[Sell Me On] Nentir Vale

[Saracenus]

If you don't have the time to make your own world and you want a place that conforms to the central conceits of Core 4e World Assumptions, the Nentir Vale is flexible enough to get started.

Keep on the Shadowfell is available for download on the WotC D&D Site. Its another adventure set near Winterhaven.

Dragon has some excellent adventures set in Nentir Vale (and info to incorporate them into Eberron and Forgotten Realms. The Chaos Scar has been placed within the vale and there are ton of adventures for it in Dungeon spanning Heroic 1 and Heroic 3, I think there might be a few set in Paragon 1.

Dungeon Master's Kit contains an excellent adventure set in the Barony of Harkenwood.

Plenty of material to use, riff, steal and enjoy for Nentir Vale.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'm guess I'm looking for a sell me on on using the whole kit and kaboodle in that way. I know WotC intended Nentir Vale to be sort of an "non-setting," but it has become one more and more over the years.

I guess my question is why you need us to sell you on anything? You've presumably read everything about Fallcrest and the Vale in the DMG, and as you say, MV2 has monsters for it... so what exactly do you need us for? You know the type of game you want to run (which of course, we don't), so you should know whether the stuff you've read about the Vale would work with what you're thinking. If it works, then use it. If not all of it does, you can adapt it (as you yourself already know and pointed out).

If the real question is whether or not the "non-setting setting" of the Nentir Vale can be used as a campaign setting... then the answer to that is Yes. It's a campaign setting like any other... it's just a much smaller area, and most of its information is spread out amongst the DMG, Dragon and Dungeon articles, the various H-P-E modules, the supplements like Hammerfast and Von Rukoth, and the Essentials modules and DM Kit/Monster Vault. If you have any to most of that stuff... you have quite enough to run a campaign.

 

[klofft]

I guess my question is why you need us to sell you on anything? You've presumably read everything about Fallcrest and the Vale in the DMG, and as you say, MV2 has monsters for it... so what exactly do you need us for? You know the type of game you want to run (which of course, we don't), so you should know whether the stuff you've read about the Vale would work with what you're thinking. If it works, then use it. If not all of it does, you can adapt it (as you yourself already know and pointed out).

If the real question is whether or not the "non-setting setting" of the Nentir Vale can be used as a campaign setting... then the answer to that is Yes. It's a campaign setting like any other... it's just a much smaller area, and most of its information is spread out amongst the DMG, Dragon and Dungeon articles, the various H-P-E modules, the supplements like Hammerfast and Von Rukoth, and the Essentials modules and DM Kit/Monster Vault. If you have any to most of that stuff... you have quite enough to run a campaign.

DEFCON, I honestly believe you are trying to be helpful, but it seems you may have missed the point of a "sell me on" thread. You're right: I don't "need" you to sell me anything. But when you are unsure about something, sometimes it's cool to hear why OTHER people think something is awesome, as that may highlight something I hadn't thought of yet which could help me make up my own mind about my game. I'm not asking for your opinion on what I should do in my game; I'm asking for others' opinions of why THEY think Nentir Vale itself is really cool and worth using, specfically as it has been detailed and presented in numerous sources, rather than as an excessively vague locale to place your own stories.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Well, that's certainly a different thing that what you were asking for. Especially in your last previous post, you basically said that the Nentir Vale wasn't a full setting, but that there was enough stuff to possibly use it as one... and for us sell you on whether or not it could be. That's all. You never actually asked us for our opinion whether we thought the Nentir Vale was cool. If you had just said that... then yeah, my response would have been different.

If you want to know my opinion on whether the Nentir Vale can support a D&D campaign and have it be cool... then the answer is Yes. I've done so for three years and it's worked great. And I've never felt any need to have a 'larger world' to explore outside of the Vale... which is usually the reason folks give as to why they might choose a larger campaign setting like Forgotten Realms or Eberron.

Actually, I feel that there is more than enough cool stuff and plot ideas just within the town of Fallcrest by itself in the DMG... let alone the entire Vale. The Vale is icing on the cake.

 

[klofft]

Well, that's certainly a different thing that what you were asking for. Especially in your last previous post, you basically said that the Nentir Vale wasn't a full setting, but that there was enough stuff to possibly use it as one... and for us sell you on whether or not it could be. That's all. You never actually asked us for our opinion whether we thought the Nentir Vale was cool. If you had just said that... then yeah, my response would have been different.

If you want to know my opinion on whether the Nentir Vale can support a D&D campaign and have it be cool... then the answer is Yes. I've done so for three years and it's worked great. And I've never felt any need to have a 'larger world' to explore outside of the Vale... which is usually the reason folks give as to why they might choose a larger campaign setting like Forgotten Realms or Eberron.

Actually, I feel that there is more than enough cool stuff and plot ideas just within the town of Fallcrest by itself in the DMG... let alone the entire Vale. The Vale is icing on the cake.

Thank you; that was very helpful. Did you use the modules for the area (Keep and Spire)? Do they add to the flavor of the Vale or do they feel like isolated events that just happen to be in the same area?

 

[Will Doyle]

I'd strongly recommend picking up Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale. There's a load of material in there that fleshes out the Vale: in fact, probably enough for you to homebrew the entire heroic tier, just using that book.

Also really handy if you're planning on playing the H series, or using Hammerfast - as a loads of the key villains from those adventures have been reworked inside.

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. To clarify a little more, I'm certainly aware that I can steal stuff - my 3.5 homebrew found room for every official option WotC ever released during the 3.5 run.

But while Nentir Vale is not a full "setting," per se, there IS a map, and there are established "adventure locales," and MV2 is loaded with monsters and plot hooks that actually correspond to the map.

I'm guess I'm looking for a sell me on on using the whole kit and kaboodle in that way. I know WotC intended Nentir Vale to be sort of an "non-setting," but it has become one more and more over the years.

Hi [MENTION=40326]klofft[/MENTION], I don't mean this rudely, but I don't think anyone can sell you on the setting any more than you really need to just decide to use it or not. You really seem to understand it's strengths and weeknesses (if you think there are any) and you seem to understand the products that 'augment' the NV.

As for opinion, I happen to love the "setting", and I happen to think the products that add bits of flavor to it are fantastic. (MV, MV2, GA, DMK, etc etc etc). In fact, they add just the right amount of flavor for a DM that wants both details for anything he might need, but enough open spaces for placing those details he already has.

If I, as a fan, were to lodge one criticism against NV, it is that it is not very big. On the other hand, by the time yourgroup outgrows the Vale, they will likely have plenty of other interesting places to go, both published and unpublished.

 

[DEFCON 1]

There are many locations and towns within the Nentir Vale, and which have details and info about them in many products, supplements and DDI articles. Here are some that I'm aware of:

Towns:

Fallcrest - DMG 1
Winterhaven - Keep On The Shadowfell module
Hammerfast - Hammerfast location supplement
Harkenwold - DM's Kit/Monster Vault and The Longest Night Dragon Mag article (Issue 370 12/15/08: Roll vs Role)
Thunderspire - Thunderpsire Labyrinth module
Gardmore Abbey - Madness of Gardmore Abbey game adventure

Areas in Vale not currently listed on Nentir Vale map:

Mistwatch - Mistwatch Dungeon Mag article (Issue 186 1/18/11: Backdrops) village on western shore of Lake Wintermist

Witchlight Hermitage - Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage Dungeon Mag article (Issue 191 6/16/11: adventure)

Storm Tower - Storm Tower Dungeon Mag article (Issue 166 5/13/09: adventure)

In addition, the Chaos Scar (Dungeon Mag modules) is said to be to the west of the Cairngorn Peaks off the Vale map, the Trollhaunt (King of the Trollhaunt Warrens module) is southwest of the Vale, and Vor Rukoth (Vor Rukoth location supplement) is southeast of the Vale, also off the Nentir Vale map, although shown on the Empire of Nerath map.

There are also probably lots of additional locations described within the Monster Vault 2 - Threats of the Nentir Vale (although I have not yet read it), like Raven's Roost for example.