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Archwizard
Learned Scribe
USA
266 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 02:51:08
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| Yup, I knew about Spellfire. I meant a 3e version. WotC has revived/expanded D&D into every other aspect of gaming (video games, miniatures, non-related card game tie-ins Three Dragon Ante), might as well try a D&D CCG. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36798 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 04:48:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Archwizard
Yup, I knew about Spellfire. I meant a 3e version. WotC has revived/expanded D&D into every other aspect of gaming (video games, miniatures, non-related card game tie-ins Three Dragon Ante), might as well try a D&D CCG.
I don't think it would work, now... It worked, before, because everybody and their brother was pumping out CCGs, and TSR had the brand recognition and all. Now? Well, some CCGs linger, but the days of a market supporting lots of CCGs has passed -- particularly with collectible minis being the current thing. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2006 : 21:58:01
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Just had a chance to sit down with this one for a while at Border's (which I now feel much guiltier for because of the Dragons: World's Aflame thread, but I feel less guilty with game books than with novels . . . so I'll deal with it).
I like the clockwork creatures, as they imediately put me in mind of Trobriand, and even Beatrix from Elaine's Coucilors and Kings books. Though the ones in the books definately lean toward the Trobrian style of constructs. I also like the sheer number of evil fey (lets repopulate the ranks of the Unseelie . . . woo hoo . . . though we still need 3.5 stats for quicklings).
The NPC/Monsters with class levels are okay, and may be useful for "on the fly" stats, but some of them are kind of . . . out there. How many fiendish gnolls/half-fiend gnolls hang out with normal tribes of gnolls?
Still not thrilled with the Spawn of Tiamat, but I'm also still waiting to see Dragons of Faerun. I trust Eric Boyd's ability to make things fit well into the Realms, so maybe my opinion of these creatures will change.
The Realms notes seem kind of hit or miss. Some of them make good sense, but a few seem like afterthoughts, or make you scratch your head and say, "how was that helpful." Also, its always weird when two related monsters are in the book, and only one of them gets a Faerun adaption note.
I'm still on the fence, but the evil fey and elementals are tipping me more to the buy side. |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 21:28:24
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Just had a chance to sit down with this one for a while at Border's (which I now feel much guiltier for because of the Dragons: World's Aflame thread, but I feel less guilty with game books than with novels . . . so I'll deal with it).
I like the clockwork creatures, as they imediately put me in mind of Trobriand, and even Beatrix from Elaine's Coucilors and Kings books. Though the ones in the books definately lean toward the Trobrian style of constructs. I also like the sheer number of evil fey (lets repopulate the ranks of the Unseelie . . . woo hoo . . . though we still need 3.5 stats for quicklings).
The NPC/Monsters with class levels are okay, and may be useful for "on the fly" stats, but some of them are kind of . . . out there. How many fiendish gnolls/half-fiend gnolls hang out with normal tribes of gnolls?
Still not thrilled with the Spawn of Tiamat, but I'm also still waiting to see Dragons of Faerun. I trust Eric Boyd's ability to make things fit well into the Realms, so maybe my opinion of these creatures will change.
The Realms notes seem kind of hit or miss. Some of them make good sense, but a few seem like afterthoughts, or make you scratch your head and say, "how was that helpful." Also, its always weird when two related monsters are in the book, and only one of them gets a Faerun adaption note.
I'm still on the fence, but the evil fey and elementals are tipping me more to the buy side.
Hmm, will have to take another look in the bookstores. Neither the Borders or Barnes & Noble had it on Wednesday, and I hate reading a book at the FLGS. |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 21:49:25
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What is this whole War of Tiamat thing?
EDIT: WOOHOO! New rank! |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
Edited by - GothicDan on 14 Jul 2006 21:49:41 |
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Archwizard
Learned Scribe
USA
266 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 22:14:33
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quote:
Originally posted by GothicDan
What is this whole War of Tiamat thing?
Second. Though I'm guessing Dragons of Faerun will go into more details. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 22:15:46
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Dan, its basically an underlying theme that was first introduced in Races of the Dragon, and sort of in Red Hand of Doom, that Tiamat is making a push to start taking over worlds, and Bahamut is getting more active to oppose her aggresion. The "game effect" is that WOTC introduces a lot of "dragonblood" creatures of various types that are related to dragons. And it gives them the thematic device for the Huge Minis pack they have out.
On the other hand, I'm not sure its a wise element to introduce, since of the nominally supported worlds that WOTC influences, this SHOULD have nothing to do with Eberron or DragonLance, and therefore only Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms would be affected, and Greyhawk is not supported in the traditional sense. Meaning that if anything comes of this, it will be in the Realms, where Tiamat has had limited influence.
I'm not saying elements of it won't work, and I am eagarly looking forward to what Eric Boyd does with it in Dragons of Faerun (which, as I understand it, doesn't have this as a main theme at all, but does help to explain it). But saying that Tiamat is going to start a major offensive and is breeding troops to make a big push, then not really having a setting or adventure in mind to detail it, seems kind of anti-climactic and smacks of "we need a marketing idea for this Year of the Dragon" thing. |
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GothicDan
Master of Realmslore
USA
1103 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2006 : 22:31:22
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| I agree with that. It's weird to me - introducing 'generic' world-wide/major themes and then expecting them to carry-on in the campaign worlds... I hope Eric can carry the idea through with some nice Realmsian lore and logic. I suspect so already. :) |
Planescape Fanatic
"Fiends and Undead are the peanut butter and jelly of evil." - Me
"That attitude should be stomped on, whenever and wherever it's encountered, because it makes people holding such views bad citizens, not just bad roleplayers (considering D&D was structured as a 'forced cooperation' game, and although successive editions are pointing it more and more towards a me-first, min-max game, the drift away from 'we all need each other to succeed' will at some point make it 'no longer' D&D)." - ED GREENWOOD |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 01:08:58
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
I also like the sheer number of evil fey (lets repopulate the ranks of the Unseelie . . . woo hoo . . . though we still need 3.5 stats for quicklings).
I could say something about this, but I won't  |
Edited by - warlockco on 15 Jul 2006 01:09:21 |
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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2006 : 08:53:45
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Went to my FLGS tonight to pick up this book.
Found it on a shelf and immediately looked through it to find the list of creatures by CR (I run a high level/Epic campaign, so the more high CRs the better).
Sadly, right away the book dissapoints me.
And no, not because I couldn't find that many high CRs (which is true, only six creatures with a natural CR of 15 or higher), but because the contents page listed the CR chart on page 221.
Turn to page 221 and what do you get...the list of monsters by type and subtype.
I found the CR list on page 204.
Annoying and dissapointing, that.
Anway, the artwork was more eye-catching to me with the book in my hands, and I found a decent number of sub-CR 15 creatures that I could work with, so I purchased the book.
Truth be told I also bought Secrets of Xen'Drick at the same time, if for no other reason than because looking through it left me more excited than after I looked through the MMIV.
If I can put fear in my player's hearts with this book, it'll have been worth it. If not...well then I'll still think the MMIII is the best MM out there.
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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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2006 : 22:54:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Sanishiver
If not...well then I'll still think the MMIII is the best MM out there.
J. Grenemyer
I always preferred MMII personally... MMIII has too much Eber-whatsit content to my liking  |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 00:31:16
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I like the MMIV, at least from what I've seen of it. Fewer monsters than I'm used to, but they give you some notes on them a la the various "Ecology of" articles, which I like. And certainly the notes on how to use them in a Realms campaign were good.
I like the Spawn of Tiamat, and I love the Lunar Ravagers and Verdant Prince. I'd especially love to see someone do a full "Ecology of the Lunar Ravager" someday; bring on the Wild Hunt! Yet I do wonder -- the LRs seem to be natural Malar worshippers with their love of violence and brutality, but doesn't he hate all Fey? Minor question, yes, but I'm curious. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 03:02:59
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quote:
Originally posted by warlockco
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
I also like the sheer number of evil fey (lets repopulate the ranks of the Unseelie . . . woo hoo . . . though we still need 3.5 stats for quicklings).
I could say something about this, but I won't
Oh, now I get it . . . |
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore
USA
1695 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 07:43:10
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
quote:
Originally posted by warlockco
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
I also like the sheer number of evil fey (lets repopulate the ranks of the Unseelie . . . woo hoo . . . though we still need 3.5 stats for quicklings).
I could say something about this, but I won't
Oh, now I get it . . .
Glad you remembered this, because I had forgotten about it. |
News of the Weird
D20 System Reference Document
D20 Modern System Reference Document
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Beirnadri Magranth
Senior Scribe
USA
720 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 16:56:13
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| i liked the verdant princes in the faerun world |
"You came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory... instead you will die with a whimper."
::moussaoui tries to interrupt::
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
-Judge Brinkema |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2006 : 16:28:34
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| This book is excellent. Spawn of Tiamat is one of the best things to have made its way into my campaign. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Eremite
Learned Scribe
Singapore
182 Posts |
Posted - 20 Sep 2006 : 09:18:24
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| This is one book where I am glad I ignored the (mostly negative)reviews. I would rather have fewer monsters done well with lots of detail than the grab-bag that appears in most other books. |
Best
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2007 : 15:43:26
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| I just got the book, and since I already loved the way the later Ravenloft MCs handled monsters, I immediately LOVED the book. Ready to use stuff, every DM's dream! |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Monster Manual IV
