The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Acceptance of Fate A Diomin Campaign Setting Adventure

I received my free copy of Acceptance of Fate approximately 3 months ago. Matters prevented me from reviewing it at the time, but when I finally got a chance to read through it. Now, review fresh in my mind, I wish to say two things:

1. I wish to publically apologize to Hyrum Savage for taking so long. 2. This is a strong, epic-themed product, and well worth the time of the "Epic Story" DM.

The third installment of a massive adventure that takes characters to approximately 9th - 10th level, Acceptance of Fate is a tale of the salvation (or damnation) of the land by the PCs' actions, and very reminiscent of the Grayhawk Campaign Setting. It is hard to explain, but the various races and factions of the campaign world (including the goddess of madmen and prophets who bears a passing description resemblance to Istus) all remind me of various factions and groups as described in the TSR-Gygax-era Greyhawk campaign setting.

The interesting hallmark (and one for only a few campaign settings) is the presence of only humans - although unfamiliar with Diomin until now, no demihumans were apparent throughout the module (though the various human groups had almost demi-human traits to them, such as the peace-abiding and nature-loving Gnolaum people). While fascinating, it never occurred to me that it had become TOO much of a cliche to have non-humans in every fantasy setting, until I read this. There definitely is room in the market for a human-based D&D campaign setting, especially since it is what we have to draw the most experience from.

The module itself contains many wonderful elements, vivid locations such as the Evil city of the worshippers of Akish, or the waypoint where the PC's discover more of their purpose, and the climax of the adveture, which is an event that will definitely be memorable to your Players. (I won't spoil it, but I will say I enjoyed that part the most because it happens often in novels and stories, but almost NEVER in an RPG, in my experience.)

One element I enjoyed was the Map perspectives - I have always loved forced thrid-person perspective in a building or site map, because it gives me more of a feel for what a location looks like 3-dimensionally.

Finally, thematically, this module reminded me of Star Wars - it was simple, direct, and make many character-defining moments. I enjoy a more clear-cut conflict. If I want moral ambiguity, I will introduce it on my own.

There was one negative elements here, I must say, and it does mar the module somewhat: The module is VERY scripted. Admittedly, in an adventure of this scale, scripting makes it easier for a GM to handle, the fact is that the amount of railroading in this adventure is such than most of my players would resent it in an instant. Perhaps the adveture needed to be scripted more along the lines of Vecna Lives! from TSR. In that one, there were definite consequences for not succeeding - in fact, play in the world from that point was a VERY different matter, because the PC's refused to help, or (worse) failed. I loved the climax, but most PC's aren't going to "buy" it - by a long shot.

My solution for such was to open the module up; to make a time-table of events, introduce the players to the artifact and then drop a prophecy in their laps concerning it, and see what they would do. Had they dawdled, then the forces of evil would come to them. I rather enjoy a module that has the price of failure spelled out, as well as the rewards of victory.

The module contains some great moments and elements in it, but they do need to be "opened up" a bit so that the PC's can make their own decisions more.

Acceptance of Fate
Acceptance of Fate Capsule Review by Henry Link on 14/05/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Very interesting "hook", refreshing human-centric campaign world, but somewhat heavy on railroading the PC's. Good with moderate customization. Product: Acceptance of Fate Author: Chad Justice Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Otherworld Creations Line: Diomin Campaign Setting / d20 Cost: 15.95 Page count: Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Henry Link on 14/05/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	Acceptance of Fate A Diomin Campaign Setting Adventure I received my free copy of Acceptance of Fate approximately 3 months ago. Matters prevented me from reviewing it at the time, but when I finally got a chance to read through it. Now, review fresh in my mind, I wish to say two things: 1. I wish to publically apologize to Hyrum Savage for taking so long. 2. This is a strong, epic-themed product, and well worth the time of the "Epic Story" DM. The third installment of a massive adventure that takes characters to approximately 9th - 10th level, Acceptance of Fate is a tale of the salvation (or damnation) of the land by the PCs' actions, and very reminiscent of the Grayhawk Campaign Setting. It is hard to explain, but the various races and factions of the campaign world (including the goddess of madmen and prophets who bears a passing description resemblance to Istus) all remind me of various factions and groups as described in the TSR-Gygax-era Greyhawk campaign setting. The interesting hallmark (and one for only a few campaign settings) is the presence of only humans - although unfamiliar with Diomin until now, no demihumans were apparent throughout the module (though the various human groups had almost demi-human traits to them, such as the peace-abiding and nature-loving Gnolaum people). While fascinating, it never occurred to me that it had become TOO much of a cliche to have non-humans in every fantasy setting, until I read this. There definitely is room in the market for a human-based D&D campaign setting, especially since it is what we have to draw the most experience from. The module itself contains many wonderful elements, vivid locations such as the Evil city of the worshippers of Akish, or the waypoint where the PC's discover more of their purpose, and the climax of the adveture, which is an event that will definitely be memorable to your Players. (I won't spoil it, but I will say I enjoyed that part the most because it happens often in novels and stories, but almost NEVER in an RPG, in my experience.) One element I enjoyed was the Map perspectives - I have always loved forced thrid-person perspective in a building or site map, because it gives me more of a feel for what a location looks like 3-dimensionally. Finally, thematically, this module reminded me of Star Wars - it was simple, direct, and make many character-defining moments. I enjoy a more clear-cut conflict. If I want moral ambiguity, I will introduce it on my own. There was one negative elements here, I must say, and it does mar the module somewhat: The module is VERY scripted. Admittedly, in an adventure of this scale, scripting makes it easier for a GM to handle, the fact is that the amount of railroading in this adventure is such than most of my players would resent it in an instant. Perhaps the adveture needed to be scripted more along the lines of Vecna Lives! from TSR. In that one, there were definite consequences for not succeeding - in fact, play in the world from that point was a VERY different matter, because the PC's refused to help, or (worse) failed. I loved the climax, but most PC's aren't going to "buy" it - by a long shot. My solution for such was to open the module up; to make a time-table of events, introduce the players to the artifact and then drop a prophecy in their laps concerning it, and see what they would do. Had they dawdled, then the forces of evil would come to them. I rather enjoy a module that has the price of failure spelled out, as well as the rewards of victory. The module contains some great moments and elements in it, but they do need to be "opened up" a bit so that the PC's can make their own decisions more.