it worked quite well. I also added an ancient portal linking the Baron's keep to the Serpent Hills, as kind of opening for my players in case they were interested in investigating more "serpent areas", but they did not buy in and simply went back to Everlund after saving the city from the scaly menace.
Bocklin |
Edited by - Bocklin on 03 Nov 2005 15:01:07 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36803 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2005 : 17:36:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Bocklin
I also added an ancient portal linking the Baron's keep to the Serpent Hills, as kind of opening for my players in case they were interested in investigating more "serpent areas", but they did not buy in and simply went back to Everlund after saving the city from the scaly menace.
Bocklin
If you want to lead them back, you could have a new threat come thru the portal, menace the area, and then flee when they're about to kill it... |
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2005 : 18:28:48
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I think the main problem with this book is that it presents a bunch of creatures and basically tells us that they are already better than the average denizen of Faerun and the only reason that haven't taken over everything is purely a game of numbers. I mean, I know they're arrogant, but that's stupidity.
C-Fb |
Still rockin' the Fey'ri style. |
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Bocklin
Learned Scribe
Germany
151 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2005 : 19:35:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
If you want to lead them back, you could have a new threat come thru the portal, menace the area, and then flee when they're about to kill it...
Yep. But I don't like to be too "controlling". 
It was more like "opening a door". I left some heavy hints, so if they had been interested in an adventure where they fight against serpent-things in their own territory they could have chosen to have it.
Now they went back to Everlund and are busy trying to decypher an old Elven Poem that they found a couple of scenarios (and nearly two real time years!) before to see if they can figure out where the old tomb of an evil witch-cleric of Aurile is.
I have planted so many hints and lead on in the past adventures that I could keep them busy for the next two years if they follow them all... The advantage is that they get to choose their type of scenario themselves (i.e. monster hunt through the snake-portal or treasure hunt with the old Elven Poem).
Bocklin |
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Eremite
Learned Scribe
Singapore
182 Posts |
Posted - 07 Nov 2005 : 08:56:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Bocklin
(snip)The campaign I am DMing is set in the Silver Marches and I organised a revamped, adapted version of "the Speaker in Dreams" based in Yartar. (snip)
I really like the ideas you posted. I might try the same but set in Uthmere. |
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Serpent Kingdoms- anyone using it?
