Post originally by Regault at 2004-02-10 19:33:42
Converted from Phorums BB System

I ran into some serious problems with the way the book is written.

Namely, the lack of anything resembling challenge ratings has lead to starting a fight with a monster rolled on the random encounters table that turns out to be one of the toughest creatures in the game.

Most Pinnacle loyalists will immediately bring up page 128. Um, no. Page 128 is a nice bit of rhetoric, but is essentially one big line of bull that boils down to "I think most GMs are too soft on their player characters, so I'm going to remove a vital tool for tailoring encounters to their playstyle."

Also, a great deal of the Plot Point savage tales are only written with a group close to Hensley's group in mind. Unless you have a large group or a group predominately composed of combat monsters, "Maiden Voyage" is a massacre. "Tressa the Red" is one step short of impossible without an air mage. Razorwinds (Mentioned before) are unkillable without an air mage or fire mage.

The razorwinds are truly the worst thing in the book. I've surveyed 20 different people now and not one of them thought seagulls would be a tough encounter. Let me clue you in on something: Despite all the hype, "The Birds" was an idiotic concept for a movie. Birds aren't unstoppable killing machines. As animals go they're rather fragile.