jodyjohnson
Adventurer
http://www.dndclassics.com/product/...Wizards-Scourge-of-the-Sword-Coast-(D&D-Next)
85 pages, full color.
62 pages of module, 21 pages of Bestiary.
Front cover, credits and Encounters info, adventure and background info, bestiary, and no back cover.
The introduction sets it up as the first part of the "Dreams of the Red Wizards" campaign continuing with "Dead in Thay" listed on the Wizards Play Network as releasing in May.
The module maintains the "Sundering - Forgotten Realms" branding and would be Sundering adventure 3.
Considering this is a PDF-only product which many will want to print out, the choice of full-page full color background images is disappointing. The text is difficult to read in the corners and top where the background is darkest. It will use a lot of ink or toner, and some inkjets may cause the pages to ripple with the amount of 'color' per page.
The art and layout is similar to the first two Sundering modules but this seems harder to read.
Value-wise, this feels like less than Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle at the same price. Compared to a Pathfinder AP with more art and a slightly higher page count it comes up short.
I'd rate the $5 Encounters seasons with roughly the same page count plus full color maps as a better value as well.
The adventure itself looks fine at first glance. I'd would have preferred a 3rd to 5th adventure given the tier system in Next with 1st and 2nd as Apprentice levels. The characters start at 2nd and at the conclusion can hit 5th (which may be the starting level for Dead in Thay.)
There is a lot of content and getting the full adventure in over 13 Encounter sessions may be iffy. I count 175 numbered locations not including the town, but many are just description. In addition, Daggerford gets more detail with longer NPC write-ups and more building details than Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle.
The maps of the Vale and town are more detailed as well listing locations from both adventures.
Sidenote: there is a puzzle with the solution marked but no un-marked puzzle. That's not very useful.
Overall it looks like a decent mix of roleplay, exploration, and combat. The pacing may not flow well given the large number of locations at each adventure site and there look to be a few areas where a less cautious group might "pull the whole dungeon".
The building and dungeon maps are at 10' per square and will end up larger than they look on the battle map (for those not doing TotM). Setting then up with dungeon tiles may be quite a task as well.
An unmarked map pack would be a nice addition to the download.
Overall, I'm hoping maybe they revise the layout with easier to read backgrounds (or no background) but otherwise I expect we'll have a lot of fun with the adventure. The price seems high but is in line with similar page count from Paizo for 64 page adventures.
For stores running Encounters there should be some sort of code for the sanctioning store to get a free copy.
85 pages, full color.
62 pages of module, 21 pages of Bestiary.
Front cover, credits and Encounters info, adventure and background info, bestiary, and no back cover.
The introduction sets it up as the first part of the "Dreams of the Red Wizards" campaign continuing with "Dead in Thay" listed on the Wizards Play Network as releasing in May.
The module maintains the "Sundering - Forgotten Realms" branding and would be Sundering adventure 3.
Considering this is a PDF-only product which many will want to print out, the choice of full-page full color background images is disappointing. The text is difficult to read in the corners and top where the background is darkest. It will use a lot of ink or toner, and some inkjets may cause the pages to ripple with the amount of 'color' per page.
The art and layout is similar to the first two Sundering modules but this seems harder to read.
Value-wise, this feels like less than Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle at the same price. Compared to a Pathfinder AP with more art and a slightly higher page count it comes up short.
I'd rate the $5 Encounters seasons with roughly the same page count plus full color maps as a better value as well.
The adventure itself looks fine at first glance. I'd would have preferred a 3rd to 5th adventure given the tier system in Next with 1st and 2nd as Apprentice levels. The characters start at 2nd and at the conclusion can hit 5th (which may be the starting level for Dead in Thay.)
There is a lot of content and getting the full adventure in over 13 Encounter sessions may be iffy. I count 175 numbered locations not including the town, but many are just description. In addition, Daggerford gets more detail with longer NPC write-ups and more building details than Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle.
The maps of the Vale and town are more detailed as well listing locations from both adventures.
Sidenote: there is a puzzle with the solution marked but no un-marked puzzle. That's not very useful.
Overall it looks like a decent mix of roleplay, exploration, and combat. The pacing may not flow well given the large number of locations at each adventure site and there look to be a few areas where a less cautious group might "pull the whole dungeon".
The building and dungeon maps are at 10' per square and will end up larger than they look on the battle map (for those not doing TotM). Setting then up with dungeon tiles may be quite a task as well.
An unmarked map pack would be a nice addition to the download.
Overall, I'm hoping maybe they revise the layout with easier to read backgrounds (or no background) but otherwise I expect we'll have a lot of fun with the adventure. The price seems high but is in line with similar page count from Paizo for 64 page adventures.
For stores running Encounters there should be some sort of code for the sanctioning store to get a free copy.
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