Out of the Abyss / Rage of Demons

[Redemption77]

When this releases on september 15th are we going to be getting the release of the Fantasy Grounds adventure module as well at or around the same time? Has there been word from WOTC on if they are making this available to FG?

[kylania]

According to Zeus' sig, he's been working on it since July. :)

[jshauber]

The guys said that they are "caught up" with WotC and should release any new material the same day (or very close) as the book is released.

[Redemption77]

Thats awesome, thanks for the info guys

[hawkwind]

bump

[rjhodgefamily]

Hmmm i got my physical book on friday at my local game store for early release. Why can't I do the same with FG? :)

[midas]

Because FG cares about their license and doesn't break street dates. ;)

[TASagent]

I'd just assumed that rjhodgefamily was joking. :-)

[rjhodgefamily]

LGS didn't break street date either. Wizard lets them release 10 days early to try and get people into the stores to buy them before they buy them on Amazon. I would love to have FG on that same schedule but understand that probably isn't feasible, from either a licensing arrangement and possibly even code.

[midas]

Well hopefully any of the post-parsing and building tasks are done and it's good to go for next week. I'm looking forward to playing this, and to running it as well.

[Nylanfs]

WotC has certain FLGS that have an earlier street date than Amazon and other FLGS.

[rjhodgefamily]

Yep and I am lucky enough to have one nearby. I will always give the extra money to them. Although the wife doesn't understand that. Oh well I like finding new stuff there.

[midas]

That's good to know. The downside is the kerfuffles it causes when people post spoilers on the D&D 5E facebook group. :)

[Griogre]

Life on the Internet can be hard... ;) :)

[midas]

10926

[Trenloe]

BOOM!

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?26025-D-amp-D-Rage-of-Demons-Out-of-the-Abyss-is-now-available

[TASagent]

Indeed.

I was hoping to see it show up today, but didn't know since it had been out of my hands for a little while. Glad to see we got it turned around in time.

As always, feedback is welcome.

[ddavison]

Much thanks to TASAgent for development and Zacchaueus for testing. You guys made this super easy. Now, about the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide... :D

[Morik]

Sticking with Decal Rage 2. Pretty awesome :)

[ddavison]

Sweet. I was on the fence about whether or not to include that one since it was a bit different than the others. I'm glad that at least one other person liked it.

[Morik]

Is there a player map for Velkynvelve? The only one that I see has numbered locations and no grid. It might be important depending on how the players 'leave the location'.

[JeffKnight]

Is there a player map for Velkynvelve? The only one that I see has numbered locations and no grid. It might be important depending on how the players 'leave the location'.

There isn't one in the book. Maybe when Jared releases his player (unmarked version) there might be one.

[Zacchaeus]

You will find all of the maps you will ever need for Out of the Abyss here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?26028-Zacchaeus-Out-of-the-Abyss-Map-mod) :)

[TASagent]

Morik and JeffKnight, perhaps you can weigh in on something.

Edit: Obviously I invite others to weigh in on it as well.

I have had the files necessary to generate a Player's version of Velkynvelve. Ultimately I opted not to because it seemed to have virtually no utility: half the rooms can only be seen from the side view, any combat gird would be pretty small with map features hilariously poorly aligned (as the map wasn't created with a grid in mind), without labels the map is pretty confusing, and I feel the label-less version (even well masked) might tip too much of the DM's hand if revealed. Personally, if I wanted a map to reveal for illustrative purposes I'd use the labeled one as it is visually easier to parse what you're seeing. But I am not all people. What do you think? You can see an example of what a label-free version of the map would look like on the artist's site (https://theredepic.bigcartel.com/product/velkynvelve-dm-player-digital-download-versions).

[Zacchaeus]

I had an astonishingly difficult time coming up with a version of this map to include in the maps I did for this module and it would certainly have saved me a lot of time if a player version was available. However as you say a player version was not drawn with a scale in mind and trying to run sensible encounters on it would have been a nightmare. Without giving too much away I actually think the players would have a pretty good knowledge of the area (by the time the adventure begins) and so I wouldn't be too concerned about hiding the top level from them anyway. Also given the story I wondered if a map was even necessary, if the players start at level 1, for example. Ultimately I did draw one up because not every group or DM will handle the situation in the same way and so a map, I felt, was necessary.

[JeffKnight]

The fights in this part of the module are pretty simple, so I decided to do theater of the mind and not use maps. I could have gone into CC3 and knocked something simple out, even if it was just individual room maps, but it seemed like it'd take longer than just describing it.

[TASagent]

I decided it makes more sense for me to create and include label-free versions of Velkynvelve and Gracklstugh, and let DMs decide if they want to use them. Obviously, hindsight yadda yadda yadda. I have dispatched an update that adds these maps in. Rejoice, for ye have more options.

Edit: That is, I sent the update to Doug. There are a few steps in the chain to publishing the update.

[Morik]

It wasn't actually that I thought that I'd need them for a fight (theater of the mind is fine), but Velkynvelve is odd looking. It's easier to describe if I can uncover what they see as they explore.

[midas]

Outstanding, thanks TAS.

[TASagent]

Yeah. Including the maps will help people play with them the way they want. My concerns initially were two-fold: the dual-view map is easier to parse and discuss when it's labeled, and it preempts complaints about the map not really being combat-friendly. But realistically the first isn't that big of a deal, and the second is kind of silly. My initial line of thinking with making the player's maps was to make combat maps, not really thinking about it from the player supplement point of view. Similarly, Gracklstugh looks a bit ridiculous without some pointed masking, but now people can decide if and how they want to use it. If anyone played the old 3rd edition module Into the Dragon's Lair, I had some flashbacks to the big city map used for the Climax of the adventure (Gracklstugh was certainly not this egregious, but it reminded me of it nonetheless). In the center of the map was a giant pool perfectly shaped in the outline of a dragon - though this was not supposed to be obvious from the ground-based 1st-person-perspective the players were obligated to view it from. Some maps can draw way too much player focus to certain features, and eliminate any opportunities for discovery, and inclusion of maps tends to make people feel obligated to present them. But that's not my call.

Anyway, game on, and so forth.

[gqwebb]

TASagent great module conversion. Was looking for the .mod file and can not figure its name out? what did you call it please?

[Zacchaeus]

You won't find it. It is locked in the vault.

[gqwebb]

So is that how the modules will be going forward?

[Zacchaeus]

So is that how the modules will be going forward?

Yes, every module is locked for copy protection purposes.

[gqwebb]

Why the change from DRM free? Was that from WOTC or Smiteworks? I enjoyed being able to read the mod file with text aloud. Do I have to fire up omnipage again? Of course this would be skipped altogether if they would just sell the PDF :P

[Moon Wizard]

Certain publishers need additional security for their content in order to feel secure with offering their content via a VTT platform, or else we wouldn't be able to offer at all.

Also, none of the publishers we've talked to are willing to allow us to sell PDFs directly. They all tend to sell through their own store fronts.

Regards,
JPG

[gqwebb]

Thank you for letting me know. I sure like these prepared modules and will take them any way I can get them. The work put into these modules is worth every penny. The art, the loot, the maps, and not a bit of struggling, just clicking. Or should I say happy clicking.