I think this guy is also the voice for Gideon Ofnir in Elden Ring. Such a good presentation style, contrary to most RPG youtube presenters from the US, who tend to be a bit overly enthusiastic.
You'd have to be a MADMAN to go to Iuz's domain, even for a lightning strike. Ignoring the fact that a demigod walks the world there, ignoring the extreme paranoia and hostility of the realm, there's tons of EXTREMELY perilous monsters roaming about that aren't even under Iuz's control! That, and nonsense drifting down from Blackmoor... Notoriety/Fame is not a bad mechanic for the GM side of things. I can't think of any system that has a good one, but it's a good thing to keep in mind as players begin to make a name for themselves. They draw the attention of more powerful potential allies and enemies, people come to them for more and more perilous quests (and fake ones too set by foes or simply to gull them out of coin or magical items), and eventually might become lords in their own right as rulers seek to claim them for their own sides... even the gods themselves may extend offers at a certain point, especially in extremely active divine settings like the Forgotten Realms. Iuz is still no match for Vecna (in many ways): his special minions aren't nearly as stylish as the Hand and the Eye (very VERY silly, if you haven't seen them). 3k gp per person is not bad, and the title's ok, but no castle to go with it huh? Cheapskates. As for the gate to the Abyss.. might be easier to go to the Abyss at that level and go through the gate rather than going overland! The Abyss is dangerous, certainly, but there's certainly ways through it as Planescape later demonstrated. The Shield Lands' loss was pretty sad, and Iuz crushing the Horned Society and Bandit Kingdoms was kind of lame... but the Greyhawk Wars are a whole other set of problems. As far as the adventure overall goes, well.. yeah. TSR had a lot of problems at the time. The art was weird, the story kind of lame, and the high level of the module makes it almost unusable for most games. I wish the Empire of Iuz and Aerdy had more information as well! Most of Greyhawk got little more than a brief glossing over of information even during the 3e Living Greyhawk era.
Actually, in 2nd Edition Greyhawk, Iuz and Vecna are pretty evenly matched. Vecna is a lesser god, and Iuz is a demigod, but the Prime Material is Iuz's home plane so he is more powerful there. Check out my review of Vecna Lives! for more information on this (if you haven't already). Of course, they've changed all this in later editions.
After watching this and your review of Iuz The Evil, I was wondering - do you know if they ever published official stats for Iuz himself? I'm growing very interested in running AD&D, as they were the editions I grew up reading but was never old enough to play until 3.5.
I'm really aware that I am quite late to this particular party, but . . . . . . They published Iuz's stats in The Temple Of Elemental Evil module T1-4. He's detailed in 1st edition terms and I have no doubt that there is a bit of power-creep when going over to 2nd ed, but it shouldn't be too hard to extrapolate. (For the record, he had the powers of a 16th level cleric and 16th level assassin as well as the other demigod powers, so let overconfident players beware!)
EDIT: Also in the original Greyhawk Boxed set. (You would think I would have remembered that before finishing my last post, but that would require functioning brain cells) 😒
@@KingAndy1992 Full stats are given in the World of Greyhawk boxed set, but there is a brief stat block in the From the Ashes boxed set and the Greyhawk Adventures hardback book. (Yes, I still have my old 1st edition collection 😜)
You just don't craft an interesting "notoriety" mechanic and then tell players that they can't succeed playing their favorite character. "Yes, but..." and "Yes, and..." need to replace "no" in any DMs vocabulary.
@@BudsRPGreview This is "Escape from New York", isn't it? A mission for anti-heroes to redeem themselves, not an "adventure". It's an opportunity to play a character you usually would see "from across the table", as even most villainous organizations in the Flanaess can be considered "a lesser evil" next to the Empire of Iuz.
@@Ryan_Winter It has the potential to be, yes. However, it does lay it on heavy about the problems that good characters have here, so I don't believe that it was the original intention.
@@BudsRPGreview Don't you think that the enhanced visibility of good aligned PCs is a an environmental hazard that ought to, even must, come with the territory - literally and figuratively - to make such a scenario plausible? I just don't believe that a scenario that takes place within the Empire of Iuz could be set up to not carry this circumstancial threat and at the same time manages to retain a credibly immersive atmosphere, unless it's open warfare. The PCs have one foot in the Abyss when they enter Iuz's domain, it absolutely has to be conveyed to them that this environment is hostile towards any being of good alignment. Well I suppose it's hostile towards absolutely anyone, even the demons that dwell there. These are not Baatezu, there is no "social contract" or the notion of an "entente agreement" to work towards a common goal. Lawful beings probably draw attention on themselves as well, even if they are evil. The only thing that keeps everyone in check in Dorakaa is fear. You survive by staying out of harms way and crushing whatever dares to openly threaten you, if you can. The Bandit Kingdoms work, because if you want to employ subterfuge against evil you need to be able and willing to move with its currents, otherwise you stand out like a stone in the middle of a river. Anyway, what I like about this scenario is that it is among the few ones which tap into the political world of Greyhawk. It's not just a funhouse/deathhouse dungeons that hardly provides any rational for its own existence, letting alone why people would willingly go there. City of Skulls is much more involved in that sense and scratches an itch most Greyhawk adventure modules do not.
That's a really poor take in my opinion. Sometimes (often, even!) players should get the big "N.O." It's the DMs world and if the DM decides it doesn't make any sense, then it's gotta be a No.
I think this guy is also the voice for Gideon Ofnir in Elden Ring. Such a good presentation style, contrary to most RPG youtube presenters from the US, who tend to be a bit overly enthusiastic.
*looks around*
Who are you talking to? I'm the only one here!
We had a blast playing this. The party actually made it out, but they had some pretty powerful characters. But it was a harrowing escape.
Yes, our party was massively powerful and did a lot of damage but had to run also.
Watched a vid by Greyhawk Grognard a few days ago - he ranks this as one of the very best Greyhawk adventures. Interesting to see a differing opinion.
It reeks of end-of-days TSR.
Great work Bud!
Another brilliant review! Thank you for doing this it means a lot. Do you have access to getting Ravenloft or Die Vecna Die?
I don't at the moment, no, but I wouldn't rule either of those out.
You'd have to be a MADMAN to go to Iuz's domain, even for a lightning strike. Ignoring the fact that a demigod walks the world there, ignoring the extreme paranoia and hostility of the realm, there's tons of EXTREMELY perilous monsters roaming about that aren't even under Iuz's control! That, and nonsense drifting down from Blackmoor...
Notoriety/Fame is not a bad mechanic for the GM side of things. I can't think of any system that has a good one, but it's a good thing to keep in mind as players begin to make a name for themselves. They draw the attention of more powerful potential allies and enemies, people come to them for more and more perilous quests (and fake ones too set by foes or simply to gull them out of coin or magical items), and eventually might become lords in their own right as rulers seek to claim them for their own sides... even the gods themselves may extend offers at a certain point, especially in extremely active divine settings like the Forgotten Realms.
Iuz is still no match for Vecna (in many ways): his special minions aren't nearly as stylish as the Hand and the Eye (very VERY silly, if you haven't seen them).
3k gp per person is not bad, and the title's ok, but no castle to go with it huh? Cheapskates. As for the gate to the Abyss.. might be easier to go to the Abyss at that level and go through the gate rather than going overland! The Abyss is dangerous, certainly, but there's certainly ways through it as Planescape later demonstrated.
The Shield Lands' loss was pretty sad, and Iuz crushing the Horned Society and Bandit Kingdoms was kind of lame... but the Greyhawk Wars are a whole other set of problems.
As far as the adventure overall goes, well.. yeah. TSR had a lot of problems at the time. The art was weird, the story kind of lame, and the high level of the module makes it almost unusable for most games. I wish the Empire of Iuz and Aerdy had more information as well! Most of Greyhawk got little more than a brief glossing over of information even during the 3e Living Greyhawk era.
Actually, in 2nd Edition Greyhawk, Iuz and Vecna are pretty evenly matched. Vecna is a lesser god, and Iuz is a demigod, but the Prime Material is Iuz's home plane so he is more powerful there. Check out my review of Vecna Lives! for more information on this (if you haven't already).
Of course, they've changed all this in later editions.
Visiting Iuz sounds like a nice challenge for those high level characters who like to fight against gods.
After watching this and your review of Iuz The Evil, I was wondering - do you know if they ever published official stats for Iuz himself? I'm growing very interested in running AD&D, as they were the editions I grew up reading but was never old enough to play until 3.5.
Hmmm... not sure. Maybe in the original Greyhawk set?
I'm really aware that I am quite late to this particular party, but . . . . . . They published Iuz's stats in The Temple Of Elemental Evil module T1-4. He's detailed in 1st edition terms and I have no doubt that there is a bit of power-creep when going over to 2nd ed, but it shouldn't be too hard to extrapolate. (For the record, he had the powers of a 16th level cleric and 16th level assassin as well as the other demigod powers, so let overconfident players beware!)
EDIT: Also in the original Greyhawk Boxed set. (You would think I would have remembered that before finishing my last post, but that would require functioning brain cells) 😒
@@davidmc1158 Greyhawk Adventures, or the World of Greyhawk?
@@KingAndy1992 Full stats are given in the World of Greyhawk boxed set, but there is a brief stat block in the From the Ashes boxed set and the Greyhawk Adventures hardback book. (Yes, I still have my old 1st edition collection 😜)
😍😍😍😍😍😍
It's a shame b/c I feel like there's plenty of potential there.
You just don't craft an interesting "notoriety" mechanic and then tell players that they can't succeed playing their favorite character. "Yes, but..." and "Yes, and..." need to replace "no" in any DMs vocabulary.
I think this is a solid "yes, but you will die" which may as well be a "no".
@@BudsRPGreview This is "Escape from New York", isn't it? A mission for anti-heroes to redeem themselves, not an "adventure". It's an opportunity to play a character you usually would see "from across the table", as even most villainous organizations in the Flanaess can be considered "a lesser evil" next to the Empire of Iuz.
@@Ryan_Winter It has the potential to be, yes. However, it does lay it on heavy about the problems that good characters have here, so I don't believe that it was the original intention.
@@BudsRPGreview Don't you think that the enhanced visibility of good aligned PCs is a an environmental hazard that ought to, even must, come with the territory - literally and figuratively - to make such a scenario plausible?
I just don't believe that a scenario that takes place within the Empire of Iuz could be set up to not carry this circumstancial threat and at the same time manages to retain a credibly immersive atmosphere, unless it's open warfare.
The PCs have one foot in the Abyss when they enter Iuz's domain, it absolutely has to be conveyed to them that this environment is hostile towards any being of good alignment. Well I suppose it's hostile towards absolutely anyone, even the demons that dwell there. These are not Baatezu, there is no "social contract" or the notion of an "entente agreement" to work towards a common goal. Lawful beings probably draw attention on themselves as well, even if they are evil. The only thing that keeps everyone in check in Dorakaa is fear. You survive by staying out of harms way and crushing whatever dares to openly threaten you, if you can. The Bandit Kingdoms work, because if you want to employ subterfuge against evil you need to be able and willing to move with its currents, otherwise you stand out like a stone in the middle of a river.
Anyway, what I like about this scenario is that it is among the few ones which tap into the political world of Greyhawk. It's not just a funhouse/deathhouse dungeons that hardly provides any rational for its own existence, letting alone why people would willingly go there. City of Skulls is much more involved in that sense and scratches an itch most Greyhawk adventure modules do not.
That's a really poor take in my opinion. Sometimes (often, even!) players should get the big "N.O." It's the DMs world and if the DM decides it doesn't make any sense, then it's gotta be a No.
Scouser? Please review more old school d&d!
I do them occasionally, but I sold all mine years ago, so I have to borrow them.