We've been prepping for Chult since it was announced early this summer. I think we anticipated it as a setting before that, and had already been working toward it as a setting. At least, we were thinking pirates, jungles and exploring lost ruins. It fit with where we wanted to go.
Now that Tomb of Annihilation is out, even more of what we had been looking for is present in the adventure. Particularly the notion of traps and more skill based interactions. The adventure seems to be full of them. I think the idea of going on a madcap adventure through the jungle, whip in hand, leaping pits, swinging from vine to vine, and avoiding snakes and rolling stones, has been in the heads of many D&D players for nearly 40 years! If they hadn't heard of Tarzan or Rider Haggard by the 80s, they latched onto Indiana Jones and spent years trying to replicate that emotional feeling in game form.
I'm impressed with the adventure book. There are interesting options in any direction you choose to go. And frankly, that is a great part of this book's appeal... you start in Port Nyanzaru, and enter the jungle anywhere you want. After that, all roads lead to the heart of the book, but in a near infinite variety of routes. If you want to fight undead, you can. If you want a dragon hunt, you can chase one. You can deal with pirates, giants, lost world prehistoric monsters, etc.
The encounters seem to all carry elements of puzzles, that can add to the experience. I'm still getting into the heart of it, but it looks even these elements can be played through or around. That is quite an accomplishment. For the last three months, particularly after last year's Storm King's Thunder, there's been a concern about how the book would fail to deliver on its possibilities. That it actually delivers above and beyond is rewarding and refreshing.
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