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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bodhiwolff" data-source="post: 4587326" data-attributes="member: 71196">I've been running it as my gang's first real foray into 4E.  The majority of my group is new to D&D, so I wanted them to feel confident that they were getting an official product, and not something that their friend whipped up (even though I've got coming up to 3 decades of experience DMing games). So I gave 'em the "official" 4E Forgotten Realms module as their first real experience. It is good as a starter, but it does heavily emphasize the combat aspects, and the 4E design element of "Battle - Battle - Rest - repeat" is a little monotonous. Indeed one of the problems is that the tower itself is ... well .. a tower!  Each level of the tower is an encounter, so after you clear one encounter/level you have nothing to do but to go up the stairs and hit the next encounter/level.   Now, there is lots of interesting fluff going on.  There are nifty people wandering around outside the tower trying to search for artifacts.  There are lots of interesting little things you can throw in.  Even the stylistic changes of the encounters themselves are interesting.  The ruined walls/ramparts have a were-rat theme, which lead to the catacombs which have an undead theme, which lead to the basement areas with an ettercap/spider theme, to the tower itself with the main Dark Creeper/Realm of Shadow theme. But it remains a good introductory module for newbies, at best.  A good combat-heavy, don't-fret-the-plotline, let's-just-kill-stuff-and-get-loot style of adventure.  Each area leads inexorably to the next, with no real branching points.  You go through section A, which leads to section B, and so forth.  And then you hit the tower, where you must by necessity travel in a straight (albeit vertical) line. I've been doing my best to flesh out the other aspects, mostly so I can move to a more freeform adventure (or at least one with multiple paths) based on threads and characters started in this adventure, but I'll be happy when this is over after a few more sessions. Mental Note -- towers are just too linear!</blockquote>

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