Post originally by James P at 2005-02-24 16:49:20
Converted from Phorums BB System

I ran this chronicle as part of my ongoing game and I ran into most of the problems the reviewer did.

Also, your statement about 'the KODT syndrome' I think is unfair. Forcing character death despite their actions is one of the most heavy-handed examples of railroading there is.

My players, being the clever types that they are, realised early on that the Solium Submergens (this is in very poor Latin and does not translate the way the authors of this book say it does, as my players were quick to point out), was too tough for them to defeat, so they attempted to retreat to rustle up the aid of more packs from the sept. As the chronicle's continuation REQUIRES them to die in this scene, I had the thing kill them one by one as they were making their retreat.

At this point, it took about two seconds for them to realise they were in a 'scripted death' scene. While they did not cry out in protest, resigned smiles appeared on their faces, and at the close of the scene one of my players said - 'that plot device was f**king lame, man'. This prompted nods of agreement from everyone else.

It's basically a poorly thought-out railroad scene.

In the book's defence, however, we found the chapters that were set in the past to be highly entertaining, especially the one in Dacia, which the Classics buffs in my group found few inaccuracies with.