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Klas
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Posts: 322
Joined: Sun 04 Nov 2012, 19:17

Campaign book feedback

Sun 19 Aug 2018, 13:35

Overall verdict: Very useful!

Strengths:
  • The GM can throw the competing factions around in lots of interesting ways.
  • Legends provide excellent handouts to draw players to sites, characters and items while leaving the details to the GM's discretion.
  • Well thought out key players and numerous other characters. Many of them are very versatile in how they can be introduced and used for various story telling purposes.
  • The amount of information per "thing" is good. Short hooks that make you think, not exhaustive declarations of facts that you have to internalize.
  • None of the factions are "good". All have unpleasant things going on under the surface.
Weaknesses:
  • The material provides intrigue hooks but tends to throw them over board in favor of map exploration. Mostly this is not a problem, but... Stone Garden especially provides an interesting political stage but then the players get entirely removed from that as they go into the site. Releasing Scarne even wipes the site out, barring any exploration of the intrigue hooks. (This is the one thing I'd like to see addressed before the material goes into print.)
  • With the exception of Erinya eating Krasylla, there are no examples of how gods may intervene in ways that directly relate to the religious factions. This strikes me as odd for a setting that is laden with potential of this kind.
  • There is a lot of unused room for drama that involves multiple factions and tie the locations together. Letting the sites affect each other a bit more would have been welcome.
Looking to the future, I'm hoping for:
  • "Hook books" that explore interactions between the factions. (Entire adventures that do so would probably be a mistake as any such material is potentially in conflict with the state of any given campaign.)
  • Tips on how the gods can be given more of a presence in the world.
At any rate I'm very happy with the outcome of this crowd funding. Thank you!
 
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Brior
Posts: 934
Joined: Sat 09 Apr 2011, 10:59

Re: Campaign book feedback

Sun 19 Aug 2018, 14:43

Overall verdict: Very useful!
Thanks Klas. Some comments on the weaknesses you listed below.

Weaknesses:
  • The material provides intrigue hooks but tends to throw them over board in favor of map exploration. Mostly this is not a problem, but... Stone Garden especially provides an interesting political stage but then the players get entirely removed from that as they go into the site. Releasing Scarne even wipes the site out, barring any exploration of the intrigue hooks. (This is the one thing I'd like to see addressed before the material goes into print.)
Given the compact format, there was no space to elaborate on political issues. Hopefully GMs interested can build on what is hinted. A ”Hook book” seems like a good idea. Note that Scarne's doesn't wipe Stonegarden out on release – she seeks vengeance on the Crombe clan elsewhere. I suggested that she might destroy Stonwgarden as well, but that is just an option.

[*]With the exception of Erinya eating Krasylla, there are no examples of how gods may intervene in ways that directly relate to the religious factions. This strikes me as odd for a setting that is laden with potential of this kind.
To me this is a matter of taste. I'm not really keen on direct divine intervention in adventures.
[*]There is a lot of unused room for drama that involves multiple factions and tie the locations together. Letting the sites affect each other a bit more would have been welcome.
You have a point, but the specific instructions were to make the adventure sites independent. Again the suggested ”Hook book” might adress this.
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Keep the feedback coming, guys!

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