D&D 5E (2014) Are the 5E playtest adventures worth buying?

[painted_klown]

To those running these adventures:

Are you using the various kits that were available, or do the PDF versions on D&D Classics come with everything you need to run these modules?

I am curious as I paid some fairly good money (on an online auction web site) to buy the physical copies of Vault of Dracolich & Ghosts of Dragonspear, only to discover that these were parts of kits, and you cannot really run the modules without all of the materials in the kits!!!

I suppose, I should have known exactly what I was buying, but neither of these auctions mentioned that you cannot run these modules without the full kits that were with them.

If indeed, the purchased PDF versions on D&D Classics will get me to where I need to be to be able to run them, I will have to break down and double dip. Otherwise, it's money wasted...

 

[machineelf]

Legacy of the Crystal Shard: Great sandbox adventure. It will take a some preparation (basically reading through the whole thing a few times), but well worth it. My players still have fond memories of their time in Icewind Dale well after playing through this adventure.

Scourge of the Sword Coast and Dead in Thay: Very lackluster and boring. Also very railroaded. I would not recommend.

 

[dd.stevenson]

Running a mash up right now of Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle and Scourge of the Sword Coast. My group is having a blast and enjoying them and they are good adventures all around. Stats from DragonSpear Castle are slightly outdated but I'm using them as is with no difference. Stats for Scourge are spot on with only very minor differences that again I'm just running as is. I have Dead in Thay and I don't care for it at all. It's a giant crawl with a strange story. I won't be running that one.

That is my experience, exactly.

 

[pukunui]

I'm in the middle of running Legacy of the Crystal Shard, which I have updated to the final 5e rules and also upgraded to levels 3-5 (as I felt the adventure's scope is a bit too grand for 1st level). It's a great adventure with multiple threads running through it, so the players can choose their own course. The only downside I've found is the lack of description for some encounter locations, although it has been pretty fun filling in those gaps myself.

I can't speak to any of the others as I haven't played them, although Scourge of the Sword Coast looks like it has some really nice adventure locations that I've been considering uprooting and placing in some future adventure (particularly the lodge and the elf castle). I wouldn't mind giving Murder in Baldur's Gate a go but unfortunately a fair number of my players have already played that one as part of the local Encounters program.

I am curious as I paid some fairly good money (on an online auction web site) to buy the physical copies of Vault of Dracolich & Ghosts of Dragonspear, only to discover that these were parts of kits, and you cannot really run the modules without all of the materials in the kits!!!

You absolutely can ran those modules without the Encounters kits. Everything you need for the adventure itself is in the adventure book. You can substitute monster stats with the finished versions in the MM (or tweak any unique ones that aren't in the MM), and use the final rules that are in the PHB. The kits just contained extra tidbits for the DMs running the adventures as part of the Encounters program.

 

[painted_klown]

I'm in the middle of running Legacy of the Crystal Shard, which I have updated to the final 5e rules and also upgraded to levels 3-5 (as I felt the adventure's scope is a bit too grand for 1st level). It's a great adventure with multiple threads running through it, so the players can choose their own course. The only downside I've found is the lack of description for some encounter locations, although it has been pretty fun filling in those gaps myself.

I can't speak to any of the others as I haven't played them, although Scourge of the Sword Coast looks like it has some really nice adventure locations that I've been considering uprooting and placing in some future adventure (particularly the lodge and the elf castle). I wouldn't mind giving Murder in Baldur's Gate a go but unfortunately a fair number of my players have already played that one as part of the local Encounters program.

You absolutely can ran those modules without the Encounters kits. Everything you need for the adventure itself is in the adventure book. You can substitute monster stats with the finished versions in the MM (or tweak any unique ones that aren't in the MM), and use the final rules that are in the PHB. The kits just contained extra tidbits for the DMs running the adventures as part of the Encounters program.

Thank you for your input. This makes me feel MUCH better about my purchases. I thought I had been kind of "ripped off" (for lack of a better term) when I had discovered I was missing a LOT of stuff that was included in these kits to begin with. Good to know they can be ran regardless.

A word to the wise: Never buy stuff unless you know exactly what you are buying, and if "all the pieces" are included. LOL!

 

[pukunui]

Thank you for your input. This makes me feel MUCH better about my purchases. I thought I had been kind of "ripped off" (for lack of a better term) when I had discovered I was missing a LOT of stuff that was included in these kits to begin with. Good to know they can be ran regardless.

A word to the wise: Never buy stuff unless you know exactly what you are buying, and if "all the pieces" are included. LOL!

No worries. I would've liked to have gotten the kit for Legacy of the Crystal Shard, as it included a Launch Day booklet that expands the adventure's opening encounter, as well as some handy DM aids like NPC cards and player handouts. The kits for Vault and Ghosts probably contained the same sorts of things. They're nice to have but by no means essential.

 

[painted_klown]

No worries. I would've liked to have gotten the kit for Legacy of the Crystal Shard, as it included a Launch Day booklet that expands the adventure's opening encounter, as well as some handy DM aids like NPC cards and player handouts. The kits for Vault and Ghosts probably contained the same sorts of things. They're nice to have but by no means essential.

I see that Legacy of the Crystal Shard is now available commercially in a physical format that contains a 64-page setting book describing Icewind Dale and its inhabitants, a 32-page adventure book, a four panel foldout DM screen keyed to the adventure, and an illustrated folder.

From the way your post reads, this adventure was also used earlier as a playtest adventure?

I assume the commercially available adventure has been updated with all of the most recent 5E rules and such?

Please forgive me asking so many silly questions, but I literally just got into D&D and am unaware of the full history of all the play testing that went into the making of 5E.

Oddly enough, one of the things I find most fascinating about D&D, is the history of the game. In fact, I have made selective purchases of D&D product thus far, trying to get some 5E modules, while also trying to get the 6 reprint books from AD&D 1E and the White Box reprint. I figure, after I get all 6 of the premium reprints from 1E, I will dive into collecting all of the 5E materials. I will most likely start with the Starter Box in all actuality.

 

[Tormyr]

I see that Legacy of the Crystal Shard is now available commercially in a physical format that contains a 64-page setting book describing Icewind Dale and its inhabitants, a 32-page adventure book, a four panel foldout DM screen keyed to the adventure, and an illustrated folder.

From the way your post reads, this adventure was also used earlier as a playtest adventure?

I assume the commercially available adventure has been updated with all of the most recent 5E rules and such?

Please forgive me asking so many silly questions, but I literally just got into D&D and am unaware of the full history of all the play testing that went into the making of 5E.

Oddly enough, one of the things I find most fascinating about D&D, is the history of the game. In fact, I have made selective purchases of D&D product thus far, trying to get some 5E modules, while also trying to get the 6 reprint books from AD&D 1E and the White Box reprint. I figure, after I get all 6 of the premium reprints from 1E, I will dive into collecting all of the 5E materials. I will most likely start with the Starter Box in all actuality.

No, the commercially available adventure came out at the same time as the Encounters season. You will need to download the encounter descriptions and Next monster statistics from the WotC site. Playing it in 5e would require updating the creatures and magic items to 5e versions.

 

[pukunui]

I see that Legacy of the Crystal Shard is now available commercially in a physical format that contains a 64-page setting book describing Icewind Dale and its inhabitants, a 32-page adventure book, a four panel foldout DM screen keyed to the adventure, and an illustrated folder.

From the way your post reads, this adventure was also used earlier as a playtest adventure?

I assume the commercially available adventure has been updated with all of the most recent 5E rules and such?

Legacy of the Crystal Shard was originally released in hardback format as an edition neutral Encounters adventure. WotC provided free pdfs with 3.5e, 4e, and the Next playtest stats.

The two subsequent Encounters adventures, Scourge of the Sword Coast and Dead in Thay, were only ever released in pdf format, and like Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, only come with Next playtest stats.

As an aside, Greg Bilsland (one of the WotC guys) told me on Twitter a few months ago that they might release updated stats for all the playtest adventures. I'm not holding my breath on that one, though.

 

[jayoungr]

Is there any story connection between these adventures and the Tyranny of Dragons storyline? I ask because my players just gave me HotDQ and RoT for an early Christmas present, and if the other adventures are connected, I would consider running them too.