How are the freebie adventures?

[Quickbeam]

Our group is getting ready to begin playing d20 Modern after yars of D&D. Before I wade through the various free adventures provided provided by WotC and the sample scenarios inlcuded in the Core Rulebook I thought I'd solicit your opinions. Which (if any) of these are good springboards for starting a Modern campaign? Any other suggestions for early modules/adventures?

 

[Crothian]

Combat with is pretty deadly. Our first combat against undead that did 1d4 damage saw 3 out of 7 PCs drop, but none died. I never read over any of the free adventures since my modern world was a mostly different from others I saw and the PCs were government agents.

 

[Ranger REG]

I'm partial to TEAM BRAVO: The First Assignment. It has a mixture of X-Files or Special Unit 2 meets Jurassic Park.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/article/20030211a

P.S. I hope there will be more TEAM BRAVO adventures in the near future.

 

[Quickbeam]

Crothian:
I'll pay close attention to the mortality ratio early on, thanks for the head's up.

Ranger REG:
I downloaded this adventure yesterday -- glad to hear it's good. Are there any other sites or links for starter campaigns?

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, there are two other mini-adventures on the d20 Modern web site that I know of:

www.wizards.com/d20modern

Exactly what kind of d20 Modern campaign you are running? Do you want supernatural horror? Or some kind of conspiracy like the X-Files? Or simply want to do a modern-day Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk (something along the line of Shadowrun?

 

[Saeviomagy]

If you're playing shadow chasers, then your first combat is likely to be quite deadly - mainly because the characters have no idea what they're up against, so they tend to react in a fairly realistic way (after all - who shoots at a homeless bum, even if he is being a bit violent?).

This is probably as it should be. Remember - self-stabilising is a bit easier in d20 modern, as is surviving once you've stabilised (thanks to things like emergency services...).

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

I like Trouble at Blackrock, and I usually don't like published adventures.

I'm planning on running it as a one shot, and if it goes over well I have a long term story to tie into it.

The creatures in the adventure can be a result of magic ala Shadow Chasers or Urban Arcana, or they could be the result of the government testing biological weapons, chemicals, etc. So you can use it for either kind of campaign.

The "boss creature" is a bit tougher to explain without using magic... Nanobots, artificial intelligence, alien technology maybe?

I was so determined to run it as a one shot that I made the PC backgrounds as simple as possible. How do the characters all know each other? They're all in the same D&D group. A game imitating a lifestyle that imitates life. Spooky...

 

[Ranger REG]

BTW, does anyone besides Wizards offering free original adventures for d20 Modern available for download?

This is your time to make a shameless plug for your companies or d20 Modern fan/resource web site, folks.

 

[Quickbeam]

Ranger REG:
I think we're gonna have the campaign marginally akin to X-Files or perhaps use the Shadow Chasers model. But for the first introductory adventure, I just wanted something entertaining and well written. As for other items available for download...I'm with you -- waiting for someone to shamelessly plug their wares !

Saeviomagy:
Thanks for the tip. I'm hopeful that my players will react in a manner which suggests they don't expect the unusual or paranormal. Perhaps that will set the mood for the rest of our campaign going forward.

BB:
I do have Blackrock downloaded. But I wanted to start with one of the other adventures and follow it up with Blackrock. Still, it's good to hear that someone out there liked the mini module -- thanks for the input.

 

[Jai Kel]

We've been playing since the book came out, and so far the Blackrock adventure has been everyone's favorite.

It's a blast to run as a GM, and that always carries over to the fun level of the players.

One thing though, that paralysis of the ghouls was mucho nasty for my players. All but one character were out of commission in the final showdown at the barn, just from the ghouls...