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Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:45 am
by Treebore
Plus they have several settings, small to rather large, one or more of which may strike your fancy.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:07 pm
by Buttmonkey
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Forgotten Realms,
Nope.
Dark Sun,
Still no.
Planescape settings
Negative.
and no one can doubt that they highly resonated with their fan base.
I'll spot you that one. Those campaign settings definitely had fan bases that enjoyed them.
The new hardcovers for adventures? GREAT IDEA!
HORRIBLE IDEA!
Taking a single campaign and putting it into 2 hard cover books that take you from levels 1-7 & 7-15? HELL YES!
HELL NO!

All that said, 5E is a good game. While our tastes in adventure scope and campaign settings may differ, I'm guessing we'll both like 5E.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:11 pm
by Arduin
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 4:27 pm
by Michael Montalto
I understand that there will be a group of people who don't enjoy certain settings and that it's not an absolute. My point was that we can't argue their overall commercial success. Those settings (Forgotten Realms, DragonLance, etc.) were merely examples of TSR/WoTC ability to create content that is adopted by the masses.

As I mentioned, I'm anxiously awaiting the Codex of Aihrde because I would like to get just as deep into a native C&C environment as I had previously with Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. I like the idea of having a setting that I can bring to life with background information, Gods, a world map, cities, cultures, legends, heroes, super villains, etc.

As for adventures, one of the big selling points for me on C&C was it's adaptability for older 1E/2E modules. I am actively going to run my family through Ravenloft. Everyone should play that adventure once in their life (minimum) IMO.

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:24 pm
by Treebore
I like Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Mystara and bits and pieces of Planescape, Dark Sun, etc... but not their entirety. I also like adventures being compiled into nice, long lasting, hard covers, rather than multiple, easy to damage, soft covers. Especially if they are also offered as a PDF.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:37 pm
by Michael Montalto
Treebore wrote:I like Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Mystara and bits and pieces of Planescape, Dark Sun, etc... but not their entirety. I also like adventures being compiled into nice, long lasting, hard covers, rather than multiple, easy to damage, soft covers. Especially if they are also offered as a PDF.
I couldn't agree with you more. I have high hopes for the C&C primary campaign setting. I realize it's a tall order but I think that C&C could learn from WoTC in their next kickstarter for any mega adventures and add a reward option for making the book to be hardcover. I truly believe that the Trolls have a major leg up with their PDF offerings (I know that Gary wasn't a fan of them) and that their core base of fans are going to make purchases to support the organization.

I think the framework for C&C is rock solid and the system is next to perfect. I would like to see a rapid development into campaign settings and well thought out adventures that are presented in an excellent way. Gygax excelled at telling stories. I would adore a classic mega adventure like the ToEE or Queen of the Spiders.

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:57 pm
by Treebore
The Trolls have compiled adventures into a hard cover before. They did it with the Haunted Highlands KS. There is a boxed set soft cover compilation of the A series too, so when A 13 finally comes out, hopefully as part of a KS for it, a hard cover compilation will be an option.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:19 pm
by Michael Montalto
Treebore wrote:The Trolls have compiled adventures into a hard cover before. They did it with the Haunted Highlands KS. There is a boxed set soft cover compilation of the A series too, so when A 13 finally comes out, hopefully as part of a KS for it, a hard cover compilation will be an option.
That would be amazing. I just finished up A0 and will be heading into A1.

What are your thoughts on that series of adventures? Does it scale well? Are there any truly memorable moments/characters/treasures/etc for the story arc? What is your opinion of the story arc?

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:27 pm
by Treebore
Michael Montalto wrote:
Treebore wrote:The Trolls have compiled adventures into a hard cover before. They did it with the Haunted Highlands KS. There is a boxed set soft cover compilation of the A series too, so when A 13 finally comes out, hopefully as part of a KS for it, a hard cover compilation will be an option.
That would be amazing. I just finished up A0 and will be heading into A1.

What are your thoughts on that series of adventures? Does it scale well? Are there any truly memorable moments/characters/treasures/etc for the story arc? What is your opinion of the story arc?

-mM
I've ran up through A6, and played in nwelte's game up through A8 or A9. While there were some problems, like with the descriptive text matching up with the map, such as the module with the ziggurat in it (A3?), the games were definitely fun. However I did add in other modules, because you can't level up on just what is in the series alone, so I added in parts of Keep on the Borderlands, Goodman Games Mysterious Tower and Fingers of the Forsaken Hand, and Halfings Hall by TLG. After A6, none of the others had been published at the time I ran my game, so I then put together my own module picks and stuff I did myself to have my group reach a conclusion for the Aufstrag series, which culminated in permanently banishing Unklar by bringing the All Father back to life by literally collecting his bones, which had been made into a number of Runemark artifacts. Which is why I have my version of the Runemark in my House Rules, which I adapted from the D20 adventure, Winter Runes, which is all we had available at the time telling us about the Runemarks, etc...

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:42 am
by Zudrak
Arduin wrote:
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.
Our Dragonlance campaign of 8(?) players ceased when an NPC who was clearly killed was brought back for the next adventure no matter what happened at the gaming table. Choo choo!

Image

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:06 am
by Arduin
Zudrak wrote:
Arduin wrote:
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.
Our Dragonlance campaign of 8(?) players ceased when an NPC who was clearly killed was brought back for the next adventure no matter what happened at the gaming table. Choo choo!
What an "imaginative" DM :roll:

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:08 am
by Treebore
Yeah, I HATE the Dragonlance modules, but I like the setting. The only reason I own the modules is because of the great locations mapped out in them.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:09 am
by Treebore
Arduin wrote:
Zudrak wrote:
Arduin wrote:
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.
Our Dragonlance campaign of 8(?) players ceased when an NPC who was clearly killed was brought back for the next adventure no matter what happened at the gaming table. Choo choo!
What an "imaginative" DM :roll:
Unless it was Fistandauntulous (sp?). Since he was/is a god, you can't kill him.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:49 pm
by Michael Montalto
You have to give credit to Hickman. He created Strahd and Lord Soth. Both are truly epic characters that were very well illustrated and brought to life with outstanding background stories.

I agree with you that the modules were lacking in depth and weren't very fun to play. The novels were a cornerstone of my childhood however. I really think that they could have done a lot more with that setting than they did but overall, I'm totally happy with the novels.

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 4:11 pm
by Arduin
Michael Montalto wrote:You have to give credit to Hickman. He created Strahd and Lord Soth. Both are truly epic characters that were very well illustrated and brought to life with outstanding background stories.

I agree with you that the modules were lacking in depth and weren't very fun to play. The novels were a cornerstone of my childhood however. I really think that they could have done a lot more with that setting than they did but overall, I'm totally happy with the novels.

-mM
I can see that. A fond childhood memory that carried over to liking a setting based on that. Those books didn't appear until I was much older and were written for a younger audience. Probably why I didn't like the setting.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:18 pm
by Treebore
Michael Montalto wrote:You have to give credit to Hickman. He created Strahd and Lord Soth. Both are truly epic characters that were very well illustrated and brought to life with outstanding background stories.

I agree with you that the modules were lacking in depth and weren't very fun to play. The novels were a cornerstone of my childhood however. I really think that they could have done a lot more with that setting than they did but overall, I'm totally happy with the novels.

-mM
The setting wasn't really all that fleshed out until the 3E material came out for it. Sure, a lot of material was put out, much of it the same as what was then released for 3E, but in 3E it was done much more cohesively, and is when I really took a liking to it.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:53 am
by Zudrak
Arduin wrote:
Zudrak wrote:
Arduin wrote:
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.
Our Dragonlance campaign of 8(?) players ceased when an NPC who was clearly killed was brought back for the next adventure no matter what happened at the gaming table. Choo choo!
What an "imaginative" DM :roll:
I was 12! *runs away, sobbing*

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:56 am
by Zudrak
Treebore wrote:Yeah, I HATE the Dragonlance modules, but I like the setting. The only reason I own the modules is because of the great locations mapped out in them.
Yep. Excellent maps and artwork. Novels were actually really good, IMO. Playing the novels? No.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:18 pm
by Jyrdan Fairblade
Yeah, my recollection of the modules was that you were pretty much boned if you tried to do something different from the novels. Super-railroad-y.

I still have my original copy of Leaves of the Inn of the Last Home. I love some of the recipes, though I still haven't made them all.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:41 pm
by dachda
Zudrak wrote:
Arduin wrote:
Zudrak wrote:
Arduin wrote:
Buttmonkey wrote:
Michael Montalto wrote:I think we have all enjoyed the Dragonlance,
Not me.
Yeah, I think the only setting of those mentioned that any of our groups had any liking of was Dark Sun. And only for a short time. I cannot think of any post 2E TSR setting that I would pay money for.
Our Dragonlance campaign of 8(?) players ceased when an NPC who was clearly killed was brought back for the next adventure no matter what happened at the gaming table. Choo choo!
What an "imaginative" DM :roll:
I was 12! *runs away, sobbing*
Crap. I think I just wet my pants laughing!

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:06 pm
by finarvyn
I've been running 5E for around a year and playing it for more than twice that (if you include all of the "next" playtest rounds.) A couple of thoughts regarding some topics which have come up in this thread.

1. I think that I enjoy levels character 2-6 the most. I'll say that level 1 characters are pretty fun, but they start to become more cool at level 2 when they have a few more HP and can do a few more things. After level 6 or so I feel like there are just too many kewl powerz and such. Too many details to juggle.

2. I strongly dislike the hardback module concept. I find it hard to find what I want and have a tough time justifying a $50 price tag for a "disposable" item. Rulebooks are always good, but modules are really once-through and done.

3. I wish they would diversify settings a bit more, since I've never been much of a Forgotten Realms guy. Give me some Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, and so on, but not adventure after adventure in the Realms.

4. I've been pretty happy with the Goodman Games "Fifth Edition Fantasy" product line. Short non-hardbacks, well written, fun storylines. I've run a couple old TSR monochrome modules in 5E, some Goodman DCC RPG modules with 5E and am thinking about some Troll Lord C&C modules using 5E as well. I think there are a lot of good modules out there if one looks around a bit.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 12:58 am
by Michael Montalto
I prefer to have everything in hard back if possible. I personally think that WoTC simply charges the maximum for what they can get away with.

One of the reasons why I love C&C (amongst many) is that I can get the books and the PDF's for nearly the same price (or lower) than I can purchase the WoTC products. I build my library with hard covers and my boys really enjoy them. They like the tactile feel of the book in their hands. As I'm an IT pro, it's hard for me to avoid using anything in electronic format because it's just so easy for me to quickly find the data that I'm looking for and keep my entire library on my Mac. Add to that my Evernote notebook and it just makes things super easy and less time consuming. I tend to buy both the printed book and the PDF anytime they are available. I do this also because I want to support the company.

Back to the hardcover modules. I don't think it would be worth it for a normal adventure. I think it makes a ton of sense however to do it in "super modules". I LOVE the idea of A1-A13 being put together as a super module in a full color hardcover version. I would buy that (and the PDF) in a heartbeat. I'm certain they could do it as a stretch reward in a kick starter if they wanted to do it.

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:59 am
by Daniel
So WotC is going to kill their Forums. Say people today do not need a forum to discuss a companies products or to aid the company communicate with their fan base. Twitter is good enough. :roll:

Wonder how long it will be before they close the web site itself. :lol:

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:41 am
by ssfsx17
Daniel wrote:So WotC is going to kill their Forums. Say people today do not need a forum to discuss a companies products or to aid the company communicate with their fan base. Twitter is good enough. :roll:

Wonder how long it will be before they close the web site itself. :lol:
Sounds like their profit margins on D&D 5e were not enough for Hasbro to allow it to exist, especially compared to Magic: The Gathering and other stuff. Which is a shame. In my opinion, if it's still turning a profit, then you're best off keeping it alive. Corporate hatchetmen prefer short-term quarterly results, sadly.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:06 am
by Daniel
ssfsx17 wrote: Sounds like their profit margins on D&D 5e were not enough for Hasbro to allow it to exist, especially compared to Magic: The Gathering and other stuff. Which is a shame. In my opinion, if it's still turning a profit, then you're best off keeping it alive. Corporate hatchetmen prefer short-term quarterly results, sadly.
Just to be clear, it is all of their forums, not just D&D. All Forums including Magic etc.

They were clear they feel social media is now the way to communicate with their fan base and a forum is no longer needed.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 12:23 pm
by Arduin
Daniel wrote:So WotC is going to kill their Forums. Say people today do not need a forum to discuss a companies products or to aid the company communicate with their fan base. Twitter is good enough. :roll:

Wonder how long it will be before they close the web site itself. :lol:
Well, they refused to use the Forums to prevent the debacle that was 4E from happening. So, having a forum where no one EFFECTIVELY listens to customers is pretty useless anyway. Twitter is mainly a medium of broadcast rather than interaction. Not a good replacement as the VAST majority of people don't even have twitter accounts. FB is gong down the drain for a few years now.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 1:56 pm
by finarvyn
My problem with the forums was two-fold:

(1) Content was not well organized, so that "out of print" included OD&D, AD&D, 2E, 3E, d20, 3.5E, and 4E. That's just too many editions all squished into one space, and they don't have enough in common to be in one place. You could justify an OD&D/AD&D/2E space and a 3E/4E space, but not everything from 1975 through 2000 works well with other things from that same timespan.

(2) I had issues with the software. WotC changed something a year or two ago which made navigation harder and the forums were frustrating to wade through. I don't know if that's a fault of my computer or their system, but it was a pretty abrupt change and I had to pretty much abandon going there once it happened.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:43 pm
by Jyrdan Fairblade
I liked the organization of the D&D forums. Migrating back to ENWorld, it just seems so chaotic there.

It’s still mind-boggling that they’re shutting down. Heck, even since they’ve announced it, there’ve been new people showing up to post there. But hey, I thought cancelling Dragon magazine made no sense either.

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 10:05 pm
by Michael Montalto
I'm not certain if I simply enjoy forums more than social media due to being old school or not, but I can say this, Twitter is NOT a great alternative to a forum. I completely agree that Twitter is best for broadcasting rather than conversation. As much as I liked it when I first started using it, I go there now more for the ability to scan for news than I do anything else. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had a conversation on that medium that lasted longer than 5 tweets.

I rather enjoy forums for the sense of community and focus that they bring.

-mM

Re: D&D 5th Edition Discussion

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 4:55 pm
by finarvyn
Jyrdan Fairblade wrote:I thought cancelling Dragon magazine made no sense either.
Agreed. Dragon magazine was the last of the big time RPG magazines devoted to the games I like. I'm not counting the Crusader because its publication has been so random, and Gygax mag hasn't been around long enough for me to have a good feel for its content. Even as it moved on to 3E content, I still subscribed to Dragon and enjoyed reading it. (I also know that White Dwarf is still out there, but it hasn't been a general RPG magazine for a very long time.)