tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post7658086018310946578..comments2024-03-26T00:09:13.941-07:00Comments on Dungeon of Signs: TOMB OF ANNIHILATION - A ReviewUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-16418893980235625582018-03-24T18:21:34.719-07:002018-03-24T18:21:34.719-07:00I feel like this hits the same problem Out of the ...I feel like this hits the same problem Out of the Abyss did. Give the players a reason to go to Chult (the Underdark), on some kind of other level-appropriate errand, *then* wrap them up in the campaign story later. OotA is set in this bizarred alternate universe Underdark where everyone is waiting for a group of PCs to show up and solve a problem for them. Oh, and demons. Also save the Underdark from a bunch of greater demons.The Veteran Sergeanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08051607146508848504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-47183313453219132042018-03-24T18:18:24.621-07:002018-03-24T18:18:24.621-07:00> Additionally if one archmage is negatively im...> Additionally if one archmage is negatively impacted, certainly other great and powerful entities (dragons, immortal wizards, demi-gods, kings etc.) are going to be affected by this curse. Where are their invading armies and powerful agents? <br /><br />The Suicide Squad conundrum. Where are the DC universe superheroes? Surely they'd be invested in stopping the end of the world. It's presumably where they keep all of their stuff.<br /><br />A lot of the best old school D&D adventures had very little to do with the larger world. A sense of scale is nice, and for the groups that need their PCs to be heroes, it's nice. But yeah, I had the same first question: Why is this an Entry Level adventure setting? Why the heck are a bunch of first-level nobodies getting tasked with saving the world? Doesn't anybody else feel like they should probably do something too? Meanwhile, it's just a handful of random jerks the PCs encounter in the ruins? The Veteran Sergeanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08051607146508848504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-26290228491065489332018-01-06T09:27:40.777-08:002018-01-06T09:27:40.777-08:00Thanks for your excellent review! It’s very thorou...Thanks for your excellent review! It’s very thorough and contains a lot of interesting points that I’ll be thinking about for a while to come...<br /><br />I’m a new DM who only started playing during 5e; I’m very intrigued by your description of nested tables that might generate more interesting encounters but I’ve never seen an example of that before, since I’ve only read 5e products. Would you be able to point me toward an example of such tables so that I could use it to generate some of my own?<br /><br />Thanks!MRGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00099051709573357414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-73485494174006584682017-11-06T09:06:41.588-08:002017-11-06T09:06:41.588-08:00We can always hold out hope (I use the term "...We can always hold out hope (I use the term "we" rather loosely to represent the community in general).<br /><br />[sorry to be a negative nelly...my football team is struggling a bit this season]JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-18698790859740589852017-11-03T13:39:40.180-07:002017-11-03T13:39:40.180-07:00The last two dungeons are quite good and make up 1...The last two dungeons are quite good and make up 1/2 the tome. Perhaps, rekindled the sodden ashes of hope that WotC will get it together sometime rather then won over?<br />Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-59454919844012405172017-11-03T12:57:43.804-07:002017-11-03T12:57:43.804-07:00Huh. You wrote:
"Despite my initial forebodi...Huh. You wrote:<br /><br />"Despite my initial foreboding Tomb of Annihilation won me over - it's by no means a great adventure, but it's solid, interesting and usable in a way that prior 5th edition products haven't been."<br /><br />I kept waiting for the part of the review in which I'd read how ToA "won you over." I don't really see that. I see another massive tome with bits that you might purloin, but otherwise a mammoth waste of time and money. I see a lot of parts in which you expound on ways in which the book is the opposite of "interesting" and "usable." <br /><br />I guess I don't get it.<br /><br />But thanks for the in-depth review. It reaffirms to me that I'm not missing anything by staying the hell away from 5E and WotC's offerings for their latest edition.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-85599088979138088282017-11-01T08:17:13.703-07:002017-11-01T08:17:13.703-07:00I agree that the Dungeons are the strongest part o...I agree that the Dungeons are the strongest part of ToA. The city itself has too much of the cutesy forced narrative and a very limited set of locations that modern WotC products are fond of, but lost jungle cities are inherently great settings so it does okay.<br /><br />The Tomb itself is decent - if one got rid of the constant DC checks...but for me ToA, while the best WotC product to date is still a unusable disorganized mess, something that really shows when WotC's house style tries to stop designing scene based railroads and into keyed adventures - total anarchy.<br /><br />I like ToA because it means that some GMs and players out there are going to get to play a real dungeon crawl rather then get railroaded through another scene based 'epic' of 'exciting' set-piece combats and character sheet based skill checks, but I wouldn't play it myself either simply because the work of prepping for it would be the same as writing up one's own mega-dungeon and jungle crawl. It's a step in the right direction, but WotC has a lot of ground to make up in the race to play catch up with even mediocre indie content.<br /><br />Thanks for the recommendation. Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-20764376223260734742017-11-01T05:44:34.792-07:002017-11-01T05:44:34.792-07:00Wow Gus, that took me three days to read, but what...Wow Gus, that took me three days to read, but what a rewarding read it was. You've basically covered everything I might be curious about regrading Wotc's 5e releases. Thanks for that! It's clear that "Chult" holds zero interest for me. It would be easier and better to simply expand upon something like Drums on Fire Mountain or JG's Jungle of Lost Souls. However I'm really intrigued by the lost city and the Tomb (and how ironic that Wotc merged a Gygax product with a Cook product, considering the animosity between those two). Both tomb and city sound like they have some real potential. I'm tempted to buy the pdf, cut those two out, and transplant them into something much more interesting. At six levels the Tomb of Annihilation actually sounds as if it qualifies as a megadungeon - imagine that! <br /><br />I never ran the Tomb of Horrors, but back in the day, I used to merge The Lost City with Slave Pits of the Undercity - that worked really well.<br /><br /> There's a blog it might be useful to mention https://fireinthejungle.wordpress.com/ that has a terrific amount of RPG jungle material - most of it from 2012-2013 and he has a couple related booklets.DHBoggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170439175265397893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-47317254941016806182017-10-27T07:20:16.823-07:002017-10-27T07:20:16.823-07:00Thank you!Thank you!FM Geisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06185541338779784634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-38808532349460005892017-10-26T14:37:45.042-07:002017-10-26T14:37:45.042-07:00Yes, I too love jungle adventure based on real his...Yes, I too love jungle adventure based on real histories of jungle exploration, the scramble for Africa and the literature of colonialism. I too agree WotC is not the publisher to provide it. Your ideas sound good.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-84519000015457026862017-10-26T10:48:46.021-07:002017-10-26T10:48:46.021-07:00I feel like—trying to solve some of the deficienci...I feel like—trying to solve some of the deficiencies in the product which intrigued me (some thoughts and literary throw ins: sorry for a long first ever comment on your esteemed blog):<br /><br />Steal liberally from the Vorrh: have time in the forest gradually eat willpower; the longer you are in the closer one comes to becoming a living zombie & add a rotting yet decadent colonial outpost that extracts resources by ghouling individuals (and is trying and failing to push back the forest)—allow player travel via differentiating “deep forest” ( 24 hours in save or be dazed, with increasing penalties and severity and the effects are non reversible and cumulative). The effect can be open to interpretation (the rare and valuable goods and fucked up forest is the garden of paradise—or at least the fringe of it—or the bodies of gargantuan dead Gods or some scientific explanation that apes those “zombie” parasites but use pollen).<br /><br />Use history: there are outposts and trade empires linked by trails and boats on the coast and the Interior is foreboding and dangerous yet full of wonder (every city is multifaction and wants to monopolize trade)<br /><br />Steal from apocalypse now: travel mostly involves that party—even outside of the Vorrh like forest—getting increasingly bugged out (and dealing with the stress and logistics of travel)<br /><br />Steal from the heart of darkness/Belgian history: a small empire that separates two growing powerhouses runs a surface benevolent but ultimately cruel and genocidal outpost that is also the core of their economy: end it and spark a very large scale war as two neighbors rush in to feast on the wreckage. The citizens of that nation are unaware about how all their wealth is built on enslavement, death & dismemberment.<br /><br />Fill the area with NPCs who are mad, on the run, money hungry, scientifically curious or otherwise *here* for a discernible purpose, available for faction play and trade and—if they are low on food while traveling—prone to butchering the PCs and taking their shit. Also some low level opportunistic scavengers—the party clears the Yun-Ti temple and comes back to it being looted and camped by low level mercenaries who are converting it to a foreword operating base for one of the factions? <br /><br />Idk I love the idea of like: Super wondrous jungle with many distinct biomes filled with intrigue and deadly nature? But it seems like this WotC product would need some reskinning for my purposes? FM Geisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06185541338779784634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-28889326330667044562017-10-25T16:53:49.031-07:002017-10-25T16:53:49.031-07:00(bookmarks blog, steals jungle of midnight paragra...(bookmarks blog, steals jungle of midnight paragraph for home game) great review sir.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05140366119422135487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-23362329139946295452017-10-25T12:02:20.611-07:002017-10-25T12:02:20.611-07:00Well the book also offers some rather nice maps an...Well the book also offers some rather nice maps and quasi random encounter that aren't bad.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-62943418229537386352017-10-24T22:14:15.501-07:002017-10-24T22:14:15.501-07:00I like the part where you take a dozen pages about...I like the part where you take a dozen pages about the city and give virtually the same information in three paragraphs.Brother Juniperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09699858750281190061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-28786057100061798632017-10-24T13:05:18.437-07:002017-10-24T13:05:18.437-07:00This was informative, thanksThis was informative, thanksBen L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04568198881628052274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-85134846363262925312017-10-24T11:02:51.973-07:002017-10-24T11:02:51.973-07:00That was interesting.That was interesting.pjamesstuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13288777018721199748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-54549994735021830252017-10-24T08:22:01.200-07:002017-10-24T08:22:01.200-07:00Oh the book is 253 pages or so - I think there'...Oh the book is 253 pages or so - I think there's plenty more to say. I for example have a far greater tolerance for usability issues then you, and ToA is a masterclass in barely flipping around in a giant book unable to find stuff.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607464045429311026.post-90154739763368332212017-10-23T15:14:54.150-07:002017-10-23T15:14:54.150-07:00I roll to disbelieve.
... Well poopy, after that ...I roll to disbelieve.<br /><br />... Well poopy, after that review there's nothing left for me to say. Nicely done.<br />Bryce Lynchhttp://tenfootpole.orgnoreply@blogger.com