Thousand Thrones Review [Here be Spoilers]

I guess the million dollar question in response to Rob's blog is "Rejected by whom?" I'd love to know what diseased mind actually thought an old school dungeon crawl offered a more appropriate conclusion than the Chaos Wastes. Good call buddy....good call.

Sythorn wrote:I must admit this paragraph confuses me a little. Wouldn't someone with an aversion to the "naive joy of classic fantasy" be just the person to write a WFRP adventure?

Sorry, I can see why the confusion. I was including Warhammer in "classic fantasy" here. I probably should have said something along the lines of "stereotypical fantasy" instead.

While WFRP might be a (very needed) reaction to really old school fantasy, by now it's pretty old school itself.

I believe the best WFRP adventures are written by those who still love the game for what it is, and those who willingly embrace the conventions of the genre; nudge, nudge, know what I mean... Having experience writing D&D 'ventures seem to be more of a hindrance than a help (hagranyms or doomstones doesn't tend to go down well with fans of the rpg that aren't playing the wfb).

Sythorn wrote:I guess the million dollar question in response to Rob's blog is "Rejected by whom?" I'd love to know what diseased mind actually thought an old school dungeon crawl offered a more appropriate conclusion than the Chaos Wastes. Good call buddy....good call.

I'm not sure that's at all constructive. I can see several good reasons why a Chaos Wastes finale would be problematic. Space being the first and foremost reason.

The real million dollar question for me, in regards to the whole BI period, would be: why not publish half the ideas in twice the space?

CapnZapp wrote:
I'm not sure that's at all constructive.

Neither are several other comments, both past and future, made to this board or any other; 100% constructiveness is a highly unrealistic expectation. But perhaps I'm mistaken on this issue and I truly am the first person on this board to bring up a question or other issue followed by a personal opinion delivered in a blunt manner.

CapnZapp wrote:
I can see several good reasons why a Chaos Wastes finale would be problematic. Space being the first and foremost reason.

Perhaps it's just me, but I would take an underdeveloped idea that inspires me and has potential over a fully developed idea that has neither any day. Rejecting an idea without even trying to make it work strikes me as a poor decision, especially when the alternative is unplayable, inferior, and must apologize for itself in the actual text. In short, I find it difficult to believe that any perceived problems with a Chaos Wastes finale would truly have outweighed the problems of a D&D finish.

Perhaps I was unclear - I'm saying I can understand the decision to not go with the Chaos Wastes. That in no way means I'm defending the poor decision to instead go with a D&D dungeon (where D&D means Death&Despair).

I'm not convinced it was the decision to axe the Chaos Wastes that led to the D&D dungeon. In fact, I got the impression the Chaos Wastes were axed first, and Rob only then selecting the dungeon as the alternative. This is why I feel the real issue is Rob's choice of a replacement, and not that the design team (that evidently consists of others than Rob Schwalb) axed the original idea.

Cheers,
Zapp

CapnZapp wrote:Perhaps I was unclear - I'm saying I can understand the decision to not go with the Chaos Wastes. That in no way means I'm defending the poor decision to instead go with a D&D dungeon (where D&D means Death&Despair).

I'm not convinced it was the decision to axe the Chaos Wastes that led to the D&D dungeon. In fact, I got the impression the Chaos Wastes were axed first, and Rob only then selecting the dungeon as the alternative. This is why I feel the real issue is Rob's choice of a replacement, and not that the design team (that evidently consists of others than Rob Schwalb) axed the original idea.

Then the next logical question to ask is why the design team would approve a D&D dungeon after rejecting the Chaos Wastes, apparently a controlled environment was made a higher priority than fun factor. I don't know the precise individuals responsible for the original ideas' rejection, but is seems like a very "corporate" move to me, in that an easier, more controllable option was selected over one that was clearly more appropriate and entertaining for the players.

I'm not sure if anyone else will know what I'm referring to, but this really reminds me of the countless times I've watched the "alternate ending" feature on a DVD and been exposed to a clearly better idea that was rejected in favor of a more straight-forward ending that took the easy way out and was way too obvious and predictable. It's just surreal being exposed to that same experience with an RPG campaign.