[d20] Warlords of the Accordlands

[chiguayante]

I don't know how many of you have played the CCG "Warlord" made by AEG, but a while back they published a d20 suppliment that converted their ideas back into RPG mode. The cool thing is that the idea for the card game was based off of a d20 campaign that one of the VIPs for AEG ran and now they were retranslating back into d20 form.

It is d20 3.5 rules and the player's guide is a really great source on different racial ideas as well as having new and/or reinvisioned classes. The alignment focus is more on lawful/chaotic then it is on good/evil and the setting really shines in that area, also nuetral basically doesn't apply. Another cool thing that I liked about it was that all of the race/class combonations also came with special abilities, thus making elf paladins totally thematically different from human paladins.

For those that haven't ever played the game, here's a quick run down on the races:

Deverenian- Like Humans, but taller, stronger, darker hair, lighter skin. Very religious, largest paladin organisation in the world. Church of the Storm is built like the Roman Catholic church circa 1400s. cultural alignment, Lawful Evil.

Elf- not your Tolkien tree hugger. Elves have an extremely short lifespan (30 year max), which tends to make them very determined to be remembered for whatever it is they do while alive. They are very desperate and tend to be powerhungry. Tend to be Necromancers and Assassins. Cultural alignment, Chaotic.

Dwarves- Once a proud human nation, exiled themselves underground to fight off the incurrance of demons from the abyss. They are losing the war and have just breached the surface for the first time in milennia. Cultural alignment: Lawful Good.

Nothrog- Seeing the weakness of the monstrous hordes, performed self eugenics to merge the goblin, hobgoblin, orcish, troll and ogre races into one super race. Master tacticians and designers of seige machines. Alignment evil.

Humans- There are many nations, each with their own prejudices. Like in most games, they're the catch all. The Elves, nothrog, deverenians all want to destroy them, the dwarves barely know they exist and there is much in fighting between nations.

Oh, and just a couple of days ago almost every single important hero from any race and nation. No one knows how this happened or who orchestrated it. All races and nations were hit so it wasn't any one nation... and now your characters have to save the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any one else play in this setting? I love it so much, the new classes and mechanics dress up d20 a lot beter then Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms do. It makes things interesting enough to really want to play. That and it doesn't kick you in the ass if you play evil, in fact, "evil" isn't nearly as big of a deal as the side bar in the PG tells you (it isnt an excuse to be an idiot either).

Anyone else's thoughts on the supp? What were your favorite parts?

[NulSyn]

I absolutely love the ccg. But haven't tried the RPG due to the $$$. They are not cheap books. Maybe someday when I have the extra moolah.

But I always thought The Accordlands and Sovereign Stone had the coolest ideas for the basic fantasy races.

[chiguayante]

Oh yeah!

Also, I like how the base classes were expanded and made more appealing. I loved my Deverenian Paladin (evil) who was really not such a bad guy after all. He teamed up with a Narawati Monk (good) and a cleric of Kavara (chaotic nuetral), much ass kicking in the name of the Storm persued. This was the best d20 campaign I had ever been in and I'm dying to play again.

In the "Master Codex" alone (300 pages) there are:

18 new Character Classes for use in the Accordlands or any other fantasy setting.
Over 50 new Prestige Classes, giving characters a unique role within the Accordlands.
Over 100 pages of Spells, old and new, for easy reference.
New Equipment and Items for characters: from poisons, to traps, to tattoos, to unique steeds. The list of categories alone is too long to include.
New Optional Rules for dueling, hunting, mass combat, removing limbs, "called shots," and more!
A "super index" covering information from all four books of the Warlords of the Accordlands RPG.

Really, even if you only get the MC, it's worth the cash. Our group played with only the MC and the Campaign book and we did just fine. Just use monster from the Monster Manual 3.5e and anything super specific to the plot is in the Campaign book (maps, monsters, whatever). There's enough about the setting (including fold out map) in the core that you don't NEED the atlas, it's just hella cool.

[Yo! Master]

I don't know how many of you have played the CCG "Warlord" made by AEG, but a while back they published a d20 suppliment that converted their ideas back into RPG mode. The cool thing is that the idea for the card game was based off of a d20 campaign that one of the VIPs for AEG ran and now they were retranslating back into d20 form.

Any one else play in this setting? I love it so much, the new classes and mechanics dress up d20 a lot beter then Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms do. It makes things interesting enough to really want to play. That and it doesn't kick you in the ass if you play evil, in fact, "evil" isn't nearly as big of a deal as the side bar in the PG tells you (it isnt an excuse to be an idiot either).

Anyone else's thoughts on the supp? What were your favorite parts?


First things first, look at my signature, so yeah, you can say that my love for Warlord loves deep. ;)

Always liked the game's setting so it's nice to have it in RPG form, too (looong delays & everything). :) So far me & the rest of the team have only played a short campaign in it (i was playing a Deverenian Monk, an Inquisitor to be precise) unrelated to the one in the adventure book (but we did get to meet plenty of the CCG characters, including a Medusan Lord, Latnok)...

The books, system-wise, have enough spiffy & cool things in them but the whole thing isn't as polished in this department as it could have been. The rules & various other fiddly bits are a little over the messy side.

[riprock]

I misread the subject line as "Warlord of the Accordions."

I was imagining Weird Al Yankovic with winged helmet, a battleaxe, and a big old accordion, cranking out the polka...

possibly with a "Goblin Polka Band" from Magic: the Gathering providing backup.

[Yo! Master]

I misread the subject line as "Warlord of the Accordions."

Time this joke has been made by now:

938492387


:p

[The Grey Elf]

Oh yeah!

Also, I like how the base classes were expanded and made more appealing. I loved my Deverenian Paladin (evil) who was really not such a bad guy after all. He teamed up with a Narawati Monk (good) and a cleric of Kavara (chaotic nuetral), much ass kicking in the name of the Storm persued. This was the best d20 campaign I had ever been in and I'm dying to play again.

In the "Master Codex" alone (300 pages) there are:

18 new Character Classes for use in the Accordlands or any other fantasy setting.
Over 50 new Prestige Classes, giving characters a unique role within the Accordlands.
Over 100 pages of Spells, old and new, for easy reference.
New Equipment and Items for characters: from poisons, to traps, to tattoos, to unique steeds. The list of categories alone is too long to include.
New Optional Rules for dueling, hunting, mass combat, removing limbs, "called shots," and more!
A "super index" covering information from all four books of the Warlords of the Accordlands RPG.

Really, even if you only get the MC, it's worth the cash. Our group played with only the MC and the Campaign book and we did just fine. Just use monster from the Monster Manual 3.5e and anything super specific to the plot is in the Campaign book (maps, monsters, whatever). There's enough about the setting (including fold out map) in the core that you don't NEED the atlas, it's just hella cool.


And not to mention, it's billed as a complete RPG, but contains no character creation information and NO STANDARD COMBAT RULES. It doesn't say you need the D&D PHB to play, but if you don't have that, you'd better at least have access to a copy of the SRD to muddle through.

I was SO looking forward to this game; even demoed it at Gen Con 2 years ago and had a blast...and I was so put off by how poorly it was done that it broke my heart. *sigh*

[Reverend Keith]

Oh, and just a couple of days ago almost every single important hero from any race and nation. No one knows how this happened or who orchestrated it. All races and nations were hit so it wasn't any one nation... and now your characters have to save the world.
So... what happened with each of these important heroes? Did they vanish? Die? Turn into umberhulks? Not only am I in the dark as to how it happened or how it was orchestrated, I'm in the dark regarding what happened to them. :)

[blizack]

So... what happened with each of these important heroes? Did they vanish? Die? Turn into umberhulks? Not only am I in the dark as to how it happened or how it was orchestrated, I'm in the dark regarding what happened to them. :)

I think he meant to say that they were assassinated.

[Yo! Master]

So... what happened with each of these important heroes? Did they vanish? Die? Turn into umberhulks? Not only am I in the dark as to how it happened or how it was orchestrated, I'm in the dark regarding what happened to them. :)

All of them (only a couple managed to make it through) got assassinated the same day by parties unknown, in an event now called the Assassins' Strike (also the name of the 1st expansion of the CCG back in the day ;) ).


As for what really went on:

1st degree of spoilers:Behind it all was the Assassin's Guild, the leader of which, Black Tom of Corinth, got contracted to do so by parties unknown. This was a massive undertaking, by magnitudes & magnitudes the biggest the Guild ever done, and it's a little strange that none got wind of the Nightwalker's (practically a throng of them needed) preparations for the.

2nd degree of spoilers: Behind the Assassin's Strike as a whole are the Medusan Lords, that mysterious group of powerful & hungry for control of the world shadowy individuals very few know about, with Black Tom being under the thumb of one of their number. And this was only one of their plans in motion.

3rd degree of spoilers: Get the books or read the official Warlord fiction at the site (follow my sign) :p But the campaign in the book starts right in the middle of the night the Strike happened, around an important target of it, in fact.

[MutieMoe]

I have been looking at Warlords of the Accordlands because it seems to have sort of dark fantasy vibe in the setting, and new take on standard D&D races seems interesting.

I'm would like to know if the campaigns starting point is that bunch of bigshot NPC's are assasinated does it have enough information on them so players care about it happening?

Because if not I'm totally going to look at following scene:

DM: Lord Zgrfyxtg was just assasinated!!!
Players: What do we care?
DM: He was hero of the great war and the overlord of Zgrfyxtganistan!!
Players: So?
DM: He did many heroic deeds.
Players: Like what?
DM: I dunno, just play along nicely and you all get cookies.
Players: Yay! Cookies!

[Lugh]

Well, part of the setting is much less "Why do we care that Lord Zgrfyxtg got assassinated?" and much more "Um, why did every major hero just get assassinated? And how, 'cause those are some butch guys? And by who?" Also, there's supposed to be a bit of "Congratulations, you just got promoted to first-string heroes. Here's hoping you don't get assassinated too..."

I'm waiting for the books to come out on eBay, or some other discounted method. I want to get them and read them, but I highly doubt I'll ever play them.

[Yo! Master]

I have been looking at Warlords of the Accordlands because it seems to have sort of dark fantasy vibe in the setting, and new take on standard D&D races seems interesting.

I'm would like to know if the campaigns starting point is that bunch of bigshot NPC's are assasinated does it have enough information on them so players care about it happening?

Because if not I'm totally going to look at following scene:

DM: Lord Zgrfyxtg was just assasinated!!!
Players: What do we care?
DM: He was hero of the great war and the overlord of Zgrfyxtganistan!!
Players: So?
DM: He did many heroic deeds.
Players: Like what?
DM: I dunno, just play along nicely and you all get cookies.
Players: Yay! Cookies!

hmm... hard question for me to answer, as i know the setting to a very good degree & have been with it for many years now & thus can "feel" the weight the character have....

Lugh is on the spot, i'd say. No, the characters that get hit during the Assassins' Strike aren't really given depth or a berth of info so as to make the players care about them (lets leave alone for the moment the fact that a multitude of them are taken down; doing so for just a few could have been possible), unless of course the GM / players wants to make them more entwined with the PCs & personally important to them.

But still the consequences from the Assassins' Strike is twofold:

i) as Lugh said, the PCs are now thrust into the forefront. The world as a whole needs all the help it can get (between the Medusan Lords' plans & the all-out war that is starting) & a lot of people who would be 2nd-story men & women before are now put right into the thick of it.

ii) for default campaign, it starts with the PCs are specifically in one of the hot spots when the Assassins' Strike goes does. Nightwalkers vs. the PCs, real-time, during a peace parlay that enough may hinge on it. And the PCs, being the usual selves, can't help but manage draw the eye of some important people & get plenty of things rolling
They even manage to get in the way of one of the Medusan Lords themselves, Caer Adinerach, the guy who "owns" Black Tom of Corinth, there to make sure things go off as planned in this important hit.
The time we played it, the Dwarf Fighter managed to actually hit him. Caer wasn't pleased with that.:D


P.S. Handy link for Medusan Lord info (http://www.warlordccg.com/medusanlords/).

[Master of the Game]

I haven't played it, but I did read through all four books for the Ennie Awards this year. In fact, there are reviews of Monsters & Lairs (http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/2007/04/warlords-of-accordlands-monsters-and.html), The World Atlas (http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/2007/04/warlords-of-accordlands-world-atlas.html), and The Master Codex (http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/2007/05/warlords-of-accordlands-master-codex.html) on my blog (http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/). I really enjoyed them. It re-imagines the standard d20 fantasy from the ground up.

And not to mention, it's billed as a complete RPG, but contains no character creation information and NO STANDARD COMBAT RULES. It doesn't say you need the D&D PHB to play, but if you don't have that, you'd better at least have access to a copy of the SRD to muddle through.

I was SO looking forward to this game; even demoed it at Gen Con 2 years ago and had a blast...and I was so put off by how poorly it was done that it broke my heart. *sigh*

It bears the d20 logo, by definition meaning that it isn't a complete RPG, and that you need a PHB to play. That said, it is in violation of the d20 STL because it does have character creation info in it.

[The Grey Elf]

It bears the d20 logo, by definition meaning that it isn't a complete RPG, and that you need a PHB to play. That said, it is in violation of the d20 STL because it does have character creation info in it.

I couldn't find a d20 logo on it anywhere. Also, right on the cover, it clearly states that it is, in fact the Accordlands Role-Playing Game...not campaign setting. Also, I couldn't find anywhere the statement, "Requires the use of the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, etc." (also placing it in violation of the STL, if indeed it does carry the d20 logo).

Also, where exactly are the character creation rules? These, also, I could not find anywhere in the book.

[Yo! Master]

By the way, shouldn't this thread get moved to the other forum?

[Master of the Game]

I couldn't find a d20 logo on it anywhere.
Bottom right of the rear cover on every book. Right next to the AEG symbol.

Also, right on the cover, it clearly states that it is, in fact the Accordlands Role-Playing Game...not campaign setting.
Now that I don't see. Mind telling me where that is? Maybe you have some wierd version of the book that is different than mine.

Also, I couldn't find anywhere the statement, "Requires the use of the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, etc." (also placing it in violation of the STL, if indeed it does carry the d20 logo).
As I said in my post...

Also, where exactly are the character creation rules? These, also, I could not find anywhere in the book.
Master Codex. Ability Score generation is on page 6. Experience table is on page 20. Obviously the races, classes, and feats make up the rest of the book.

[Christmas Ape]

By the way, shouldn't this thread get moved to the other forum?I guess one of our mods is an Accordlands fan.

[The Grey Elf]

Bottom right of the rear cover on every book. Right next to the AEG symbol.

Now that I don't see. Mind telling me where that is? Maybe you have some wierd version of the book that is different than mine.

I don't actually own it. I've looked at it in the FLGS, so admittedly I may (and clearly) have overlooked a few things in there. I'll be up there tomorrow and they have copies there, so I'll look for the "Roleplaying Game" declaration again.

Even still, including character generation rules speaks to the desire for it to be self-contained. That being the case, NOT including combat rules is, IMO, a GROSS oversight that no established publisher should make...ESPECIALLY if they don't include a note that the use of their book requires the ownership of another book. Not everyone is as savvy about the d20 STL as many of us on this forum are.

[Tzimiscedracul]

[QUOTE=chiguayante;6885249]
18 new Character Classes for use in the Accordlands or any other fantasy setting.
Over 50 new Prestige Classes, giving characters a unique role within the Accordlands.
Over 100 pages of Spells, old and new, for easy reference.
New Equipment and Items for characters: from poisons, to traps, to tattoos, to unique steeds. The list of categories alone is too long to include.
New Optional Rules for dueling, hunting, mass combat, removing limbs, "called shots," and more!
[QUOTE]


Hi,

Just a question: does the Master Codex really have ALL these new optional rules? I think I saw some people complaining about the book being incomplete. If I’m wrong (and I hope I’m :D ), are the new mechanics are good?

Thanks in advance,
Tzimiscedracul

[MutieMoe]

Thank you Lugh and Yo! Master, now I get it.

I have to say it's gutsy take to kill all the heroes of the world, it takes care of the super-NPC hero problem when there is no Elminster to save the world if the PC's fail and best of all there is nobody to outshine the PC's.

This setting is so metal, even the settings name sounds fitting for a heavy metal album.:D

[Yo! Master]

Thank you Lugh and Yo! Master, now I get it.

I have to say it's gutsy take to kill all the heroes of the world, it takes care of the super-NPC hero problem when there is no Elminster to save the world if the PC's fail and best of all there is nobody to outshine the PC's.

This setting is so metal, even the settings name sounds fitting for a heavy metal album.:D


The setting isn't completely devoid of NPCs of medium / high Levels. Apart from the Medusan Lords & some other weird cases (most of them on the villain side, for both Good & Evil Characters), like the Dragon Lords, filling the actually high Level spots, various characters of various Level still stick around. Some (Sir Robert the Vigilant, Sakar) managed to survive the Assassins' Strike (& that's a big deal), others for some reason weren't among the targets (;)), the Dwarves were hardly hit, some hidden individuals were forced to make their return, etc.

But at the same time, these people are not that many (even if enough to provide potential challenges to the PCs as they start going up on Levels) & easy to decide if they are relevant or not to your game & thus actually use if you like without overshadowing the PCs just by their existence (think more Eberron & less FR). After all, most of them truly are occupied doing stuff. Not stuff adventurers / heroes / roaming agents / what-have-you would get directly involved with (even if still cool enough in their own rights so an adventure / whole campaign might focus on them, & there still is enough space for the PCs to slot in & shine), like the never-ending war Dwarves fight against the Abyssals, Sir Robert trying to unite what is left of the various Human lands, the remaining / emergant Elf & Nothrog leaders being tied-up with kicking the crap out of what is left of the various Human lands, Behlial (the Hierophant of the holy city of Athanaes, which all religions can call home) being tied to his city & all the intrigue going on there, etc. (which, by the way, all of them are things the PCs, for one reason, or another might even disagree about & decide to "offer an alternative idea" ;)).

[TonyTempest]

The books are big and pricey, but they are really pretty and have great ideas. I got all four of mine through Books A Million online. With their discount, and additional discount cause I got their frequent buyer card, I essentially got the Monster Book and the Character creation book, and then got the other two books for free. That worked out well, but it was still over $60 total (I got them in two different orders so it was less per order).

I'm not sure I would play in the setting, but I've already used some of the monsters, races, and classes in other games. For me that was worth it.

david

[MutieMoe]

The setting isn't completely devoid of NPCs of medium / high Levels. Apart from the Medusan Lords & some other weird cases (most of them on the villain side, for both Good & Evil Characters), like the Dragon Lords, filling the actually high Level spots, various characters of various Level still stick around. Some (Sir Robert the Vigilant, Sakar) managed to survive the Assassins' Strike (& that's a big deal), others for some reason weren't among the targets (;)), the Dwarves were hardly hit, some hidden individuals were forced to make their return, etc.

But at the same time, these people are not that many (even if enough to provide potential challenges to the PCs as they start going up on Levels) & easy to decide if they are relevant or not to your game & thus actually use if you like without overshadowing the PCs just by their existence (think more Eberron & less FR). After all, most of them truly are occupied doing stuff. Not stuff adventurers / heroes / roaming agents / what-have-you wouldn't get directly involved with (even if still cool enough in their own rights so an adventure / whole campaign might focus on them, & there still is enough space for the PCs to slot in & shine), like the never-ending war Dwarves fight against the Abyssals, Sir Robert trying to unite what is left of the various Human lands, the remaining / emergant Elf & Nothrog leaders are tied-up with kicking the crap out of what is left of the various Human lands, Behlial (the Hierophant of the holy city of Athanaes, which all religions can call home) is tied to his city & all the intrigue going on there, etc. (which, by the way, all of them are things the PCs, for one reason, or another might even disagree about & decide to "offer an alternative idea" ;)).

That approach sounds just about fine, and of course there has to be villains whose posterior needs to end up on the PC's "list of asses to kick".


The books are big and pricey, but they are really pretty and have great ideas. I got all four of mine through Books A Million online. With their discount, and additional discount cause I got their frequent buyer card, I essentially got the Monster Book and the Character creation book, and then got the other two books for free. That worked out well, but it was still over $60 total (I got them in two different orders so it was less per order).

I'm not sure I would play in the setting, but I've already used some of the monsters, races, and classes in other games. For me that was worth it.

david

Yup, they are pricey 40 to 50 € a piece around here, so I decided to dig up this thread to hear about people's experiences with the setting.

How is the binding in the books BTW, it would be beyond awful to drop 180 € on the books and have the pages fall out of the covers after few months.

[TonyTempest]

I found the slick paper made the art pop, and the book feels really solid. I've had them for a year, and though they don't get a lot of playtime use, they seem to be bound really well.

I do have a minor problem with the loose maps that came with. I dont' need poster sized maps, and the fact that they were loose and shrink-bound with the books makes it harder for me to keep track of them on my book shelf.

david

[JonA]

Moved to D20 forum.

[MutieMoe]

I found the slick paper made the art pop, and the book feels really solid. I've had them for a year, and though they don't get a lot of playtime use, they seem to be bound really well.

I do have a minor problem with the loose maps that came with. I dont' need poster sized maps, and the fact that they were loose and shrink-bound with the books makes it harder for me to keep track of them on my book shelf.

david

I like the sound of that, althought for the loose maps I propably need to think solution of sorts.

I'm amazed I heard about this setting first time only couple weeks ago though, I would guess high production values setting books like these would have been advertized like crazy.

[Yo! Master]

I like the sound of that, althought for the loose maps I propably need to think solution of sorts.

I'm amazed I heard about this setting first time only couple weeks ago though, I would guess high production values setting books like these would have been advertized like crazy.

They were advertised to a good degree. 4 years ago, when it was first said it'd come out. Then it started getting delayed & delayed for 2+ years. Interest at large kinda fizzled at some point, i'd say. And using "when the RPG comes out" as "never" became a running joke in the Warlord forums.

[MutieMoe]

They were advertised to a good degree. 4 years ago, when it was first said it'd come out. Then it started getting delayed & delayed for 2+ years. Interest at large kinda fizzled at some, i'd say. And using "when the RPG comes out" as "never" became a running joke in the Warlord forums.

A-ha, in light of that it seems to be a very good thing I heard of it just recently. I vaguely recall seing promocards of the Warlords CCG few years back in english language game magazine, but that's all.
Pretty much all I have heard of AEG recently is that they did that crazy mega-dungeon thing and associated crazy mega-city thing.

[MutieMoe]

This thread and some of the reviews I found on the net have finally tipped the scales and I just ordered the four books.

There is going to be some lazy summer afternoons spent basking in sun and reading these books in the near future, and after reading there is going to be some gaming to be had, oh yes. :)

[TonyTempest]

I'm glad you are looking into buying the books (not so glad as if I owned AEG, true... but I think you will enjoy them, hence: glad). The only one I got virtually no use out of was the Campaign book, as running a long campaign like that was of no interest to me.

However, in my last game, and in my new game, I have cherry-picked very nice stuff from the Players Book, Monsters book, and World book...

david

PS... luckily, I too didn't hear about these books until after their release. I'm already impatiently waiting for Arrrgh! There be Zombies, Beyond Human, and Sundered Skies.... didn't need another one back then....

[MutieMoe]

I too tend to pick and mix elements out of ready made adventures, so if Campaign Adventure Book is not usable as it is, it's content will be of course modified to suit my group's tastes, althought I have always wanted to run a cohesive campaign that takes PC's from low to high levels, so it might as it is be just what I want. :)

First sessions will propably be introductionary romps to get our group familiar with feel of the world.

[MutieMoe]

Got all the books yesterday in the mail, setting seems cool, art has definately a bit of old-school style to it, atlas just rocks and the monster book just seems to be filled with with goodness.

Accordlands Campaign Adventure Book I have to return to shop that I used, 127 of the pages in the middle are missing and 127 pages in the end are printed twice, so I just have to kickstart adventuring in Accordlands with something of my own design.

[Lazarus]

My FLGS yesterday had the Atlas and monster book for 10$ each. I waffled yesterday. Today, they only had the Atlas :( Ah well, I picked that up - was really the one I cared about getting most: it's the thing actually describing the world.

(and, given that I've also bought Star Wars Saga and Mutants & Masterminds, I've no shortage of d20-like material, though it would be nice to have the Codex, too, for the sweet race/class combo stuff I've heard about :p but, that's a project for another day)

Laz

[MutieMoe]

Monster book has nifty feature of having lots of detailed lairs in it, kind of like instant dungeons.

Check out the entry on Abyssals and the lair titled "Hand of God" or something like that. That fortress is just dramatic and cool location, I really hope to use it someday.

[Lazarus]

Check out the entry on Abyssals and the lair titled "Hand of God" or something like that. That fortress is just dramatic and cool location, I really hope to use it someday.

I would if I had it :( Or is that one of the few excerpts AEG is offering on their site?

Laz

[MutieMoe]

I would if I had it :( Or is that one of the few excerpts AEG is offering on their site?

Laz

I misread your post, thought you had picked up both, sorry.

Basicly it's tower shaped like hand and arm reaching from bottom of cavern to the caverns roof.

[Lazarus]

Basicly it's tower shaped like hand and arm reaching from bottom of cavern to the caverns roof.

Ah. Heard about that one. Hollowed out from the claw of the dragon himself, no?

Laz

[Yo! Master]

I would if I had it :( Or is that one of the few excerpts AEG is offering on their site?

Laz


*checks*

Doesn't seem so.


Abyssals are scary things in any case:

http://www.warlordrpg.com/offthecards/images/ter_soth.jpg

Just read the Template!

[Lazarus]

Just read the Template!

Again, no book :(

Reading through AEG's previews again, at least I can get their versions of class abilities (if not the class tables) and racial abilities. I should probably save those for if I ever actually use the Accordlands for anything other than reading.

And now, a part of me wants to do a Saga rendition of the Accordlands. Which I know nothing about at this time. Sigh. I suppose I could offer writing Saga-compatible mechanics if someone provides me with descriptions of stuff, I think.

Laz

[Yo! Master]

Again, no book :(

:o

Wasn't a "stop bothering us & go read the book" kind of comment, Lazarus, sorry. More of a "i'm excited about how cool Abyssals are" one.

[Lazarus]

Wasn't a "stop bothering us & go read the book" kind of comment, Lazarus, sorry. More of a "i'm excited about how cool Abyssals are" one.

I know. I can tell. Everything I've heard of them so far sound REALLY cool.

Yeah, I'm disappointed I don't have that book :( Ah well. Again, a project for some other day. (I love me some monster books ...)

Laz

[MutieMoe]

I have to say Abyssals have cool unified visual thing going on.

http://images.epilogue.net/users/jae/AbyssalMinion1.jpg

http://images.epilogue.net/users/jae/AbyssalMinion3.jpg

http://images.epilogue.net/users/jae/AbyssalEmperor.jpg

[Lazarus]

awesome.

I think, in a bit, I will want to try building an Accordlands Saga Edition ... out of fluff and what little mechanics I can find elsewhere :p

Laz

[Pete Whalley]

A few weeks ago I managed to find the Master Codex, World Atlas and Monster book in a bargain box for £13.50 altogether, so I snapped them up. Having just finished reading them, I'm afraid I have to say I'm a little dissapointed.

The Master Codex is excellent- my favourite take on a D&D spin since Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. The class variants and races are all interesting, the feats and spells are excellent, and I really like the idea of the race/class combination abilities.

After that though, things falter slightly- the World Atlas lacks detail, in that it covers the political groups and 2 major settlements for each race/faction with no mention of any others- so all you get is a tiny thumbnail sketch of little pieces of the setting, with a lot of work left to the DM when it comes to fleshing out the world.
There are also some bizarrely OTT guidelines when it comes to the occupants of the cities- the Deverenian capital is home to 15,000 rogues of levels 2-6? In one section of the city alone!?

The monster book is another dissapointment- a lot of creatures aren't illustrated, and are somewhat vaguely described, which is a minus mark in my book. The Abyssals also need work on their stats. All of them can cast Chaos Hammer, Darkness, Doom and Scorching Ray (with no caster level given) 3/day and unholy Aura at will...on top of resistances, telepathy and immunities. Not too bad for some of the big boys, but even the CR 1/2 mooks can do this...no way in hell do these abilities make something CR 1/2.

To be fair, there are some excellent ideas in there, and the core book (or Master Codex) is an awesome book...I just wish the setting itself had some more meat on it's bones, and that the monsters had a little more work done on them.

[Yo! Master]

Yeah, how much i love Warlord i can't say that i, too, was completely pleased with it. It felt like lacking a good amount of... polish, especially crunch-wise (which is kinda ironic in conjunction with the loooong delay ;)).

[Pete Whalley]

Yeah, how much i like Warlord i can't say that i, too, was completely pleased with it. It felt like lacking a good amount of... polish, especially crunch-wise (which is kinda ironic in conjunction with the loooong delay ;)).

Pretty much...I do like it, despite the harshness of my complaints, but it'll only see use as a supplement to my D&D games as it stands.

Now to get to work on an actual review...

[MutieMoe]

Yeah, how much i love Warlord i can't say that i, too, was completely pleased with it. It felt like lacking a good amount of... polish, especially crunch-wise (which is kinda ironic in conjunction with the loooong delay ;)).

I don't know enough about background of the setting but something gives me a feeling of AD&D setting converted to 3.5.

Pretty much...I do like it, despite the harshness of my complaints, but it'll only see use as a supplement to my D&D games as it stands.

Now to get to work on an actual review...

That would be cool, just as something that points out the problematic spots in the rules before play.

[Pete Whalley]

I don't know enough about background of the setting but something gives me a feeling of AD&D setting converted to 3.5.

I had the same thoughts, and sure enough the introduction confirms it. The world was apparently John Zinser's home setting for his evil group to conquer.

That would be cool, just as something that points out the problematic spots in the rules before play.

I'd better get cracking then eh? :)

[Yo! Master]

I had the same thoughts, and sure enough the introduction confirms it. The world was apparently John Zinser's home setting for his evil group to conquer.

Which then they went against playing from the start Level 1 good guys.

The Medusan Lords are said Evil Characters, & others like Terak Justicebringer & the Good Characters.

But the setting has passed from plenty of hands & 6+ years of the CGG's since then. For instance, in Zinser's campaign the Elves were more or less Drow (hence Caer Adinerach being purple in skin-colour) & not necromantic & witj short life-span.

[Lazarus]

question: how much of the Accordlands books are OGC?

Also, if the Abyssals is a template, shouldn't it have an ECL adjustment on it? So a CL 1/2 would be ECL 1/2 + delta?

Laz

[Pete Whalley]

question: how much of the Accordlands books are OGC?

Not sure about this one.

Also, if the Abyssals is a template, shouldn't it have an ECL adjustment on it? So a CL 1/2 would be ECL 1/2 + delta?

Laz

Nope, it's a subtype not a template- like Tanar'ri, etc...so all Abyssals get the Abyssal traits- which makes a CR1/2 critter into something that can wipe the floor with your average 2nd level party quite easily.

[MutieMoe]

I had the same thoughts, and sure enough the introduction confirms it. The world was apparently John Zinser's home setting for his evil group to conquer.


Yes, and I started reading the books instead of just flipping through yesterday, and setting has kind of "organic" feel, that it has developed over time.

I particulary liked ideas behind the half-breeds and the 0-level apprentice levels, those rules propably don't see play often but are not just curiosities either.

I
I'd better get cracking then eh? :)

Yes.

Which then they went against playing from the start Level 1 good guys.

The Medusan Lords are said Evil Characters, & others like Terak Justicebringer & the Good Characters.

But the setting has passed from plenty of hands & 6+ years of the CGG's since then. For instance, in Zinser's campaign the Elves were more or less Drow (hence Caer Adinerach being purple in skin-colour) & not necromantic & witj short life-span.

Campaign adventure book sounds like lot of fun, you pretty much pimped it so much in this thread I'm almost certainly going to use it, it's a shame that copy that was briefly in my hands was totally unusable due printing errors, but store I'm using has already ordered me new one.:D

[MutieMoe]

I still don't have the Campaign Adventure Book which is shame, but setting is too great to be let just to gather dust on shelf.

Played my first session of Warlords RPG yesterday, my group was really in to making characters to this setting, one player made a nothrog barbarian, another a human scout and third a dwarven fighter.

I played introductionary romp with slightly modified map from the monster book entry on demon of kvar and fiendlings.

Team of dwarves with the PC dwarf and mixed nothrog and human mercenary group with the PC nothrog barbarian and PC human scout being in the same dungeon by chanse, other team delving it it starting from the from surface and other from depths and meeting in the middle by freak coinsidence.

I figured it would be more interesting variation of PC's meeting eachother than "you meet in the tavern".

When describing NPC's and the world in general before session, I made mistake on Nassiral Hate and Taoth's genders though and other such details.

[Yo! Master]

When describing NPC's and the world in general before session, I made mistake on Nassiral Hate and Taoth's genders though and other such details.

:D

Well... they are both whimpy albinos...

[MutieMoe]

:D

Well... they are both whimpy albinos...

Well it kind of puts the macho nothrog NPC speaking of having the hots for Nassiral Hate in to new context, espicially after looking at the illustration he is pretty much nothrog incarnation of Montgomery Burns.

[Lazarus]

(Sorry for the necromancy, but hey, this is a good thread :p)

I have just recently found an eBay auction with a ton of the Master Codex for pretty cheap... so, can you Warlords enthusiasts sell me on that book?

Also, what information from the Warlords series is OGL? For instance, is the Abyssals template?

Laz

[MutieMoe]

(Sorry for the necromancy, but hey, this is a good thread :p)

I have just recently found an eBay auction with a ton of the Master Codex for pretty cheap... so, can you Warlords enthusiasts sell me on that book?

Also, what information from the Warlords series is OGL? For instance, is the Abyssals template?

Laz

I don't think it as necromancy, we are just having conversation here at slower pace.

I don't know about the OGL thing, I have poor understanding of the legal mumbo-jumbo associated with it.

Master Codex is the main book of the setting. (You also need core D&D 3.5 books, althought 3.0 books would propably do fine too.)

Codex has descriptions of the races and classes and other basic, it has some old-school vibe from classes like illusionist and some of the color illustrations are pretty much old-school, no WOTC style dungeonpunk has crossed my eyes.

Unlike D&D in general Accordlands has dark fantasy thing going on, it's not sword & sorcery though, races are interesting, espicially the elves and nothrogs as player races.

Read about races here:
http://www.warlordrpg.com/resources/races.html

It's still D&D but it has dozens and dozens of little tweaks and twists in it, it has no single grand innovation but hordes of tiny ones that make it so special, some of them make me think "Why I didn't think of that?"

Some old consepts like "Antipaladins" make sense, you have lawful evil deverian knights of the storm that are badass but have honor code, they really are nothing like the classic way for antisocial type of players to ruin game for others.

Also races are really races, not species, you can make your crossbreed of elf and dwarf if you want.

Orcs, goblins, hobgoblins etc. basically same creature with slight variations that occupy the same ecological niche in gameworls of D&D are pooled in to one race of the Nothrog, that move also has gamingworld background fluff explanation for it.

Nothrog are cool, and don't have penalty to intelligence dispite being the setting orcs, which is nice touch that I espicially liked.

[Yo! Master]

Some old consepts like "Antipaladins" make sense, you have lawful evil deverian knights of the storm that are badass but have honor code, they really are nothing like the classic way for antisocial type of players to ruin game for others.

The Black Sun Knights almost put the glasses to their good counterparts when it comes to being honorable, even if at the same time they are thoroughly & utterly Evil. That & their leader often bathes in blood for religious reasons.


Nothrog are cool, and don't have penalty to intelligence dispite being the setting orcs, which is nice touch that I espicially liked.

That wouldn't make much sense when the Nothrog are some of the smartest folk around, being the best tacticians in the world, masters of siege warfare, & still good at governing stuff overall, despite their savageness, would it? ;)

[Lazarus]

Is the Master Codex a good book to mine from for non-Warlords d20 playing?

Can someone give me a table of contents or something?

(also: can someone please look up the OGL in the Monsters book, to see if the Abyssals is open-ish and can be posted here? :p)

and I've now purchased a copy. I hope it arrives before I leave on my trip: I got an estimate of 5-7 days, and if it takes the longest possible, it arrives then. Would be annoying.

Laz