Keep on the Shadowfell - mini review ! <Very mild spoilers>

[bramadan]

I will be demo-ing KotS in my local game store this coming weekend (Drexoll Games - Vancouver, BC) and just wanted to put in a few words about what I think about the adventure (having read it)

From the plot point of view it is simple but very charming in the nostalgic old-DnD kind of way

I am on the fence as to the physical presentation of the product - it is very clever (and the print and full color are gorgeous) but I have feeling it is not made to last. I guess that is not too bad for an adventure module.
I wish they put in 2-3 more poster maps so I don't have to carry around my dungeon tiles but it is not a biggie - and they did choose the best encounters to map out given constraints.

I *absolutely* love the monster stat blocks and the "just add up the XP" method of encounter design. I have strong feeling that fun/preparation ratio for 4ed will go through the roof.

Adventure encounters themselves seem interesting and challenging - some seem mad crazy hard but I can see how they can be manageable with good team work and decent strategy. This will not be an easy adventure.

There is only very few skill-challenge encounters but they seem like they make sense. I expect they did not want to overload it in what is essentially a preview module.

Traps and hazards are brilliant, better then in any DnD edition so far by a stretch, both in presentation and in what they do. Combining traps and combat was also done very well indeed.

There is a subtle but decent hook for the H2 giving the semblance of the real campaign for the folks who want to just follow the published adventures.

All in all - I very much envision this adventure becoming "iconic" in the tradition of Keep on Borderlands and Village of Hommlet. It seems a good introduction to new rules and challenging task in its own right.
I will certainly post the impressions after the game on Saturday.

If anyone has any burning questions about the module answering which does not involve me scanning or re-typing large chunks of text - feel free to ask, not sure how often I will be around to answer but I will do what I can

In the end - I may have one or two more spots if there is anyone in Vancouver who wants to play (and is free next Saturday between noon and 6PM). Either drop me a PM or just say so in the thread.

 

[TheLordWinter]

I'd be curious to know what the skill challenges are like. Do they follow the model shown on the Skill Challenges excerpt where a successful challenge opens up other challenges of varying degrees of difficulty, or do we see the more free-form style discussed in the PrRC and at D&D XP, where players have the freedom to decide how they interact with any particular challenge and use skills as they see fit?

 

[Wormwood]

Thanks for the review---you touched on most of my main concerns. Nicely done!

 

[Korgoth]

Does it come with all the maps you need, or do you need some custom maps as well?

 

[bramadan]

Skill challenges are very basic - succeed in skill X or skill Y so many times before so many failures. No fancy stuff of any sort. I honestly do not think they were planning to showcase the skill challenges much in this adventure

Poster maps cover most of the early encounters and the two final ones. In the middle "dungeon" encounters will need battle-mat or dungeon tiles. Detailed maps of the encounter areas are provided in the adventure but one will need some ways of projecting them onto the tabletop.

 

[Klaus]

Skill challenges are very basic - succeed in skill X or skill Y so many times before so many failures. No fancy stuff of any sort. I honestly do not think they were planning to showcase the skill challenges much in this adventure

Poster maps cover most of the early encounters and the two final ones. In the middle "dungeon" encounters will need battle-mat or dungeon tiles. Detailed maps of the encounter areas are provided in the adventure but one will need some ways of projecting them onto the tabletop.

bramadan, could you give quick descriptions of these creatures? No stats, just a quick appearance description (include equipment and weapon, if needed) and main attack:

[sblock]Goblin Sharpshooters
fat goblin
Guard Drakes
Gnome
Hobgoblin Torturer
Zombie Rotters
Decrepit Skeletons
Skeleton Knight
Kruthik
Corruption Corpses
Zombie Rotters
Clay Scout
Orcus Underpriest
Deathlock wight
[/sblock]

 

[ozprince]

Can you post some of the magic items so we can see what sort of rewards there are?

 

[phil500]

I have a question- does the adventure limit how often they can get full rests?

as in, they need to make it thru these 5 encounters etc. without a daily.

 

[Gundark]

Is it all dungeon crawls? Or is there other types of adventuring going on?

 

[pukunui]

I understand that Winterhaven includes shops with items to buy but does not list the prices for the easy items. I'd like to know how you, bramadan, plan on dealing with that sort of thing?

In a broader sense, can you tell us whether it would be a fair assessment to say that the adventure itself was written with the assumption that the DM, at least, has the full core rules? From everything I've heard about KotS, that's the impression that I get--namely, that the adventure itself is a full-blown 4th Edition adventure that assumes you have access to the full rules ... the only thing that makes it a "preview" is that it's coming out before the core books, and, because of that, they've had to cobble together a "quick start" guide that doesn't quite take into account everything that the adventure assumes the players will know about. Would that be correct? Or am I way off?