When your player characters defeat the Wormgod Kyuss at the pulse-pounding conclusion of the Age of Worms Adventure Path in this very issue, they will have rescued the world itself from an unspeakable danger. They end the campaign as sovereigns of their own nation, inheriting the problems of a kingdom beset on all sides by political and military challenges. From their posh palace chambers in Alhaster they'll look out with a mixture of pride and melancholy at the waters of the Lake of Unknown Depths, remembering the simplicity of their humble beginnings. Chances are strong your players will be looking for new challenges too.
In four short months DUNGEON comes to the rescue with the Savage Tide Adventure Path, a 12-installment campaign designed to take charaters from the heady days of first level all the way to the responsibilities of level 20. Running every month from issue #139 to the milestone DUNGEON #150, the Savage Tide takes plauers on an ocean voyage that begins in the fecund southern jungles and leads deep into the heart of the treacherous Lower Planes.
The action begins in the port city of Sasserine, where canny merchant princes exploit the natural wonder of a vast jungle at the very edge of civilization. There, the PCs find themselves in the employ of Lavinia Vanderborn, a young noble who has just inherited her family estate and colonial holdings after the tragic death of her parents. Her younger brother, Vanthus, has fallen in with a bad crowd, and after stealing an unusual black pearl from the trove of a pirate stronghold, he flees to the family's holdings on a distant tropical island - the Isle of Dread. Following Vanthus across the uncharted southern seas leads the PCs to the dinosaur-ridden island, where they discover that similar strange pearls have been placed in cities throughout the world. When the order is given, these pearls will discharge a massive burst of dehumanizing energy - the Savage Tide - that will turn ordinary citizens into cannibalistic savages.
Exploration of the treacherous Isle of Dread and the mysterious plateau at its center represent a major portion of the campaign, but the PCs will have little time to grow complacent, as pirates and the treacherous Vanthus harry the Vanderboren colony. An attempt to stop the pirates leads to Scuttlecove, a scurvy town of buccaneers, yuan-ti, and worse. The PCs thwart the menace of the pirate fleet, only to discover that Vanthus has kidnapped his sister and taken her to the Abyssal realm of his patron, Demogorgon, Prince of Demons and architect of the Savage Tide. By unleashing waves of madness and rage throughout the Material Plane, Demogorgon hopes to reconcile the feuding personalities of his two heads and increase his standing in the Great Wheel. To defeat the most powerful of demon princes, the PCs must negotiate a planar conspiracy aimed at weakening him in his own lair and destroying him once and for all.
An all-star array of our favorite game designers and DUNGEON contributors are already hard at work on the adventures. Managing Editor James Jacobs, author of last issue's "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure" and the silent puppetmaster behind most DUNGEON adventures, will contribute the first installment, "There is No Honor," in DUNGEON #139. That issue also comes with a poster map of Sasserine and a backdrop describing the locale in detail, the first of several to come throughout the series. James's adventure will be followed by installments from Nicolas Logue, Richard Pett, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen S. Greer & Gary Holian, F. Wesley Schneider & James Sutter, Tito Leati, Keith Baker, Sean K Reynolds, Eric L. Boyd, Wolfgang Baur, and Greg A. Vaughn. As with the Age of Worms, a companion series of articles aimed at players will appear in the pages of DRAGON, and lively discussion will take place on paizo.com. In fact, by the time you get this, a new Savage Tide message board is already in operation.
After defeating Kyuss and the Age of Worms, you and your players have earned a few months off. But don't get too comfortable. The Savage Tide is just around the corner!
Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
[email]erikm@paizo.com[/email]
Hmmm, good stuff to look forward to, I suppose.
Additionnally since large part of Davania are unmapped and unexplored it would be easy to just place these adventures there without upsetting the rest of the setting.
the campaign will prolly move to what the article calls "the jungle coast", hum isn't the coast of Davania mostly jungle
IIRC, the NE coastline of Davania--the area of the Hinterlands--is called "The Jungle Coast" as well as "The Four Kingdoms"... So it fits perfectly.
Roger
IIRC, the NE coastline of Davania--the area of the Hinterlands--is called "The Jungle Coast" as well as "The Four Kingdoms"... So it fits perfectly.
Roger
Ooohh, yes. Could put some flesh on that region nicely (on t'other hand could foul it up as well, usual beg, borrow and steal approach me thinks).
Mystara's one of my favorite D&D settings, so you can expect Mystara easter eggs to pop up throughout the campaign, usually in the form of Mystara monsters updated to the 3rd edition rules.
Sah-weeet! I think you may be surprised to find a bunch more subscribers to Dragon in the coming year, Mr. Jacobs.
I'm already working on conversion guidelines for setting Age of Worms in Mystara, and Savage Tide looks to be an even easier fit.
That said, does anyone have any particular favorite monsters they'd like to see updated?
Well, rakasta would be good, though I don't know the likelihood (given that there have already been "catfolk" in the Miniatures handbook).
The Tabi would probably be a good idea- nasty winged cat/monkey men. I could see these fitting in with the Demogorgon idea (they are monkey-like, and Demogorgon has monkey/baboon heads). Maybe a villain in the piece could have a Tabi familiar?
The Kara-Kara (orc-like jungle dwellers) would fit in pretty well. Piranha birds, topi (shrunken zombies) would also be setting appropriate for tropics. I'm kind of fond of the Mystaran Bhut (very different from the bhut in the MM3, although the name confusion alone probably disqualifies them), or the Mujina (powerful humanoids with the ability to assume the facial appearance of other people).
It should go without saying that you need to use the Kopru. Given the Isle of Dread treatment in #114, I assume they will be an integral part of the adventure (even if they already have been converted).
Can't wait for this one to get started!
Of course, if all the new products have Mystara inspired easter eggs (or locations), then any new person seeing Mystara will view it as a copy of what they already know... I am sort of curious to find out when WotC decides that Oerth is Hollow with openings at the poles. :D
The kara-kara are a singing people. Perhaps we could get rid of the afros, and make them generally less cringe-worthy.
The vicious kal-maru, or ship bane, would be perfect.
Phanatons, of course.
Soul eaters.
Crones of chaos?
Fyrsnacas are pretty nasty. And their spawn, the red worms. Perhaps in a volcano somewhere. If you've got volcanoes, steam weevils, ash crawlers, uh, those lava fish from the Shadow Elves gazetteer...
Death demons! Ostegos, originally seen in Castle Amber.
Grey philosophers.
Devil swine.
Topi (shrunken zombies).
Velyas (aquatic vampires).
Elementals of Law/Chaos: Eolians, erdeens, pyrophors, and undines.
Grab grass! And vampire roses.
While the "Savage Tide" Adventrue Path is nominally set in Greyhawk, the fact remains that nearly half of the adventures in the campaign take place in or near the Isle of Dread, which is perhaps the most iconic Mystara adventure of all time. Mystara's one of my favorite D&D settings, so you can expect Mystara easter eggs to pop up throughout the campaign, usually in the form of Mystara monsters updated to the 3rd edition rules. That said, does anyone have any particular favorite monsters they'd like to see updated?
This sounds very good indeed! I'd like to thank you Mr. Jacobs for posting on this board, filling us in on the details and letting us present our wishes for Mystaran creatures to appear in the articles, very nice!
I missed most of the Path of Worms, but now I am seriously considering getting a subscription for Dungeon right away!
As for the monsters, I think the ones presented by Cthulhudrew, Culture20 and Ripwanwormer all would be appreciated.
I agree that the Jungle Coast of Davania is probably ideal for a Mystaran location for this one. Will there be a beginner's document for this Adventure Path, similar to AoW and could you include a Mystara reference there?
Sasserine sounds like it easily could be one of the Thyatian-established colonial settlements in the Hinterlands...
I'll be looking forward to more on this!
Håvard
Phanatons, of course.
IIRC the phanaton was converted recently in Dragon.
Regards
Gary
While the "Savage Tide" Adventrue Path is nominally set in Greyhawk, the fact remains that nearly half of the adventures in the campaign take place in or near the Isle of Dread, which is perhaps the most iconic Mystara adventure of all time. Mystara's one of my favorite D&D settings, so you can expect Mystara easter eggs to pop up throughout the campaign, usually in the form of Mystara monsters updated to the 3rd edition rules. That said, does anyone have any particular favorite monsters they'd like to see updated?
I too concur with other sentiments here that this is welcome news as it will give us something thematically easy to move into a Mystara-proper context. And with Mystara easter eggs popping up as well all the better.
In terms of monster suggestions in addition to some others already mentioned the Carnifex would seem to make excellent adversaries/schemers for the end part of this sort of adventure.
Shameless plug
:embarrass
The following monsters have been converted over on the monster conversion thread:
kara-kara
kal-maru
Crones of chaos
Fyrsnaca
Grey philosopher
Topi (shrunken zombies)
Velyas (aquatic vampires)
Elementals of Law/Chaos: Eolians, erdeens, pyrophors, and undines
I realize some people prefer "official" conversions rather than community ones and I make no claim that the conversions are anything special, but I would rather have the Dungeon monster conversions focused on monsters the community hasn't converted yet- like Shawn's suggestion of the Carnifex.
Just my two cents...
PS: And thanks again for directing me to what issue I was trying to find a certain article in, (It was #333 of Dragon) Well, looking forward to the articles and adventures. Hopefully WoTC will maybe give us a default status of Campaign worlds? That would be nice, but who knows, we will see. I hope many players send you great feedback.
Joe Kelly
I realize some people prefer "official" conversions rather than community ones and I make no claim that the conversions are anything special, but I would rather have the Dungeon monster conversions focused on monsters the community hasn't converted yet- like Shawn's suggestion of the Carnifex.
Good point Traianus! Your conversions are official enough for me!
Monsters that havent been converted yet generally take preference over those who have been done by Traianus and others, at least for me. OTOH, for the really cool creatures, it could be interesting seeing multiple takes on each creature, and ofcourse illustrations...
Håvard
Magen (Demos. Galvan and Hypnos)
Good point Traianus! Your conversions are official enough for me!
Monsters that havent been converted yet generally take preference over those who have been done by Traianus and others, at least for me. OTOH, for the really cool creatures, it could be interesting seeing multiple takes on each creature, and ofcourse illustrations...
Håvard
I'm not sure that I'm convinced, of coruse on a personal level it'd be cooler to see new and different conversions come up I would much rather have whatever "new" Mystaran creatures are most relevant to the adventures turn up instead regardless of whether there's been fan-based conversions of those creatures or not.
And the illustrations.
I can do conversions myself, for that matter. The point isn't that there are conversions, but that there's an adventure that involves the monsters in a relevant way.
And the illustrations.
ah if only we could do the illustrations too
but yeah for that we'd still want the best creatures for the job not necessarily ones that haven't been converted elsewhere
Roger
[edit] As long as they remain un-molested, err..., I mean, un-edited.
Anyone know around which time the first issue of this campaign is supposed to come out ?
I would much rather have whatever "new" Mystaran creatures are most relevant to the adventures turn up instead regardless of whether there's been fan-based conversions of those creatures or not.
So, nothing like barics or ubues? Darn.
ah if only we could do the illustrations too
but yeah for that we'd still want the best creatures for the job not necessarily ones that haven't been converted elsewhere
Agreed!
And yeah, it would be cool to see more fan-made illustrations!
Håvard
Wow, I hadn't checked the thread in a while but now seeing as the editor from dungeon posted it as somewhat Mystara related I'm interested in buying it.
Anyone know around which time the first issue of this campaign is supposed to come out ?
Savage Tide starts in issue #139 of Dungeon, which is the October issue. It should be reaching subscribers in late August/early September; hopefully we'll have some copies to show off or sell at Gen Con, but no promises there!
Just my two cents.
Let's hope they skip the kara-kara, probably the most racist monster ever included in any D&D product. That really doesn't need to ever appear again.
Samwise, there has been some discussion on the MML on this topic since you brought it up here. I would be very interested to hear in what way you consider the kara-kara to be racist, if you don't mind clarifying.
Thanks!
Samwise, there has been some discussion on the MML on this topic since you brought it up here. I would be very interested to hear in what way you consider the kara-kara to be racist, if you don't mind clarifying.
Thanks!
Although I can't speak for Samwise, I assumed he was referring to the artwork in the module depicting kara-kara, particularly the Afros. Of course, all the artwork has drastically changed in the last 20 years, especially in 3/3.5E, so a kara-kara update would certainly fix this objection.
Checking the MML, I see that another objection would be the portrayal of kara-kara as polynesian savages. As you have already been pointed out on the MML, this really goes to a general objection of orcs and other humanoids and what they represent.
Of course, any discussion of racism really needs a clear definition of what the word actually means at the beginning of the discussion. This is because the word has often been used by demagogues as a weapon to bludgeon opponents, keeping the definition vague makes it more useful as a weapon, since you can't defend yourself from the accusation if it has no precise meaning.
Between those two, do I really need much else?
I'd cite what my friend exclaimed when I showed him the picture and read that line, but It would get censored.
As for what I mean by "racist" in this context NPC Dave:
1. A demeaning stereotype (the singing bit), combined with,
2. A non-standard depiction of an archetypal humanoid race, combined with,
3. A very specific, racially identifiable depiction, combined with,
4. The specific presentation (sub-human, savages), equals,
a racist depiction.
It is a stereotype image of black Africans with their skin changed to green and the label "Orc" slapped on them.
At least to me and a number of my friends.
Imagine all the offensive caricatures of Asian, Jewish, Irish, Italian, Mexican, African-American, Arab, or indigenous American people, all the crude cartoons and so forth. Now imagine all their most identifiable traits transposed onto orcs, goblins, trolls, and so forth.
The result may not be deliberate racism, but you can see why it might make people uncomfortable.
You mean aside from the illustration (with it's large lips, prominent afro hair, and generally African as opposed to Orcish features), and the phrase "The Kara-Kara are a singing people.", nothing.
Between those two, do I really need much else?
I'd cite what my friend exclaimed when I showed him the picture and read that line, but It would get censored.
As for what I mean by "racist" in this context NPC Dave:
1. A demeaning stereotype (the singing bit), combined with,
2. A non-standard depiction of an archetypal humanoid race, combined with,
3. A very specific, racially identifiable depiction, combined with,
4. The specific presentation (sub-human, savages), equals,
a racist depiction.
It is a stereotype image of black Africans with their skin changed to green and the label "Orc" slapped on them.
At least to me and a number of my friends.
Thanks for the clarification.
I agree with you on the stereotype image and as I said, that is what I figured you were referring to. My apologies if you think my crack about demagogues was directed to you, it wasn't, I was thinking in particular about the actions of a US Congresswoman a few weeks ago.
I admit that I did not think about the singing part, but I should point out that Polynesian cultures are also referred to as "singing people".
http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/teaohou/issue/Mao60TeA/full.html
My impression of the module, based in part on my (possibly faulty) understanding of how RPG products are made, is that the author(s) was thinking completely in terms of Polynesian culture, and portraying an adventure in a Polynesian setting with Polynesian orcs. The artist(s) received a written description of the art what was needed and proceeded to draw the orcs as if they were stereotypical black Africans only green with big tusks. Whether this was because of poorly worded directions/ignorance/complete lack of imagination or some other reason is unknown.
The final product puts the art and text together, and the first thing you see is the cover with the picture of the kara-kara. But when I read it and played it, I went with the Polynesian/Easter Island feel, even to the point of playing Drum Beats of the Pacific on CD in the background to simulate the kara-kara drums.
IMO, I think your valid objections could be addressed by ditching the artwork and redrawing them in a 3.5E update, and possibly giving them preferred class Bard. But that doesn't matter, if Paizo isn't going to include rakasta because they are Mystara specific, I doubt they will add kara-kara.
IMO, I think your valid objections could be addressed by ditching the artwork and redrawing them in a 3.5E update, and possibly giving them preferred class Bard. But that doesn't matter, if Paizo isn't going to include rakasta because they are Mystara specific, I doubt they will add kara-kara.
My understanding is that rakasta won't be included not because they are Mystara-specific, but rather because it was deemed that there really wasn't room to include them on the island, and to do them justice. James Jacobs has said as much elsewhere (possibly in this thread, although I think it was on the ENWorld.org thread on the Savage Tide).
Ties to a specific setting don't seem to be an issue here- again, in this very thread, they've been soliciting ideas for Mystara creatures to include in the AP.
Regards
Gary
I don't know if any of you have looked at Paizo's boards recently, but you might be interested in this thread.
Regards
Gary
Great thread Gary,
thanks for letting us know!
Håvard
Thanks for the clarification.
I agree with you on the stereotype image and as I said, that is what I figured you were referring to. My apologies if you think my crack about demagogues was directed to you, it wasn't, I was thinking in particular about the actions of a US Congresswoman a few weeks ago.
OK on the first part.
BIG "no comment" on the second. :P
I admit that I did not think about the singing part, but I should point out that Polynesian cultures are also referred to as "singing people".
Yep. Although it is still a stereotype.
My impression of the module . . .
Giving it the benefit of the doubt, quite likely.
As it goes, while I really like the dungeon and its contents (especially the Maltese Falcon), I tend to completely strip out the Kara-Kara and the Boss. So it tends not to be an issue with me.
IMO, I think your valid objections could be addressed by ditching the artwork and redrawing them in a 3.5E update, and possibly giving them preferred class Bard. But that doesn't matter, if Paizo isn't going to include rakasta because they are Mystara specific, I doubt they will add kara-kara.
Possibly. I think for me the whole name kara-kara is just permanently tainted, and I wouldn't want to see any revision of it. I understand others don't feel as strongly, but I still note my objections when using them is brought up.
Vern