A small review of Ebon Rebirth

[kozelek]

Hello,

Since I haven't seen any reviews on this one, I will try to do my best and write a first one. Please, remember that English is not my first language

I have played "Ebon Rebirth" and have greatly enjoyed it. It had a very different, much more "sandbox-y" feel to it, with all the small missions building up a greater story. I also feel that its "radial" structure (a central city, Symbonn, allowing to rest and buy items in between missions) works better as a starting module than, say, "Raid of Cignosa", where resting places are more difficult to reach. There is a lot of non-linearity, allowing to explore some places in any order, or even not to explore them at all. A great new work by Bret Winters.

Did you get inspired by gamebooks like Fabled Lands or Destiny Quest in this module, Bret?

The only (minor) things that I thought didn't work as well were:

- The last mission felt slightly anti-climactic. After all the suspense-building in the rest of the game, I expected a greater obstacle at the end. With the level of my characters at that point and all those allies, I felt it was a piece of cake compared to other missions It was a bit too short also, in my opinion.

- I have seen that the purpose of the game was to give a feel of "struggle" for beginning characters "trying to make a living". I think lowering the awards after some missions would have helped to get that feel. By the middle of the game, I felt my characters were millionaire adventurers buying expensive weapons, healing potions by the dozens and sleeping in the best inns that money can buy. Man, adventuring can be lucrative!

In any case, it’s a great new addition to the series.

[darkpumpkin]

Thanks for the review, Kozelek! I haven't been able to pick up Ebon Rebirth yet, but this whets my appetite.

[mister frau blucher]

Hey, Kozelek,

A belated welcome to posting on these boards! Don't apologize for your English - it seems better than mine!

I am glad you liked the open, sandbox nature of the adventure - that is exactly the feel I wanted for this one.

Honestly, I have not played either of the games you mention. My influences, as always, are varied, though maybe Neverwinter Nights and all the side quests were in my mind.

Point taken on the last mission - I am always concerned about making final encounters too strong. i probably erred on the side of easy here.

And you may be right on the wealth that is lying about the depressed wildlands. One criticism I have had in the past is that my adventures are too meager on rewards. George fixes a lot of this in editing, but I wrote this one purposely giving out more. When I edited it, I took out a lot of stuff, but left in more than I usually would. Finding the sweetspot is not easy, given different expectations of individual players - but I will try to do better next time!

Thank you very much for your feedback, Kozelek! We really appreciate it!

Bret

[jlv61560]

I actually found it somewhat reminiscent of "Grailquest" from the old days -- lots of movement (though actually more cleverly done in some ways than Grailquest was) and lots of opportunities to pick up help and healing along the way. In fact, this one has been the most evocative of actual role-playing of any published so far (not to knock the others, but they tend to be much more "go here, kill that" kinds of adventures, whereas this one at least gave the illusion of choice for much of the game -- as Kozelek said, "sand-boxy"). But other than that, I pretty much agree with Kozelek's evaluation -- including the feeling that maybe the last confrontation could have been a wee bit hairier (more challenging?) without causing undue death and destruction to the PCs.

Overall, I think this may be my new favorite (finally replacing Sewers of Red Point in that category). Sure hope you have some more goodness in the works over there at Dark City!

And, in a completely unrelated question -- whatever happened to Shades of Vulcan? I saw an ad for that on the back of one of C.R. Brandon's Cauldron magazines from a couple of years ago, and would love to see that one hit the light of day!

[mister frau blucher]

Hey, Jeff,

Thank you very much for the feedback on ER. I am very glad you are enjoying it.

I have a few adventures that I am writing, in various stages of development. The positive feedback on the sandbox nature of ER has me re-focusing on that aspect. I don't want to necessarily do something that consists of 15 unrelated events, without anything to tie it together, as I think that would ultimately be unfulfilling. There needs to be something that is ultimately accomplished, that signifies this chapter of the character's lives has come to a close.

But on the other hand, you certainly don't want a railroad. I think we ultimately avoid that in most of our adventures, despite there being an obvious climactic encounter, by providing as many paths to get there as possible. It is a balancing act.

Ultimately, we want to give people an experience that they will enjoy, and hopefully a few vivid scenes that will stick with them long after the game is over.

Thanks very much for your support and your thoughts on the adventure!

Bret

[mister frau blucher]

Also, I asked George about Shades of Vulcan, since that one had slipped my memory. That is one of the two adventures he has been going back and forth working on. I have applied some cattle-prod therapy to get him immersed in the writing process.

[darkpumpkin]

Shades of...Vulcan? Ancient Roman, SF, or other?

[araman]

Darkpumpkin, your post made me think of "The Ghost of Spock."

[jlv61560]

Sept 1, 2015 8:41:45 GMT -5 mister frau blucher said:

Hey, Jeff,

Thank you very much for the feedback on ER. I am very glad you are enjoying it.

I have a few adventures that I am writing, in various stages of development. The positive feedback on the sandbox nature of ER has me re-focusing on that aspect. I don't want to necessarily do something that consists of 15 unrelated events, without anything to tie it together, as I think that would ultimately be unfulfilling. There needs to be something that is ultimately accomplished, that signifies this chapter of the character's lives has come to a close.

But on the other hand, you certainly don't want a railroad. I think we ultimately avoid that in most of our adventures, despite there being an obvious climactic encounter, by providing as many paths to get there as possible. It is a balancing act.

Ultimately, we want to give people an experience that they will enjoy, and hopefully a few vivid scenes that will stick with them long after the game is over.

Thanks very much for your support and your thoughts on the adventure!

Bret

I do realize you guys have a fine line to walk, in order to create an adventure that is both somewhat freeflowing and also gets everyone to the end eventually, and if I implied that you were somehow doing it "wrong," I apologize.  You guys do an excellent job of managing that -- and just flowcharting some of your adventures shows a pretty good selection of paths to the big boss situation.  So please don't take my comments above (or following) as a critique of your method.  Let's face it, we wouldn't be buying them if they weren't highly satisfying!

I think what I was trying to convey was that Ebon Rebirth felt more like an actual adventure the way it would play out on a tabletop with friends (more "roleplaying" somehow) than some of the others have.  Which is not to knock the others, they're great!  But, in a sense they play more like a computer game does -- a backstory, some interaction, but mostly killing stuff -- sort of like the original Death Test in some ways.  This one, on the other hand, had more of a "quest" feel about it somehow -- more like Grail Quest (or even Orb Quest, had they done that one right back in the day).  I'm not even sure how the difference expresses itself to me, so I'm having a hard time putting it into words here.

And thanks for reminding George about Shades of Vulcan -- that one sounded interesting from the little I have gleaned about it!!  ;-)

[mister frau blucher]

Hey, no offence taken, Jeff. We really do try to improve with each new release, so it is gratifying to hear this one has an experience closer to an adventure played with friends on the table top.

Thanks again for your kind words.

Bret