So vast are the legions of Githyanki slaves, that many live and die without meeting their masters face to face. Deep in the inner works of their astral ships, the enslaved rule the enslaved, and keep the Githyanki machinery running. They are the damned, but even the damned can see the chinks of light that filter down from above, and dream of flight.
Posted by Kshatriya at 2006-11-08 12:04:56 Voted 9.00 on 11/08/06
An interesting glimpse of a completely unfamiliar world.
Posted by Lance Botelle at 2006-03-21 15:36:10 Voted 4.00 on 03/21/06
4.0 THE CRUELTY OF FADE (231ST TESTED MODULE)
This is my latest scoring system. This vote will only be cast if any of the following conditions were met:
1) The module was an EXCEPTIONAL piece � now rated at 7.75 +.
2) The module was an ABOVE AVERAGE piece & the module is currently above 7.75 � One score of 6.0. (*)
3) The module is AVERAGE piece & the module is currently above 7.75 � One score of 4.0. (*)
(*) � Must have more than ten votes.
My score will still be based around the format provided by Bioware and be consistent with any previous systems used. The difference now, is that I will NOT post any vote unless it fits within the criteria above. I have done this for two reasons:
1) To prevent casting a vote that may appear against the grain of other voters � and make me look the bad guy.
2) When it does fit within the above category, keep the voting fair to those I have already voted for.
NB: Judging any material is always subject to personal taste. I have tried hard to be as objective as possible. Remember, this is only my opinion; Bioware�s is the one that counts! If you believe I have scored your module unfairly, or I have missed something of importance, please email me at �[email protected]� and I will consider any comments made. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints (and the past effort of trying to answer all posts, I may take a while to answer. Sorry.)
Rather than break the score down as I have previously, I have decided to revert back to my original system and make general comments for those I do end up posting. The two categories still remain though.
Text of Module: (The Writing/Characterisation/Dialog Flow): This started off quite well, and I thought I was not going to find any errors. About halfway through, however, I started to find some, as if the author only checked up to half way or they had a change of heart. Then I noticed misuse of punctuation, misuse of capitals, and poor sentence structure (E.g. confide with > confide in). Also traveled > travelled, comissioned > commissioned, enterances > entrances, verict > verdict, dealmaking > deal-making. Also, I think the author may have meant �forsaken� rather than �foresworn�. The text became very linear. I later found out that the text went over the word limit (by a long way) with exposition that was mostly superfluous to the story.
Concept & Execution: (Creativity/Logical Flow/Drama/Pacing/Character Development/Multiple Paths): The story started off quite well. I initially felt engaged and happy to do what was asked of me. Then, as the story progressed, I started to find the responses very limited (linear) and the plot soon felt orchestrated. I also felt like the module took on another author about halfway through, such was the change. By the time I spoke to Fade, and learned about her, the story had lost focus and the pace gone.
Conclusion: This story started well, but, as I say above, it soon lost focus and deteriorated as it came to its end. The amount of exposition in Fade�s background story was well over the top (and even made me check the module�s word count). This is the first module that I have played that has started so well (exceptional piece), and then drop to above average, and finally to simply average. What happened? The author obviously has talent (from the first section I played), but then let themselves down by the time the module had finished. A shame really. :(
MY SCORE SYSTEM (IMHO):
4.0 Normally means writing errors, low drama and pacing, and/or poor logical flow. (I did not want to finish it.)
6.0 Normally means few writing errors, some drama and/or pacing & logical flow fine. (I wanted to finish it.)
7.75+ Normally means none/very few typos, good drama and/or pacing. Good NPC development & endings.
PERSONAL SCORING FACTORS (IN ORDER OF MY PRIORITIES):
GRAB FACTOR: How quickly am I involved in the action? Do I have direction?
PLOT: Is the story engaging? Is subject interesting? Varied conversation choices?
CHARACTERS: Are they easily identifiable? Are they rounded/memorable?
SPELLING & GRAMMAR: Is the text easy to read? Are there quite a few errors?
OTHER FACTORS (MINOR INFLUENCE): Design for atmosphere & scenery, including sounds & props. Quality of module stability; does it break easily? _________________________ World of Althéa Blog: Link
Posted by saraphinn at 2006-03-20 10:24:48 Voted 9.25 on 03/20/06
A great mod, was really engrossed in the well-written story.
Posted by herrjeff at 2006-03-19 03:47:34 Voted 8.25 on 03/19/06
Surreal Planes setting, which requires a developed background to bring the PC to the actual quest and a fair scope of choices towards the end of the module. Not for the casual gamer.
Posted by nereng at 2006-03-16 11:08:01 Voted 8.50 on 03/16/06
Planescape! Writing and character development is good, the story is interesting. Could be part of a larger adventure.
Posted by Arik at 2006-03-13 09:06:56 Voted 8.50 on 03/13/06
I really, really like this. It's atmospheric, it's original and the characters are excellent. I do think, however, that the amount of backstory, while revealed quite naturally, could have been significantly reduced without harming the module, and doing so might have even improved it. A very strong module nonetheless.
Posted by MikeLM9215 at 2006-03-11 14:49:07 Voted 7.50 on 03/11/06
Spelljammer from the inside out. A little bit tougher to figure out than your normal module. Two of the four endings require you talk to the statues before going back to your boss.
_________________________ The road to Ravenloft is paved with good intentions.
Posted by Kirian at 2006-03-10 18:26:47 Voted 8.25 on 03/10/06
Oh, this one is different! Very intruiging! It don't know if you intended to give it a 'SciFi-feel', but it sure makes it stand out from the crowd.
Agrigak made some excellent points that I concur with wholeheartedly. Why, oh why did you not cut out a few of the unnecessary background stories? It would have left your story intact, and it would have prevented any troubles with the judges.
A few typo's that I spotted:
- messAngers
- What happend?
- existAnce
This is a hard one to judge. I don't care much about rules, but in this case the wordcount gave you an undue advantage over your fellow competitors. Despite the flaws, in my heart I want to give you a high mark, because it is so very original, and because your writing reminds me of my favorite SciFi writer Iain Banks. However, for fairness sake I will deduce points for your 'transgressions' ;)
Posted by Aelin at 2006-02-23 13:20:45 Voted 8.50 on 02/23/06
Really a good job. A well written story, good dialogs, and a great care for details, could be too much: I'm afraid you exceeded too much the 3500 word's limit.
Posted by Aelin at 2006-02-23 12:45:34 Voted 8.50 on 02/23/06
Are you sure, Criispin? I have not any of the expansions but I played it without problems.
And it's a good job.
Posted by thegeorge at 2006-02-11 15:36:02 Voted 8.00 on 02/11/06
In spite of a few misspellings it's above average - considering the detail, though I'm not sure how close this conforms to the "form of sidequest" rule. If it's too far over the 3,500 word limit, I imagine there's a good chance it will be disqualified.
There was definitely a lot of love and attention put into this module. The setting was lavish and active; with everything described in detail from the simplest switch to the non interactive NPCs.
My �beef� though; there a lot of conversation that does not serve the plot. Too much information, little of it useful. Your massive word count, over 7000, could have been dramatically reduced and little of the story would have suffered.
Over all a very nice attempt by someone who knew all about the subject.
It�s wordy but, I can�t give poor vote simply because someone has put a lot of care into what has been created..
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