Good 4e Starter?

[Mercule]

So, my group has final decided on our next game. We're going to do nWoD. But, before we go, we want to actually get an opinion of 4e. So, we've decided to do a single module.

My question is: What's the recommendation for an intro/test drive of 4e?

I've heard KotS is a stinker, and our one session with it holds this out. I was planning on doing the first "Scales of War" module, but wanted to see if there was a better choice. I snagged all the freebies of Dungeon, and would consider dropping up to $10 on something.

 

[Dragonbait]

If you do Scales of War, just be aware that apparently the first few maps do not match the room descriptions and setups. They may have fixed this issue by now.

 

[Jack99]

Sellswords of Punjar and Isle of the Sea Drake are both a good deal better than KotS and SoW intro module.

With a little work, Isle of the Sea Drake can be really good.

Edit: Both adventures mentioned are from Goodman Games.

 

[Nebulous]

I've heard KotS is a stinker, and our one session with it holds this out.

I've heard this time and again, and i simply have to disagree. It is not a bad adventure! There are some weak parts yes, but i have found a dozen threads on Enworld where the weaknesses are addressed with suitable (and easy) solutions that make it a solid adventure. Plus, it comes with some really nice battlemaps. We thoroughly enjoyed it. For a DM with experience, it has ample room for expansion and elaboration. For a brand new DM, it can easily turn into a slogfest.

Giving Kalarel (the Big Baddie) a personality, goal and interaction with the PCs early on is one of the main fixes. And if you want less kobold fights, switch them out with something else. So i'll have to still endorse KotS as a good starter adventure. YMMV.

 

[Truename]

I've heard KotS is a stinker, and our one session with it holds this out. I was planning on doing the first "Scales of War" module, but wanted to see if there was a better choice. I snagged all the freebies of Dungeon, and would consider dropping up to $10 on something.

One session, or one adventure? My group took about 12 three-hour sessions to get through KotS. It was okay, but the dungeon crawl dragged a bit. The initial kobold/missing mentor subplots (culminating with Irontooth and a possible TPK) might work as a single session.

I ran the first SoW ("Rescue at Rivenroar") with two PCs and found it to be incredibly dull. Ultra dungeon crawl, with nothing particularly notable or interesting about any of it. Edit: except the initial few encounters in the city. That was fun.

Shadowrift of Umbraforge (SoW #3, Dungeon #158) looks to be pretty interesting if you can fix some of the railroad at the end. I haven't tried it yet, though. My brief scan of The Tariff of Relkingam (also in Dungeon #158) looked promising if you're looking for a less combat-focused adventure.

 

[Filcher]

Sellswords of Punjar and Isle of the Sea Drake are both a good deal better than KotS and SoW intro module.

With a little work, Isle of the Sea Drake can be really good.

Edit: Both adventures mentioned are from Goodman Games.

What Jack said. Sellswords is a little tight if you have five players, but otherwise it is an excellent adventure. The adventure itself is pretty "timeless," in that it hold more to Lankhmar/Thieves World style adventure than any one variant of D&D. I could run it BECMI / AD&D / Warhammer and still capture the essence of the urban crawl.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I actually loved KotS. It's going to be one I remember forever. I added a bit to it, though, to make Kalarel more of an imposing figure. I had him acting as a serial killer the party was tracking down. He had set up these evil zombie wells in a few spots, some in and some out of the keep. He had cut up young girls to feed the evil of the well. Beyond just being an Orcus worshipping priest, he was also a sick Ted Bundy type guy. That made the party hate him quite a bit more than normal. I also had some back story on how Kalarel had recruited the hobgoblins, goblins, and kobolds.

Like every good bad guy, I put myself in his eyes and saw what he saw to build his story out.

 

[Mercurius]

We've been playing Goodman Games "Hall of the Mountain King" which is pretty standard low-level dungeoncrawling fair: pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. IThe group is made up of 4 PCs, which is a bit small for this adventure, but they've survived so far. So far we've played three 4-hour sessions; I suspect it will take two more to finish, which makes it a 15-20 hour adventure. But if you know the rules well, and the PCs don't explore everything, I suspect you could do the adventure in 10-12 hours.

 

[Mercule]

One session, or one adventure?

We have played one session of KotS, back when it was released. I had an evening free and got some people together (mostly my core group, but a few alts) to try it out. The opinions were mixed. The rogue (not core group) loved it and is still playing 4e. The paladin had the worst dice. The wizard (the most critical player in the group) hated it -- and what he saw of the wizard class. We only got a couple of combats in, and that was that.

Shadowrift of Umbraforge (SoW #3, Dungeon #158) looks to be pretty interesting if you can fix some of the railroad at the end. I haven't tried it yet, though. My brief scan of The Tariff of Relkingam (also in Dungeon #158) looked promising if you're looking for a less combat-focused adventure.

I'll look at those. Non-crawl is definitely a good thing. At least some of the group voted for nWoD because they didn't want as much crunchy combat.

Sellswords is a little tight if you have five players, but otherwise it is an excellent adventure.

I've got five players, but they aren't exactly strong on tactics. For 3.5, I generally found that the five of them, plus the cohort, were well challenged by what the CR system indicated for four PCs of their level or a level lower.

 

[llamatron2000]

The Living Forgotten Realms adventure Dale 1-1 , The Prospect isn't bad for a single session to try out 4e. I started out a group of mostly inexperienced players(a few who'd played, a few who were new to the hobby), and everyone's pretty satisfied with 4e.