tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post6461044942652429176..comments2024-03-13T06:23:10.057-04:00Comments on Of Dice and Pen: Wrath of the Righteous - City of LocustsMichael Ray Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-90600157203272424822017-01-08T21:53:50.049-05:002017-01-08T21:53:50.049-05:00Sorry not to reply to this sooner.
It's been ...Sorry not to reply to this sooner.<br /><br />It's been a while since I read these, so it's hard to answer for sure, but I suspect it could be done. It would take a lot of work on the GM's part as the encounters are at quite different power levels. However, a GM willing to do the work could probably pull it off.Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-71916705070400971632016-11-23T03:39:11.926-05:002016-11-23T03:39:11.926-05:00I don't have the AP so things might change aft...I don't have the AP so things might change after I do. But one idea I have after reading your review is what if one were to switch books 5 & 6 - adjust the encounters accordingly. So City of Locust isn't the anticlimax but the battle in the maze vs Baphomet is the climax.<br /><br />Do you think that could work? Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-3375217967820899722014-03-15T15:35:27.639-04:002014-03-15T15:35:27.639-04:00I don't see why not. That sounds to me like th...I don't see why not. That sounds to me like the best way to allow the PCs to discover the book without having to make large changes to adventure path. They could then be the ones to study it and determine the things they need to do in both The Midnight Isles and City of Locusts. GMs who want to go a little bit further and make the book seem like more than just a lucky, random find could plant hints of the book's existence earlier in the adventure path. This way, the PCs would actually have the goal of recovering the book as another reason to go up against Xanthir Vang.Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-7524249219789468102014-03-15T15:23:44.446-04:002014-03-15T15:23:44.446-04:00Great review! Having read your reviews for WotR b...Great review! Having read your reviews for WotR but only flipped through the AP volumes and not read them in detail, an idea occurred to me: If a GM were to rule that the Pathfinder novels are not canon, could the Lexicon of Paradox be found on Xanthir Vang or in some other part of the Demon's Heresy adventure?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-68518496819650747262014-03-13T00:19:40.864-04:002014-03-13T00:19:40.864-04:00Totally agree. Thanks for the comment!Totally agree. Thanks for the comment!Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-51723480510201420162014-03-13T00:05:03.107-04:002014-03-13T00:05:03.107-04:00Thanks for pointing out a central flaw of the arc ...Thanks for pointing out a central flaw of the arc in this AP (which I, by the way, am running and really enjoying). When I was reading through this volume, I kept thinking it would be cool to foreshadow the Suture earlier, and the steps to close the Worldwound -- to create a puzzle that the PCs would have to figure out on their own. <br /><br />It can be done, but one shouldn't have to rewrite the AP to do that. Paizo shouldn't assume that PCs want NPCs to tell them what to do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-49923293330640821312014-03-12T17:12:30.241-04:002014-03-12T17:12:30.241-04:00Yeah, I get where you're coming from. There is...Yeah, I get where you're coming from. There is a lot of hand-holding going on. Baba Yaga in Reign of Winter doesn't bother me as she's helpless for the entire AP and it's known from the outset that the adventure path is about rescuing her. However, most AP's do have these patron NPCs to guide the PCs along, and it's getting old.<br /><br />What surprises me most with Wrath of the Righteous is that the problem is not there at all in the early instalments. It really is about the PCs figuring a way out of the mess. The Worldwound Incursion is a brilliant adventure! The hand-holding starts later in the AP, right around The Midnight Isles when the Lexicon of Paradox is introduced. By this point in the AP, the PCs ought to be more independent, not less. It is somewhat disappointing.Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-66476586524811980242014-03-12T16:31:33.612-04:002014-03-12T16:31:33.612-04:00I just this week severed my last tie with Golarion...I just this week severed my last tie with Golarion with the cancellation of my AP subscription, after dropping subscriptions to the other lines last fall, and my main reason for doing so is outlined in this review. It seems like the NPCs have become more central to the plot of many of their latest releases than the player characters. <br /><br />More and more, it feels like playing a Paizo AP is serving as minions and redshirts to Golarion bigwigs, whether that's Ameiko in Jade Regent, Sheila Heidmarch and the Pathfinder Society in Shattered Star, Baba Yaga in Reign of Winter, or the Mendev Crusade in Wrath of the Righteous. Paizo seem to be terrified of allowing the PCs to come up with their own solutions to a problem, instead relegating them to following orders at every turn. It's just not fun to play anymore.<br /><br />Joana<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com