| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Irennan |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 14:54:27
Does anyone here have the module? If so, may I ask if there is any meaningful/interesting FR update in the book? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 06:40:49
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
and now for the question i ask with some trepidation...... About Zuggmoy and the Fungus under the high forest....How Cheesey is the "wedding" thing? (fingers crossed its more a Demonic binding ritual then an actual wedding)
It isn't a wedding, it's a binding/joining of sorts.
Well thats good to hear
If I was writing where Jalynfein Oblodra might be in the 1490s Id says hes a spider face free Dark elf (not drow) High Mage living in Rhymanthiin. |
| Lilianviaten |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 06:21:12
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
One interesting thing I noticed while he was showing off the Libarby chapter
The Spider Mage from the old Menzo boxset has his house name revealed OBLODRA the Psioncist house from Siege of Darkness
Theres also a reference to an NPC called Vizran Devir (related to the house in the first Drizzt novel and Viconia from the Baldursgate CRPGs)
Say what??? That's a nice bit of lore. We've seen since the Companions returned that RAS is doing some very intriguing things in Menzoberranzan. I don't see any reason to randomly reveal that the Spider Mage is an Oblodran, unless RAS is about to feature him in a novel. It would make perfect sense too, that the Spider Mage would appear right when the Lolth blessed matriarchy is on the verge of collapse. Oh, how I would enjoy reading that! |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 05:09:16
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
and now for the question i ask with some trepidation...... About Zuggmoy and the Fungus under the high forest....How Cheesey is the "wedding" thing? (fingers crossed its more a Demonic binding ritual then an actual wedding)
It isn't a wedding, it's a binding/joining of sorts. |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 04:57:54
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
One interesting thing I noticed while he was showing off the Libarby chapter
The Spider Mage from the old Menzo boxset has his house name revealed OBLODRA the Psioncist house from Siege of Darkness
Is that Jalynfein Oblodra? I don't have the Menzo box to compare, but I do have Siege of Darkness.
His house was never mentioned in the boxed set. Other than he had his face slashed open and was imprisoned by a priestess who he slew in his escape. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 04:56:01
and now for the question i ask with some trepidation...... About Zuggmoy and the Fungus under the high forest....How Cheesey is the "wedding" thing? (fingers crossed its more a Demonic binding ritual then an actual wedding) |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 23:23:07
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
One interesting thing I noticed while he was showing off the Libarby chapter
The Spider Mage from the old Menzo boxset has his house name revealed OBLODRA the Psioncist house from Siege of Darkness
Is that Jalynfein Oblodra? I don't have the Menzo box to compare, but I do have Siege of Darkness.
Yeah
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Jalynfein |
| Delwa |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 23:11:25
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
One interesting thing I noticed while he was showing off the Libarby chapter
The Spider Mage from the old Menzo boxset has his house name revealed OBLODRA the Psioncist house from Siege of Darkness
Is that Jalynfein Oblodra? I don't have the Menzo box to compare, but I do have Siege of Darkness. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 23:06:38
One interesting thing I noticed while he was showing off the Libarby chapter
The Spider Mage from the old Menzo boxset has his house name revealed OBLODRA the Psioncist house from Siege of Darkness
Theres also a reference to an NPC called Vizran Devir (related to the house in the first Drizzt novel and Viconia from the Baldursgate CRPGs) |
| Delwa |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 22:42:11
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Tks Delwa
Just out of interest was the Map of Menzo that the FR authors had at Gencon included in Out of the Abyss?
Yes, that's the same map by Mike Schley. You can get it as a pull out poster as well in the 4e book Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 22:40:11
Tks Delwa
Just out of interest was the Map of Menzo that the FR authors had at Gencon included in Out of the Abyss? |
| idilippy |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 16:54:50
I find the radials off of the compass rose extremely odd. Unless that rose is sitting at magnetic north in the realms, or some other identifiable point that people can track to and from like a modern radio navaid (magical navaid?), the radials serve no purpose.
Thanks for giving the info and breakdown in the book. My players are content with Pathfinder and don't want to change so I won't be running any 5e adventures any time soon. Looks like I'm better off waiting for the Sword Coast guide for lore about the realms. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 16:34:23
She's a CR 22. They basically tell you to take the priestess of Lolth from the DMG and give stat adjustments to bring her up to that CR.
Edit for clarity: they give you a list of things to tweak to bring her up to CR. Hp, extra spells, magic items, etc. |
| Eilserus |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 16:29:01
What level is Matron Quenthel? Curious on that. ;) |
| Delwa |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 15:37:17
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Got my copy. I'm still thumbing through it, but you do get a slight update on several cities. The ones that caught my eye were Blingdenstone, and Gauntlgrym.
There is a lot of crunch and description advice in the book. Insight on how to describe various regions of the Underdark, and a section describing various underdark fungi.
Chapters are as follows: 1. Prisoners of the Drow 2. Into Darkness 3. Darklake, 4. Gracklstugh 5. Neverlight Grove 6. Blingdenstone 7. Escape from the Underdark 8. Audience in Gauntlgrym 9. Mantol Derith 10. Descent into the Depths 11. Gravenhollow 12. The Tower of Vengeance 13. The Wormwrithings 14. The Labrynth 15. The City of Spiders 16. The Fetid Wedding 17. Against the Demonlords.
At present, I'm skimming crunch for things I can use right now in my games.
There's a nice map of Underdark regions by Mike Schley, and Blando has done maps of most of the mentioned cities, including Blingdenstone and Gracklstugh.
So what regions does the module cover?
What cities etc?
Any involvement of the newly returned Drow Deities? (Ie Ellistraee, Vhaerun and Ghauander?)
What do you think of the Out of the Abyss? Good, bad ugly....
Overall, as someone who is running 5e, I find the module extremely useful. If I weren't running 5e, I'd probably be mildly disappointed, as the book is very crunch heavy. I'll do a run through and note my observations, but do keep in mind that I haven't read everything word for word. It's possible I missed a sentence or brief description, but I doubt I've missed a huge block of text. I'm just having a hard time focusing on anything this weekend. 
From what I read, there is no direct involvement of any of the Drow Deities besides Lolth. There are some NPCs that are drow and not specifically loyal to Lolth, and you could make them worshippers of one of the other deities, but the module itself didn't come out and say, "this character worships Eilistraee."
Overall, I believe the module to be fun, and a well-written story.
I don't normally run modules straight out of the book, I've almost always run stuff I write myself, so I don't feel qualified to speak to how well the module details stuff for the DM.
I personally feel as if most of my work is done for me as a DM. The way the chapters are laid out, you could spend a few sessions on each chapter, and as long as you've read the chapter, you could run the session no sweat.
The book does refer you to the core books a lot for some dungeon hazard statistics and whatnot, so if you're expecting to just pull out the adventure book and run straight from it, you're going to have issues unless you are very familiar with the hazards and traps in the DMG.
The names and encounters didn't blare out as too cheesy or anything, as some here feared. There is enough of a dark undertone to everything that I don't believe having an NPC going by the title Pudding King will be anything but a lighthearted moment in an otherwise hazardous campaign. But that's easily changed if you don't like it, and there are plenty of other NPC's that have more "normal" names that it's rarely an issue. In short, there is cheese, but in my opinion, it's spread pretty thin.
As for regions, there are a few that are focused on, and I'll address them below. Highlight if you don't mind spoilers.
Disclaimer, the following contains spoilers for the Out of the Abyss adventure, as well as recent RAS novels.
The regions and cities covered by the module are tied directly to the chapters. It's written in kind of a walk-through manner, beginning with the first chapter where the PC's are imprisoned in a drow slave pen named Velkynvelve. According to the map by Mike Schley, that pen is in the Middledark, a little less than halfway between Araumycos's Northern edge and the Darklake region of the Underdark. This location is directly under the Southern edge of the Silverwood forest on the surface.
This opening chapter gives you enough details of the area to describe to the players what they see, as well as provide encounters. The next chapter covers the Underdark in general, and provides a guide on how to use the travel rules for 5e to moderate travel in the Underdark. It also lists some underdark hazards you can weave into your story, including some crunchy descriptions of Underdark fungi.
The rest of the book seems to follow the same kind of pattern. They don't dwell on lore unless it's directly relevant to describing the environment to the PC's or is something the PC's might know.
Darklake covers a kua-toa village and further travel in the Underdark as the now escaped PC's make their way away from their captors.
Gracklstugh is covered in the same manner. It's more aimed at describing the city to the PC's as they pass through not provide a deep history of the location. Same with Blingdenstone.
Both Gracklstugh and Blingdenstone have nicely drawn maps (from a purely subjective, artistic perspective. I suck at technical evaluations) by Blando.
Gauntlygrym gets a few paragraphs of history, but I don't think it's anything you don't know by being up to date on Salvatore's novels. I'm not read up on the city, but there is a little description of how the place was built by dwarves, overrun by orcs, and briefly taken back by humans. I seem to recall reading here at Candlekeep that there was conflicting lore regarding Gauntlgrym as far as whether it was human or dwarven in origin. This may be an attempt to smooth that over. But otherwise, most of the history is covered in RAS's novels. I hadn't finished Iron Dwarf yet, so I was surprised by a few details.
There is no map, but a handful of locations in Gauntlgrym are described as places the PC's might visit.
Mantol Derith is described as an Underdark outpost or trade location where drow, duergar, deep gnomes, and humans meet to trade.
Chapter 11 covers an Underdark library named Gravenhollow. I really enjoyed this chapter. It is again, presented in a "only information the PC's need or might encounter" manner, very little detail is given on the history of the library. But the library does have what the adventure calls Echoes of people who found the library at points past. They kind of are apparitions that the DM can use to convey hints and bits of information to the PC's that he deems necessary. A few of the Echoes are familiar to me, and to all of us. Alustriel, Elminster, and Bruenor are a few named. I should note that these Echoes are not ghosts or spirits of the dead. They are more like... holograms? That the library keeps in its memory.
Menzoberranzan is covered, and a smaller version of the Mike Schley poster map included in City of Intrigue is provided for reference. Statistics for Quenthel Baenre are provided, as well as a sidebar on the Way of Lolth. Jarlaxle and his organization, Bregan D'aerthe are NPCs the party can interact and even ally with.
Edit: Found this overview online, if you're interested. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 13:02:50
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
Got my copy. I'm still thumbing through it, but you do get a slight update on several cities. The ones that caught my eye were Blingdenstone, and Gauntlgrym.
There is a lot of crunch and description advice in the book. Insight on how to describe various regions of the Underdark, and a section describing various underdark fungi.
Chapters are as follows: 1. Prisoners of the Drow 2. Into Darkness 3. Darklake, 4. Gracklstugh 5. Neverlight Grove 6. Blingdenstone 7. Escape from the Underdark 8. Audience in Gauntlgrym 9. Mantol Derith 10. Descent into the Depths 11. Gravenhollow 12. The Tower of Vengeance 13. The Wormwrithings 14. The Labrynth 15. The City of Spiders 16. The Fetid Wedding 17. Against the Demonlords.
At present, I'm skimming crunch for things I can use right now in my games.
There's a nice map of Underdark regions by Mike Schley, and Blando has done maps of most of the mentioned cities, including Blingdenstone and Gracklstugh.
So what regions does the module cover?
What cities etc?
Any involvement of the newly returned Drow Deities? (Ie Ellistraee, Vhaerun and Ghauander?)
What do you think of the Out of the Abyss? Good, bad ugly.... |
| Delwa |
Posted - 05 Sep 2015 : 21:42:40
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Mike Schley has posted a related map showing regions in the Underdark.
Not sure if I love the 'RW' way in which the map was done (those radial lies, I think they are called). I like them in certain types of maps, but I'm really not feeling it for The Realms. Still, its nice to see more official maps are on the way.
Do you mean the lines boardering the different Underdark regions? It's similar to one of the 2e maps of the same area. I believe it came with Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark. I'm curious what is going on with the areas under the Anauroch now that the Phaeriim are hunted to near extinction.
Edit:I'm guessing you mean the lines from the compass rose? I'm indifferent on that point.
Update RE Araumycos (potential spoilers): I was reading the section in Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark about the fungus in question, and I noticed that it mentioned nobody had ever established any communication with it.
In the adventure, the PC's do communicate with Araumycos in a manner. They are able to make some form of connection that acts like an Astral Projection spell, and they are able to communicate with A's astral form.
Araumycos initiates this communication in a way, by releasing some spores. See pages 212&ff for more detail. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 05 Sep 2015 : 21:31:21
Mike Schley has posted a related map showing regions in the Underdark.
Not sure if I love the 'RW' way in which the map was done (those radial lies, I think they are called). I like them in certain types of maps, but I'm really not feeling it for The Realms. Still, its nice to see more official maps are on the way. |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 05 Sep 2015 : 21:12:54
Looks like Ed Greenwood had no hand in this AP. |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 05 Sep 2015 : 00:48:53
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Im kind of hoping that SCL has the books that Baldurs gate had where you would find books on libary shelves that give background on things in the setting
I don't know how they wouldn't. They did that for Neverwinter Nights, and you'll find stuff like that in the Neverwinter MMO. If they don't have something similar, it'd really be a break from tradition.
If they do how much you want to bet theres Steam achievement?
Candlekeep Sage
Find and read all X/X Books  |
| Delwa |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 23:48:28
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Im kind of hoping that SCL has the books that Baldurs gate had where you would find books on libary shelves that give background on things in the setting
I don't know how they wouldn't. They did that for Neverwinter Nights, and you'll find stuff like that in the Neverwinter MMO. If they don't have something similar, it'd really be a break from tradition.
|
| Dargoth |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 23:32:01
If you want to see the current state of the realms (Specficly the sword coast area) and you dont want to wait until Novemeber when the Sword Coast Adventures source book comes out then your best bet is to play the Sword Coast Legends campaign as (judging by the map) it covers from Luskan to Candlekeep from Waterdeep to the Anorouch destert. Seeing as how its tied into the Table top setting whatever theyve shown in the campaign will be offical
Im kind of hoping that SCL has the books that Baldurs gate had where you would find books on libary shelves that give background on things in the setting |
| Irennan |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 17:51:00
Hmm, I see. I made this thread because I was expecting the book to be organized like PotA was, so I thought that finding new lore would be easy.
I hope that they explain/will explain this somewhere, because the Araumycos has always been presented as this ancient, powerful entity, but it was all so vague (AFAIK). Now that they are saying that it is ''interwoven with the fabric of the world'', leaving the matter at it, with just a sentence that is yet again so vague, is not of much use. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 17:42:20
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
The first sentence is puzzling. What does ''interwoven with the fabric of the world mean''? Is it linked with the Weave? And even if it were, why would controlling it grant control of the world itself (unlimited power)? Basically what does this link consist of, to make this thing so powerful?
And is Zuggtmoy the only creature to know this? Why haven't other entities ever tried to control the Araumycos, if it was so important (gods of decay, like Moander, or gods of nature, for example)?
They could have written a couple more lines, just to clarify some of this stuff...
It might be later. Unlike the Elemental Evil adventure, they didn't have an overview chapter where most of the background is discussed. I'm kinda disappointed in that.
Lore is very scattered, a sentence here and there, all related to the immediate region or monster. The whole tome is very, very crunch / description heavy. I'll find that helpful when running the adventure, but if I'm combing the book for lore, meh.
Maybe they are going to fill in the gaps with the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 17:31:49
The first sentence is puzzling. What does ''interwoven with the fabric of the world mean''? Is it linked with the Weave? And even if it were, why would controlling it grant control of the world itself (unlimited power)? Basically what does this link consist of, to make this thing so powerful?
And is Zuggtmoy the only creature to know this? Why haven't other entities ever tried to control the Araumycos, if it was so important (gods of decay, like Moander, or gods of nature, for example)?
They could have written a couple more lines, just to clarify some of this stuff... |
| Delwa |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 17:22:16
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
Thanks for the answer, Delwa
No problem. I did find these two statements about Auraumycos, but there isn't a lot of lore given out about the creature. It's very much written from a "the players don't know / need to know for the adventure, so we didn't add more info" viewpoint.
Auraumycos is so interwoven with the fabric of the world that control of it would grant Zuggtmoy nearly unlimited power.
Auraumycos is a vast fungus colony with a single mind. It fills the Underdark in an area about the size of the High Forest. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 17:17:22
Thanks for the answer, Delwa |
| Delwa |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 16:55:44
Got my copy. I'm still thumbing through it, but you do get a slight update on several cities. The ones that caught my eye were Blingdenstone, and Gauntlgrym.
There is a lot of crunch and description advice in the book. Insight on how to describe various regions of the Underdark, and a section describing various underdark fungi.
Chapters are as follows: 1. Prisoners of the Drow 2. Into Darkness 3. Darklake, 4. Gracklstugh 5. Neverlight Grove 6. Blingdenstone 7. Escape from the Underdark 8. Audience in Gauntlgrym 9. Mantol Derith 10. Descent into the Depths 11. Gravenhollow 12. The Tower of Vengeance 13. The Wormwrithings 14. The Labrynth 15. The City of Spiders 16. The Fetid Wedding 17. Against the Demonlords.
At present, I'm skimming crunch for things I can use right now in my games.
There's a nice map of Underdark regions by Mike Schley, and Blando has done maps of most of the mentioned cities, including Blingdenstone and Gracklstugh. |
| Irennan |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 15:30:58
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Im guessing the the cities of the Northdark (Specficly the ones around Menzo) will probably be given abit of an update. Menzo, Blingdonstone, and that Duegar city that attacked menzo during the WOSQ series are all mentioned in excerpts on enworld
Yeah, either they will do it in OotA, or in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. |
| Joran Nobleheart |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 15:27:28
I'll be getting mine on the 15th from Amazon. I think the book prices are a little high, and so I pre-ordered mine. I'll get it for $26.16 because of their guarantee. All I have to do is wait a little longer.  |
| Dargoth |
Posted - 04 Sep 2015 : 15:24:52
Im guessing the the cities of the Northdark (Specficly the ones around Menzo) will probably be given abit of an update. Menzo, Blingdonstone, and that Duegar city that attacked menzo during the WOSQ series are all mentioned in excerpts on enworld |
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