What ever happened to L4?

[GT]

Len was working on this for the past couple of years, and up until this past Fall it seemed to be on track; but I haven't heard anything since... ^__^

[GT]

Anybody heard anything... couldn't find anything new at Dragonsfoot...

[Scott]

Haven't heard.

[grodog]

It's supposedly appearing soon-ish, and is basically being held up by DF production vs. by Len or editors (as I understand it).

[Merkholz]

Recent discussion on DF states that L4 is a huge monster (about the size of PHB rather than L1-2) in the final stages of editing. L5 is even bigger and is finished. Apparantly the project has required the aid of farmers and geologists to make it factual. It is stated that the hp of every sheep on Lendore is revealed. A bit too much unnecessary info in my book but I'm really looking forward to these modules.

M

[geneweigel]

Since it seems like a spell called "Leomund's Incongruous Overextrapolation" was the trademark style for most of his Dragon articles this sounds like the "real Len" is actually back in action...

At least, it'll be better than seeing the old forgotten style called "Arneson's Rageful Overaggrandizement" again... (I hope that didn't surface in the new Blackmoor! Cause I didn't ever look at it!)

[GT]

I got the impression from Gary and Dave that after the initial disagreement, most of the hostile feelings were carried on by the fans of one side or the other. But Gary was the first and best. HAR!!!!!! ^__^

[Gnarley Bones]

I came on board very late in the game after L4 had steamrolled its way through the D4 production team. In essence, this work demonstrated the limitations of an all-volunteer force. It was just too big and too involved.

The "delay" was really caused by volunteer editors bailing on the project. Not at first, of course, only after many "I'm working on it," "I'll get to to you next weekend," "Almost done now," before the volunteer vanished into the ether of the Internet.

We finally got two brave souls to plow through it all and then reconcile their edits. Stuart Marshall and I then went through the whole shebang and formatted it (it took me about a month). As we speak, John Adams of Brave Halfling Publishing is putting it into pdf form. It was a 198 pg double-spaced Word document; not sure what it will look like doble-columned with artwork and maps.

There is also an "L4 Companion" that includes additional Lendore Isle lore; that will probably be released shortly after L4.

The rumors are true; there is a L5; I have it on my hard-drive. Once L4 is out the door and those involved can breath easy, I'll coordinate a team to see L5 through as well.

As to what L4 is like, I would direct the curious to the second part of Bone Hill, the portion of the module that describes Restenford. It's a lot more like that.

[Merkholz]

Great news! I really want/need to flesh out my Lendore isle. Though I'm not so fond of sheep I hope there are plenty of other encounters, nymphs perhaps?

M

[GT]

Is there going to be a Len-version of L3 "Deep Dwarven Delve" done? I've heard he was none too fond of the official release cobbled together from some of his notes... ^__^

[Merkholz]

I believe that the greedy- company-formerly-known-as-TSR lost Len's notes to L3 so they are forever gone from this world. I really would like to know which parts of L3 that are from Len and which were dreamed up by a WotC exec.

M

[amalric]

I'm really looking forward to this. I was always very fond of those islands.

[Gnarley Bones]

I don't think we'll see his version of L3; I believe it to be a sore subject with him.

For those digging Len's work, he's been writing articles for Footprints, DF's e-zine for several years. He's discussed some good ol' Greyhawk gems such as the origin of Llerg's name (HINT: The deity's name had to be changed after the Fiend Folio was published) and the origin of Nystul (grodog, you need to update your site!).

[GT]

Aww, c'mon Gnarley! Break with the info here, for old times sake! ;D

[ghul]

Looking forward to these future L-series adventures. Without a doubt, Len had his own vision for his little corner of GH, and I know its use of deities included a few head-scratchers, but the adventures were solid (IMO).

[GT]

Indded; at times the deities in particular were "incongruous", and Len and Rob had a difference in idea as to Lendore, but all-in-all his lower-level basis and ideas for the likes of Alchemists and Death Masters was quite cool! ^__^

[Gnarley Bones]

May 29, 2009 18:12:19 GMT -5 GT said:

Aww, c'mon Gnarley! Break with the info here, for old times sake! ;D

Jeez, they're free friggin' downloads for Pete's sakes!

Len's Artisans and Smiths (from Footrpints #7 and Dragon #70, respectively) figure into L4, there's quite a bit more about his versions of the deities -and those that worship them.

The rocking cover, by Brian "Glad" Thomas is here: www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20770&start=360.

The update: John Adams didn't work out, but Chris Gonnerman heroically picked up the pieces and is putting this beast into final form. So, it began as an "out of house" DF production, but in the end came back "in house" to get done. Len is giving L5 a final once-over, then I'm rounding up a team of dedicated volunteers to tackle it. If anyone is interested, please keep an eye on the DF 1E Forum.

[Gnarley Bones]

I should add that Len is working on L6 ...

[Merkholz]

L4 and a campaign companion are available for download on DF. It is definetely worth a look for those who liked L1-2.

M

[Gnarley Bones]

What struck me upon reading it, was that it was a giant-sized version of L1. Like L1 it sets forth a description of a town (in this case three towns) and the surrounding wilderness area. Like L2, there is a timeline of events that will occur as the PCs explore the area; it's up to the players to get involved or not. I've seen dissatisfaction on some boards as the final product could never live up to the hype and expectation. I think many gamers have forgotten how L1 is presented and, ultimately, L4 is what Len wanted it to be, not what any particular subset of the gaming community wanted it to be.