Keep on the Shadowfell....

[MaelStorm]

Uh, no. In fact, KotS comes out just a week or two before the core books.

The DM booklet referred to is obviously the adventure itself. Not sure what's going to be in the Player booklet, but It won't just be a miniature PHB.

I'm talking about the second adventure.

 

[MaelStorm]

SoulsFury think the follow-up adventure will be available before the Core Books release.

 

[Jhaelen]

Can anyone explain why they're releasing KotS BEFORE the rules? I know it includes a little play guide, but why do that? Obviously a play guide won't include all the rules necessary for play, or it'd be one big "quick start" guide. So why bother?

I can imagine not everyone will want to buy all three rulebooks before knowing if they'll actually like the game. It's therefore an inexpensive way to give the new system a try. Makes complete sense to me.

 

[The Little Raven]

Can anyone explain why they're releasing KotS BEFORE the rules?

- All the basic rules needed to play the specific adventure (Keep on the Shadowfell), including combat rules.
- 5 pre-generated 1st-level characters.
- Rules for advancing those characters up to 3rd level, including powers for each of them.

I know it includes a little play guide, but why do that? Obviously a play guide won't include all the rules necessary for play, or it'd be one big "quick start" guide. So why bother?

Um... if a "play guide" doesn't have the rules so you can "play," then it's not really a "play guide," now is it?

Why make it so that I either buy it and wait a month or two to play it or DM it right away and then can't level the characters until the rules come out, causing consternation? I see absolutely no upside. I mean yes, I'm going to pick it up early, but mainly to look at it and drool over some new rules. But I can't imagine it's just a big preview...

You're right that it doesn't make sense to release a product that is unusable for a month after it's release... and it also doesn't make sense to think that WotC would release something completely unusable (especially since the description explicitly states you'll be able to use it before the core books come out).

Get a jump on 4th Edition with Keep on the Shadowfell™, a D&D® adventure for characters of levels 1–3. This adventure includes a quick-start rulebook, an adventure booklet, a players’ booklet, 3 poster maps, and pre-generated characters. Additional adventure content will be presented on D&D Insider™ (www.dndinsider.com).

It clearly lists everything you'd need in the description.