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[GX.Sigma]

Correct me if I'm wrong, in published date order:

1. Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle
2. Murder in Baldur's Gate
3. Legacy of the Crystal Shard
4. Scourge of the Sword Coast

That's all right?

I've read a few reviews of the first two, but has anyone played the last couple and are they any good? I'm thinking of starting a campaign with some newbs and wondering which one of these is worth trying.

Thanks.

I found Baldur's Gate to be a terrible adventure. It just doesn't give the players anything to do, at least early on. It gets cool later, but the players don't want to play after the first 3 sessions are "NPC tells you to investigate something; it turns out to be nothing." Both of my groups quit the adventure within a few sessions because they were so bored and frustrated.

I haven't run Legacy of the Crystal Shard yet. It seems to have some of the same problems, but it's more of an overt sandbox with implicit goals, so it probably plays way better.

Scourge of the Sword Coast is great for what it is: 5 fleshed-out monster lairs (each of which is a 2-parter, with each part being one session), with a story connecting them. Whether that's worth $18 is another matter, when it would have been both cheaper and much more useable if it were, say, 10 pages. The presentation really works against the content here, which means it takes a lot more preparation than it should. It's a step forward in adventure design, but a big step backward in presentation. I'd wait for a price drop on this one.

I've read parts of Dragonspear Castle, and it seems pretty good.

 

[heptat]

I found Baldur's Gate to be a terrible adventure. It just doesn't give the players anything to do, at least early on. It gets cool later, but the players don't want to play after the first 3 sessions are "NPC tells you to investigate something; it turns out to be nothing." Both of my groups quit the adventure within a few sessions because they were so bored and frustrated.

Thanks, yeah I hadn't really read anything good about this one.

Scourge of the Sword Coast is great for what it is: 5 fleshed-out monster lairs (each of which is a 2-parter, with each part being one session), with a story connecting them. Whether that's worth $18 is another matter, when it would have been both cheaper and much more useable if it were, say, 10 pages. The presentation really works against the content here, which means it takes a lot more preparation than it should. It's a step forward in adventure design, but a big step backward in presentation. I'd wait for a price drop on this one.

"A lot more preparation" is really unfortunate as at my age time is not something I have a lot of. I'll give Scourge a read through though.

I've read parts of Dragonspear Castle, and it seems pretty good.

I'll read this one too.

Thanks again!

 

[GX.Sigma]

"A lot more preparation" is really unfortunate as at my age time is not something I have a lot of. I'll give Scourge a read through though.

Keep in mind, when I say "a lot," I mean relative to good adventure presentation. Relative to other TSR/WotC/Paizo adventures, it's probably about average. (Okay, it's not nearly as bad as Undermountain, but you get my point.)

 

[Mistwell]

Thanks, yeah I hadn't really read anything good about this one.



"A lot more preparation" is really unfortunate as at my age time is not something I have a lot of. I'll give Scourge a read through though.



I'll read this one too.

Thanks again!

I totally disagree with his assessment of Scourge. I am running it practically blind, and it works great. Literally less than 30 mins prep before each session. I find the presentation clear, concise, and straight forward.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I totally disagree with his assessment of Scourge. I am running it practically blind, and it works great. Literally less than 30 mins prep before each session. I find the presentation clear, concise, and straight forward.

It works, but I disagree that it works great. You can see my DnDClassics review for some of my criticisms. To give an example from last night's session, there was the following room:

The western door leading to this room has been boarded shut (Strength DC 25 to break). Each of the six boards can be pried loose (Strength DC 10, or automatic using a crowbar or similar tool).

The floor of this room is littered with wooden wreckage from various broken crates, pallets, and chests. A spider the size of a dog crouches in the dust near the northern wall. A stone staircase ascends to a pile of rubble in the southwest corner. In the southern wall is a 5-foot-wide circular tunnel.

Creatures: A grick is hiding on the stairs near the rubble when the characters arrive.
Rubble: At the top of the stairs is a pile of masonry that obstructs an open trapdoor into area 4. It would take one person 4 hours to remove all the rubble and create an exit.
Secret Door: hidden in the eastern wall is a narrow secret door (DC 15 Intelligence [Search] to find) that leads to a tunnel 5 feet wide and 8 feet tall.
Spider: The “spider” is actually the desiccated exoskeleton of a monstrous specimen.

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to run blind if it was written like this?:

27. Warehouse. Filled with dust and debris; nothing of interest except a Giant Spider (actually just a molted exoskeleton). Rubble at top of stairs blocks trapdoor, takes 4 man-hours to clear. Grick hiding in rubble (AC 12; hp 9; move 30 ft.; attacks tentacle/bite, +3/+3 to hit, 9 slashing/4 piercing)

[assuming that the map clearly shows that the door is blocked]

Again, I'm comparing it to what I consider the gold standard of adventure presentation, and most people probably don't have such high standards.

 

[frogimus]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to run blind if it was written like this?:...

Yes, but I would separate the "monster" to its own line. I personally dislike the read aloud text in modern adventures, but it seems that publishers want DMs to be lawyers instead if storytellers.

 

[jodyjohnson]

The Sundering modules are experimenting with the different styles.

Murder was very much intrigue and investigation heavy. Probably the least structured with the timeline as a guideline.

Crystal Shard was a mix.

Scourge has investigation and then locations requiring a tactical assault (not dungeons but occupied fortifications).

Dead in Thay sounds like a massive dungeon crawl. Greg Bilsland twittered that it was intended to handle multiple tables running through it Vault of the Dracolich style. Vault also was intended to have characters die, sometimes repeatedly.

 

[Klaus]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to run blind if it was written like this?:
[assuming that the map clearly shows that the door is blocked]

No for me, actually. I vastly prefer the bullet points calling out the major elements of the room, to make sure I don't miss them.

 

[Morrus]

It works, but I disagree that it works great. You can see my DnDClassics review for some of my criticisms. To give an example from last night's session, there was the following room:


Wouldn't it be a lot easier to run blind if it was written like this?:
[assuming that the map clearly shows that the door is blocked]

Again, I'm comparing it to what I consider the gold standard of adventure presentation, and most people probably don't have such high standards.

Yikes. I wouldn't buy a module written in pidgin English. It at least needs full sentences to get my money.

 

[frogimus]

Sentences overrated. Subject, action, done.