Joshua Randall
Legend
This is a lackluster set of adventures. Here are my comments.
AGLA 1-5 Silver Lining
[sblock]Do you like helping goblins? Because the LFR writers sure think you do. This is one of at least half-a-dozen 1st-4th level advenures in which you help a monster type you should be killing.
The adventure itself is a pretty bland dungeon romp, preceded by an interminable skill challenge involving climbing a mountain. Two of the combat encounters are ridiculous. One involves two Large monsters with threatening reach 4 (!) in a room where it is literally impossible to maneuver without being in their reach. Oh, and hope you don't use ranged powers either. The other invovles a crapload of minions that, when they die, charge and explode for splash damage. If the DM rolls well, this can seriously put a hurting on the PCs.[/sblock]
BALD 1-4 Silent Streets and Vanished Souls
[sblock]Takes forever to get going, and doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. You start out investigating a kidnapping in the "Arabic" part of town, but then it turns out that lycanthropes are involved, and something about Plaguechanged creatures... it's a mess, really. The first combat is somewhat interesting, with enemies on multiple levels and a well you can push people into. The second combat against werewolves seems like it should be more fun than it is, with a raging bonfire, but in play it always seems to turn into a static slugfest.[/sblock]
Core 1-13 The Fate of Camp 15
[sblock]The best of this sad bunch of adventures. You're hired to escort a merchant while he goes around collecting pearls from the pearl divers in the area. But when you get to Camp 15, it's been decimated by lizardfolk.
Turns out the lizardfolk attacked the camp because they were set on that path by a rival merchant group, and the PCs can choose to set things right, join the rival group, turn the rivals over the lizardfolk, or just kill everyone and call it a day. There's some pretty decent fights in this one, including one that is nicely spread out -- no cramped 8x10 rooms here.[/sblock]
DALE 1-7 Arts
[sblock]Horrible. Marshall (above) did a good job of diagnosing the blatantly unfair final combat encounter.
The setting is ripped straight from Harry Potter, which is a serious drawback to my way of thinking. I also think the players (not the PCs, the players) are never given enough information to make intelligent decisions about what they should be doing. When I played this, I really had no idea why my PC was there or frankly, why I should give a crap.[/sblock]
EAST 1-4 Darkness in Delzimmer
[sblock]Remember EAST 1-1, in which you delved into the Underdark trying to find a dwarven merchan't son, but it turned out he was dead? Ever wondered what followup would come regarding the merchant's company (The Crafty Kobold) and the merchant himself?
Well, tough luck, because you're not going to find out in this adventure. Instead, it introduces a cousin or some crap like that, then ships you off to a different city. Why bother starting this adventure as a followup to EAST 1-1 and then pulling a bait and switch?
But there's more. After an series of four encounters that are neither skill challenge nor combat nor even remotely interesting (and don't give out any XP), you get to the other city and... have to meet a different guy who gives you a different mission. Seriously, WTF?
There's some really obvious skullduggery going on, and a couple of fights, the last one featuring an enemy with ridiculously high defenses. Hello, frustration as the PCs swing and miss over and over. Blah.[/sblock]
TYMA 1-4 From One Dwarf to Another
[sblock]A dwarven prospector goes missing and you're hired to find him. Turns out he ran afoul of a necromancer, and there's some undead to fight. That's it. That's the adventure. It's not bad -- at least it avoids the horrible encounter design of some of the others on this list -- but it's bland.
Oh, and if you play in TYMA a lot, you're going to rack up a huge number of Blah-Dee-Blah of House Jalt story awards. But none of them do anything. You can be walking around covered in Jalt Bling (tm) and they might consider introducing you to the Platinum Cadre... which you probably don't care about anyway because you already have your Paragon Path picked out, dontcha? I'm all for adding some flavor to the game, but flavor without meat is just pointless.[/sblock]
AGLA 1-5 Silver Lining
[sblock]Do you like helping goblins? Because the LFR writers sure think you do. This is one of at least half-a-dozen 1st-4th level advenures in which you help a monster type you should be killing.
The adventure itself is a pretty bland dungeon romp, preceded by an interminable skill challenge involving climbing a mountain. Two of the combat encounters are ridiculous. One involves two Large monsters with threatening reach 4 (!) in a room where it is literally impossible to maneuver without being in their reach. Oh, and hope you don't use ranged powers either. The other invovles a crapload of minions that, when they die, charge and explode for splash damage. If the DM rolls well, this can seriously put a hurting on the PCs.[/sblock]
BALD 1-4 Silent Streets and Vanished Souls
[sblock]Takes forever to get going, and doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. You start out investigating a kidnapping in the "Arabic" part of town, but then it turns out that lycanthropes are involved, and something about Plaguechanged creatures... it's a mess, really. The first combat is somewhat interesting, with enemies on multiple levels and a well you can push people into. The second combat against werewolves seems like it should be more fun than it is, with a raging bonfire, but in play it always seems to turn into a static slugfest.[/sblock]
Core 1-13 The Fate of Camp 15
[sblock]The best of this sad bunch of adventures. You're hired to escort a merchant while he goes around collecting pearls from the pearl divers in the area. But when you get to Camp 15, it's been decimated by lizardfolk.
Turns out the lizardfolk attacked the camp because they were set on that path by a rival merchant group, and the PCs can choose to set things right, join the rival group, turn the rivals over the lizardfolk, or just kill everyone and call it a day. There's some pretty decent fights in this one, including one that is nicely spread out -- no cramped 8x10 rooms here.[/sblock]
DALE 1-7 Arts
[sblock]Horrible. Marshall (above) did a good job of diagnosing the blatantly unfair final combat encounter.
The setting is ripped straight from Harry Potter, which is a serious drawback to my way of thinking. I also think the players (not the PCs, the players) are never given enough information to make intelligent decisions about what they should be doing. When I played this, I really had no idea why my PC was there or frankly, why I should give a crap.[/sblock]
EAST 1-4 Darkness in Delzimmer
[sblock]Remember EAST 1-1, in which you delved into the Underdark trying to find a dwarven merchan't son, but it turned out he was dead? Ever wondered what followup would come regarding the merchant's company (The Crafty Kobold) and the merchant himself?
Well, tough luck, because you're not going to find out in this adventure. Instead, it introduces a cousin or some crap like that, then ships you off to a different city. Why bother starting this adventure as a followup to EAST 1-1 and then pulling a bait and switch?
But there's more. After an series of four encounters that are neither skill challenge nor combat nor even remotely interesting (and don't give out any XP), you get to the other city and... have to meet a different guy who gives you a different mission. Seriously, WTF?
There's some really obvious skullduggery going on, and a couple of fights, the last one featuring an enemy with ridiculously high defenses. Hello, frustration as the PCs swing and miss over and over. Blah.[/sblock]
TYMA 1-4 From One Dwarf to Another
[sblock]A dwarven prospector goes missing and you're hired to find him. Turns out he ran afoul of a necromancer, and there's some undead to fight. That's it. That's the adventure. It's not bad -- at least it avoids the horrible encounter design of some of the others on this list -- but it's bland.
Oh, and if you play in TYMA a lot, you're going to rack up a huge number of Blah-Dee-Blah of House Jalt story awards. But none of them do anything. You can be walking around covered in Jalt Bling (tm) and they might consider introducing you to the Platinum Cadre... which you probably don't care about anyway because you already have your Paragon Path picked out, dontcha? I'm all for adding some flavor to the game, but flavor without meat is just pointless.[/sblock]
