Deadlord wrote in City of Skulls:I have WGR6 City of Skulls in shrink, and I'd really like to read and maybe use it, but it seems a shame to de-shrink this thing. On the other hand, it is foolish to chase down an opened copy on eBay and possibly find out it is dogcrap. Anyone have any opinions on the book?

I liked City of Skulls a lot! Solid adventure IMHO. Now, it's worth significantly more in the shrink; for me, I'd sell the shrink one and buy an opened one and pocket the difference.

Zen

Why dont you buy the pdf? ...it's a matter of a bunch of bucks...

...also +1 to grodog's point on the notoriety mechanism.  It isn't given a huge amount of detail here but it is a great idea and something which I would definitely use for any high - level campaign or extended play!

aia wrote in City of Skulls:Why dont you buy the pdf? ...it's a matter of a bunch of bucks...

This is where PDFs come into their own IMO. It is cheap access to playing materials and you can print out what you need if you're the type of DM who pillages from here there and everywhere to supplement their own campaign environment. My Dragon Magazine Archive is still one of my favourite things for routine browsing.

It is true that there isn't anything quite like taking a real hardcopy off of the shell and opening it up. It will be a big backwards step when we find we have evolved to a generation of children who do not grow up in houses and schools with books on shelves, but I also value preserving my collection. A fire, flood or tornado can decimate a collection, regardless of whether or not you get financially compensated after the event; and as I say, my style of DMing is more tailored towards using reference materials than running modules in the conventional sense, so whilst I can find utility in most of the output of TSR and other companies gone by, there are few real staples to my collection. I find myself only now wanting to keep those products that form a good bedrock upon which to build a campaign (The basic set with B2 comes to mind), or certain sentimental or particularly desirable items I have affection for (Aforementioned dragon magazine archive).

As we see with many collectors, I wonder if a rationalisation/consolidation phase is something everyone goes through eventually.

Chainsaw wrote in City of Skulls:That notoriety idea is interesting, especially to someone who is terrible at running city- and town-based adventures and could probably benefit from a more structured approach to managing NPC involvement. Thanks for pointing it out Allan.

It's a neat mechanic, Donovan, and one I've toyed with incorporating into a con game.  I'm not sure it's as useful in most D&D settings, but it strikes me as very applicable to Eclipse Phase, Amber, or Vampire (and perhaps CoC or Fading Suns)---games where in-game activities can have significant impacts on the campaign environment.  The social mechanics in EP seem particularly apt, but I think it would work equally as well in Amber or Vampire too.

Badmike wrote in City of Skulls:The boxed set The Night Below uses a variation on this when you invade the Kuo-toan city during the underdark portion.  To pass safely back and forth through the city, you have to destroy/render it helpless. The more "damage" you do to the city (kill high priests, destroy breeding tanks, rescue prisoners) the closer the city gets to total collapse and anarchy. Once my players knew they were getting points for certain activities (for example, killing an average Kuo Toan was worthmaybe 1 pt, killing a priest worth 10 pts, but killing the prince was 100 pts) they were highly motivated to create massive chaos!  

(all damage/pts are taken from memory I don't remember the actual points totals in The Night Below)

Mike B.

The Night Below is my favorite boxed set, and I think a great deal for the money.  In my opinion, it is often undervalued.  

I had NB, but I don't remember if I sold it off. If I thought it was good, I still have it. I'll have to check.
I've been going through my stuff and reading every module I wasn't intimately familiar with in order to trim out the junk, and I'm finding I have been missing out on some really great adventures. Caverns of Thracia, for example; I had skimmed through it before, but after sitting and reading it I realized it is a great module for play purposes.
The more I think about it, the more I think I should have held on to Dragon Mountain. I was on the fence about it so I sold it, but I am thinking it might have actually been good to use.

Dragon Mountain is an epic adventure, if you are willing to overlook the flaws, and are comfortable fleshing out some of the details that are not provided.  There are many underlying plots, and it does require a thorough understanding of the adventure to run it well.  You also have to be willing to invest a lot of time to complete it.  It took my group about two years to complete...  Granted, we didn't play it every session.  There was an occasional deviation into another adventure, with different characters.

You can generally find it for a reasonable price too.

I've heard a lot of good reports on CoT.  Perhaps I should give it a read.  Has anyone read through or run the Sword & Sorcery D20 version?  I was wondering if it would be better to run it than the original.  I've got no problem doing the conversion from 3E.

Deadlord wrote in City of Skulls:I had NB, but I don't remember if I sold it off. If I thought it was good, I still have it. I'll have to check.
I've been going through my stuff and reading every module I wasn't intimately familiar with in order to trim out the junk, and I'm finding I have been missing out on some really great adventures. Caverns of Thracia, for example; I had skimmed through it before, but after sitting and reading it I realized it is a great module for play purposes.
The more I think about it, the more I think I should have held on to Dragon Mountain. I was on the fence about it so I sold it, but I am thinking it might have actually been good to use.