Soren Keis Thustrup (part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of a 3 part interview with Søren Keis Thustrup. Siobharek on the AE forums, author of the Circle of Rites adventure. You can find part 1 here


12. What did you learn about Circle of Rites during play-testing? (prototype, beta, or both) What did you change as a result?
Mostly that it worked, and as far as I recall I didn't change an awful lot. I remember tightening the connections between the different clues. That's a thing to learn - about adventure writing in general and murder mysteries in particular: Don't assume your reader (the DM) is stupid, but don't make him work for the information. The Pathfinder series from Paizo - brilliant as it is - does make you sweat for the info, but that's mostly because it's so packed with stuff. So I take it on faith that I will get a reference there, but I wouldn't expect anyone to trust me to know what I was doing. Therefore: Spell it out, connnections, secrets, things to come later in the adventure.

13. Did you make any other mistakes or miscalculations in the design process? How did you fix them?
I... don't think so. I caught one my editor made. For some reason he thought the hawk totem warriors in the warehouse should be sprytes, and he gave them dire arrows to make up for the reduction in damage. Of course, there's no such thing, and with half an hour to go before the adventure went into production, the Shattering weapon ability was born.

14. Are you happy with where Circle of Rites is today?
Yeah. As of a few months ago, it was still selling, which I find amazing. I'd love for it to have company in the form of more adventures by the same author, though ;-)

15. What makes a good AE product?
That it showcases how AE works and what sets it apart from other d20.

16. What is your favorite AE product (besides yours and the core book)?Where to start?
... Mystic Secrets is, I think, very under-estimated and -appreciated. But it's Legacy of the Dragons that will always accompany me into the Lands of the Diamond Throne. Oh, and Spell Treasury is THE most useful book for converting adventures. Seriously, don't read Dungeon or Pathfinder without it.

17. What is your favorite Non-Monte AE product and why?
Let's go with Mystic Secrets. Mike Mearls made a great book there. The ideas about runes are so AE while they at the same time open up for a lot of additional stuff. That said, I will buy anything with Bill Collins' name on it (he's co-written Akashic Nodes and Tell It To My Axe, for starters).


18. What is your favorite Non-Malhavoc press AE product and why?
Siege on Ebonring Keep is so HUGE and it has so much adventure in it. Plague of Dreams from Fiery Dragon had the distinction of being the first adventure, and it did a bang-up job of setting up the world, but Siege just had more. And it played a large part in my own campaign, but that's another story ;-)

19. What has been your best moment playing with an AE product?
Having a player crack open the core book, start reading and with a chuckle say, "This is so cool." Honestly, my players love AE and won't ever go back, I think.

20. What has been your most memorable fan response to Circle of Rites?
There wasn't one that stood out. I've had a lot of positive comments - especially on Monte's boards - but there wasn't one that leapt out at me.

21. What role do you think Circle of Rites plays in the AE gaming community?
LOL! I honestly don't know. I hope people use it, and if my next adventure, Beyond Creation, ever sees the light of day, I'll make sure to tell everybody how the two are connected.

22. To You knowledge has Circle of Rites ever been played using Fantasy Grounds?
Not to my knowledge, no.
Continue to part 3