THe Abyssal Plague - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

THe Abyssal Plague

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
yellowdingo
Dec 22, 2010 2:01:17
Apparently this will spread to other Settings? I dont See how it spreads to all of them. Mystara has been living in isolation...or do you just mean the far reaches of the Greyhawk Setting?
#2
Marandahir
Dec 22, 2010 8:56:36 It's been set up in the backs of novels across settings; it'll start at the Temple of Yellow Skulls, but you know how the Obyriths came from another dimension, right? There are ways to cross dimensions other than just sailing far enough through the Astral Sea or finding the right door in Sigil.

It's likely that the Plague will spread to Forgotten Realms' Toril, Eberron, and Dark Sun's Athas. Those are the three established settings currently, and with the Core Setting, round out a good four settings to have cross-over events. Unless we get another setting next year like those three, and the Abyssal Plague jumps on that setting almost immediately after it's origin, I'm not seeing Greyhawk or Mystara or any other major past setting getting featured in it. Besides, elements of Greyhawk and Mystara have both been rolled into the Core Setting, and there's no inclination that Wizards of the Coast have any intention of rebooting them in the near future.
#3
Marandahir
Dec 22, 2010 17:17:30 I actually haven't read them, since the prologue to the Abyssal Plague was set up through novels of series that I do not plan to read (and not book #1 entries too – which would force me to buy the entire series or buy it just for the Abyssal Plague novella ending).

Presumably, the Abyssal Plague has something to do with what the late first Emperor of Nerath, now lich and Dark Lord of a Domain of Dread, Magroth the Mad, was planning to do for Orcus, and what the Green Dragon Vestapalk was planning to do for the Elder Elemental Eye. Also, it apparently has something to do with the stories behind the golden skulls with demons bound to them in the Temple of Yellow Skulls. Finally, it supposedly has something to do the with the Obyriths. They talk about it in podcasts and on the Abyssal Plague official webpage.

The five part novella can be found in these novels:

Part 1: Forgotten Realms, The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore (July 2010)

Part 2: Dungeons & Dragons, The Mark of Nerath by Bill Slavicsek (August)

Part 3: Dark Sun, City Under the Sand by Jeff Marriotte (October)

Part 4: Forgotten Realms, Whisper of Venom by Richard Lee Byers (November)

Part 5: Eberron, Lady Ruin by Tim Waggoner (December)

The way the Abyssal Plague novella interacts apparently is fluid with the story being told in the actual novel. Nu Alin is a villain in The Mark of Nerath, but is Plague Demon, and associated with the Abyssal Plague. After that, the Abyssal Plague series crosses different dimensions and worlds:

The first novel of the official Abyssal Plague story is The Temple of Yellow Skulls, set for a March release, in the Core Setting. Then there's Sword of the Gods, for an April Release, in the Forgotten Realms setting. Then there's Under a Crimson Sun, for a June release, in the Dark Sun setting.

Not much is known about it yet, beyond what's in those 5 novella parts, but I haven't read them, nor The Mark of Nerath itself, so I'm not the best person to ask.
#4
tallric_kruush
Jan 08, 2011 12:43:38 I've read four of the five "flashback novellas". I intend to buy The Temple of Yellow Skulls, since Don Bassingthwaite is one of the best authors I've ever read, regardless of genre.

The serials included in the backs of the above-listed novels are part of a single flashback story which sets the stage for the Abyssal Plague series. The ending of the series confirms that the Plague will span, at the very least, the currently supported Campaign Settings. It begins in the standard "Points of Light/Fallen Nerath" world, as Marandahir said.

I'm curious as to how it will be introduced to Eberron. The Abyss is new, in many ways, to Eberron (as in newly retconned to Eberron with 4E), and has never really been a source of extra-planar threats. How will this story interact with Eberron's native fiends and their Lords of Dust servants (if at all)?

Based upon what little we've learned so far, good-guys and bad-guys alike will be fighting against this foe. No one will want to see this thing/things succeed.
#5
kairiroses
Jan 08, 2011 13:51:36 I've read the first three parts of the novella and I've enjoyed it so far. However, I very much hope that they eventually make it available elsewhere since I only own two of the novels that they're in and don't plan to buy any of the others. (Read the third part in the Barnes & Noble cafe.)

I've also read "Mark of Nerath" and highly enjoyed it. I greatly look forward to "Temple of Yellow Skulls" and the rest of the Abyssal Plague series.

I absolutely love multiversal / multi-universal stories. And in the past I rather enjoyed past D&D world crossovers.

In fact, in third edition I ran a campaign where the PCs had to travel from world to world to solve a puzzle and then finally track down a bad guy who was threatening all the worlds in the multiverse. They traveled to Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, modern day France, and several other places I can't remember right now.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 yellowdingo Dec 22, 2010 2:01:17	Apparently this will spread to other Settings? I dont See how it spreads to all of them. Mystara has been living in isolation...or do you just mean the far reaches of the Greyhawk Setting?
#2 Marandahir Dec 22, 2010 8:56:36	It's been set up in the backs of novels across settings; it'll start at the Temple of Yellow Skulls, but you know how the Obyriths came from another dimension, right? There are ways to cross dimensions other than just sailing far enough through the Astral Sea or finding the right door in Sigil. It's likely that the Plague will spread to Forgotten Realms' Toril, Eberron, and Dark Sun's Athas. Those are the three established settings currently, and with the Core Setting, round out a good four settings to have cross-over events. Unless we get another setting next year like those three, and the Abyssal Plague jumps on that setting almost immediately after it's origin, I'm not seeing Greyhawk or Mystara or any other major past setting getting featured in it. Besides, elements of Greyhawk and Mystara have both been rolled into the Core Setting, and there's no inclination that Wizards of the Coast have any intention of rebooting them in the near future.
#3 Marandahir Dec 22, 2010 17:17:30	I actually haven't read them, since the prologue to the Abyssal Plague was set up through novels of series that I do not plan to read (and not book #1 entries too – which would force me to buy the entire series or buy it just for the Abyssal Plague novella ending). Presumably, the Abyssal Plague has something to do with what the late first Emperor of Nerath, now lich and Dark Lord of a Domain of Dread, Magroth the Mad, was planning to do for Orcus, and what the Green Dragon Vestapalk was planning to do for the Elder Elemental Eye. Also, it apparently has something to do with the stories behind the golden skulls with demons bound to them in the Temple of Yellow Skulls. Finally, it supposedly has something to do the with the Obyriths. They talk about it in podcasts and on the Abyssal Plague official webpage. The five part novella can be found in these novels: Part 1: Forgotten Realms, The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore (July 2010) Part 2: Dungeons & Dragons, The Mark of Nerath by Bill Slavicsek (August) Part 3: Dark Sun, City Under the Sand by Jeff Marriotte (October) Part 4: Forgotten Realms, Whisper of Venom by Richard Lee Byers (November) Part 5: Eberron, Lady Ruin by Tim Waggoner (December) The way the Abyssal Plague novella interacts apparently is fluid with the story being told in the actual novel. Nu Alin is a villain in The Mark of Nerath, but is Plague Demon, and associated with the Abyssal Plague. After that, the Abyssal Plague series crosses different dimensions and worlds: The first novel of the official Abyssal Plague story is The Temple of Yellow Skulls, set for a March release, in the Core Setting. Then there's Sword of the Gods, for an April Release, in the Forgotten Realms setting. Then there's Under a Crimson Sun, for a June release, in the Dark Sun setting. Not much is known about it yet, beyond what's in those 5 novella parts, but I haven't read them, nor The Mark of Nerath itself, so I'm not the best person to ask.
#4 tallric_kruush Jan 08, 2011 12:43:38	I've read four of the five "flashback novellas". I intend to buy The Temple of Yellow Skulls, since Don Bassingthwaite is one of the best authors I've ever read, regardless of genre. The serials included in the backs of the above-listed novels are part of a single flashback story which sets the stage for the Abyssal Plague series. The ending of the series confirms that the Plague will span, at the very least, the currently supported Campaign Settings. It begins in the standard "Points of Light/Fallen Nerath" world, as Marandahir said. I'm curious as to how it will be introduced to Eberron. The Abyss is new, in many ways, to Eberron (as in newly retconned to Eberron with 4E), and has never really been a source of extra-planar threats. How will this story interact with Eberron's native fiends and their Lords of Dust servants (if at all)? Based upon what little we've learned so far, good-guys and bad-guys alike will be fighting against this foe. No one will want to see this thing/things succeed.
#5 kairiroses Jan 08, 2011 13:51:36	I've read the first three parts of the novella and I've enjoyed it so far. However, I very much hope that they eventually make it available elsewhere since I only own two of the novels that they're in and don't plan to buy any of the others. (Read the third part in the Barnes & Noble cafe.) I've also read "Mark of Nerath" and highly enjoyed it. I greatly look forward to "Temple of Yellow Skulls" and the rest of the Abyssal Plague series. I absolutely love multiversal / multi-universal stories. And in the past I rather enjoyed past D&D world crossovers. In fact, in third edition I ran a campaign where the PCs had to travel from world to world to solve a puzzle and then finally track down a bad guy who was threatening all the worlds in the multiverse. They traveled to Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, modern day France, and several other places I can't remember right now.