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Dungeons, Cities, and Psionics
Posted by
Zonk
on Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:23 PM
from the guess-what-i'm-thinking dept.
from the guess-what-i'm-thinking dept.
It's time to check in with the table-top scene, with a slew of products from earlier this year. With one exception, everything I have to discuss today is from Wizards of the Coast (WotC). The well-known maker of Dungeons and Dragons is having a banner year, a year they've been referring to as the 'Year of Dragons'. Their draco-specific products will get a look here on the site in a month or two, and later this month I should have a full report on the 4th Edition of the Shadowrun RPG. Today, though, we've got demons, psionics, epic-level play, and a second Player's Handbook. Oh yeah, and a 670-page, $120 sourcebook called Ptolus. Read on for my impressions of these great excuses to throw a d20.
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Ed Stark
$29.95, 160 pages
The first in a series of sourcebooks detailing the denizens of the outer planes, Hordes of the Abyss is a title squarely aimed at the GM. Penned by some well-known alumni of Dungeon magazine, this text is a rare accessory, in that almost every D&D GM could make use of it at one point or another. Because of the popularity of the Abyss and its denizens throughout Dungeons and Dragons lore, after a certain point you can be certain your players will either be fighting, summoning, or visiting creatures from this horrific lower plane. It follows the same template as most location-specific sourcebooks; there are new feats, monsters, and spells, and a large section detailing the geography of the area. The most enlightening part of the book deals with the powerful, but fickle, demon princes that rule over the various layers. They're given statistics, but I find the material on who's squabbling with who much more interesting. If your players are even vaguely interested in traveling the planes, plot hooks like Graz'zt's war with Demogorgon or the machinations of Dagon are great ways to get players interested. This is a textbook example of what a great GM accessory should be; concise, specific, and heavily detailed.
Players Handbook II
David Noonan
$34.95, 224 pages
The Dungeon Master's Guide II (DMG II) gave GMs the tools they needed to run a better game. The Player's Handbook II (PHB II) aims to provide players with the tools to make and run a better character. There are some crunchy bits here, with new classes and spells filling out parts of the book, but even more space is spent on coming to understand your character and their place in the world. Every class is given a new look, examining not only what it can do but what role it should play in an adventuring party. How to act as an adventuring party is also explored, with game mechanics assigned to roleplaying elements like camp preparation and team-building exercises. Gamers familiar with White Wolf's titles will recognize the section on character backgrounds: archetypes that a player looking for a hook can exploit to get inside the head of his new avatar. While I'm very glad to have it on my shelf, I don't see this as a required text for every D&D player. There's nothing in here that a player absolutely has to have. New players are probably going to get more out of it than veterans; those who do purchase it will be getting a lot for their money.
Power of Faerûn
Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
$29.95, 160 pages
Power of Faerûn is a GM-specific text that offers reams of advice for dealing with players that are powerful enough to move mountains, found kingdoms, and win wars. Where many other WotC texts focus on mechanics, Power has almost no references to the D&D rules-set; consumers who like their sourcebooks crunchy should be advised. What Greenwood and Boyd fill the book with, instead, are hundreds of plot hooks and guidelines for running high level campaigns. If your players want to become nobility, build a keep, and tame the frontier, this book has exactly what you'll need. It's set in the Realms, of course, but many of the suggestions they make could be easily translated to other fantasy settings with a little work. I'm not sure how many DMs actually run epic-level campaigns, to be truthful, but it is still one of the more useful Realms supplements I've read. While the book is intended for epic play, every chapter is essentially a framework for an entire campaign. I highly recommend this to GMs looking for inspiration and a campaign workbook.
Complete Psionic
Bruce R. Cordell and Christopher Lindsay
$29.94, 160 pages
Unlike the other 'Complete' books, which provide variations on a theme for the core classes, Complete Psionic only increases options for campaigns which use the 'mind magic' introduced in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. With rules for psionics-using races, several new classes, abilities, and monsters, GMs that have a use for this material will be undoubtedly pleased. As far as I know, though, only a small percentage of campaigns actually use the obscure rules referenced in this book. Most campaigns stay close to the D&D world described in the core books, which have no mention of the sometimes confusing and often broken mechanics associated with psionics. Thus, for something like 99% of all D&D players and GMs, this book is completely useless. Considering the high utility factor of the other books in the 'Complete' series, or even the 'Races' series, the narrow focus of this text seems disappointing and wasteful.
Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire
Monte Cook, Sue Weinlein Cook, Todd Lockwood, et. al.
$119.99, 640 pages
A tour de force project from Malhavoc press, Ptolus is breathtaking (and backbreaking) to read. When I mentioned it earlier this year in connection to the freebie Player's Guide, I had no idea what I was getting myself in for. I sat down to flip through the book after last month's Gen Con, intending to skim enough to get an idea of the setting and pass on to you the salient points. Instead, I delayed this article by reading through the entire text cover-to-cover. The reason? It's special. Frustratingly, it's hard to pin down exactly what's special about it without doing a lot of arm waving. Ptolus isn't likely to bring many new players to D&D, being as niche and jargony as any other setting you're likely to encounter. I also don't think the well known settings that WotC publishes have anything to worry about; the Realms and Eberron are going to continue to outsell the books associated with the 'City by the Spire'.
Despite that, I found Mr. Cook's offering to be invigorating. A campaign setting built during the development process for the newer editions of Dungeons and Dragons, Ptolus is the hand-worn world used to test many of the concepts found in the Player's Handbook and Dungeons Master's Guide. Despite being so closely associated with core D&D, the setting still has enough deviation from the norm (guns, a few new races, technology) to make stale situations fresh. The book's astonishing size is due to the sheer amount of detail available. Each district of the city is described, as are important factions, several dungeons, the history of the world, technology, and magic. Probably the most surprising element of the text is its accessibility. Although there is a mountain of information available, each chapter is laid out in an intuitive fashion. Each district description contains only what's useful for running that area of the city; there are shops and streets listed, but no attempt is made to flesh out every single building. The book's utility is aided by sidebars on every single page (containing page references to key elements), several detailed glossaries and appendices, dozens of maps, and copious illustrations.
The book's extraordinarily high production value is breathtaking to behold. Not just the value of the layout, paper, and binding (although those are all amazing) ... the production value of the world has been polished to a mirror finish. That's really what makes Ptolus special; years of running characters through this setting has made Mr. Cook's vision crystal clear. His deep understanding of the 'City by the Spire', and his talent as a GM, is passed undiminished to the reader. As someone who runs games regularly, I found the book almost leaps from your hands with sheer potential. Some settings and sourcebooks leave you bewildered, wondering when you'll actually make use of the content you've purchased. Ptolus not only made me want to run games in the setting, it's inspired me to make other games and worlds better.
Given the cost, I expect few people will rush out and purchase this massive setting. Via DriveThruRPG, though, you can buy the entire book in sections in PDF format. Heck, if you're even vaguely interested the first chapter is free for the taking. At the end of the day, the Ptolus line is a testament to what a small publisher can do if with the proper inspiration. I don't think that this Mr. Cook's opus is going to change the way the industry works ... but I certainly hope it opens some eyes.
James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Ed Stark
$29.95, 160 pages
The first in a series of sourcebooks detailing the denizens of the outer planes, Hordes of the Abyss is a title squarely aimed at the GM. Penned by some well-known alumni of Dungeon magazine, this text is a rare accessory, in that almost every D&D GM could make use of it at one point or another. Because of the popularity of the Abyss and its denizens throughout Dungeons and Dragons lore, after a certain point you can be certain your players will either be fighting, summoning, or visiting creatures from this horrific lower plane. It follows the same template as most location-specific sourcebooks; there are new feats, monsters, and spells, and a large section detailing the geography of the area. The most enlightening part of the book deals with the powerful, but fickle, demon princes that rule over the various layers. They're given statistics, but I find the material on who's squabbling with who much more interesting. If your players are even vaguely interested in traveling the planes, plot hooks like Graz'zt's war with Demogorgon or the machinations of Dagon are great ways to get players interested. This is a textbook example of what a great GM accessory should be; concise, specific, and heavily detailed.
Players Handbook II
David Noonan
$34.95, 224 pages
The Dungeon Master's Guide II (DMG II) gave GMs the tools they needed to run a better game. The Player's Handbook II (PHB II) aims to provide players with the tools to make and run a better character. There are some crunchy bits here, with new classes and spells filling out parts of the book, but even more space is spent on coming to understand your character and their place in the world. Every class is given a new look, examining not only what it can do but what role it should play in an adventuring party. How to act as an adventuring party is also explored, with game mechanics assigned to roleplaying elements like camp preparation and team-building exercises. Gamers familiar with White Wolf's titles will recognize the section on character backgrounds: archetypes that a player looking for a hook can exploit to get inside the head of his new avatar. While I'm very glad to have it on my shelf, I don't see this as a required text for every D&D player. There's nothing in here that a player absolutely has to have. New players are probably going to get more out of it than veterans; those who do purchase it will be getting a lot for their money.
Power of Faerûn
Ed Greenwood and Eric L. Boyd
$29.95, 160 pages
Power of Faerûn is a GM-specific text that offers reams of advice for dealing with players that are powerful enough to move mountains, found kingdoms, and win wars. Where many other WotC texts focus on mechanics, Power has almost no references to the D&D rules-set; consumers who like their sourcebooks crunchy should be advised. What Greenwood and Boyd fill the book with, instead, are hundreds of plot hooks and guidelines for running high level campaigns. If your players want to become nobility, build a keep, and tame the frontier, this book has exactly what you'll need. It's set in the Realms, of course, but many of the suggestions they make could be easily translated to other fantasy settings with a little work. I'm not sure how many DMs actually run epic-level campaigns, to be truthful, but it is still one of the more useful Realms supplements I've read. While the book is intended for epic play, every chapter is essentially a framework for an entire campaign. I highly recommend this to GMs looking for inspiration and a campaign workbook.
Complete Psionic
Bruce R. Cordell and Christopher Lindsay
$29.94, 160 pages
Unlike the other 'Complete' books, which provide variations on a theme for the core classes, Complete Psionic only increases options for campaigns which use the 'mind magic' introduced in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. With rules for psionics-using races, several new classes, abilities, and monsters, GMs that have a use for this material will be undoubtedly pleased. As far as I know, though, only a small percentage of campaigns actually use the obscure rules referenced in this book. Most campaigns stay close to the D&D world described in the core books, which have no mention of the sometimes confusing and often broken mechanics associated with psionics. Thus, for something like 99% of all D&D players and GMs, this book is completely useless. Considering the high utility factor of the other books in the 'Complete' series, or even the 'Races' series, the narrow focus of this text seems disappointing and wasteful.
Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire
Monte Cook, Sue Weinlein Cook, Todd Lockwood, et. al.
$119.99, 640 pages
A tour de force project from Malhavoc press, Ptolus is breathtaking (and backbreaking) to read. When I mentioned it earlier this year in connection to the freebie Player's Guide, I had no idea what I was getting myself in for. I sat down to flip through the book after last month's Gen Con, intending to skim enough to get an idea of the setting and pass on to you the salient points. Instead, I delayed this article by reading through the entire text cover-to-cover. The reason? It's special. Frustratingly, it's hard to pin down exactly what's special about it without doing a lot of arm waving. Ptolus isn't likely to bring many new players to D&D, being as niche and jargony as any other setting you're likely to encounter. I also don't think the well known settings that WotC publishes have anything to worry about; the Realms and Eberron are going to continue to outsell the books associated with the 'City by the Spire'.
Despite that, I found Mr. Cook's offering to be invigorating. A campaign setting built during the development process for the newer editions of Dungeons and Dragons, Ptolus is the hand-worn world used to test many of the concepts found in the Player's Handbook and Dungeons Master's Guide. Despite being so closely associated with core D&D, the setting still has enough deviation from the norm (guns, a few new races, technology) to make stale situations fresh. The book's astonishing size is due to the sheer amount of detail available. Each district of the city is described, as are important factions, several dungeons, the history of the world, technology, and magic. Probably the most surprising element of the text is its accessibility. Although there is a mountain of information available, each chapter is laid out in an intuitive fashion. Each district description contains only what's useful for running that area of the city; there are shops and streets listed, but no attempt is made to flesh out every single building. The book's utility is aided by sidebars on every single page (containing page references to key elements), several detailed glossaries and appendices, dozens of maps, and copious illustrations.
The book's extraordinarily high production value is breathtaking to behold. Not just the value of the layout, paper, and binding (although those are all amazing) ... the production value of the world has been polished to a mirror finish. That's really what makes Ptolus special; years of running characters through this setting has made Mr. Cook's vision crystal clear. His deep understanding of the 'City by the Spire', and his talent as a GM, is passed undiminished to the reader. As someone who runs games regularly, I found the book almost leaps from your hands with sheer potential. Some settings and sourcebooks leave you bewildered, wondering when you'll actually make use of the content you've purchased. Ptolus not only made me want to run games in the setting, it's inspired me to make other games and worlds better.
Given the cost, I expect few people will rush out and purchase this massive setting. Via DriveThruRPG, though, you can buy the entire book in sections in PDF format. Heck, if you're even vaguely interested the first chapter is free for the taking. At the end of the day, the Ptolus line is a testament to what a small publisher can do if with the proper inspiration. I don't think that this Mr. Cook's opus is going to change the way the industry works ... but I certainly hope it opens some eyes.
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I want to use "magic missile" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I want to use "magic missile" (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I want to use "magic missile" (Score:5, Funny)
For that I bestow upon you Cheetos and Mountain Dew.
Parent
WOTC did not invent D&D (Score:2, Informative)
Re:WOTC did not invent D&D (Score:3, Informative)
Re:WOTC did not invent D&D (Score:3, Informative)
So to play a little one-upmanship and be a complete ass, Wizards of the Coast bought TSR, Inc, the 2nd publisher (not maker) of D&D.
Re:WOTC did not invent D&D (Score:2)
Re:WOTC did not invent D&D (Score:2)
Geeks do not roll a d20 (Score:5, Funny)
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never seen that one (Score:5, Funny)
I didn't realize they had MBA's in D&D... so much for escapism.
The well-known maker of Dungeons and Dragons (Score:4, Informative)
Gfft! Gbah! Pfft! Fffeh! Mvvt! Grrp!
I know, I know... The pedant in me _knows_ "Maker" != "Inventor", but I think it should be a law that either "TSR" or "Gary Gygax" be mentioned in any sentence introducing D&D, regardless of how many people have been at the helm since day one.
Re: (Score:2)
And you don't invent works, you craete them
The PHB2 is pretty sweet (Score:2)
No mention of Dreamblade in this summary? It's WotC's new minis game, and I like it quite a bit. Maybe this was just for RPG-type stuff, though.
David and Goliath (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Sic transit gloria mundi...
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Harp [rpgnow.com]
Lejendary Adventures [rpgnow.com]
The Dying Earth [rpgnow.com]
[rpgnow.com]
Worlds of Wonder [rpgnow.com]
And there are others too. If you're interested into an alternative to either d20 or White Wolf, you can probably find it.
And on other games... (Score:4, Insightful)
Let the Dungeons and the Dragons begin! (Score:3, Funny)
to roll with a wizard and my goblin crew.
My friends are comin' over to my mom's basement
bringing Funions and the Mountain Dew.
I got a big broadsword made out of cardboard
and the stereo's a pumpin' Zepplin.
It's that time of the night, turn on the black light.
Let the Dungeons and the Dragons begin.
IT'S D&D!
Fightin' with the legends of yore.
IT'S D&D!
Never kissed a lady before (Nope. Nuh uh)
Now the Lord of The Rings, the Dark Crystal and things
we use these as a reference tool.
And when we put on our cloaks and tell warlock jokes
we're the coolest kids in the school (No we're not. I know)
Now attack's a real bastard, but a fair Dungeon Master
has hitpoints and charisma to lend
I rehearse in my room or what I call the Dragon's Tomb
when I'm not out with my girlfriend.
IT'S D an... Wait wait, whoa, whoa. You got a girlfriend?
Yeah... Yeah... No.
IT'S D&D!
Warriors who terrify
IT'S D&D!
Virgins, till the day weeeeeeeeeeee DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!
"Dungeons and Dragons" by Stephen Lynch
Complete Psionic quibbles and suckage (Score:2, Insightful)
But don't go bad-mouthing psionics in your review. The base system is clear and well-thought-out. It's not broken at all, although it is misunderstood. It's even part of the core rules and SRD, so there's no reason why you can't read about it for yourself. No, Complete Psionics is bad because it
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
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I believe either Erik or James (two of the 3 authors) said that a sentence was removed in editing by WotC. Those CR ratings were supposed to be off their home plane. On their home plane the CRs are supposed to be much higher. As an example look at the difference between James Jacobs' version of Kostchtchie in Dragon Magazine issue 345 (CR28) and the Fiendish Codex I (CR21.
WotC only??? (Score:4, Informative)
How about some of these highly acclaimed and cutting-edge RPGs?
The Mountain Witch - http://www.timfire.com/MountainWitch.html [timfire.com]
Don't Rest Your Head - http://www.evilhat.com/?dryh [evilhat.com]
Dogs in the Vineyard - http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/dogs.htm
My Life with Master - http://www.halfmeme.com/master.html [halfmeme.com]
The Burning Wheel - http://www.burningwheel.org/ [burningwheel.org]
Weapons of the Gods - http://www.eos-press.com/products-wotg.html [eos-press.com]
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Of the games you've listed, only one (Don't Rest Your Head) came out in 2006. It's hardly news for nerds.
If you're expecting Slashdot to become the shining beacon that highlights cutting edge indy RPG game design, well, you're a dreamer, I can respect that. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Compared to the front page of Slashdot, Games.Slashdot is small site. Compared to the normal video game focus of Games.Slashdot, tabletop RPGs are a microscopic market. To focus on the very small subset of indie game
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Now, to post AC so no one can link me to a decidedly nerdy discussion on the weaponization of dice.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
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Cool links. [blogspot.com]
Re:Survival against all odds. (Score:5, Interesting)
There's an intrinsic worth to all the maps, the (often quite bad) art, the stories and the histories. And at the very core of things, interaction and story-telling take skill and it takes a human.
Perhaps as a father I'll start being the "sacrificial nerd" and running games for my kids. I am an accomplished GM, voice-actor, story-writer, and story-teller, and good enough illustrator. I have run games that lasted for months, even spanned years. In the time it takes a small army of people to craft a video game, I can create the beginnings of a world and populate it by incident and by design. I can't think of a better thing to do, in lieu of reading, than to teach through table-top role-playing games.
I've nearly finished reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to them and once that's done I think it's time to start telling my own stories and having my kids play characters instead of having their brains poached by the dreck on Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon before they fall asleep.
They'll benefit immensely from having to think before turning in, and there's nothing like having something which will detour them from TV.
And maybe it'll justify a few trips to the local gameshop. I haven't been there in years.
Cheers.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
This is an interesting point. I dunno if it's what you're referring to, but one thing I hate about modern RPGs is that the books are just so ridiculously gaudy! Every single page will be printed in four-color process. Every single text subhead will be adorned with all these twisty dragons and swords and silly-looking gems. And then all the pictures of the monsters are these overblown full-color computer p
Re:Survival against all odds. (Score:4, Informative)
My mother tried to ban me from playing D&D because it was the "work of Satan" and when that didn't work I would catch her praying over my RPG materials. Well, I didn't grow up to be a serial killer so I guess she figures her prayers must have worked. About a month ago I had to intervene when she started scolding my niece about her "Satanic Pokemon cards". Nothing drives me up the wall more than hearing religious parents extoll the virtues of this kind of zero-tolerance approach to anything "imaginative" and as evidence of the effectiveness they point to their quiet and well-behaved children. Quiet? I mean sullen and afraid to express themselves lest they invoke the wrath of one of God's earthly overseers.
Now that I'm a father I read to my six-year old daughter EVERY night. We play CRPG games like Morrowind and Diablo together and I hope that when she's old enough we'll be able to enjoy some classic table-top D&D too.
So yeah... the world needs more parents like you: ones that get involved with their children and nurture their imaginations. Keep up the good work.
Parent
Re:Survival against all odds. (Score:5, Insightful)
If what you get out of roleplaying games is the opportunity to hang around with your friends, it's not survival against all odds at all. Computers don't do that better.
If what you primarily want to get out of role playing games is the improvised co-creation of a story, it's also not too much of a surprise. Computers allow you to create a story of a kind, but you can only interact with the world in ways that the designers allowed for (I admit that some give you a lot of possibilities).
Basically, table top gaming scratches a different itch. When I play roleplaying games, I come up with an idea for a game, campaign or character and get an experience more similar to creating something. When I play a computer game, I use other people's pre-defined characters or character concepts, explore a pre-defined world and solve pre-defined puzzles.
Parent
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And I take offence at the idea that all D&D players are min/maxing powermunchkins... In my game, I dont allow characters that are not well rounded, or that have implausible backstories.
And I find that the powergamers are usually the ones who come from a videogame background... You know them, those who whine about not being able to play their "15th level Necromancer/8th level Blademaster/9th level Assassin/10th level Dark Priest of Yog-Sothoth
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Later this month? It's been out for a year already, and you're just getting to it?
To be fair, the poster was probably talking within the context of GenCon, and SR4 (Shadowrun 4th Edition Core Rules) was just barely released last year at GenCon (limited number of copies, long waits in line, and a LOT of people didn't get one). Sure, you could have ordered it online or at a local gaming store, but they didn't receive the Core Rules book until several months later (which pissed off a lot of SR fans, not bei
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Oh please,...how is that going to hurt? Get back to me after you've fallen on a 4-sided die.
Her eis a step in the direction you seek (Score:3, Interesting)
Many of the support sections are computerized, leaving the fun parts for the Ref and the players.