AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Creating game materials? Monsters, spells, classes, adventures? This is the place!
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chiisu81
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by chiisu81 »

r8 in Projects. Worked on Seven's edits, along with some other corrections, hitpoint box layout, etc.
Also adjust levels on some artwork, and put in a few more map scale notes.

No major re-writes/additions yet.
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Solomoriah
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Solomoriah »

Okay, so I'm revising Finley Manor. I want to start by saying that I really enjoyed running this one. There are a lot of changes described below, but don't think that means it wasn't a good adventure... it is quite fun. So many monsters my players were unfamiliar with in one setting was very interesting indeed.

So anyway, a little commentary on what I'm changing:

First of all, some of the checkboxes are still messed up. It looks like, in some cases, the lines have been allowed to wrap automatically, but that won't work consistently with the HPCheckBoxes/HPChecksEnd styles. Unfortunately, you have to press ENTER at the end of every line.

Most of the other changes are pretty minor, but a few stand out to me. First of all, I feel like the crystal ball in area 6 needs to be called out more forcefully to get the GM's attention. I seriously forgot about it between sessions, and you can't just ask if they found it... oops.

The second large change is the boxed text for area 8. It's a big room... the boxed text shouldn't describe the shine of the chess pieces in detail when the player characters just aren't close enough to see them yet. So I broke up the details, shortening the boxed text and making separate sections to support exploration of the room.

Also: In area 24 you note a secret panel that "isn't as difficult to spot" as others in the manor, but will still take "two or three turns." The standard time to search for a secret door is 1 turn, so this is actually longer than a standard search. I'm changing it to make it easier to find in the normal time, but if you're wanting something else (like all the secret doors are really hard to find), we need to work on that.

In areas 27 and 28, I'm not sure that a vase is large enough to contain the treasures recorded there. I'm changing them out to expressly say they are large.

In area 29, the boxed text "buries the lede" because the monsters should be mentioned first, and only after they are vanquished should the rest of the room be described in detail. I've broken it down similar to what I did in room 8.

I did some rewriting on the boxed text for 31, just to tighten up the prose a little. I hope you're good with that.

I made some revisions to area 33 also, mainly to make the "eggs" more ambiguous. Incidentally, one of my players says that room's treasure proves you are a fan of Steven Universe...

Room 34's boxed text gives too much information up front; I've broken it down for exploration, and sped up the allip's awakening a bit.

Other than the above, just a few formatting and layout changes are all I did. I have not looked at any other adventures in the book this time around.

Questions for the Author:

What do the drawings in area 20 depict?

In area 30, I think we need to detail the effects rather than leaving it to the GM. Not sure exactly what to say here, but I'd think anyone entering the room or standing near the open doorway should save vs. Poison or suffer a penalty on attack rolls due to burning, tearing eyes. Or something like that, anyway. I hate to be put on the spot as a GM.

I'd like to suggest a change for room 31/32: Rather than a mechanical door, why not a passwall effect? Given that the wand is only revealed by magic, why not make the entrance magic also? But this is a flavor change, and I'm not going to make it without your opinion being respected.
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Solomoriah
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Solomoriah »

BTW... does anyone else feel like "Conclusion" sounds better as the last subheading in an adventure instead of "Outcomes?" We have them both ways (and I'm sure other things as well) and consistency is a hobgoblin and all that. Still, what do you guys think?
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Solomoriah
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Solomoriah »

Announcing!

AA3 Adventure Anthology Three, Release 8 -- August 25, 2021
This new release of our latest anthology multimodule has too many revisions to note here! Visit the comments thread for full details of the changes.

https://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html#aa3
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Seven
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Seven »

Solomoriah wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:04 am In area 29, the boxed text "buries the lede" because the monsters should be mentioned first, and only after they are vanquished should the rest of the room be described in detail. I've broken it down similar to what I did in room 8.
I almost commented on that but refrained because it affects many rooms in many adventures.

When I run an adventure and a party opens a door, their attention is all on the occupants of the room, especially if they make eye contact with the party. Imagine someone knocks on your door, you open and they start inspecting your house like you're not even there. Yeah, not a good feeling. Right now, I'd be holding the dog back with one hand and opening the door with the other, so little chance of that happening.

There are obviously exceptions; monsters hiding in the room, monsters sleeping, party sneaking in, etc...
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Solomoriah »

Boxed text should be organized based on the order in which the various things in the room are likely to be seen. So yeah, moving creatures should rank first, followed by general impressions, then details; the details may need to be in separate boxes.
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Francisco-art
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Francisco-art »

Hopefully, this project is still accepting art. I did a pencil drawing of the minotaur Meat Grinder from The Assassin's Conundrum. Feel free to crop and resize as needed. Hope it helps!
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chiisu81
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by chiisu81 »

:shock:
Yeah we're def accepting new artwork!
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Seven
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by Seven »

Nice.
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chiisu81
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Re: AA3 Adventure Anthology 3

Post by chiisu81 »

Solomoriah wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:04 am Okay, so I'm revising Finley Manor. I want to start by saying that I really enjoyed running this one. There are a lot of changes described below, but don't think that means it wasn't a good adventure... it is quite fun. So many monsters my players were unfamiliar with in one setting was very interesting indeed.
Thanks Solo 8-) I remember writing up the adventure pretty quick, but it took longer to actually complete. I will go over the feedback I need to make changes, etc. on; the changes you've made/proposed all sound good!
Let's also make sure to get your players' names for Playtest credit on the AA3 title page. :)
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