King of the Giantdowns

[Cymbelline]

Ed Stark wrote:

> If you're interested, I can post some playtest stories, or send them
> over
> to Sean Reynolds at the website. Let me know what the rest of you
> think as
> well.
>
> Ed Stark

That is an excellent idea - I second the motion!

Regards,
Cymbelline.

[Sepsis]

At 03:50 PM 9/24/97 -0700, Ed Stark(ted@wizards.com)wrote:
>
>That reminds me ... anyone picked up KING OF THE GIANTDOWNS yet? As the
>author, I'm interested in some feedback.
>

I run a campaign based in Dhoesone, and so far I've found KotG very useful.
The mixture of highly flexible storylines, characters, and adventure
threads is exactly the way *all* BR Adventures should be done. And not just
adventures, I think all mandatory NPC Domains should be given this type of
presentation. It would help add greater detail to PC interactions with them.

I do have a few things that bug me though. First, I thought there should
have been more detail done on the Humanoids not controlled by Ghuralli, the
Giants(and Giant-kin), and the Dwarves living in the Giantdowns. And then
theres the tinting on the pages. Most of the time its not a problem, but
try reading the Table of Contents, or the lower corners of pages 7, 14, 15,
17, 30, 39, and 47, you can see what I mean. The background is just a
little too dark. Not your fault I know, but you should let them know.
Lastly I would of liked to have seen some unique undead NPCs. Like maybe a
Lich, Ghost, Banshee, or Mummy who made the Giantdowns their lair(I had to
add a Banshee, it seemed to fit). Even a few *new* types of lesser undead
would have been cool. But still overall KotG is probaly one of the best
Adventure Accessories to come out for BR. Keep up the good work...please.

BTW, I would be interested in hearing about any interesting situations that
came up during playtesting. I'm running KotG as a long-term event, and I
have other nations, and lone NPCs, who are trying to stake claims in the
Giantdowns. So any events that could add a little more background, or
color, to other "outsiders" within the Giantdowns would be great.


Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net

"War is a matter of vital importance to the State;
the province of life or death;
the road to survival or ruin.
It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied."
-Sun Tzu,(The Art of War)-

BR Netbook: http://webpages.metrolink.net/~veleda/birth.html

[Ed Stark]

At 11:32 PM 9/24/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I run a campaign based in Dhoesone, and so far I've found KotG very useful.
>The mixture of highly flexible storylines, characters, and adventure
>threads is exactly the way *all* BR Adventures should be done. And not just
>adventures, I think all mandatory NPC Domains should be given this type of
>presentation. It would help add greater detail to PC interactions with them.

Thanks. That sounds like what I was trying to do.

>I do have a few things that bug me though. First, I thought there should
>have been more detail done on the Humanoids not controlled by Ghuralli, the
>Giants(and Giant-kin), and the Dwarves living in the Giantdowns.

Hmmn ... I see your point. I did feel a bit constrained by the page-count
(only 64 pages, but that kept the price down). I hoped to give out enough
information to get people started--running games or, perhaps, writing
DRAGON or DUNGEON articles to expand on what is known about the Giantdowns.
I can see how that could be frustrating, though.

>And then
>theres the tinting on the pages. Most of the time its not a problem, but
>try reading the Table of Contents, or the lower corners of pages 7, 14, 15,
>17, 30, 39, and 47, you can see what I mean. The background is just a
>little too dark. Not your fault I know, but you should let them know.

I did. Originally, Giantdowns was a two-color book, but we had to go to B&W
at the last minute. Future supplements will look a heckuva lot better. I
(and the artists and production staff) was very disappointed, mostly
because we really liked a lot of the Sutherland maps.

>Lastly I would of liked to have seen some unique undead NPCs. Like maybe a
>Lich, Ghost, Banshee, or Mummy who made the Giantdowns their lair(I had to
>add a Banshee, it seemed to fit). Even a few *new* types of lesser undead
>would have been cool. But still overall KotG is probaly one of the best
>Adventure Accessories to come out for BR. Keep up the good work...please.

Ouch! Yes--I thought of that AFTER we sent the thing to press. In playtests
of the barrows areas one of the undead actually BECAME an important
individual and I didn't even THINK to write him (it?) up. I'm still kicking
myself over this one (although that's hard to do sitting at a desk). ;-)

>BTW, I would be interested in hearing about any interesting situations that
>came up during playtesting. I'm running KotG as a long-term event, and I
>have other nations, and lone NPCs, who are trying to stake claims in the
>Giantdowns. So any events that could add a little more background, or
>color, to other "outsiders" within the Giantdowns would be great.
>

If you're interested, I can post some playtest stories, or send them over
to Sean Reynolds at the website. Let me know what the rest of you think as
well.

Ed Stark

[Sepsis]

At 09:25 AM 9/25/97 -0700, Ed Stark(ted@wizards.com)you wrote:
>
>Ouch! Yes--I thought of that AFTER we sent the thing to press. In playtests
>of the barrows areas one of the undead actually BECAME an important
>individual and I didn't even THINK to write him (it?) up. I'm still kicking
>myself over this one (although that's hard to do sitting at a desk). ;-)
>

I'd love to hear more about this. And maybe...just maybe you could give us
a brief "write-up" of him(?). Your NPCs are too good to miss.

>
>If you're interested, I can post some playtest stories, or send them over
>to Sean Reynolds at the website. Let me know what the rest of you think as
>well.
>

I for one, am *very* interested. Please Post some of those stories here.
And once again keep that BR stuff coming. Thanks.


Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net

"War is a matter of vital importance to the State;
the province of life or death;
the road to survival or ruin.
It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied."
-Sun Tzu,(The Art of War)-

BR Netbook: http://webpages.metrolink.net/~veleda/birth.html

[Ed Stark]

At 05:38 PM 9/25/97 -0400, you wrote:
>At 09:25 AM 9/25/97 -0700, Ed Stark(ted@wizards.com)you wrote:
>>
>>Ouch! Yes--I thought of that AFTER we sent the thing to press. In playtests
>>of the barrows areas one of the undead actually BECAME an important
>>individual and I didn't even THINK to write him (it?) up. I'm still kicking
>>myself over this one (although that's hard to do sitting at a desk). ;-)
>>
>
>I'd love to hear more about this. And maybe...just maybe you could give us
>a brief "write-up" of him(?). Your NPCs are too good to miss.
>
>>
>>If you're interested, I can post some playtest stories, or send them over
>>to Sean Reynolds at the website. Let me know what the rest of you think as
>>well.
>>
>
>I for one, am *very* interested. Please Post some of those stories here.
>And once again keep that BR stuff coming. Thanks.
>
>
>Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net


I'm saving this message to my desktop and, when I get a free moment, I will
try writing up the undead creature and some of the playtest stories. It
might come in dribs and drabs, but it'll come!
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com

[lyndon@pobox.com (Lyndon]

Yes, do not attempt risky kick-yourself contortions (you'd feel
awfully embarressed if you got Stuck that way and had to all the
paramedics to unknot yourself), and excercise your energy in typing up
playtest notes and barrow characters!

Lyndon