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Roses of Reckoning (BoA)


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Roses of Reckoning

Mac/Windows

 

Author: Terror's Martyr

Difficulty: 1-6

Version: 1.0.0

 

[composite=eyJ0aXRsZSI6IlJvc2VzIG9mIFJlY2tvbmluZyAoQm9BKSIsInRpZCI6IjEyMzQ2IiwidGFncyI6WyJiZWdpbm5lciIsImJsYWRlcyBvZiBleGlsZSBwb3J0IiwibGluZWFyIiwic2hvcnQiXSwiYmdhc3AiOnsiNSI6MCwiNCI6NCwiMyI6NywiMiI6MCwiMSI6MH19]

Composite Score: 3.4/5.0

 

Best: 0.00% (0/11)

Good: 36.36% (4/11)

Average: 63.64% (7/11)

Substandard: 0.00% (0/11)

Poor: 0.00% (0/11)

[encouragenecro]

 

[/composite]

 

Keywords: Beginner, Blades of Exile Port, Linear, Short

Edited by SylaeBot
Automated Sybot edit; worker IPB::csrThread/vanadium
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Alright, it's only been a few years since this was released, and I think it's about time I gave Roses of Reckoning a legit review.

 

First off, RoR deserves some credit for being the first third-party BoA scenario released. However, it is incredibly self-indulgent, with TM himself making a rather blatant and ego-serving cameo, directly belittling past designers, and incredibly frequent hints to buy Blades of Exile. Oh, and it attempts to shoe-horn a philosophy class or two into the story (which isn't bad in itself, it just could've and should've been handled more elegantly, even though that is clearly missing the point of the scenario).

 

Things that RoR does well include dungeon design and proper rewards for fights, as I never ran out of spell energy with the energy potions that kept dropping. The final town was decent, particularly considering that BoA was in its infancy here.

 

However, RoR also does a really good job of hating on the player. TM has frequently admitted that he hates his players, and it shows. In most fights, even on Normal difficulty, you will either breeze on through or get destroyed before you can blink. Lots of enemies have the ability to take you down in the blink of an eye if you let them start casting spells on one another, and you'll be taking a lot of direct damage.

 

Also, there's the matter of hiding plot-critical items behind hidden passages. That's just mean. I'm pretty sure that when I first played through this scenario, I had to cheat myself up a piercing crystal. I don't like doing that.

 

In the end, it's solid, but it's bogged down by the fact that TM hates his players, as well as BoA's relative newness.

 

Rating: [rating]Average[/rating]

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  • 2 weeks later...

I never registered BoE, so Roses of Reckoning was all new and exiting to me.

 

I don't like the way TM threw random googled images around in RoR. Other than that RoR is a pretty solid short scenario in terms of design. The towns were all neat and tidy.

 

My party wasn't a starter party when they entered RoR and I can't remember exactly what level they were but it was low nonetheless. I still got killed a couple of times, so I can't blame the fights for being too easy. If you hate undead don't play RoR. The baddies are 100 % undead. Nonetheless, combat is the only true selling point Ror

 

The female vampire had crazy mood swings. At one point she's remorseful and at another point she just wants to kill the player as well. The story progresses because TM forces the player to care about the fate of a widow. Couldn't this have been done any other way?

 

RoR is short and not painful to play, but it's not terribly exciting either and all players who don't want a lecture about morality should avoid RoR like the plague.

 

Rating: [rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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  • 1 year later...

From Linthar on the CSR:

 

Wow I get to make the first rating for the first 3rd party scenario.

 

I found the scenario highly enjoying. A few problems were had but the readme helped. If valley of dying things can be called to easy to me I'll call this scenario slightly to hard. Usually I could get through fights but the worst part of the scenario was the constant battle with vampires which was give and take as if two of them decided to cast ice lances all of my characters died. If I got lucky and could kill a few before they did that or they cast summon aid the battles went fine. The real thing I liked about this scenario is I don't have much experience with all the different tactics available in blades of avernum and this scenario really was a good course in tactics because you were going to need them and the readme was kind enough to have tactics for the difficult battles although I didn't need help with any of the manner after the ruby skeleton battle (in which I got lucky the second time and the rear to skeletons for some reason never fired any rays even though they had the chance).

 

All in all a enjoyable scenario, although do not that I am easy to please. So I give this first rating of [rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From Lillith on the CSR:

 

It's got a sweet little plot, but it feels a little self-indulgent in places. Combat, for the most part, is tactically interesting, although the crypts get slightly repetitive, and other fights are occasionally unfair. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary seemed to be done with monster/NPC behaviour, with the notable and commendable exception of the final battle.

 

The main dungeon is generally well-designed, and the other towns and dungeons are competent if unremarkable. Items and skills purchasable in this scenario seem slightly overpowered for a low-level scenario, but I'm quite aware my opinions on party advancement aren't shared by everyone.

 

Nothing special, and it had its frustrating points, but enjoyable enough.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From an unknown reviewer on the CSR:

 

Combat was fun, as others have noted. A bit hard in places, but that's probably because I needed the lessons in tactics that it gave me. Enduring Barrier dealt with most of my problems.

 

I like this scenario less now that I'm analyzing it. Playing it through the first time, I liked it a lot, but now...

 

The bad guys just didn't do it for me. Hana's remorse seemed a bit forced ("I feel ashamed for drinking the blood of innocents for hundreds of years." "Well, jeez, then, why didn't you feel this way a lot earlier?"), but not enough to hurt the scenario much. Meanwhile, the player is forced to make certain responses in dialog boxes that I found a bit too self-righteous and goodie-goodie. Also, the attempt at moral ambiguity was, well, too bald-faced.

 

On a completely different level, the mixture of different kinds of pictures messed with me a little. Not a big deal, though. It was also altogether too small. What, one quest? Was that it? Was that the scenario? But again, that's an issue of little importance.

 

None of these problems interfered with my enjoyment of this scenario. Overall good plot, very competent use of scripts, very good cut scenes (something that Jeff's scenarios lack), and at least one gorgeous Luz graphic. All the things that I've read one can expect from a TM scenario: humor, cameos, and general fun. I rate it as: good.

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From an unknown Reviewer on the CSR:

 

This is not a real scenario, and it never felt like one to me. It was a test of the editor that never took itself seriously. I really hated the real-world graphics in the scenario and the TM cameos were way overdone. You will see much better in the future from TM and everyone else.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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From Morgan on the CSR:

 

While the constant references to BoE were annoying (and if TM does that in future scenarios, I will come after him with a large knife) and there was one glaring plot hole, I still had fun with this scenario. The combat was fun, if a little easy once you worked out the strategy for dealing with it.

 

Maybe a few years down the line, when we're swamped with hordes of excellent scenarios, my rating will drop slightly. As it is -

 

[rating]GOOD[/rating]

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From Nioca on the CSR:

 

Poor execution. However, I'll focus on the pros first.

 

It had some excellent combat. Except for in a few spots, it straddled the line between difficult and frustrating, and wasn't tedious either. The plot was okay, though it could have been better. The characters in the town were fun, though they could have been a little less humorous; It doesn't fit in with the theme of the scenario.

 

Now for the bad. The first MASSIVE peeve I had was the intro. Out of three full intro pages, two of them preached on and on about something (post modernism) that, quite honestly, had nothing to do with the scenario at all. If it connected to the plot in even the slightest way, I probably wouldn't have been so ticked about reading through the whole thing.

 

And speaking of plot, the cliches really didn't help, nor did Hana's and Kurojutso's sob story. I didn't find the pictures all that impressive either.

 

The constant 'Buy BoE, it's much better than this crap' that was thrown at me was highly irritating, and most certainly didn't belong there. As for that Jeremy fellow... no. Just no. I actually modified the script here just so I could kick his butt without having an insta-kill call KO my party.

 

You also had to do unusual things just to push the plot along. Why do I need to go to a training center? I'm pretty sure my characters can spar during their travels.

 

Overall, it kept me entertained. And that counts for something. I just wish there was more to it than good combat and a little bit of flash.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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From Jewels on SV:

 

Good for what it is. A ported BoE scenario. I didn't get excited about it because I had already played it, showing that replayability is low. There were a couple of bugs, but the ones that stood out are more game engine problems then designer mistakes. Just a little trip down memory lane.

 

[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]

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  • 10 years later...

I give this a rating of "good." 

 

Some of the combat is pretty hard for a low level party, and you may just be screwed if your party is particularly low and not built right. That said, it involves a little experimentation to do things best (wipe out the vampires real quick), and I like having to figure that out. Also, you may be in a lot more trouble with low lockpicking skill, or no lockpicks. 

 

I like the storyline. There are a few secrets. I liked the thiev.es guild (you can find it. It took me a little while).

 

I would have given it a best rating, if not for how easy it is for some parties to just be screwed, with no way of exiting the scenario, if they're not competent enough. Keep a back-up save if your party is particularly low level before you get very far into this.

Edited by Clintone
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