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 ZeroGlobal2003 |
AU, Sean? |
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Posts: 629 (09/28/03 08:18:37) |
A while back you said that you hadn't gotten to look at the AU book, and so you couldn't comment on it fully. Judging by the fact you are running an adventure using it at Gen Con So Cal (wish I wasn't located on the other side of the country), I'm guessing that you have. So, what do you think of it?
Zero |
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 seankreynolds |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9242 (09/28/03 09:52:35) Handprint |
Heh, actually, the Cooks gave me a copy when I visited them earlier this month, but between working on SkreynCalc and a couple of freelance projects I still haven't had a chance to look it it thorooughly. The only good thing that's come of this computer crash is that it makes being online so cumbersome that I have good reasons (and the time) to do offline things like read. :)
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 629 (09/28/03 21:14:08) |
Heh :) Well hope you can get back soon, but not before you read the book. I for one think its one of the best books released this year. Perhaps the best excluding Ghostwalk.
Zero |
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 629 (10/20/03 17:02:17) |
*pokes*
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seankreynolds |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9242 (10/20/03 17:32:09) Handprint |
Well, so far I've read the Intro and Races chapters, and those were cool. I have started on the Classes chapter, and that's cool so far, too.
Many times I have found myself thinking, "Hmm, it would be cool to play one of those...." :) --
Sean K Reynolds http://www.seankreynolds.com Check out my two newest books, Anger of Angels and Path of the Magi |
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manifold2 |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 117 (10/31/03 14:39:39) |
Did you run that thing yet, or is it still up-coming?
Where are you in the book now? Do you like it better than D&D? How close is it to the Ptolus campaign you played in Renton? Do you find alot of things you kind of knew were kicking around in Monte's head before hand? Will you be answering AU rules questions anytime soon? Whew. Be safe. Geoff Nelson |
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seankreynolds |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9242 (11/01/03 22:06:45) Handprint |
{Did you run that thing yet, or is it still up-coming?}
It's at Gen Con So Cal, which is in mid-Dec. :) {Where are you in the book now?} Haven't moved a page since the last update (see my other post in this forum for why). ::sigh:: {Do you like it better than D&D?} There certainly are neat elements. I'm not into it enough yet to make a comparison. {How close is it to the Ptolus campaign you played in Renton?} Not at all, really. There are some common elements (such as litorians and faen) but Ptolus was almost completely D&D with other Monte elements thrown in. {Will you be answering AU rules questions anytime soon?} LOL, when I'm done with it I'll be able to answer as well as any other rules-anal person who's read it. :) --
Sean K Reynolds http://www.seankreynolds.com Check out my two newest books, Anger of Angels and Path of the Magi |
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 629 (12/05/03 18:24:46) |
Sorry to keep harping on this, but since its rolling around to the 12th, how's your reading going?
Zero |
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seankreynolds |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9242 (12/05/03 18:38:18) Handprint |
Heh, I brought it with me today and I'm going to finish this weekend. Sheesh, gimme a break, Mr. Drill Sergeant. ;)
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Sean K Reynolds http://www.seankreynolds.com Check out my two newest books, Anger of Angels and Path of the Magi |
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Greyfist |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9 (12/06/03 01:53:10) |
My friends and I would be very gratified if you dove into AU, Sean. Most especially if you got into AU, and started writing setting books for Diamond Throne, 'cause Monte really kinda needs your help there. He's an absolute genius with mechanics and making interesting ideas, but as the DT setting book proved, that strength doesn't carry over to creating a compelling world. It's so sketchy that I could have as much to work with as a DM if I cranked out a random map and made ten NPCs; there's not nearly enough meat in the setting to stand on its own.
You did a stellar job at making the Realms into a living and breathing world, I'm playing in a FR game and several of the old-timers have commented that the 3E version is the best yet. If Diamond Throne got that degree of polish, it would be an unbeatable combination. |
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seankreynolds |
Re: AU, Sean? | ||
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Posts: 9242 (12/06/03 12:44:52) Handprint |
Well, thanks for the complement, but I have to admit that the FRCS was based on years of work by previous authors ... we just sorted, cleaned, and updated it.
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Sean K Reynolds http://www.seankreynolds.com Check out my two newest books, Anger of Angels and Path of the Magi |
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varianor |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 937 (12/06/03 12:57:32) Founder, |
Quote: Now see, that's where people differ. I would much rather have wide open spaces to fill in when I DM than an incredibly detailed world. YMMV obviously. :D That being said, Sean writing a book would be cool and I'm sure that I'd buy it. AoA was great, and I've used Skreyn's Register several times. ~Council of Magisters ~ Diamond Throne~
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Greyfist |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 9 (12/07/03 15:26:10) |
Omitting content on the fly is simplicity itself for a DM, creating details is rather more difficult. People have ragged on FR for years about having detailed stats for every rat living in some hermit's shack in the middle of nowhere for the box set Hermit Shacks of Faerun, and there is such a thing as too much detailing of a world.
However, if the party does a total about-face one night, don't go where the DM thought they would, and decide to just head north until they find something interesting, the Diamond Throne DM is up the creek, as the descriptions of places in the book are vague at best. The Realms DM, on the other hand, is armed with enough detail to wing it for long enough to keep going for that game session without having to resort to lame, obviously made up on the spot content. Some DMs might be able to BS their way out of situations where they aren't prepared for where the party goes, but with my group it's pretty painfully obvious when the DM's caught with his pants down. No DM *has* to make use of the content in a setting book, I view them more as safety nets than bibles, where the busywork of a coherent world has already been taken care of. The 3E Realms book is, hands down, the best setting book on the market at the moment. An excellent map, trade routes and details on the economies of every country, as well as the population breakdowns and quick descriptions of all the cities. Nothing that restrains a DM, just things that provide enough of a groundwork to work with if you need to come up with something fast. |
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 629 (12/07/03 22:54:59) |
While I will hopefully get the Diamond Throne setting book soon, I really am not sure that I'll like it. Not because I think anything less of Monte or soemthign like that, I just simply don't care for setting books. The main reason I'm thinking about looking into ti is to see how he handes PrCs, his new monsters, and the advice for integrating existing material. I'd have to agree though, that while I like having total flexibility and some vagueness in how things work, I would rather omit detail then have to create it. All in all I think its hard to strike a balance as to the detail level in a setting book. That all said I'm taking steps towards co-developing a setting with a friend of mine (and writting a setting book to accompany it), and I'll soon be taking my own stab at balancing the two. Should be interesting as the setting encourages DM tinkering but also has complex interactions and ramifications...
I guess thats the end of that rant... I dare you to find a point :) Zero |
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Greymist |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 216 (12/09/03 21:54:30) Centennial Patriot |
Quote:It was never the amount of detail that bothered me, because, as you said, you can always drop what you don't want. I always hated the fact that the one of the rats living in the hermit's shack is a retired 19th level wizard! Quote:Yup. As Varianor said, having area with minimal detail is important so DMs can add what they want. I like to see one fairly developed area which gives a feel for the setting as a whole, then a few other cities or countries that are some distance away, also detailed. This allows a DM to fill-in areas with his own stuff if desired, or simply buy the other products and have the PCs move between these areas. |
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Gorrstagg |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 478 (12/13/03 02:48:16) |
I love AU.. it's in my top three D&D books. 1. Magical Medievial Society: Western Europe; 2. Arcana Unearthed; 3. Monster Manual 3.5
That being said.. I found the total lack of material presented for the DT setting, to be extremely deficient and not worth the money spent for the setting. I know there are tons of settings out there, and often people don't really like pre-generated ones.. but then again in a lot cases folks do. I used to be a Forgotten Realms LOREMASTER.. if you named it, I could tell you where, I knew the world in and out. And because I also followed the novels, I used those when running sessions, if they fit within the context of my campaign, which they often did. But when they started 3.0 FRCS and brought in the Shades, I was okay with it. Until I read the novels, and suddenly it was some massive Toril shattering event.. and put me off of the world.. to the point where I've just been running my own campaign world. Sure I use some of the materials from the FRCS the best Campaign Setting done to date in my opinion, but was so over done. As far as detailing a world setting, there is a reason that Forgotten Realms was so widely received and enjoyed.. because it did have a lot of detail, a DM could study the material and when players wanted to go off on their own and explore, the DM had some pre-existing information to draw upon and work with. There were also quite a few areas that were NOT going to be touched by novels except in very minor ways, so that way DM's could expand upon those areas and have them interact with the rest of the world, and not often worry about the general consequences from some novel that say everyone in a group may of read. As far as DT goes, there are some nice jewels to plumb for when using AU. But I would not recommend it as a MUST buy material like I would for say AU itself. Mind you it's one persons opinion and I respect the rest of yours, mine just runs to the lines of give me a well detailed world, make it original but not too outrageous, detail a lot of the material so that a DM can just pick up something from the book and use it however said DM see's fit. I respect Monte's work highly, he's shown his work can be quite outstanding. I didn't feel that was the case with the Diamond Throne, and though I respect his reasons for the sparseness of the game worlds information, I wouldn't recommend it at this time. Sincerely and Respectfully,
William "Gorrstagg" Arndt |
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 629 (01/20/04 23:09:31) |
How did the convention session go Sean? And now that you've run something using the rules, what do you think?
Zero |
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seankreynolds |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 9242 (01/20/04 23:57:37) Handprint |
I think the session went well.
As for the rules, in short: I like the races, and the concept of racial levels is great. I like the classes, particularly the flexibility of some of them (such as the champion and the totem warrior). I like the concept of simple, complex, and exotic spells, and class spell lists granting access to them. I like the heightened and diminished versions of spells. It's a much better way of handling such things than the generic metamagic effects in the PH. I don't think there was anything I didn't like about the rules, though me being me I'm sure if I gave it a more thorough read I could find something. ;) --
Sean K Reynolds http://www.seankreynolds.com Check out my two newest books, Anger of Angels and Path of the Magi |
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ZeroGlobal2003 |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 629 (01/21/04 07:50:49) |
Well I've read it several times through and can find next to nothing that I would call a problem with it :) Perhaps the only thing missing is a guide to creating new witch classes (like the guides for champions and totem warriors). Other then that I think your friend Monte made one heck of a book :)
Hope it impressed you enough to do some AU adventures or something Sean, I'd love to read them. Zero, the AU geek |
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varianor |
Re: Land of the Diamond Throne | ||
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Posts: 937 (01/21/04 07:55:48) Founder, |
Note that there may be some new witch types coming in the Mearls book, Mystic Secrets. I don't know that for sure, but I think Monte mentioned that in the chat last week.
~Council of Magisters ~ Diamond Throne~
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