General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
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This product is 56 pages long and free. Cover, credits, intro and ToC take up 4 pages. I counted 17 pages of adds many of them for other Rite... [Read More]
Evocative City Sites Lorn's Entrepot (Abandoned Warehouse) by Rite Publishing. I was given this product for the purposes of this review. This product is 47 pages long. Cover, Credits, two pages of... [Read More]
Feats 101 by Rite Publishing. I was given this product for the purposes of this review. I have not yet played using these feats my review is based on reading the feats and checking a few against... [Read More]
The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos is a 4e D&D product describing some of the different planes in the 4e Cosmology. The book is a typical hard bound book that Wizards of the Coast... [Read More]
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After the whole pdf thing, I think this is a very smart and classy move. They needed to do something like this to show some goodwill towards their customers. This was a very good way to do that. Will it be enough to bring some people back? I don't really know. I do know it's not enough for me, but it is a move in the right direction. I also think it's a brilliant way to bring even more new players into the game. The page with the downloads was very effectively made with links to the core books. And the character builder teaser is a nice touch also.
Good job, WotC.
__________________ Mark "El Mahdi" Armstrong - Semper Operor Verus
". . . after all, that is why we're here. Kill the last bad guy and then there's cake." - Major General Jack O'Neal
For people who want the posters: IIRC, most if not all of the poster maps in KotS were from the fantastic locations line. This could allow someone to buy the poster maps without having to buy an adventure they already have.
So WotC still thinks that a L+5 encounter is appropriate for the 3rd encounter that a new player is going to experience? Um? It looks like it WAS made a little easier, but it's still L+5...
I have to admit, this is a really cool thing for WotC to do for 4e fans. Now excuse me while I convert this module to 3.5 for my own purposes.
__________________ Robert Blezard I write; therefore, I am!
D&D v.3.5, d20 Modern, OSRIC, Pathfinder, True20... OGL Forever! Walk the Road
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So WotC still thinks that a L+5 encounter is appropriate for the 3rd encounter that a new player is going to experience? Um? It looks like it WAS made a little easier, but it's still L+5...
It's doable, but tough.
It's also fairly optional, when it comes down to it. You can finish the entire adventure without facing Irontooth. Better yet, you can come back to him when you hit 2nd or 3rd level and have a much easier time of things.
Personally, love it. I think it feels like a throwback to those wonderful killer encounters in 1e - a fairly unbalanced, high-risk, high-reward optional side-quest. Like, say, following that secret passage under the tower in ToEE...
While this is really nice for the players, what does this mean for any FLGS that have copies sitting on the shelf?
Hard to say. Some free PDFs have led to higher hard copy sales for various RPG publishers . . . but I don't think a massive study has been done on the subject (at least not one that's been made public).
This module's been in the retail chain long enough I doubt it will seriously impact retail sales. Now, if they released a free download for "E1: Death's Reach" (released this month) . . . I'd be more curious what kind of impact that would have!
__________________ Brian Zuber
Fan of all D&D editions and campaign settings.
Required reading for the edition warrior: Fan Dumb on TVTropes.org.
It's funny that so many people say that KotS isn't such a great adventure. Yet I have stolen a lot from it. A part of my base plot in the online campaign uses material from KotS - it provides me with a nice starting city and a few NPC to run around. Of course I removed most of the plot line (the Keep is still intact, protected by Nerathi Guardians and much more changes).
The fact that they updated the adventure is neat, especially considering it is free.
Thoughts of the Arch Chancellor - My weblog on EN World - containing game related material, like: house rules, design theories, reviews, play reports, adventure ideas
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I'm personally inclined to go with six successes myself.
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