Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CdrcJsn 01-25-07, 03:34 AM	I'm curious as to what people like about their regions. What makes it unique and fun to play there? Is it the mods? Your metaorgs? Conventions and Game Days? If so, what about them do you like? What do you dislike about your region? In what ways do you think your region can improve and what would you like to see added?
Mortepierre 01-25-07, 05:04 AM	Region: Sunndi. Like: a) The main baddies we encounter are bullywugs (and Wastrian clerics). No other region has them. I like the feel of uniqueness that comes out of it (and the fried bullywug legs but that's another story <coughs>) b) Local meta-org are nice. Each has its own background story (rather than the usual "they were needed 'cause.. uh.. we wanted a reason to hand to our players the gadgets from WotC's latest accessory"). Some of them grant access to special stuff but when they do you almost always have to sweat to get it. Plus, they don't take kindly to liars and traitors. As an example, one such MO I belong to requires you to accept a geas and if I ever do something that runs contrary to its goals, I'll be hunted down AND will automatically suffer (no save) the effects of a bestow curse. c) The local storyline makes sense. To prosper and help certain neighbors, our government had to accept some political deals which were (and still are) hard to swallow by the natives. While some might wish for a clearer (as in "all white or black") picture, I find ours more logical because compromises are a fact of life. d) Being at war, almost from day 1, means more than half the local mods are dealing with military missions. I like it because the reason for accepting the mission is obvious (-> help save your country). Here, you don't have to waste half an hour trying to come up with a valid reason to help citizen X or lord Y despite what they ask of you sounding like a suicide. e) We have priests of Hextor on our side! Now, if they just allowed us to play one... :P f) Role-play intensive mods. I can still remember running a mod where PC had to "entertain" feys just to get invited inside the location of the adventure. No swift skill check to solve things here! Players have to be creative. g) Because mods written by Madfox have forced me to use every trick in the book just to stay alive :gah: Dislike: - undeads hiding beneath water at night (yeah, I still have nightmares about that encounter!) - not being able to play a (LN) priest of Hextor despite such being plentiful among NPC of one of the major counties of Sunndi - Sunndi being poor and not densely populated, we have access to less "goodies" than other regions (but, well, I can understand the logic behind that decision) - not enough mods to help the Idee's freedom fighters - not having conquered Dullstrand (hey, we need a port if we are to end up fighting the Lordship of the Isles or the Sea Barons!)
Stormydoom 01-25-07, 07:08 AM	Region: Perrenland I like the whole Perrenland series of A Nations Mocked. It started in CY 594 and it's safe to say, becoming year 7's focus. Of the CY 597's mods 8/9 mods are part of the series with 7-09 possibly being part of the series (though 7-06, 7-07 and 7-08 are pretty much a super adventure split into three mods). Throughout the series, my main character has learnt many interesting things about Perrenlands history and secrets and has accomplished some major deeds, he feels he's earned his skills. Most things I can't go into, as there are still year six mods and I havn't played the whole series yet, but the regional flavour is juicy. I dislike only one part of Perrenland. We fight undead too much. (Thats probably an understatement). I still wonder why I don't have a bane undead sword or a radiant cheesegrater (what I now call them). Second most common enemy is probably evil humans bent on plain evil or evil outsiders. I like the regional flavour, how we perrenders take heads and all (I proclaimed myself the only perrender who is a melee fighter who doesn't take heads). I even recieved a funny regionally flavoured item, the head of raticus maximus (a rat wizard in an intro mod, no really, it's on a cert with other cool stuff) for one of my secondary characters. I think my region could improve by continuing to do the great job it's currently doing and start a new focus for next year (without undead).
Bogjob 01-25-07, 07:54 AM	Region: Onnwal Likes. 1. The fact that we are continuously on the back foot as i.e. we got rid of the Brotherhood only to have our capital turn into a volcano, now the Flan of the headlands have got stuck into us with loads of dodgy undead types and to cap it all my dwarf has been exiled from his home. 2. I love getting medals (a la Mutley "medal medal medal") 3. Theres good opportunities to actually gain renown where you live ( not exclusive to Onnwal but its nice). 4. We get to play the mad Suundi metaregionals as well as annoying Ahlissan's :D Nothing more fun than seeing how far you can push a Hextorite. 5. The amount of roleplaying needed in our meta's and regionals. I too had to entertain the fey by introducing them to a secret dwarven recipe known as kebab sauce. (imagine having to give your DM part of your dinner lol) Dislikes. 1. Due to Onnwal being war ravaged, skint and burnt our accesses and rewards tend to be favours, we rely on the Core's for the decent stuff. 2. Our intro mods are designed by sadists and are deadly if you aren't a full table with dogs, guns and cruise missiles. 3. We had 2 regionals last year :( and the previous year was almost all specials which I had to go to Cons to play which basically involves paying for flights if you live in N Ireland. (We've been told that the triad are trying for 8 this year but who knows).
NiTessine 01-25-07, 08:06 AM	Region: The Principality of Naerie. a) In Naerie, the strongest conflict is between the Ahlissan "liberators" and the Ideean "freedom fighters" - law vs. chaos, essentially, rather than good vs. evil. Ahlissan rule brings stability and safety, while the Idee Volunteers want the county's independence back, even if it means they'd be under constant threat from the Scarlet Brotherhood. Thanks to this, our modules often explore moral grey zones and occasionally promote intra-party conflict. We also have a Scarlet Brotherhood meta-org. b) We had the orgy scene. And the game benefits from tobacco. And the huge bonus from betraying a Knight of the Chase and delivering him to the authorities. The brothel price list ended up on the cutting room floor, though. c) Our NPCs are badass, larger-than-life figures. Most of the major NPCs in our region are war heroes of some description, and we have heard tales of their deeds long before ever meeting them. When the White Lady Annarin Heshun showed up in a minor cameo, we had respect. When Officer Damar Rocharion of the Nasranite Watch hires us, we do what we're told. When we had to tell Baron Berik Oedil that his best friend was behind an assassination plot against him, we were ******* our pants. d) Our modules play smart. You can't brute force investigatory scenarios, and logical reasoning and knowledge of the lore of the region are a great help. Willful stupidity tends to result in failure. The player is challenged as much as his character - resulting in that you can actually survive with a non-optimised build. e) We have priests of Hextor on our side! Now, if they just allowed us to play one... :P And what I dislike? 1. We still haven't ever managed to fill our entire yearly allotment of regional scenarios. 2. Too few chances to fight the fey of Menowood. 3. No Hextorite PCs allowed. We must make do with Stern Alia.
Mortepierre 01-25-07, 08:49 AM	2. Too few chances to fight the fey of Menowood Eh, just be glad it doesn't happen more often. Last time I ran a game in there, two PC bit the dust. Bloody tauric creatures! :ghosted:
Madfox11 01-25-07, 08:49 AM	g) Because mods written by Madfox have forced me to use every trick in the book just to stay alive :gah: Dislike: - undeads hiding beneath water at night (yeah, I still have nightmares about that encounter!) You do realize these two things are in contradiction with one another since I am the only one who ever used that trick (twice actually) in Sunndi regionals [I combined it with the feat Prone Fighting]. I would also note that I am NOT responsible for those DMs who gave those ghouls 5-ft. steps in the water because they forgot that undead do not have a swim speed either and they are just as much hindered by the water as the PCs :rolleyes: - Sunndi being poor and not densely populated, we have access to less "goodies" than other regions (but, well, I can understand the logic behind that decision) Erm... you need to travel more, because that is definitely not true. Access in Sunndi is on par with Core adventures, and definitely higher than some of the other regions. - not enough mods to help the Idee's freedom fighters I think the real problem is not having enough adventures period. There are so many potential plot-ideas in our meta-region that even if we could get those 8 slots per year filled, people would feel we are not giving enough attention to their favorite subject ;)
NiTessine 01-25-07, 08:55 AM	Eh, just be glad it doesn't happen more often. Last time I ran a game in there, two PC bit the dust. Bloody tauric creatures! :ghosted: We lost three in that one, I think. I never played it, after receiving the module text from the DM and his players, asking me to check if the monsters were kosher. A rather lengthy discussion on the metaregional Yahoogroup ensued. I think I will not be playing the sequel, either. That module, incidentally, is the reason for our hatred of the Menowood fey. All of our characters carry cold iron now.
Mortepierre 01-25-07, 09:03 AM	We lost three in that one, I think. I think I will not be playing the sequel, either. That module, incidentally, is the reason for our hatred of the Menowood fey. All of our characters carry cold iron now. I wish I could say I was surprised... That said, the sequel won't be played in Menowood (if I understood correctly) and the author promised to be extra-careful while stating the monsters. Since the sequel has the potential to solve the entire "Bullywugs problem" (at least for future generations), I think it deserves to be played. Wouldn't want to miss something like that. Then again, since I'm pretty sure I'll end up running it, my PC is unlikely to die because of it :P
Mortepierre 01-25-07, 09:20 AM	You do realize these two things are in contradiction with one another since I am the only one who ever used that trick (twice actually) in Sunndi regionals [I combined it with the feat Prone Fighting]. I would also note that I am NOT responsible for those DMs who gave those ghouls 5-ft. steps in the water because they forgot that undead do not have a swim speed either and they are just as much hindered by the water as the PCs :rolleyes: Oh, it's not only the undead-beneath-water trick I was referring to. Whenever we play one of your mods, people cringe around the table and double-check if they have healing potions at hand. Note that I mean this as a compliment.. even if I ended up in negative often enough to dread the next time ;) As for the ghouls, they may have been hindered same as us but: a) they didn't need to breathe b) not having line of effect (thanks to the water) meant turning didn't work c) being paralyzed and then dragged under water sucks d) they had darkvision but, hey!, if I can still remember that encounter after all this time it must have been really memorable. Erm... you need to travel more, because that is definitely not true. Access in Sunndi is on par with Core adventures, and definitely higher than some of the other regions. Are you saying that the following statement is no longer enforced? Against this background it is pretty illogical to assume that every item in the DMG and PHB is directly available for purchase within Sunndi. The guidelines below indicate the maximum value of items available within Sunndi. I think the real problem is not having enough adventures period. There are so many potential plot-ideas in our meta-region that even if we could get those 8 slots per year filled, people would feel we are not giving enough attention to their favorite subject ;) :heehee touché!
Madfox11 01-25-07, 09:41 AM	Assuming I remember correctly those guidelines only count for generic access stuff like +1 weapons and the like (and the rules were probably designed during year 2). Access through favors and items found does overrule this. Mind you, I have not been the Sunndi Triad for over 2 years now, so the ultimate decision lays with them. It is good question for the Sunndi mailing list. As for those undead, the water only blocks turning while they are completely submerged. By the time they are attacking you they were supposed to rise since otherwise they would need to fight prone (undeep water) which would provide your PCs with cover as well (half your body out of the water) and blocked their sight severely due to the murkiness of the water. If the breathing thing becomes problematic you are already in trouble regardless of whether or not your character can breath since any fight that lasts longer than twice the character's Constitution score is a bad sign indeed... I will not deny that that was a tough fight. It was intended to be one, but one table where several people really complained about it, it was made too difficult because the DM made one or two mistakes like this. It is one of the downsides of using interesting and challenging terrain to spice up fights. It increases the chances of a miscommunication between author/DM/players and consequentially turning anotherwise perfectly acceptable fight into something way too lethal.
gomeztoo 01-25-07, 10:34 AM	I think I will not be playing the sequel, either. Well, if possible, I'd like to play it. Don't get a lot of chance to play in/near Sunndi and kill bullywugs (not sure if those are in hat scenario though, but it would make sense). Then again, I have designed/worked on some areas of the Vast Swamp and if part of it is set there I should probably review it, just in case... As to other Sunndi flavored (well, a bit) scenarios... COR7-01 shoudl be out in a month. Now to 'my' region: Region: Verbobonc What I Like: - The Town project. Adopted by other regions, but originated here. Some mailinglists are pretty active, and several towns have very distinctive flavor and their own plotlines. And even if I don't ever get to use the brand new bussines opportunities rules, it rocks to have the bath house, the kindergarten, and to have founded a hospital. - The various factions with their agendas, often conflicting. While I can't play regionals, the flavor does get through to online play. Choices matter in Verbobonc. - MOs with Affiliations, which is a cool idea. - Being engaged to, and bearing the child of, one of the most controversial nobles of the viscounty ;) Ok, that only applies to my PC. - Few regions where you can get your PC jailed (and otherwise involved in the plotline) on an IC mailinglist. - A very active Triad. Trust me, experience shows that this is not a given. What I Dislike: - I can't actually play the regionals, and only seldom metaregionals (only "Whistering Harm" so far) - On occasion, the high level PCs get on your nerves... (new rule: NO magic allowed in the bath house!).
Snappa 01-25-07, 12:26 PM	Principality of Ulek What I like: -The Emerald Conclave (Races of the Wild - represent!) -Ongoing story arcs involving some pretty famous/infamous personalities -Secret metaorgs that don't exist and the arachnids who don't run them -Crotchety dwarven sages -Scheming, yet oddly honorable, mind flayers -If a Suel is written into a module you know either A) He/she knows kung-fu B) He/she is an arcanist C) He/she is a Scarlet Brotherhood spy or most likely D) All of the above -The fact that we may get to affect some major change in the area through the Reclamation plot arc that starts this year (Down with the Mak!) -You can't turn around without running into a gray-elf arcanist in a dwarf-ruled land, but I can count the number of dwarves I've played with at tables on my fingers. What I don't like: -EL 6 encounters in Intro modules -100 printed pages for 1 round regional modules (templated creatures and class-leveled NPCs are out of control) -All dwarves except crotchety dwarven sages -Celene's neutrality stance -Petty bickering that always seems to occur between the geographical real-world regions of our region
NiTessine 01-25-07, 12:29 PM	Well, if possible, I'd like to play it. Don't get a lot of chance to play in/near Sunndi and kill bullywugs (not sure if those are in hat scenario though, but it would make sense). Then again, I have designed/worked on some areas of the Vast Swamp and if part of it is set there I should probably review it, just in case... As to other Sunndi flavored (well, a bit) scenarios... COR7-01 shoudl be out in Over here, I'm not even sure if I could get a table together once they heard it's the sequel to Seeds. If it's run, it'll be either me or one of our other two rules expert DMs booking it, giving it a close read, and then declaring whether it is safe. I am eagerly awaiting for my AR for COR7-01. I playtested it, and it rocked mightily.
Alpha_Nerd 01-25-07, 12:35 PM	Region: The Bandit Kingdoms When characters from the Bandit Kingdoms play out of region we always do something that makes all of the other players at the table do a doubletake, but it would be considered perfectly normal in the BK. The BK gives us a chance to play a wide variety of storylines. The BK mods are gritty, and sometimes the right choice is giving the dark artifact to the Evil wizard. The Metaregionals give us a chance to fight Iuz and the be the heroes and all that other stuff. Core mods give us the ability to be normal heroes outside of Iuz's land, and do all the normal hero stuff like run into burning buildings to save babies/elderly women and cast freely instead of the underground resistance you see in IUZ mods.
gomeztoo 01-25-07, 01:04 PM	I am eagerly awaiting for my AR for COR7-01. I playtested it, and it rocked mightily. Thanks. I had to cut mightily in the mod's fluff text (and some optional stuff) though, because I had ended up with double the allowed word count... Some stuff I cut may turn up in a sequel, if ever there is one...
Cardinal Teplin 01-25-07, 01:50 PM	I liked Seeds. It was one of the best adventures I've seen. Real focus on getting the flavour right, which really did help. Some of the fights were a bit tough... We lost one party member because we couldn't work out the clues to an encounter involving an earth elemental. I was fond of the flower collecting myself. What do I like about Onnwal? It hangs together as a region. The various dispirate parts feel like they are part of a country or region, and not representatives of various expansion books. The triad don't shy away from limiting what is around, and major NPCs are important because they are in important positions, not because they are high level. In short, it works. Dislikes? Too much of the plot is beyond the players. The Szek is an increasingly unpopular character not so much because of what he does as because he's too often used as a prop to force PCs to act against their better judgement. We escort diplomats to Rary, but never find out why. We need good relations with Ahlissa but aren't told why. There may well be good reasons for these decisions, but if they don't filter down to the players, then in a very real sense, they don't exist in the game. I'd definitely recommend it as a region though. H
kenobi65 01-25-07, 04:36 PM	- On occasion, the high level PCs get on your nerves... (new rule: NO magic allowed in the bath house!). My paladin is now a member of the 3rd Company of the Mounted Borderers; the Gnarley is now my "beat". I'd come help maintain order, but I think some of those other PCs could kick my butt. ;)
Japangirl 01-25-07, 05:39 PM	Region: Bandit Kingdoms Likes: 1) We do things here that make other regions cringe. I like that the flavor of being occupied by a CE demi-god is transmitted through the modules, and Good choices are few and far between. I like that when you kill someone, it's just SOP to cut off the tongue, cut off the head, hand them to two different people, and move on. I like it that if someone attacks the party, they are automatically dead meat. No tying up and handing over to authorities, no sapping to unconsciousness and leaving. If we need answers, we'll leave one alive but after we get our answers, the baddie is dead and headless. It's simply too dangerous to leave them alive. 2) Modules are really really tough. It's lessened since Y3 and Y4 some, but I still think the BK is one of the hardest regions around. When I play Yeomanry or Core mods, I want to play up. In the BK, I play down as much as possible and still almost die every other module. Dislikes: 1) The Wanted points system. I know that Iuz doesn't really like it when we mess with his church or his minions, but the Wanted system penalizes players too much for succeeding in missions. When every BK mod I play costs me an extra TU and 6% of the gold I earned, I am significantly behind the power curve of players who are not forced to hide their identities and pay bribes to just walk around. Again, it's not so bad now, but there was a time when almost every single BK mod gave you a Wanted point, making it nearly impossible to avoid high Wanted status (Y3 and Y4 again, which is when I started playing). 2) Access isn't as good as in some other regions, because of the whole CE demigod ruling the region. People aren't exactly flooding the region with trade goods. There is a reason Dallas people refer to the Yeomanry as "the land of milk and honey". Not so much a dislike as a fact of life, but certainly not a like either. 3) There are way way too many wizards who know how to make cadaver collectors. Enough said.
Britt 01-25-07, 05:58 PM	2) Access isn't as good as in some other regions, because of the whole CE demigod ruling the region. People aren't exactly flooding the region with trade goods. There is a reason Dallas people refer to the Yeomanry as "the land of milk and honey". Not so much a dislike as a fact of life, but certainly not a like either. Actually, that phrase started in OK and slowly migrated south. I'd start arguing about access, but that's not really what this thread is about.
Akhamshyy 01-25-07, 06:10 PM	As a Keolander, there's a long list of thing I love about my region. The politics. The craziness of the court of the land, and the noble families. Viscounts and earls and Dukes, and one viscious regent. Makes for great interactives. Paranoid citizenry. "Oh my goodness, that man has stones floating 'round his head!" Gotta love negative modifiers for stuff that any adventurer wouldn't leave home without. Burning Witches. One of my main PCs most favored pass-times. Go ahead and cast Evard's on this side of the Sheldomar. You won't live to regret it. Secret police. Between the Dark Watch, Dread Walkers and the Silent Ones, we've got our bases covered. If it don't belong here they'll get rid of it. If it happens to be you, you'll be gone too. And lastly I must put my hands together for the greatest of my regions treasures. Our writers and their half-black dragon, fiendish, farspawns, of legend. Or whatever crazy fun they brainstorm if left alone for too long.
Lomiat 01-25-07, 07:51 PM	Actually, that phrase started in OK and slowly migrated south. I'd start arguing about access, but that's not really what this thread is about. You're just going to post there and take that, Lord Iu... er, Britt? Smite! Smite! er... Invite her to Dorakaa for diplomatic overtures...
Lomiat 01-25-07, 07:57 PM	The Shield Lands. Right, yeah, the Shield Lands. What do I like about the Shield Lands? Ours is a nation at war with Iuz. Over 90% of the country is occupied. And that 10% that we recovered? It was bought in blood. Our nation reveres Lady Katarina, our ruler, and looks to her for guidance. There was a short period after her assassination that her soul was unrecoverable, but that's all been cleared up by now. Some adventurers looked into it. But now we're ready to fight back in a big way. The first Griffon Riders are joining the Standing Army. We had a serious matter of treachery rooted out and eliminated--in a way. The Council of Lords often finds itself deadlocked in argument, but some events go far beyond that. It's hard to be a hero in the Shield Lands. The Lords claim the glory, but Iuz sends his Hunter Killers after the adventurers doing all the dirty work behind enemy lines. You want to know about access? Why don't you just focus on staying alive, soldier! There have been beasts coming from the shadows lately, and the adventurers that have gone searching after them haven't yet returned...
copper_wyrmling 01-25-07, 09:28 PM	Burning Witches. One of my main PCs most favored pass-times. Go ahead and cast Evard's on this side of the Sheldomar. You won't live to regret it. My sorcerer got away with casting Evard's at a Bissel interactive which I think had more Keoland adventurers than Bisselites... sure, she got reported to the Nightwatch, but that was mostly because of her Strong Necromancy aura and her tendency to flinch away from Radiant Servants ("The light! It burns!"), rather than her use of banned spells. And while I didn't play Seeds, I have read it, and I wish I'd gotten a chance to play it. I playtested the sequel, and your fears are unfounded: it's a wonderful mod and the author has been very careful to avoid some of the (unintended) nastinesses that cropped up in Seeds. My Wild Mage adored the Menowood ;)
solbergb 01-25-07, 10:12 PM	Pale: 1. I just like the authors and judges. We've got a deep pool of talent here and get a really wide variety of adventures with hooks for faithful Pholtans and chaotic heathens alike. 2. Real enemies. The Pale has something of a seige mentality but just because they're paranoid doesn't mean the world isn't out to get them. In the south we have the Gamboge, home of a green dragon, various chaotic creatures and folks that don't like that this area is the most fertile in the Pale and so yeah, we clear some trees away. To the West we've got the Phostwood, which is a very scary place on its own, plus infested with fractious wild elves and Iuzian spies. To the NW we've got Tenh, nuff said. To the North the Troll Fens. To the East the Rakers, stuffed with humanoids and giants always trying to crush our trade routes. Plus internally we've got Nyrondese, Hextorites, Iuzians and the odd Cuthbertite trying to overthrow our government or corrupt it. 3. No nobles. The church isn't NEARLY as annoying as most nobles in most regions. 4. A code of law inspired by a LG deity, rigidly enforced by his LN followers even when they'd like to be harder on misbehaving chaotic adventurers. In the Pale, being "Right" will often excuse a lot of acts. Carving an assassin in half with no provocation will get you a pat on the back if he really was an assassin - you were inspired by Pholtus. If he's an innocent well, you'd better hope to have a good lawyer and keep it to New Dawn time. 5. A code of law that emphasizes rehabilitation. Property crimes and minor physical crimes have punishments designed to provide restitution to the victim and reform the criminal, not to punish the criminal. Religious crimes are another matter. 6. The safest place to be in the world is a Pholtan court of law if you aren't guilty. The government is *almost* incorruptable, within their own rules. Some of the folks at the top are debatable :) 7. The Pale changes some based on PC actions. The government got "softer" for a while after the new Theocrat (an ex-adventurer himself) decided to try out progressive ideas after conversations with adventurers. When some so-called "Heroes" sided with Redspan in the Tenha conflict though, he rapidly tightened up the rules. There are now zero PC's with direct govenrmental authority in the Pale now, although the majority have kind of "detached duty" status with many metaorgs, or the equivalent of an independent command. 8. Adventures can be fun for the chaotic too. My CN Gnome got to go undercover in a New Dawn camp and, with full sanction of the government, beat up Pholtan guards and engineer a prison break. Highlight of his life so far :) 9. The successful are lawful, in a lawful society. Even the thieves guild is lawful, and it doesn't exist. But if it did, it would have lots of secrecy rules. If a criminal runs down the street, passer-bys will help pursuing heros find him (unless they look/act like violent, dangerous criminals too) 10. The reaction Pholtans get when we travel after all those evil Pholtans in core modules or other regionals. The Church of the One True Path considers those guys all heretics anyway, so we don't take offense when folks say they hate THOSE Pholtans. *usually* our PC's give a better impression. 11. The fact that a Pholtans think adventurers are an orderly, lawful bunch. When you stop playing your pholtans you discover how chaotic they are. A critical mass of 2-3 Pholtans causes everyone to clean up their act or be more subtle. It was funny as heck when we started playing secondary characters and saw the difference in behavior. 12 - ok, this is a call-out to the BK, but I had a blast playing my non-Pholtan Pale spy in year 5 Dimre modules. It turns out that "knowing how Pholtans behave" is a huge advantage in Dimre, in spite of their heresy. Although my spy almost blew the cover of another spy... "In my experience Pholtans never lie when asked a direct question. So....are you a Palish spy?" answer "I don't want to answer that" me "oops!" (looks around for a distraction, notices an invisible spy/assassin, exposes her and starts a big fight that ended with me getting WCI points and disfavors...but in the confusion everyone forgot my last couple questions..) Dislikes: Too many characters and not enough play opportunities for them in the Pale itself. Even with interactives and minimissions my main guy has only played a couple times in the last years. My lower level characters keep clamoring for attention. This isn't the fault of the region. I just have no self control. When Pale Pholtans are used by authors in Core or metaregional modules that don't understand our flavor of Pholtans. It isn't an accident that the only halfway reasonable Pholtan you'll meet in a core mod is a recent module written by a triad and ex-triad of the Pale. Usually the first mod in a series is really bad that way (for some reason, LN Pholtans are played as NE and yet still get granted spells) and after our triad complains the later in the series are bearable.
JJeff 01-25-07, 11:17 PM	Region: Perrenland I like the whole Perrenland series of A Nations Mocked. It started in CY 594 and it's safe to say, becoming year 7's focus. Of the CY 597's mods 8/9 mods are part of the series with 7-09 possibly being part of the series (though 7-06, 7-07 and 7-08 are pretty much a super adventure split into three mods). Throughout the series, my main character has learnt many interesting things about Perrenlands history and secrets and has accomplished some major deeds, he feels he's earned his skills. Most things I can't go into, as there are still year six mods and I havn't played the whole series yet, but the regional flavour is juicy. I dislike only one part of Perrenland. We fight undead too much. (Thats probably an understatement). I still wonder why I don't have a bane undead sword or a radiant cheesegrater (what I now call them). Second most common enemy is probably evil humans bent on plain evil or evil outsiders. I like the regional flavour, how we perrenders take heads and all (I proclaimed myself the only perrender who is a melee fighter who doesn't take heads). I even recieved a funny regionally flavoured item, the head of raticus maximus (a rat wizard in an intro mod, no really, it's on a cert with other cool stuff) for one of my secondary characters. I think my region could improve by continuing to do the great job it's currently doing and start a new focus for next year (without undead). Region: Perrenland too I, unfortunately, run games and almost never play in any. So I see Perrenland from an entirely different perspective. A Nation Mocked is a fantastic storyline and I am impressed by the modules so far. I was a little shocked to see the access for ANM Part 1 (PER4-07 was it?) but the Year 5 ANMs were great and I personally felt that PER5-06-Beneath the Citadel should have been part of ANM due to who it involved. The group started out new to the region (us being in Singapore and only entering Perrenland in late 2006) and were all rather, let us say, surpised by the traditions of Perrenland. Now, with loads of Regionals under their belt, my groups (about 15++ players or so) are starting to become Pro-Nerull and praise Nerull wherever they go (except the clerics of Pelor, though they sneak in some Nerull praises at times). Perrenland, the only place where undead are your enemies, undead are your friends and, heck, you ARE undead at times... wonder why the demonic armies don't care about us much. Come to think of it, I just came up with a question for Britt which I'll ask in the questions thread Classic moments in Perrenland in CY595 mods from players: "What do you mean that little boy changed into a Babau?? I don't care. I'm gonna poke every little boy I see with a cold iron needle first" *Fact: Little boy was a quasit in disguise that lead the party into an ambush of Babaus" "What? Huge Fiendish Assasin Vines?? 30 foot reach?? " "What? A Bulette at APL 2?? RUN!!!" "Igg-Wilv loves me... she really does. She loves me so much I get penalties and nightmares.." "But... but. If her mom's name is.... and my clan is Vuurzward.. I'm... NOOOO!!!" I hope I didn't spoil anything. But all those were from Year 5 mods.
Mortepierre 01-26-07, 05:03 AM	10. The reaction Pholtans get when we travel after all those evil Pholtans in core modules or other regionals. The Church of the One True Path considers those guys all heretics anyway, so we don't take offense when folks say they hate THOSE Pholtans. *usually* our PC's give a better impression. While Pholtans NPC I've met in Core mods were mostly acting as LE individuals, I don't think it's the only reason PC from many regions dislike the Pale these days. Warning: what follows is NOT a flame, nor meant as an insult! My main character is a honored lord of Tenh (yay me! 1000 acres of dustland :weep: ) thanks to the Children of the Dust series, and I know I'm far from the only one out there. Yet, despite the official conclusion being that Labahlah is now Duke of Tenh, the Pale's triad seems to have decided that since it didn't suit their plans, they would sort of ignore it. The Pale has taken control of most of eastern Tenh and even introduced a new druidic (druids serving Pholtus!?! :uh-huh: ) order that can restore the land in as effective a way as the one we gave to Labahlah and paid for in blood. To those of us who suffered through the last part of the CotD trilogy, it's like a cold shower because, basically, we're being told "no matter what you did, since it didn't turn out as we wanted it to be we'll do it our way". Please note that I'm not saying this is actually what the Pale's triad aimed at, or that they acted out of malice. Be that as it may, it's still the way some of us have interpreted recent events in that part of the Flanaess. Now, on one hand, I've got to admire their move. Since everybody and their mother expect Palish people to stick to their way because it's the only way, it makes sense that they wouldn't accept a situation that didn't turn out to their advantage. So, kudos for that (no, but really!). On the other hand, I think it has driven a wedge between PC from the Pale and those from other (meta-)regions. Being a saighden of Tenh and a nobleman sworn to Labahlah, I'm forced to consider anyone faithful/loyal to the Pale as an enemy till things change on the political landscape. Given that PvP is a big no-no between players in LG, the main consequence is that I can't sit down at the same table as a Palish PC. Thankfully, it happens rarely in my part of the (real) world so this hasn't been an issue.. yet.
Simpi 01-26-07, 12:03 PM	On the other hand, I think it has driven a wedge between PC from the Pale and those from other (meta-)regions. Being a saighden of Tenh and a nobleman sworn to Labahlah, I'm forced to consider anyone faithful/loyal to the Pale as an enemy till things change on the political landscape. Like a local PC. He attacks (and usually manages to kill) all Pholtan NPCs he sees because of this for them being enemies of his lord and also for possibly tresspassing on his 1000 acres of dust :D Given that PvP is a big no-no between players in LG, the main consequence is that I can't sit down at the same table as a Palish PC. Thankfully, it happens rarely in my part of the (real) world so this hasn't been an issue.. yet. Depends how module does it. As Nitessine pointed out, around here some sort of inter-party conflict is not entirely an alien concept and modules can account for it. Sampo Haarlaa Naerie Triad
CdrcJsn 01-26-07, 03:41 PM	My main character is a honored lord of Tenh (yay me! 1000 acres of dustland :weep: ) thanks to the Children of the Dust series, and I know I'm far from the only one out there. Yet, despite the official conclusion being that Labahlah is now Duke of Tenh, the Pale's triad seems to have decided that since it didn't suit their plans, they would sort of ignore it. The Pale has taken control of most of eastern Tenh and even introduced a new druidic (druids serving Pholtus!?! :uh-huh: ) order that can restore the land in as effective a way as the one we gave to Labahlah and paid for in blood. Look at it from the Pholtan point of view... The people currrently occuping Tenh are not Palish Pholtans. They are the Faithful Flan. Those Tenha that sought refuge in the Pale during the wars, converted to Pholtus, trained to be a fighting force and equipped to retake their homeland from the forces of Iuz, the Stoneholders and later the Ether threat. They saw the previous Duke flee in cowardice to exile in the Urnst lands. His son is an unknown character (yeah, the land chose him, but the land is sick and who gives credence to heathen magics?). The Faithful Flan drove out the Stoneholders occupying Calbut with severe casualties and now this upstart pup wants them to swear allegiance to him? It wasn't until almost a year later that the Faithful Flan of Tenh petitioned the Pale for inclusion to that country as a new Prelacy. So where you see the Pale as a land grabbing evil, I see a large portion of the Tenha people sick of their former rulers/ways and wish to be ruled by the Throne of the Sun in Wintershiven under Pholtus's guiding light.
Mortepierre 01-26-07, 08:37 PM	So where you see the Pale as a land grabbing evil, I see a large portion of the Tenha people sick of their former rulers/ways and wish to be ruled by the Throne of the Sun in Wintershiven under Pholtus's guiding light. IC, yes, your analysis of the situation is certainly correct. OOC, I would have gone along with it too IF Labahlah had remained the only person able to "restore" the land (thanks to the relic we fetched for him). What I can't swallow is a Palish druidic order appearing out of the blue just to allow the Pale to restore on its own the lands occupied by the Faithful Flan. While Pholtus does have dominion over the solar/lunar cycle (sort of.. I bet Pelor/Celestian would have some things to say about that..) AND given a 3e druid can be LN, I admit that a rare druid-astronomer might worship Pholtus rather than one of the usual "Nature" deities. However, we're talking restoration of the land here and, unless I'm sadly mistaken, Pholtus has no dominion over Oerth, Nature, Stuff-that-Grows, etc... Even Labahlah, the rightful Duke of Tenh, a true worshipper of the old Flan deities, managed to restore but a small part of the land only after bleeding for it (literally) and using an ancient relic. If the situation had evolved to the point where you have on one side Labahlah with few minions and few means but with the unique gift of restoring the land and on the other the Faithful Flan backed by the Pale but forced to live on lands reduced to dust, it would have created - IMHO - an interesting situation since each "side" would have had something the other sorely needed. However, as things stand, Labahlah is still in need of supplies and loyal warriors while the Faithful Flan have everything they need since they don't have to rely on the Duke at all to change dust back to grass. This makes me wonder if I should bother playing the new Legacy of Life series :ahem:
solbergb 01-27-07, 01:22 AM	Well, one thing to think about. The duke is restoring his land singlehandedly, with vast magic and pain etc. The Pale has supported the training of as many druids as would follow Pholtus ever since they evicted most of the existing druids for keeping the Scars of Nerull secret (and thus preventing Palish authorities from doing a permanent fix, until the situation escalated and demons were running across the land blighting farm animals and such) So what you get is a small army of weak druids, each painfully growing a few trees. Meanwhile in Redspan, nobody is helping the land but the Duke. (remember that before he took power there were ZERO divine casters in Redspan. Every faith abandoned the old Redspan Flan. This is why they had food shortages, medical emergencies etc in the old series. They had a circle of 8 arcanist and his followers for magic and that was it) Net/net...they both make progress. But the resources spent by the Pale are much higher. OTOH, what else are all those ex-flan-refugees going to do with their time? It also isn't clear if the Shapers would be accomplishing anything if the Duke wasn't given the artifact thingie. On the flipside, their efforts are helping the Duke heal the land faster. So if you aren't a Tenha, you'd probably want to help both of them (as indeed, our Phostwood Elves do, although they do their best to not admit that they helped the other guys whenever working for one faction, and refuse all honors from all sides) If it was possible to pool forces, it would probably fix hugely faster..if the Duke had the manpower of the Shapers of Sun and Stone. However Tenha are irrational when it comes to "their" land. So such a rapproachment isn't likely. Although somewhat more possible now that the Pale is sending Progressive party Pholtans out to negotiate with the Duke instead of having fanatical Tenha just-converted types doing the interactions. Eh...and one more thing. Duke or no duke, there would still be Iuzians and Stoneholders all over Tenh if it wasn't for the Faithful Flan and the Pale. The Pale took back those lands, broke those armies IN SPITE of Redspan joining the Iuzians in attacking Palish armies. The Redspan forces would have been crushed by either faction had they attempted to kick Iuz or Stonehold out, much less both. Pholtus (or the Gods, if you're old faith) has a plan for Tenh, and it includes both factions, much as they'd hate to admit it.
Mortepierre 01-27-07, 04:09 AM	Well, one thing to think about. <snip> Pholtus (or the Gods, if you're old faith) has a plan for Tenh, and it includes both factions, much as they'd hate to admit it. Hmm.. I confess I hadn't seen it that way. Yes, that indeed makes sense then, although I'm surprised to learn Labahlah helped Iuz attack the Faithful Flan. That doesn't sound like the duke I swore allegiance to :confused:
gomeztoo 01-27-07, 07:00 AM	I would advise people to play From the Dust before drawing hasty conclusions.
_m_ 01-29-07, 06:14 PM	Region: Ratik thing i love most about it: :weep: the fact that i was once in perenland. COME BACK TO ME my beloved perenland!
Haro 01-29-07, 06:35 PM	Region: Ratik thing i love most about it: :weep: the fact that i was once in perenland. COME BACK TO ME my beloved perenland! If you put 1/1000th of the energy you devote to these boards into begging/fundraising/working/otherwise earning, you could buy a private jet to fly you up here. Do that and I'll run you through a few Perrenland games! ;-) Joe
_m_ 01-29-07, 09:44 PM	If you put 1/1000th of the energy you devote to these boards into begging/fundraising/working/otherwise earning, you could buy a private jet to fly you up here. Do that and I'll run you through a few Perrenland games! ;-) Joe awww. thats so sweet... and insulting,... but mostly sweet :D i'm likely going to brisbane games day this sunday, and of course, gen con is a no brainer.
solbergb 01-29-07, 10:00 PM	Hmm.. I confess I hadn't seen it that way. Yes, that indeed makes sense then, although I'm surprised to learn Labahlah helped Iuz attack the Faithful Flan. That doesn't sound like the duke I swore allegiance to :confused: I don't think it was, although I think the Pale and Redspan are still technically at a state of war, or perhaps cease fire. They aren't at peace, as both sides have radical elements who thinks the bits of Tenh the others are on belong to them. Taking Tenh interactive happened before Labahlah took power. I think it was roughly simultaneous with the premiere of War of the Dust. Which means he might have been chosen, but had yet to take control of all of the Redspan forces. It's certainly something he can claim anyway, and is unlikely to be contradicted in the current climate. We were attacked by Redspan Guerillas out of the Phostwood, harassing our supply lines but that doesn't necessarily mean the new guy ordered them. Might have been the old Duke, or it might have just been fanatical Tenh Flan whackanuts, of which there was plenty (read Riddle of the Dust, for the whackanuts on both sides).
DarkKnight 01-30-07, 12:24 AM	Region: Shield Lands Likes: -Being at war with a CE Demi-god. -Having reclaimed some of our land slowly and VERY painfully, then lost some of said land. War sucks. -Rooting out corruptions in the Council of Lords. -Having Lady Katerina back and running the Council. -Curing the Plague that struck not only us but Dyvers as well. -Being lost... it's kind of dark here. -Taking out a Boneheart or two. -The political intrigue Dislikes: -Being at war with a CE Demi-god, we need to put him down... soon. -Having to put up with Dyvers for trade.
KPollnow 02-08-07, 11:28 AM	Region: Bandit Kingdoms So very many things to like, and a few not, but currently my favortie thing about the region is my Dimre character that almost always plays with 3 other Dimrites. This is especially interesting at interactives.
Hariman 02-17-07, 01:10 AM	Keoland has great storylines. All the Keoland and Sheldomar Valley mods that I have played have had GREAT storylines. Plus, when you win in a Keoland or Sheldomar Valley mod, you KNOW you've won. The battles are as tough as the storylines are good. And the Access you get is pretty good too. Plus, there's the standard Keoland greeting: Welcome to Keoland! Roll initiative. Hariman
Relikin 02-17-07, 07:46 AM	Remember, there are no undead in Keoland. :ghosted:
Lupo 02-17-07, 08:24 AM	Keoland has great storylines. All the Keoland and Sheldomar Valley mods that I have played have had GREAT storylines. Plus, when you win in a Keoland or Sheldomar Valley mod, you KNOW you've won. The battles are as tough as the storylines are good. And the Access you get is pretty good too. Plus, there's the standard Keoland greeting: Welcome to Keoland! Roll initiative. Hariman come over to the region of the splintered suns, the opening of a module tends to be: "everyone roll a d20, hey and give me your "sense motive" modifiers . . . . . . ok, let's proceed" :rolleyes: after being beaten up and outsmarted by treacherous plot hook NPC. DM: "none of you was able to beat the DC 99 check on getting the bluff in the intro . . . . ." :P ciao martin m.
solbergb 02-17-07, 11:56 AM	I remember noticing in Ket that it seemed possible to fail the modules at the beginning because the opening hook usually seemed to be. "You're in a city. Gather information to see if anything is going on. Then convince the potential patron that they want you guys, and not some other team." My sample size is pretty small, and diplomats were common in a region that is pretty harsh on lethal damage to citizens. We did have one mod where we cooled our heels for a couple days until the guys they hired instead of us got slaughtered and they settled for us :) So it is possible the perception is just flavor and the mods can handle socially inept parties. Or maybe the DM was kind to us, I dunno.
amnuxoll 02-17-07, 12:32 PM	Region: Furyondy There are plenty of good things about Furyondy but the best part about playing here is the players themselves. You can come here to game and be virtually guaranteed a good time. :) :AMN:
GreatSiron 02-19-07, 05:02 PM	2) Modules are really really tough. It's lessened since Y3 and Y4 some, but I still think the BK is one of the hardest regions around. When I play Yeomanry or Core mods, I want to play up. In the BK, I play down as much as possible and still almost die every other module. What Yeomanry mods are you playing? I went to the Bandit Kingdoms for one con, played almost every year 5, and still had less trouble than certain yeomanry mods, where I survived by the skin of my teeth and still ended up cursed. (Like in a certain Y4.)
Japangirl 02-19-07, 07:24 PM	I didn't play any Yeomanry mods until Y5 and Y6 ones. I couldn't travel until then. So I started playing BK mods with a few Y3s and Y4s, and then added Yeomanry Y5 and Y6 ones later.
Hariman 02-20-07, 09:26 PM	come over to the region of the splintered suns, the opening of a module tends to be: "everyone roll a d20, hey and give me your "sense motive" modifiers . . . . . . ok, let's proceed" :rolleyes: after being beaten up and outsmarted by treacherous plot hook NPC. DM: "none of you was able to beat the DC 99 check on getting the bluff in the intro . . . . ." :P ciao martin m. Core modules do that with DC 50 spot checks and other such nonsense.
LGMoses 02-21-07, 09:58 AM	What I love are when a module has a really big monster at APL 2. A CR 5, i figure thats about as big as it can get. BUT, its set to where the pc's will only fite it if they do something really weird, like going out of their way to invade the hidden creatures space.
solbergb 02-21-07, 10:00 AM	The only DC50 spot check I have seen in a core mod was legit (a ranger/druid with camoflauge, forestfold , maxed hide ranks and a distance modifier) If the bad guys spend resources on being sneaky, they should get the benefit of it. My only objection is the guys who do NOT spend such resources "Spawning" next to the party. 100% of the cases like that where I checked the mod later have been lazy judges, not the author. The author didn't say anything about encoutner distances, so the judge just stuck the monsters next to the party.
Haro 02-21-07, 06:20 PM	The only DC50 spot check I have seen in a core mod was legit (a ranger/druid with camoflauge, forestfold , maxed hide ranks and a distance modifier) If the bad guys spend resources on being sneaky, they should get the benefit of it. My only objection is the guys who do NOT spend such resources "Spawning" next to the party. 100% of the cases like that where I checked the mod later have been lazy judges, not the author. The author didn't say anything about encoutner distances, so the judge just stuck the monsters next to the party. There's a current core module with an Orc Druid NPC following the party that requires a Spot DC 63 to notice IIRC. It comes up a couple of times throughout... I haven't run it in a while but it seemed legit without analysing it. Joe
Madfox11 02-22-07, 09:15 AM	after being beaten up and outsmarted by treacherous plot hook NPC. DM: "none of you was able to beat the DC 99 check on getting the bluff in the intro . . . . ." :P I have a feeling he is exaggerating here... since I cannot remember a Splintered Suns meta-regional with a DC 99 Sense Motive check ;) Now I know of a couple of meta-regionals where assassin/bards and clerics with Trickery domain had maxed out Bluff skills and some pre-made stories that sounded good and which 90% of the tables bought. Nothing does an author more good than players screaming for the blood of their NPCs without ever even fighting that NPC :D
ZX670 02-22-07, 12:06 PM	What Yeomanry mods are you playing? I went to the Bandit Kingdoms for one con, played almost every year 5, and still had less trouble than certain yeomanry mods, where I survived by the skin of my teeth and still ended up cursed. (Like in a certain Y4.) This the one with a Sword-for-arms construct that could crit on a 12-20 and gave the curse on a crit, which was obviously bound to happen? Then accelerated the curse each additional crit on that character? I remember that one, if so. For a while there, it seemed someone in my party was getting a curse in every YEO mod I played, lol. I don't believe YEO mods are easy, but the access is certainly heads above what the BK is dishing out, or the lack thereof.
GreatSiron 02-22-07, 12:37 PM	This the one with a Sword-for-arms construct that could crit on a 12-20 and gave the curse on a crit, which was obviously bound to happen? Then accelerated the curse each additional crit on that character? I remember that one, if so. For a while there, it seemed someone in my party was getting a curse in every YEO mod I played, lol. I don't believe YEO mods are easy, but the access is certainly heads above what the BK is dishing out, or the lack thereof. Yes that one. I finally got rid of that stupid curse, I was at the next to last stage, and I guess I have to agree on one thing, Yeomanry mods do give out great access. (If you survive, that is.)
Alpha_Nerd 02-22-07, 12:53 PM	Bandit Kingdoms: Three and a half words: Death Cultist Meta-Org.
Britt 02-22-07, 01:03 PM	Bandit Kingdoms: Three and a half words: Death Cultist Meta-Org. That brings a tear to my undead eye.
Cardinal Teplin 02-22-07, 08:29 PM	The only DC50 spot check I have seen in a core mod was legit (a ranger/druid with camoflauge, forestfold , maxed hide ranks and a distance modifier) I don't see what is wrong with such a high spot check ... so long as the author actually considers what happens when a PC makes it. If the bad guys spend resources on being sneaky, they should get the benefit of it. My only objection is the guys who do NOT spend such resources "Spawning" next to the party. 100% of the cases like that where I checked the mod later have been lazy judges, not the author. I investigate too, and it's not always the judge. In core mods there have been cases where the mod simply specifies the encounter difference with no regard to cover, lack of it, or anyone spotting anyone else. I've not seen it recently though. One of the things I think has improved over the years. I've not had a problem with it regionals though - possibly because Onnnwal is sufficiently mountenous that you can justify almost any distance as the nearest two groups can see eachother.
_metz_ 02-22-07, 11:31 PM	Region: Ratik What I like most about it: Its new, hence I can get involved in writing stuff for it, which is fun! Its also got a good old fashioned medieval setting. I like the idea of Barbarians, Evil humanoids, and A lot of Sea based modules... it just seems like a nice change from the ol' undead bash that is Perrenland. What I don't like about it: Growing up as a Perrender, I am used to MUCH harder mods, a well built Perrender PC has a habit of walking through a NMR or a lot of Ratik mods - hence I find the modules a little easy by comparison. There isn't enough Modules There isn't enough modules at a high APL, I started off the year with a level 3 Rogue who moved to Ratik, and he is now almost a level 8 - and will soon be too high to play a lot of Ratik mods. And Finally: I really got to say it, NMR are not as tough as Perrender ones, and because up till now they haven't had much to do with Ratik I haven't been able to get into them really. Hopefully this will change, as Ratik becomes a full region. Don't interpret this as a "I want harder modules" Its just due to the new nature of the region, Roleplaying is less prolific, due to not much haveing been written yet, and so when the mods aren't as hard as well... Oh well. Maybe I should just go with what m said. Give me Perrenland back!!!
Eric Anondson 02-23-07, 12:30 AM	Region: Ratik What I like most about it: Its new, hence I can get involved in writing stuff for it, which is fun!Well, to nit pick, Hawaii had developed Ratik for a few years until the RPGA took it back for low levels of play. I coordinated with the then Ratik triad when I created my Pale-Ratik-Bone March (http://www.canonfire.com/cfhtml/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=4&min=10&orderby=titleA&show=10) map now found on Canonfire!. I would hope the old Ratik stuff isn't being tossed out while new stuff is written...
_metz_ 02-23-07, 12:48 AM	Nah, we are keeping as much of the old stuff as possible, though of course some small things will inevitably be changed.
Eric Anondson 02-23-07, 12:55 AM	Nah, we are keeping as much of the old stuff as possible, though of course some small things will inevitably be changed.Cool! Changing those maps would have been a headache! ;) BTW, if the Ratik region guys wish to reuse those maps of mine, they have my permission to crop down to whichever portion they want and they can do with them what they will.
Britt 02-23-07, 12:56 AM	Eric makes awesome maps! Hey Eric, want to work on an updated map of the IUZ area?
solbergb 02-23-07, 01:01 AM	Region: Ratik I really got to say it, NMR are not as tough as Perrender ones, and because up till now they haven't had much to do with Ratik I haven't been able to get into them really. I see you didn't play NMR6-03 Privilege of the Dead. (not many did. The playtest version was absolutely brutal, causing an average of 3 deaths in my simulations and two TPK's, and the playtest parties with very experienced and powerful parties got through by burning favors and luck. We calculated the EL's to be about +2 higher than the mod said in most things) and although we came up with a decent eratta for the premier that fixed most of the problems, the attempt to edit it for general release failed I guess, as it has been pulled permanently. It's kind of sad. The mod had some interesting ideas, but some of the logic needed to be tighter to draw the party in a bit more, and the monsters would have been better served to scale with class levesl than advancement. One encounter suffered from the fact that the book the monster came from is on drugs when looking at the scaling. A hint to WOTC...if something casts as X levels of sorcerer, more hitpoints, immunities and etc, it is not CR X-2. It is at LEAST CR = X. NMR mods are pretty variable. I've seen some that are very very easy. Stuff written by the Pale authors is usually what I think of as a good level of danger (it's fair, but if you blunder in without thinking it will eviscerate you). None of our guys wrote the Year 6s though, although at least one is doing a Y7. I've seen some with encounters that scaled very badly - either too easy or way too strong. There was a Y5 metaregional that at APL12 could expose the party to an empowered, CL20 horrid wilting combined with a quickened unholy blight in terrain where it is very hard for the party to do anything but all be in the area. (that's about 110 hitpoints to the whole party, which is guaranteed to kill the NPC with you and is likely to kill a couple squishier PC's, plus familiars, companions, etc) A different one at APL4 or 6 had an imp with a quite powerful necklace of fireballs backed by a fireball throwing sorceress. (and a devil and some other minions...probably APL6 Just drop the necklace into the party, have her ignite them all with a fireball (it will fail its save, unattended) and you have a nice instant TPK. It was a weird thing- the fight had nothing that dangerous at other APLs. We've been going through a few metaregional coordinators lately and the author/editing quality has been a little spotty. I have some hopes for the year 7s...Mad Baron had very interesting pacing and a lot of the 7s seem to be tied into that from what I've heard, and I've done a playtest for another that was both a change from the "3 strikes you're out" model but yet still pretty challenging. Every year I can remember we've had a couple really good metaregionals and a couple really bad ones and the rest were pretty variable (requiring the judge to do some work to tie it together, or scaling well at some APL's and poorly at others) . Last year we only had half the usual number, so it's hard to comment.
Eric Anondson 02-23-07, 01:09 AM	I've been out of the mapping thing for a few years—I last left off with an unfinished project mapping the entire Sheldomar Valley, from the Sea Princes, to Ket, to Ull, to the Pomarj... mapping the Crystalmists/Barrier Peaks/Hellfurnaces mountain range is a killer!—but I may be getting back in as it happens. *ahem* Unfortunatly I never did map all of the Iuz empire, mostly the BK, Shield Lands, and a significant chunk of Furyondy. Never got to Highfolk or Perrenland, much less Iuz proper or the Rovers. I was going to get back to finish Iuz someday... and the Great Kingdom... life happened to take a detour. So much new has happened though that updates are certainly called for!
_metz_ 02-23-07, 01:35 AM	NMR mods are pretty variable. well with any luck I will get more into them as time goes on. Its just a big change from the Iuz region.
solbergb 02-23-07, 02:12 AM	One difference with NMR is that in the Iuz border states (and also VDF I think) the assumption was that metaregionals are where the high level mods are, and they should be more difficult. Not being at war with each other, the NMR mods have scope for a wider variety of APL's and aren't treated as easier or harder than regional modules. They're just more play opportunities much like core. It will be a comedown from battling the Old One. The plotlines tend to have more to do with political stuff, or disruption of trade routes or religious conspiracies. We don't have an enemy like Iuz to confront repeatedly. (The Pale has had some pretty hardcore external enemies, but most of the rest of the metaregion is less at risk except from internal problems) In some cases this leads to 2-16 level ranges which can cause some scaling oddities, as it does in core mods. Different regions in NMR treat the high level play differently. The Pale traditionally has a mix of low and high level mods, always using the XX number of "over 12" mods allowed, plus interactives almost always scale all the way up. In Nyrond, it looks to me like a lot of the regionals scaled up in year 5 as story arcs ended, then in year 6 they scaled back assuming everyone wanted to play new characters, stranding some of the higher level but not retired Nyrondese characters. I *think* Duchy had some of the same trend, and Zeif being new got that kind of thing by default. I've played a few IUZ metaregionals and one was not especially hard or easy, the other was quite challenging but not really harder than the "difficult but fair" mods I've seen in the NMR. I think something like Charity of Friends (Y5) would have been appreciated by the IUZ crowd - it could be a buzz-saw but it really rewarded innovative approaches. I dunno. I hear about Perrinland and think about all those Pholtans in my region with sun domain and sacred exorcist stuff and think "gee, some mods with more demons and undead would make things easier actually". Too much of any one thing will get you very, very good at killing it. Variety is good :)
Lupo 02-23-07, 04:28 AM	I have a feeling he is exaggerating here... since I cannot remember a Splintered Suns meta-regional with a DC 99 Sense Motive check ;) Now I know of a couple of meta-regionals where assassin/bards and clerics with Trickery domain had maxed out Bluff skills and some pre-made stories that sounded good and which 90% of the tables bought. Nothing does an author more good than players screaming for the blood of their NPCs without ever even fighting that NPC :D :rolleyes: ok, i might have been a little bit generous with the DC 99 :rolleyes: anyway, i think that is the price for beeing in a (meta)region where some of the countries are run by EVIL rulers :P ciao martin m.
copper_wyrmling 02-23-07, 12:29 PM	I've played a few IUZ metaregionals and one was not especially hard or easy, the other was quite challenging but not really harder than the "difficult but fair" mods I've seen in the NMR. I think something like Charity of Friends (Y5) would have been appreciated by the IUZ crowd - it could be a buzz-saw but it really rewarded innovative approaches. I dunno. I hear about Perrinland and think about all those Pholtans in my region with sun domain and sacred exorcist stuff and think "gee, some mods with more demons and undead would make things easier actually". Too much of any one thing will get you very, very good at killing it. Variety is good :) I've played a few NMR metaregionals and lots of Iuz metas, and this seems about right. The first NMR metas I played were low-APL, and I was quite surprised by how nice they were - "go and get the bottle of magic water from the well to save a dying treant", "persuade the giant horses to stop eating my plants", etc. In the first Iuz I ever played, at APL 6, we ended up travelling to the gates of Dorakaa itself to extricate a Drinkers agent who suspected the Iuzians were onto him... Having now played a couple of NMR metas at high APL, though, they're definitely not all easy - I've seen a couple of fairly nasty encounters. And the Iuz mods seem to be getting easier (although maybe I'm just getting better at tactics): most of the Iuz games I've done recently have had more fun RP and less straightforward hack-and-slash than the Year 4-5 main plotline (which involved figuring out that Iuz was trying to take over an abyssal layer, and then stopping him). As for Perrenland... yeah, we have a lot of radiant servants, some sacred exorcists (probably not as many as the Pale due to a general lack of clerics), a lot of rangers with favored enemy: undead and favored enemy: evil outsiders, and Sacred weapon access is greatly desired (and almost impossible to find, in my experience :weep:) I've GM'ed a party who at APL 6 lacked cold iron, silver and oils of bless weapon: I think they managed to defeat one combat out of three.
solbergb 02-23-07, 01:38 PM	I've GM'ed a party who at APL 6 lacked cold iron, silver and oils of bless weapon: I think they managed to defeat one combat out of three. I think of that as evolution in action. I'm mildly amazed they got to APL6 without that stuff. Where I play it is standard issue, along with oil for swarms or troll killing BBQ after you've made it stop wiggling. We even had an intro mod once that drove home that point, but it's out of play now. I ran a party of APL2s that ran into significant silver DR. They all went out and got silver weapons and/or holy water after that after a very long and painful combat.
copper_wyrmling 02-23-07, 04:41 PM	I think of that as evolution in action. I'm mildly amazed they got to APL6 without that stuff. Where I play it is standard issue, along with oil for swarms or troll killing BBQ after you've made it stop wiggling. We even had an intro mod once that drove home that point, but it's out of play now. I ran a party of APL2s that ran into significant silver DR. They all went out and got silver weapons and/or holy water after that after a very long and painful combat. Yeah. We had a Perrenland mod where you fought creatures with DR 10/good (crippled, blind, severely injured vrocks) at APL 2, iirc. You were working with the Perrenland army, and they handed everyone an oil of bless weapon at the start of the fight, and you had a round to apply it (or do other buffs) before the bad guys landed. I really think that anyone who played that module has no excuse for not carrying oils of bless weapon ;)
Simpi 02-23-07, 08:47 PM	:rolleyes: ok, i might have been a little bit generous with the DC 99 :rolleyes: anyway, i think that is the price for beeing in a (meta)region where some of the countries are run by EVIL rulers :P At least they are efficiently evil and can keep things running unlike that old joke up in the north. Praise be to Overking Xavener, he who holds together the 13 principalities of Ahlissa. Sampo Haarlaa Naerie Triad
_metz_ 02-24-07, 03:02 AM	I've GM'ed a party who at APL 6 lacked cold iron, silver and oils of bless weapon: I think they managed to defeat one combat out of three. Really - I didn't know you knew the same gaming group I occasionally have to DM for. I really struggled to think how some of them got 7th level characters, etc none of them had that stuff, as I said, I knew 8th and 9th level characters who didn't know what Tanglefoot bags did. I will leave wonderings on how such people got to those levels to you guys ;) Suffice to say when I started DMing for them I was considered a 'tough' DM and was told I was too combat oriented lol, and was missing the point of the game when I blinded/cursed players and almost killed a few. - They just weren't used to normal LG practices it was amazing. Though its getting much better now. :)
Madfox11 02-24-07, 07:48 AM	Actually, I don't think I missed silver or cold iron with any of my PCs and the highest was level 12 before I had to put him on hold because of becoming a circle member and he was a fighter type (just in case he did have a set of arrows of each). Very few creatures actually have a silver or cold iron only DR, and those that do are rarely used in cores. So if your region has a traditional enemy that does not include lycanthropes or fey you can do perfectly fine with them.
copper_wyrmling 02-24-07, 12:22 PM	Actually, I don't think I missed silver or cold iron with any of my PCs and the highest was level 12 before I had to put him on hold because of becoming a circle member and he was a fighter type (just in case he did have a set of arrows of each). Very few creatures actually have a silver or cold iron only DR, and those that do are rarely used in cores. So if your region has a traditional enemy that does not include lycanthropes or fey you can do perfectly fine with them. You didn't run into vampires? I've seen a full vampire in an APL 4 Core module :( In Perrenland we did have a lycanthrope problem for a while, but the cold iron is mostly for dealing with lesser demons, while the silver is for undead. Oil of bless weapon is important for the bigger demons, before you get your holy / sacred weaponry.
jtrain1 02-24-07, 02:11 PM	Region: Sunndi. Like: a) The main baddies we encounter are bullywugs (and Wastrian clerics). No other region has them. I like the feel of uniqueness that comes out of it (and the fried bullywug legs but that's another story <coughs>) Not true, there was a following of Wastri in the Hool marsh, south of Keoland and yes there was a nice sized bullywug presence. All things come to and end and they were all taken out by a black dragon,AULICUS(who in turn was killed by adventures).
gomeztoo 02-24-07, 03:20 PM	anyway, i think that is the price for beeing in a (meta)region where some of the countries are run by EVIL rulers :P Some people have more problems being in a region with LAWFUL rulers :)
Japangirl 02-24-07, 09:02 PM	Vampires at APL 4, vampire spawn at APL 2, demons starting at APL 4. Was my introduction to LG just nastier than some other peoples?
bhale187 02-24-07, 09:34 PM	I'm curious as to what people like about their regions. What makes it unique and fun to play there? Is it the mods? Your metaorgs? Conventions and Game Days? If so, what about them do you like? What do you dislike about your region? In what ways do you think your region can improve and what would you like to see added? I am in Verbobonc and the two things that I enjoy most about our region are the Triad's ability to find great mod writers and the Triad's willingness to go out of their way to make sure characters' in game actions have an impact on the regions political and social climate for future modules and even plot arcs.
Anguus 02-24-07, 09:56 PM	I'm a Verbabonc person and what I've noticed is, we seem to be less combat oriented in our region than others. I like the fact that we tend to have to be a thinking region. As well as one that sadly has penalties for killing people. Not that killing is what I would focus on but it would be nice to be sure your not going to end up loosing tu's because someone saw you kill the bandits that attacked you. I guess that sums up the good and the bad at the same time :)
_metz_ 02-25-07, 12:06 AM	Vampires at APL 4, vampire spawn at APL 2, demons starting at APL 4. Was my introduction to LG just nastier than some other peoples? No, you just played in Perrenland... :P (At least it sounds like you did hehehe)
Mortepierre 02-25-07, 08:19 AM	Not true, there was a following of Wastri in the Hool marsh, south of Keoland and yes there was a nice sized bullywug presence. All things come to and end and they were all taken out by a black dragon,AULICUS(who in turn was killed by adventures). Ah yes, Aulicus. Remind me to buy him a drink for having saved the uniqueness of my region ;) The only good non-Sunndian bullywug is a dead bullywug! :fight!: Er.. actually, even a good Sunndian bullywug should be a dead bullywug, but that's another story :P
LGMoses 02-25-07, 09:17 AM	The only good non-Sunndian bullywug is a dead bullywug! :fight!: :P Hey, I fought a few of those in an intro mod. I later ran that mod so I know they were bullywugs. Are those in a monster manual anywhere?
bhale187 02-25-07, 09:30 AM	Hey, I fought a few of those in an intro mod. I later ran that mod so I know they were bullywugs. Are those in a monster manual anywhere? Monsters of Faerûn
Argentbard 02-25-07, 10:59 AM	Region: Sultanate of Zeif Likes: 1) We recently came into our region, and have been busily coming up with our history. I've really enjoyed being a part of writing some of the background info on our region. 2) The Town Projects are pretty active, and most are coming up on their first elections for Mayors/councilors. Metagame stuff like this is always fun, and I go out of my way to take part in it when I can. 3) Has nothing to do with the game, but I love the fact that the climate in our part of the Real World (Alberta, Canada) and the climate in Zeif are so different. It is currently -15 degrees Celsius outside, with about a half-meter of snow on the ground. About as different from the warm, arid lands of Zeif as you can get! :) 4) I love that our new region has such a greater level of political maneuvering and intrigue going on. Those sorts of plot lines are right up my alley, and I look forward to dealing with a lot of them in upcoming Zeif mods. 5) I love that our VTF meta-region offers such a variety of playing locales. It is challenging to play in Ket, for instance, where lethal damage can land you in jail. My Paladin of Al'Akbar will be taking Merciful for his greatsword very soon; after all, he has no more rights than a horse in Ket, so he has to be careful... I could mention dislikes, but they are small things (stop giving orcs in Intro mods falchions!) I am really enjoying the Zeif region, and I plan to be as active as I can be in its ongoings.
solbergb 02-25-07, 02:07 PM	Vampires at APL 4, vampire spawn at APL 2, demons starting at APL 4. Was my introduction to LG just nastier than some other peoples? Not mine. My first char Imp +lemures in intro module, Yeth hounds twice before level 3, lycanthropes before level 6 and minor demons and devils too numerous to count. More recently he encountered a "silver+good" critter. Next char ran into one of those pain demons (you shoot it, it hurts everyon around it for the same amount) early on, and some fey in his second adventure. He's run into a lot of fey since then, he does forest adventures. Next char was a sorceress, so I didn't notice as much, although now that she does TK, holy water and cold iron arrows are routine. She did fight a couple vampire spawn by level 4, and there was probably other stuff. Next char ran into TWO full vampires before he hit his first magic weapon. He promptly silvered that weapon (because you need silver AND magic), and he hit his first lesser demon at level 3, so he needed cold iron too. Next char has fought an imp familiar and a dretch before level 4. So that's both types. My bright Sands char has run into DR/silver at least once (that series does have some devils in it). I think no cold iron yet. Not too many fay in the woods, and the outsiders aren't chaotic. My final character has fought a bunch of imps, right after she got a whole bunch of silver and quickilver items....but was stripped of equipment before fighting them. That was "The night that must not be ever spoken of" by her companions, as she was kind of without any other equipment either, and spent the fights wrestling with imps...totally humiliating, even though she won. I don't think she's ever needed the cold iron property of her ranseur but she's another nature type and I expecte she'll eviscerate a fay with it at some point. Except for the first and last characters, all but one of these low level "need material DR" experiences were core modules or adaptables.
clannagh 02-25-07, 05:34 PM	Suffice to say when I started DMing for them I was considered a 'tough' DM and was told I was too combat oriented lol, and was missing the point of the game when I blinded/cursed players and almost killed a few. - They just weren't used to normal LG practices it was amazing. Though its getting much better now. :) No you are just considered a bad DM. You treat DMing as a chance to show off and big note yourself. My experience (before I refused to ever to play with you again) is you sit down beforehand and worked out power plays for the monsters based on your pre-knowledge of who is in the party so you can show off and almost kill everyone and then at the last minute "save" them by doing any number of illegal things including fudging dice rolls, bringing in totally imaginary NPC's (in one case I was told a paladin with caustic weapons) or whatever it takes to let them off at the last minute. As for your Nyrond versus Iuz comments ... after a concerted campaign to badmouth LG and bully the local players into quitting, and joining games you were promoting, failed you finally gave in and joined LG around May last year. Roughly 4 months before spring revel when you moved to Ratik. Now I am aware you have power levelled two characters in the last 6 months however I would still be surprised if you ever actually played more than half a dozen IUZ mods. Whilst some people on these boards may be impressed by the way you try and pump yourself up by continually criticising your entire local player base (though I doubt it) just remember that the people you are criticising read these boards as well and they know better. Nothing personal .. just a reality check.
_metz_ 02-25-07, 06:10 PM	umm, actually Glenn, Take John, James, Patto etc all down to Sydney and watch their characters get killed. You stepped into a line away from DMing a fair equal game for a party and became fixated on one player, operating for the pure enjoyment of that one player, catering games, APLs and timings as such. This was not something noticed just by me. a DM should NOT do that. Several Players in our Region who actually do play DnD rather well and played it PRIOR to RPGA do not approve of your style. There is a reason that the uni guys, shane, chris etc were all disinclined to play, it wasn't the system, it was the DMing. Introducing a Badger to inform said favourite player who magically talks in more than one module for the express purpose to bypass any investigative needs and plothooks that the players have to discover for themselves removes the underlying need to roleplay AT ALL. Furthermore, you play a Demon as a dumb fighter who just happens to have more hitpoints and Damage Reduction, not as a High int character with numerous abilities and a whole lot of sneakiness. Technically its smarter than you, and this is reflected in its challenge rating. The players in Armidale power levelled because YOU allowed it. Characters who were able to sit on 10,000 gold at level 5 who never had to buy any consumables in many mods (I have read several Iuz modules Glenn) and who didn't have standard adventuring gear. Secondly I have had NO complaints about how I DM when doing it online for various other more experienced DMs then you Glenn. ALso when DMing for other DnD players they all seem to have fun, its only with you and occasionally max (who has never played anything other than RPGA and only then just with you). As for fudging it, before I played an Iuz game, you brought me in as a level 6 cleric in an APL 6 to show me RPGA to try and make sure this party actually survived, cos there was something in it that was too hard for them. Do not lecture me on fudging Glenn, The other day I killed a level 8, I am fully capable of killing characters, and if it wasn't for close wounds, and second wind would have killed Thogg twice by now. If you want to have an easy, nice little game with no chance of death, and mosters that don't challenege the party, and can CONTROL every aspect of the local gaming community (moulding APLs to suit the players you like, criticisng people for playing certain characters in certain mods cos its less advantagous to said favourite player) Finally Glenn, The people I criticise I talk to their face. I have made it very clear they need to learn to buy consumables, and so on. And they will keep getting in trouble in games where they fight mummies, contract mummy rot, and none of them bought remove curse, and the cleric didn't prepare it. I am not going to magically make a cleric or remove curse appear, which based on what I have been informed by other players you do. I did not openly ciricise you glenn, nor any other specific person, I just mentioned FACT. that there were higher level characters who were sorely underprepared here, and this meant that in any module that required basic consumables they struggled. YOU made it personal. Just keep that in mind when making a level headed arguement Glenn.
Japangirl 02-25-07, 07:19 PM	No, you just played in Perrenland... :P (At least it sounds like you did hehehe) BK. Close enough :-P.
sylvermyst 02-26-07, 12:31 AM	clannagh and _metz_ Can you take this argument elsewere? This isn’t really an appropriate place, and I doubt many, if any, people here want to read it.
_metz_ 02-26-07, 04:07 AM	sure thing. :)
Timlagor 02-26-07, 12:16 PM	I met some hextorites in Sunndi once. Fortunately they didn't tell us they were Sundian Hextorites (while making demands of us) so we assumed they were Ahlyssans and slaughtered them :D Just be glad your Bullywugs aren't Dreamstealers. I thought Seeds was great (aside from the one completely bonkers combat). Onnwal has many good things to be said for it (see Cardinaloodjamiflip's comments) but also has the two most annoying NPCs I've ever met. One is completely impossible to confront due to very powerful (completley illegal) mind-affecting magic. The other just Teleported away as I was about to Scorching Ray her (just as well really) for being grossly rude and Scarlet Brotherhood.
CrystalBlue 02-26-07, 01:25 PM	Region: Highfolk I like Highfolk because we don't have as many of those silly laws that all of you have. You want to go kill that evil guy that's inside Highfolk town? Go right ahead! The guards will unlock the door for you. ^.^ And beating Iuz out of the Vesve just gave me a tingly sensesation...right down there. No...lower. ^.^ Subregion: Shieldlands Look at my sig. That's why I love the Shieldlands. Hanging on to even the slightest of hopes that we'll actually get our homeland back. And then every victory is great...but reminds you that we've got so far to go...it really doesn't matter. The perfect pessemist region. "Welcome to the Shieldlands...where we don't win, we break even!"
Shieldhart91 02-26-07, 05:57 PM	Well this stinks. About one person has commented on Furyondy: and this gives us no justice. I'm not certain what I do like about Furyondy. I will say that we do have a large pool of writers whose modules are possibly the best written out of any I have ever played...these include, of course, the likes of Andrew Nuxoll, Steve Yee, Chris Hoffman, and John du Bois (really, it's a pleasure just to run them.) However, I will say that I am getting pretty sick and tired of the hordes of undead from Iuz and the Bronzeblood Haunt. At the same time- I love these hordes of undead, mainly because it's a Cleric/Paladin paradise. It certainly makes you appreciate us some more ;) The thing I don't like about Furyondy...the meta-orgs...aren't that great. The King needs to die! It's at the point where I'm liking country-wide anarchy a lot more then what we're in right now. Can't own homes in Furyondy apparently as it was put to me by the Triad, which stinks. But I'm sure ol' Stone Toes will get his Magi Keep in Furyondy SOME day. It's perplexing. I haven't traveled outside of Furyondy too often, so it's hard for me to determine how great Furyondy is to every other region. I appreciate what we get...even if that isn't much.
Gallaway 03-06-07, 01:44 AM	Ratik is new and fresh .. The Nyrond metaregionals are also quite a challenge because while Iuz may be hardcore people have actually built entire characters around defeating the minions of Iggy and friends ... whereas the Nyrond baddies, especially in year 6, are a bit unexpected.
LGMoses 03-06-07, 03:10 PM	has neone else noticed that netime Furyondy is mentioned in a core mod, Iuz is also there, or his minions, or some machination he is part of.
JohnduBois 03-06-07, 06:34 PM	has neone else noticed that netime Furyondy is mentioned in a core mod, Iuz is also there, or his minions, or some machination he is part of. Really? I can't recall the last time I saw Furyondy directly mentioned during a Core mod. The region is peripherally linked to a Year 6 Core, and that mod is in no way linked to Iuz... Can you give me some examples of what mods you mean? (I ask purely for research - if there are Cores involving Furyondy, I'd like to know what they are for reference.)
LGMoses 03-07-07, 12:05 AM	Really? I can't recall the last time I saw Furyondy directly mentioned during a Core mod. The region is peripherally linked to a Year 6 Core, and that mod is in no way linked to Iuz... Can you give me some examples of what mods you mean? (I ask purely for research - if there are Cores involving Furyondy, I'd like to know what they are for reference.) I'm just being fasicious or whatever. Theres a year 6 mod involving an item from Furyondy and Iuz is involved in the mod via his followers. It was a very good mod though I can't i.d. it openly on the board. We had our 2nd pc death in that mod in the final battle.