Quoth the Raven #30 reaction thread.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

In preparation for the arrival of this year's issue of Quoth the Raven (and to prevent multiple comment threads from going up simultaneously again), I am hereby opening the official reaction thread.
Now you all just need to wait for the milestone 30th issue to actually come out.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Ladies and gentlemen:

START YOUR COMMENTS!

[KingCorn]

I love the 6-characters of Ill Repute article. At first I thought it would be simply a collection of villains, but it took me till the second one to realize it was about con-men, traveling sales, ect. As I understand it, each is also a reference:

1. Dr. Garricalo: Ghostbusters. Obviously. Love it!
2. Mr Gaynes: Needful Things/Mr. Gaunt. A peddler of fiendish wares, driving men to madness, he has a suspciously large amount of extraplaner wares. Perhaps our favorite Night Hag is his supplier (hell, she probably knew Graz'zt personally back in the old days)
3. Professor Harkniss: P.T.Barnum. He should contact the good professor Arcanus. Then again, this show ain't big enough for two apes (or worse, the Sri Rajans might kidnap him by mistake!). And I love the Man in the Ice, and see it as a Skooks reference and nothing will convince me otherwise ('What I wanna know is weres the caveman'). Also love the little reference to the Giant of Kandahar. I can just imagine some Talon Soldiers running into it (I don't know why they're in Har'Akir, just work with me on this. Speedwagon, get notes from this man! Or devour him and acquire his genius, either works)
4. Top Hat Jack: Ironman/Robocop/Inspector Gadget/...Mr Hyde? By day a inventive man with dreams of being a superhero, by night a genuine supervillain! (man Jermey, you never miss). And his equipment reminds me: I need to work on that list of enchanted animal canes with powers and personalities (the dragon one breaths fire).
5. The Opium Eater: Confidence Man/Snake Oil Salesman/Tent Revivalist/ DARE-Program. The the Hazlani have rehab in a vial is convient (maybe its for Mulani nobles who indulge in drugs but find becoming an addict to be uncouth). And his talk of fever dreams on Opium should be a Nightmare Lands plothook, but all it makes me think of is a trip segment from any Ralph Bakshi movie. Either way, you somehome combined 1880 moral panics with 1980s moral panics and for that Jeremy I salute you
6. The Apprentice of Klorr: Batman's Clock King (yes, I mean it). Klorr returns, though body or no body he's a fool for wanting to return to the Mists. As for the toys: I am convinced Mother Fury commisioned the Lunar Lullaby to grow her army, and I am simply confused as for what Vigo wants toy-soldiers for (maybe he's as much a child at heart as his nephew-brother Malacchio. And he gave two ladies clockwork birds (ladies love clockwork birds). This guy I love cause he has so many plothooks: the beer-baron and his own clock from QtR 2: Van Richten's Lost Arsenal, Vir Stannum, ect. Hell, Joel's idea of the Clockworks in Falkovnia becoming a portal to Mechanus could be how Klorr returns, having seen his Apprentice as a dead end

Great work Jeremy!

[Mistmaster]

Ehm, folks I'm afraid that my Blaustein article have been published in the uncomplete version, it was my fault basically, ignore the two mentioned new domains, they never made the final draft. Instead here is the missing oracle currse:
New Oracle Curse
Water Dependency
These oracles are tied to water.

1st level
The oracle with this curse can't stay more then 24 hour without soaking himself in water. She have a swimming speed equal to her walking speed.

5th level
The oracle now can breath water.

10th level
The oracle now can use water bodies to travel 1×day beetwen two water bodies he has already swìmmed in the past.

15th level
The oracle adds Horrid Wilting to her list of know spells. .

[KingCorn]

Fantastic work this year with the Masquerade Article Mephisto. Its little flavor things like that, with named pcs and rumors to put in any event, and a way to keep track of them, the nitty-gritty part of storytelling that means so much.

[Mistmaster]

Also the Holy symbol of Fenris the Seawolf is a Bunyip silhouette even if a Bunyp in salopette is funnier.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Six Persons of Ill Repute:

A fun article, with a lot of creativity in it. Jeremy16 put in a lot of work, and it shows. I could see any of these as an interesting encounter, an ally or an enemy for PCs - with one exception.

The Opium Eater genuinely filled me with rage, probably because of how realistic this threat is: a snakeoil salesman by day, lying his *** off about his 'cures' and preying on people's vulnerability, and a drug peddler by night.
I think the majority of my own PCs would have wanted to see his head on a pike. (I know I would.)

[Rock of the Fraternity]

G'Henna, Pharazia, Sanguinia, and the Adventures set therein:

Ian, please accept my compliments. Not only did these Gazetteers show a love - and extensive knowledge - of the 2e source material, you created two thrilling adventures that tie in nigh-seamlessly with that very source material.
The Sanguinia adventure is mostly a fun romp, but the Pharazia adventure has a poignancy to it, due to the tragic introduction and epilogue.
G'Henna made me feel deeply for the suffering people of a fictional land... so well done all around!
Two thumbs up!

[KingCorn]

So I think its fair to say we can declare Ian Fordam's domain work as canon, cause that amount of quality must be made official. Pharazia especially is a beautiful expansion of NeoTiamat's Pharazia, with plenty of love to old-school dnd and Al-Qadim. I declare it the standard and mold by which all future works will build and around and be measured by.
Wonderful Work Ian!

Edit: In fact, I'd just like to say, guys Ian, Jeremy, Rock, and Mephisto are what carry this netbook on after so many old settings fan support would have died with the original netbook founders. When NeoTiamat and others stepped down, they have stepped up and each provide a new interpretation of the mists and its relation to the dnd-setting multiverse. May I one day make stuff half as good as they make.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Larva & Satyral:

I want to like these stories better.
Stanton shows a spritely, lively writing style, and paints a vivid scene. Sounds, sights and scents virtually leap off the page.

Unfortunately Satyral left me confused.

VIEW CONTENT:

Is there a time loop in effect at the end?

What happened to the MC's father? His family? His life? When did he become what he is?

And Larva seemed to be building up to ... something ... but it never quite got there. And I'm still not sure how the MC became what he is.

In the end, though I really do like Stanton's writing style, his stories leave me scratching my head in confusion. Which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it feels like a shame that you leave so much unexplained.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

From the Collection: Font of Mercurial Tears:

I'm already a Wolfglide fan, and the Font of Mercurial Tears is a prime example of his skills as both a creator of intriguing items and spinning tales that incorporate them. While this tale does not have the length of the Conferences of Victor Gagné, it is well worth reading in its own right.
I liked the wizard's comments a great deal.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

70 Domains and Nightmarescapes:

Jack the Reaper put in a lot of work, creating all of these places to be.
Some seemed fun, some seemed intriguing, some seemed scary... and I'm sorry to say that a few were off-putting to me, but that's a matter of personal preference.
On the whole, this is a good article for a DM who wants some interesting locations to throw at their players.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Edit: In fact, I'd just like to say, guys Ian, Jeremy, Rock, and Mephisto are what carry this netbook on after so many old settings fan support would have died with the original netbook founders. When NeoTiamat and others stepped down, they have stepped up and each provide a new interpretation of the mists and its relation to the dnd-setting multiverse. May I one day make stuff half as good as they make.

Well, ta very much. ^)^ I appreciate it.

[IanFordam]

G'Henna, Pharazia, Sanguinia, and the Adventures set therein:

Ian, please accept my compliments. Not only did these Gazetteers show a love - and extensive knowledge - of the 2e source material, you created two thrilling adventures that tie in nigh-seamlessly with that very source material.
The Sanguinia adventure is mostly a fun romp, but the Pharazia adventure has a poignancy to it, due to the tragic introduction and epilogue.
G'Henna made me feel deeply for the suffering people of a fictional land... so well done all around!
Two thumbs up!

I accept your compliments with gratitude, Rock. Thank you.

[IanFordam]

So I think its fair to say we can declare Ian Fordam's domain work as canon, cause that amount of quality must be made official. Pharazia especially is a beautiful expansion of NeoTiamat's Pharazia, with plenty of love to old-school dnd and Al-Qadim. I declare it the standard and mold by which all future works will build and around and be measured by.
Wonderful Work Ian!

Edit: In fact, I'd just like to say, guys Ian, Jeremy, Rock, and Mephisto are what carry this netbook on after so many old settings fan support would have died with the original netbook founders. When NeoTiamat and others stepped down, they have stepped up and each provide a new interpretation of the mists and its relation to the dnd-setting multiverse. May I one day make stuff half as good as they make.

You put me in some mighty fine company, and I thank you for that. Glad you enjoyed the articles, KingCorn.