Quoth the Raven #28 review thread

[Jeremy16]

Falkovnian Rebels

My one sentence review:

Whoa, that is one long list of assassination attempts!

Here's my more-than-one-sentence review:

I like the attention to previous canon. I like the chronology of Gondegal's various efforts at deposing Vlad and how it is tied into the ebb and flow of the various rebel groups that have sprouted up over the years. I also like how several of these plots are taken as an incitement to start yet another war with his neighbors. It's a nice way to highlight Drakov's paranoia.

My only complaint is that it got repetitive after a while, but I guess that can't be helped given the subject matter.

[Jeremy16]

Excerpts from The Register of Monsters


It's good to see the classics are still around. The few interconnections between monsters in the descriptive text helps make this more than just a set of random pictures.

The Vampire Watermelon entry was my favorite, of course. It's such a wild concept I had to Google it to see where it came from!

I must admit I like the black and white drawings better than the color ones. Something about the line work and shading make them pop.

[Jeremy16]

Cursed Items

I love Jack the Reaper's rapid fire lists, although this is by far the shortest one yet. As usual, it is full of great ideas and unique twists, but I'm not fond of the items whose magical effects are fatal or too conspicuous.

I much prefer the ones that sound like the start of a story, such as the pillow that sends its user to an alternate (or is it?) reality while they sleep or the master key that leads you to other dimensions. I also like the ones that play off interesting concepts that don't show up very often, such as the book that effects real world happenings or the cursed spectacles that reveal a terrifying hidden world. If used right these items could be quite creepy.

My one complaint is that I come away with the same feeling after reading each such article. Mainly, if you have the creativity to come up with dozens of different darklords and NPCs your time could be better spent by focusing on a few of the better concepts and do a fuller, more elaborate write-up of them. Sometimes one or two good ideas is better than 50 or 100 so-so ideas.

[Hell_Born]

Not gonna lie, I'm waiting with bated breath for some comments on my own projects. I put a lot of work into the race topic in particular and I was kind of hoping it might be good enough to warrant a sequel in the 2022 issue.

Also, for sample NPCs for the Grim Hollow subclasses, would it be best if I put those in their own thread to avoid cluttering up this one?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Falkovnian Rebels Whoa, that is one long list of assassination attempts!...My only complaint is that it got repetitive after a while, but I guess that can't be helped given the subject matter.

This article is based on assassination attempts against...

[Joël of the FoS]

*soon, baby*

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

If you were referring to Victor's use of 'the Hollow' as a curseword, that term is used by both the Ezran and Brightwellian faiths. They just hold different convictions about it, with Ezra claiming it is a flaw in the Grand Scheme, and Brightwell saying it's all there is and no Grand Scheme exists.

That is to what I was referring. I suppose that doesn't exclude a conversion. I was thinking of religious Stockholm Syndrome.

I meant it as an Ezran curse. I was looking for more emphasis, and the Church of Ezra didn't seem to have a concept of Hell in the same way as other religions.
Victor isn't particularly religious, but he was raised in a majority Ezran country, so phrases derived from the Ezran faith are part of his vocabulary.
That being said, he certainly isn't an atheist. He knows that clerics can perform miracles, and he just recently met what might have been the avatar of a deity, not to mention a flaming incarnation of ultimate evil and eternal hunger.

Not gonna lie, I'm waiting with bated breath for some comments on my own projects. I put a lot of work into the race topic in particular and I was kind of hoping it might be good enough to warrant a sequel in the 2022 issue.

Also, for sample NPCs for the Grim Hollow subclasses, would it be best if I put those in their own thread to avoid cluttering up this one?

I know that the race article was very cool as it came together in the forum. When I can set aside some time to dig in, I will be interested to see how it all came together.
I would definitely recommend starting a new thread for your sample NPCs.

[tomokaicho]

Thinking again on Victor Gagné. As a dhampir, he is cursed to rise as a vampire should he be die of any cause. It stands to reason that Victor will now be forced to seek the metaphorical "philosopher's stone" in order to gain eternal youth to stave off his entry into the Legions of the Night. If Victor masters alchemical philosophy, salvation is possible. At least if he can avoid violent death.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

That, or he needs to make arrangements for his corpse to be destroyed immediately after his death.

[tomokaicho]

That, or he needs to make arrangements for his corpse to be destroyed immediately after his death.

Desecrating a corpse? Hardly seems fitting conduct for a gentleman, even if that corpse is your own.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Cremation isn't considered to be desecration everywhere.

[tomokaicho]

Cremation isn't considered to be desecration everywhere.

I will give you that. I was thinking more along the lines of cutting off Victor's head and stuffing his mouth with garlic.

Even so, cremation can be risky. Victor has enemies. Some of them are transmuters, capable of transmuting one thing into another. Is the transmutation of ashes back into a corpse really beyond the realm of possibility?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Cremation isn't considered to be desecration everywhere.

Also it is not considered a desecration if it is the deceased person's "funeral instructions" to do so...
He should wear a disintegration contingency spell amulet so when he dies his body would dissolve into nothingness.

DM: The gremishka bites your leg doing 2 damage... which makes your hit points fall to -1... you recline on a stone on the ground while you are bleeding. Any last words?

Victor Gagné: Arghhhh...!!!

Victor Gagné Player (talking to the other players): I am at death's door!!! Quick you have to revive me with a healing spell or else my amulet is going to disintegrate me!!!...

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Still beats rising from the grave to feed on the innocent.

[Mistmaster]

Or he can take residence in Lazendrak and live a constructive eternity with the other non evil vampires. Beside, Vampires are the only intelligent beings who need not to kill other life forms to live. Not even plants.