So, apparently, the new 3.5 Masque Of The Red Death is out. I would very much like to purchase said book, unfortunately, however, I am unaware as to just what the book looks like, or indeed, it's exact title, and because there are numerous books entitled Masque Of The Red Death on the Internet, I am somewhat confused.
So, I implore you, I beseech you, my oh-so-wise and cunning brothers, canst thou tell me exactly what the book is entitled, and, if possible, post a picture of the front cover, so that I can find it online more easily?
Masque Of The Red Death Is Out!
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Joël of the FoS
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Please check the S&S catalog, you'll find a pic of the cover and buying info.
The link is : http://secure1.white-wolf.com/catalog/p ... cts_id=533
Joël
The link is : http://secure1.white-wolf.com/catalog/p ... cts_id=533
Joël
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Jonathan Winters
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I just got mine yesterday!
(Bear with me, I am writing this with my one-year old sitting on me...)
I have had time to flip through the book and read some parts quickly...
I am very impressed with the look of the book. This is probably one of the best looking books so far in the line. Images, covers, lay-outs, etc.
From what I can see, there is a (slight) change in the tone of the setting. It will be more ''playable'', magic and MAYBE combat wise...
My first impression, to give you an idea, is League of Ex Gentlemen without the steampunk... Still that dark feel that magic is dangerous... But more of a chance to be the hero...
ALSO, they have tied the Dread Realm to the Red Death, which to me is a good thing. AND you never have to visit the Core or anything... It is still separate, but sort of explains the Red Death without explaining it...
Lots of Classes and Prestige classes...
A lot is taken from the original boxed set, but it can't be helped as a first foray into the 3.X Edition... But there also seems to be a lot of new stuff!
As a first impression, I say: Buy this.
(Gotta go take care of my kid now!)
(Hopefully more later!)
Am I the only who got it?????
Patrick
(Bear with me, I am writing this with my one-year old sitting on me...)
I have had time to flip through the book and read some parts quickly...
I am very impressed with the look of the book. This is probably one of the best looking books so far in the line. Images, covers, lay-outs, etc.
From what I can see, there is a (slight) change in the tone of the setting. It will be more ''playable'', magic and MAYBE combat wise...
My first impression, to give you an idea, is League of Ex Gentlemen without the steampunk... Still that dark feel that magic is dangerous... But more of a chance to be the hero...
ALSO, they have tied the Dread Realm to the Red Death, which to me is a good thing. AND you never have to visit the Core or anything... It is still separate, but sort of explains the Red Death without explaining it...
Lots of Classes and Prestige classes...
A lot is taken from the original boxed set, but it can't be helped as a first foray into the 3.X Edition... But there also seems to be a lot of new stuff!
As a first impression, I say: Buy this.
(Gotta go take care of my kid now!)
(Hopefully more later!)
Am I the only who got it?????
Patrick
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William Blackmoor
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I 've got it! Like I said, purchased it at the Spiel 04 in Essen/Germany today. although I've got to read it through first here are my first impressions:
Looks good
First an introductinary letter by Miriam Van Helsing.
It has a history and an atlas (which sadly contains no entry for Germany...again)
It then continues with the character genertation. I was especially pleased to see that they explored the possibility of elven and dwarven player characters within the "Races" part of the chapter. Stunning art by Talon for the classes.
The book continues with the Equipment chapter and heads on to Magic, Combat and Madness & Mystery. The Last chapter incluedes notes of Gothic Earth's Vistani.
The Last chapter is a Guide to the 19th century's lifestyle. The qabals are inclueded here. I don't know if "Die Wachtern" ("The Watchers") is supposed to be german. If so, they would be called "Die Wächter"
Appendix 1 is about the villans of gothic Earth: the red death itself, Dracula, Imhotep, Frankenstein's Monster, Prof. Moriarity, Xavier von Tuerin, Madame LaLaurie & Sarah Winchester
Appendix 2 :Monsters Probably you all know the preview of Pozas art and therefore the creatures.
Appendix 3: Lairs of Evil
Appendix 4: Adventures in Gothic Earth
Good book!
Looks good
First an introductinary letter by Miriam Van Helsing.
It has a history and an atlas (which sadly contains no entry for Germany...again)
It then continues with the character genertation. I was especially pleased to see that they explored the possibility of elven and dwarven player characters within the "Races" part of the chapter. Stunning art by Talon for the classes.
The book continues with the Equipment chapter and heads on to Magic, Combat and Madness & Mystery. The Last chapter incluedes notes of Gothic Earth's Vistani.
The Last chapter is a Guide to the 19th century's lifestyle. The qabals are inclueded here. I don't know if "Die Wachtern" ("The Watchers") is supposed to be german. If so, they would be called "Die Wächter"
Appendix 1 is about the villans of gothic Earth: the red death itself, Dracula, Imhotep, Frankenstein's Monster, Prof. Moriarity, Xavier von Tuerin, Madame LaLaurie & Sarah Winchester
Appendix 2 :Monsters Probably you all know the preview of Pozas art and therefore the creatures.
Appendix 3: Lairs of Evil
Appendix 4: Adventures in Gothic Earth
Good book!
The Precious was in my hands tonight... but I put it back on the shelves. I prefer to wait for reviews about it. The classes seemed... well, quite boring. I noticed most, if not all, of them merely had bonus feats every odd level or something. It sorta disapointed me that they weren't more diverse than that.
Also, to all Montrealers, what's the best place to have it? Le Valet has it for 40$ or so. It is cheaper in le Donjon?
Also, to all Montrealers, what's the best place to have it? Le Valet has it for 40$ or so. It is cheaper in le Donjon?
De retour dans les Brumes, enfin!
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Joël of the FoS
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40$ ? Wow. It is 30.99$ at DonjonCharney wrote:The Precious was in my hands tonight... but I put it back on the shelves. I prefer to wait for reviews about it. The classes seemed... well, quite boring. I noticed most, if not all, of them merely had bonus feats every odd level or something. It sorta disapointed me that they weren't more diverse than that.
Also, to all Montrealers, what's the best place to have it? Le Valet has it for 40$ or so. It is cheaper in le Donjon?
Joël
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ScS of the Fraternity
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Well, I've had it two days and I've given about a quarter of the book a thorough analysis.
The monster section is another fine addition. It begins with a new concept - Masques - a wonderful series of mini-templates that can be added to any monster to give the new, errie powers.
The monsters are arranged into groups based on their role - though that wasn't necessary since each group has only two monsters
Foreigners - creepy memory-eating aliens - (though their background is kind of silly in comparison to their name - the intro fiction and picture make for a creepier monster than the background describes!)
Horla - L-A-M-E let's skip it here and not sully the better monsters that follow
Hollow - not much better than the Horla - skip it
Lost boys - very kwel and original - it explains what happened to all of the magical fey who existed before the RD - not a pretty picture!
Haunt Beasts - Very good idea
Shadow Hunter (I can't remember its real name) - Tomb robbers beware!
Brutes - very neat - I love the way that its presented as both a creature and a template for characters. - I'm not too partial for the two types, though - I don't see why it was necessary.
Skulkers - "I want my PRECIOUS!" Seriously, these guys are more like goblyns than golum. I'm rather ambivalant on them - could easily been replaced with goblins or goblyns (you just know your a geek when you know those two things are different!:))
The Villian's section is great. It includes some golden oldies like Dracula, Moriarty and Frankenstien (pumped WAY up in levels) and some wonderful new monsters like The Marestro (new and neat, if a little predictable), Imhotep (Very Kwel! Perhaps a predacessor of Immortals for MotJH?) the Widow Winchester (Kind of weak as a villian, but got to love that house!) and Madam I-can't-remember-her-name (the ultra scarifying real life sadist from New Oreleans)
The next is the Lair section, and another fine addition. This section expands on the old Domain idea from MotRD (not the one from Ravenloft). There are some wonderful new rules such as ranks and levels of wakefulness. The mechanics are simple and apply to all sorts of situations. There's even rules to determine what minion monsters PCs might encounter - though one or two things could stand to be clarified. I really like the new format proposed for writing a lair - it spawns many ideas from one scarifying local.
Finally, the book ends with Adventures. This appendix adds in some adventure advice (not as good as the original MotRD though), recaps the RLDMG's 13 tips for adventure design. Lots of elementary tips, which weren't really necessary considering that you need the RL setting to use the book. There are two sample adventure synopsies, which are kind of neat - and a dozen kwel adventure hook (last one stinks, though - so fuggetaboutit!)
That's it for now. I'll put up a full review on the site soon.
The monster section is another fine addition. It begins with a new concept - Masques - a wonderful series of mini-templates that can be added to any monster to give the new, errie powers.
The monsters are arranged into groups based on their role - though that wasn't necessary since each group has only two monsters
Foreigners - creepy memory-eating aliens - (though their background is kind of silly in comparison to their name - the intro fiction and picture make for a creepier monster than the background describes!)
Horla - L-A-M-E let's skip it here and not sully the better monsters that follow
Hollow - not much better than the Horla - skip it
Lost boys - very kwel and original - it explains what happened to all of the magical fey who existed before the RD - not a pretty picture!
Haunt Beasts - Very good idea
Shadow Hunter (I can't remember its real name) - Tomb robbers beware!
Brutes - very neat - I love the way that its presented as both a creature and a template for characters. - I'm not too partial for the two types, though - I don't see why it was necessary.
Skulkers - "I want my PRECIOUS!" Seriously, these guys are more like goblyns than golum. I'm rather ambivalant on them - could easily been replaced with goblins or goblyns (you just know your a geek when you know those two things are different!:))
The Villian's section is great. It includes some golden oldies like Dracula, Moriarty and Frankenstien (pumped WAY up in levels) and some wonderful new monsters like The Marestro (new and neat, if a little predictable), Imhotep (Very Kwel! Perhaps a predacessor of Immortals for MotJH?) the Widow Winchester (Kind of weak as a villian, but got to love that house!) and Madam I-can't-remember-her-name (the ultra scarifying real life sadist from New Oreleans)
The next is the Lair section, and another fine addition. This section expands on the old Domain idea from MotRD (not the one from Ravenloft). There are some wonderful new rules such as ranks and levels of wakefulness. The mechanics are simple and apply to all sorts of situations. There's even rules to determine what minion monsters PCs might encounter - though one or two things could stand to be clarified. I really like the new format proposed for writing a lair - it spawns many ideas from one scarifying local.
Finally, the book ends with Adventures. This appendix adds in some adventure advice (not as good as the original MotRD though), recaps the RLDMG's 13 tips for adventure design. Lots of elementary tips, which weren't really necessary considering that you need the RL setting to use the book. There are two sample adventure synopsies, which are kind of neat - and a dozen kwel adventure hook (last one stinks, though - so fuggetaboutit!)
That's it for now. I'll put up a full review on the site soon.
Evil Reigns!!!!
Nice magic system....
Ok, the chapter I've spent the most time going over is the chapter on Magic. You see, I'm a huge fan of Dark Matter (the x-Files conspiracy setting) but have never enjoyed Alternity (frankly, I just don't understand it, and am unlikely to at this point). I was overjoyed when D20 modern came out, and have been happy to see that for the most part the setting can be converted without much trouble. For the most part.
Magic has been the big exception. The rest of the system was very flexible, but the FX rules only feel appropriate for high magic systems (like Urban Arcana). Dark Matter has magic and psionics present, but I don't find the base rules appropriate. At the same time, the adaptations I find in Shades of Grey (Dungeon article about D20 Dark Matter) are too limiting in their own right. I needed something inbetween. I've had some moderate success breaking down the features of the classes and creating my homebrewed talent trees out of them, but there was still something lacking.
This magic system fixes the last of my problems. The rules changes are sensible and effective. They make magic limited in ways that don't detract from the basic versatility of the class. I can already see that I'll be using these rules (sans powers checks) for my own purposes.
As for the rest of the book, I find my opinions varying. I wanted more out of the geography chapter (perhaps I'm too much of an old hat at this stuff, but I found the "Forbidden Lore" sections to be lacking in useful details...being open ended is great, but most of the entries were little more than "and there are spooky things in parts of the city"). It felt too glossed over.
More to come, more to come. But I have to go for the moment.
Magic has been the big exception. The rest of the system was very flexible, but the FX rules only feel appropriate for high magic systems (like Urban Arcana). Dark Matter has magic and psionics present, but I don't find the base rules appropriate. At the same time, the adaptations I find in Shades of Grey (Dungeon article about D20 Dark Matter) are too limiting in their own right. I needed something inbetween. I've had some moderate success breaking down the features of the classes and creating my homebrewed talent trees out of them, but there was still something lacking.
This magic system fixes the last of my problems. The rules changes are sensible and effective. They make magic limited in ways that don't detract from the basic versatility of the class. I can already see that I'll be using these rules (sans powers checks) for my own purposes.
As for the rest of the book, I find my opinions varying. I wanted more out of the geography chapter (perhaps I'm too much of an old hat at this stuff, but I found the "Forbidden Lore" sections to be lacking in useful details...being open ended is great, but most of the entries were little more than "and there are spooky things in parts of the city"). It felt too glossed over.
More to come, more to come. But I have to go for the moment.
I'm just a ghost in this house.
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William Blackmoor
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Not all fey, only those expelled from Tir'na'Nog. I'm already planning an adventure in Ireland centered on non-lost boys fey. The heros are supposed to help the fey of Tir'nan 'Nog thrawt their Red Death-tainted cousines schemes. If i exchange Gwydion for the Red Death I'll probably can adapt the shadowfey without problems.ScS of the Fraternity wrote: Lost boys - very kwel and original - it explains what happened to all of the magical fey who existed before the RD - not a pretty picture!
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Catman Jim
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Ok, I made the 140 mile round trip to my closest real game store to get my hands on the new Masque book yesterday. I haven't had time to do more than skim through it, but I have two disappointments immediately. The script font used for chapter titles and some illustrations may fit in the visual theme, but it's hard for my old eyes to read (and yes I do wear bifocals), and the only upcoming product listed on the end page is the Legacies book in December. Is there NOTHING planned in the Ravenloft line for 2005? The goal for the last several years was a new release every two or three months or so; has sales not supported that business plan? I know we as a small group of hardcore enthusiasts buy everything upon release, but I do see the entire line sitting unsold on bookstore shelves nearly everywhere I go. Are there some business changes in the wind for 2005? 
Anyway...., the Masque book looks good other than those two things, I'll have to read it this weekend. Oh, and I do love the Pozas illustrations!
Anyway...., the Masque book looks good other than those two things, I'll have to read it this weekend. Oh, and I do love the Pozas illustrations!
I only wish I had retired sooner!
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Joël of the FoS
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Destro
Well, I got it on October 18th, by pre-order. I've been running MOTRD tabletop since the day I got the old box set. I've followed the life of the product (unlife?) over the years- and when the old rules got too cumbersome (or D20 got tempting) I converted to the Living Death rules.
I do have an observation and a question- I could use advice-
Firearms- there is no detailed firearm combat section. Remember rapid shot? If I take this correctly, this means you can only fire as many bullets as you have attacks. And although this stands with the regular rules and seems common sense, it is contrary to practicality and fun. One thing I liked about multiple gun shots is that it added an element of fun with fast paced old west style shootouts; this slows things down again, and can be construed as unrealistic (one can assume that one would be able to fire a gun more than once in a traditional turn).
Does anyone know what D20 modern or Cthulhu have to say about firearms and attacks?
I would love to eventually see an expansion- my players have now reached higher levels, and would love to move to the 1920s- vehicles, updated guns and rules for electricity, etc.
Overall, it's nearly everything I expected after waiting many years. I am not dissapointed in the least and you probably won't be either...
I do have an observation and a question- I could use advice-
Firearms- there is no detailed firearm combat section. Remember rapid shot? If I take this correctly, this means you can only fire as many bullets as you have attacks. And although this stands with the regular rules and seems common sense, it is contrary to practicality and fun. One thing I liked about multiple gun shots is that it added an element of fun with fast paced old west style shootouts; this slows things down again, and can be construed as unrealistic (one can assume that one would be able to fire a gun more than once in a traditional turn).
Does anyone know what D20 modern or Cthulhu have to say about firearms and attacks?
I would love to eventually see an expansion- my players have now reached higher levels, and would love to move to the 1920s- vehicles, updated guns and rules for electricity, etc.
Overall, it's nearly everything I expected after waiting many years. I am not dissapointed in the least and you probably won't be either...
The endpage says 'coming /this/ year for Ravenloft' (which is a change from previously) - which means only Legacy of the Blood. We'll have to wait for Legacy to see what the 2005 situation is.and the only upcoming product listed on the end page is the Legacies book in December. Is there NOTHING planned in the Ravenloft line for 2005?