Which published Wizards 4e adventures have you played?
- Thread starter MerricB
- Start date
Quick reviews of adventures from in-play experiences:
H1: Keep on the Shadowfell 7.5/10
Great set-up and early game, a couple of too-hard encounters early on. Great home base and interactions with the locals are somewhat neglected in the last third of the adventure when a "too long" dungeoncrawl takes over. Still very enjoyable.
H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth 7/10
Interesting settings and mini-adventures. The links between the adventures aren't always strong enough, and can drag out a bit. Still a successful module.
H3: Pyramid of Shadows 5.5/10
Great idea for a setting, but painfully bogs down into combat after combat due to a lack of groups to interact with in a meaningful non-combat way. (Rescuing innocents would have made this so much stronger). In the end, the Bandits took that role. Just too long to be divorced from the world as well, which gave my players problems reconnecting with their role of heroes in P1.
P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens 8/10
Great premise, pretty good execution. The warrens are slightly larger than I'd really like (although I've found a party can go a long way without expending daily powers), and I'd prefer a bit more help with personalities in the town, but definitely one of the stronger 4E adventures I've run. (We're half-way through at present).
Cheers!
H1: Keep on the Shadowfell 7.5/10
Great set-up and early game, a couple of too-hard encounters early on. Great home base and interactions with the locals are somewhat neglected in the last third of the adventure when a "too long" dungeoncrawl takes over. Still very enjoyable.
H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth 7/10
Interesting settings and mini-adventures. The links between the adventures aren't always strong enough, and can drag out a bit. Still a successful module.
H3: Pyramid of Shadows 5.5/10
Great idea for a setting, but painfully bogs down into combat after combat due to a lack of groups to interact with in a meaningful non-combat way. (Rescuing innocents would have made this so much stronger). In the end, the Bandits took that role. Just too long to be divorced from the world as well, which gave my players problems reconnecting with their role of heroes in P1.
P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens 8/10
Great premise, pretty good execution. The warrens are slightly larger than I'd really like (although I've found a party can go a long way without expending daily powers), and I'd prefer a bit more help with personalities in the town, but definitely one of the stronger 4E adventures I've run. (We're half-way through at present).
Cheers!
Gort
Explorer
I played Keep on the Shadowfell, and I hated that it was just fight fight fight fight. Having had the opportunity to look at a few of the other modules, I see they're not really much different - a big dungeon with lots of combat encounters in it.
I prefer more plot for the amount of combat those modules include.
I prefer more plot for the amount of combat those modules include.
Thanee
First Post
I DMed H1-H3 (*) and continue now as a player in P1 (and follow-ups).
Also playing in Seekers of the Ashen Crown, which you didn't list above.
Bye
Thanee
(*) Too bad, I didn't realize in time, that the DM reward program was also open for non-RPGA members, as those would have easily qualified me. Doh!
Also playing in Seekers of the Ashen Crown, which you didn't list above.
Bye
Thanee
(*) Too bad, I didn't realize in time, that the DM reward program was also open for non-RPGA members, as those would have easily qualified me. Doh!
Prism
Explorer
We played H1 and H2 and were eventually a bit disappointed.
As an introduction to 4e, Keep on the Shadowfell was ok but in hindsight we should have stopped there and got stuck into the kind of adventures/campaign we prefer to play. There was simply too much fighting for my liking, but the encounters in themselves were good.
Thunderspire was too much of a trudge to be honest and I felt the fights were too constucted to include the various monster roles. I don't need my fights to be realistic but several times I was thinking 'just what are all these random creatures doing together?'. Some encounters were fun such as the blood room, or when we took on the whole first encounter area without taking a short rest. Others were very dull. Custom monsters that remove all your encounter and daily powers - becomes a very tedious fight. Room after room of this. I also found the skill challenges totally artificial and by the book.
Since then we have converted two of our mid level campaigns to 4e and run a couple of short adventure arcs. Seems to be working much better. I'm now looking forward to starting a new 4e campaign at 1st level
Before 4e we had just finished Red Hand of Doom and I feel that so far the last year of 4e modules have been a step down. I'm hopefull that a great 4e adventure will arrive eventually
As an introduction to 4e, Keep on the Shadowfell was ok but in hindsight we should have stopped there and got stuck into the kind of adventures/campaign we prefer to play. There was simply too much fighting for my liking, but the encounters in themselves were good.
Thunderspire was too much of a trudge to be honest and I felt the fights were too constucted to include the various monster roles. I don't need my fights to be realistic but several times I was thinking 'just what are all these random creatures doing together?'. Some encounters were fun such as the blood room, or when we took on the whole first encounter area without taking a short rest. Others were very dull. Custom monsters that remove all your encounter and daily powers - becomes a very tedious fight. Room after room of this. I also found the skill challenges totally artificial and by the book.
Since then we have converted two of our mid level campaigns to 4e and run a couple of short adventure arcs. Seems to be working much better. I'm now looking forward to starting a new 4e campaign at 1st level
Before 4e we had just finished Red Hand of Doom and I feel that so far the last year of 4e modules have been a step down. I'm hopefull that a great 4e adventure will arrive eventually
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
Not so much played as ran H1 to H3 and the Eberron Campaign Guide introductiory adventure. H3 is not done yet, and I plan on running the remaining Px to Ex.
Wik
First Post
I ran a modified version of Sceptre Tower. And we really enjoyed it. The first half is the best bit - it details a ruined city, and has a lot of locations and NPCs that are detailed just enough to let the DM roll with it. And that was a huge part of the adventure for us - the PCs would go somewhere that had a few notes on the map, and I'd whip together a few encounters. Loved it.
The actual adventure (read as: the encounters) are alright, but to me weren't where I got the bang for my buck. Because, as someone else mentioned elswhere, encoutners in 4e are easy - the hard part is setting up an adventure, and Sceptre Tower does that beautifully. I skipped the second "dungeon" in this adventure (the catacombs) and went straight to the tower. There were too many encounters in this part, which I cut out, but it was still pretty fun.
The ending is a bit anti-climactic, but I fixed that (and boy, did I!).
Highly recommend it. I ran a bit of Shadowfell, but hated it (blech). And Trollhaunt bored me to tears just reading it, so it never got used (except for the monsters and maps). Sceptre Tower is the only adventure i read that fits my fast and loose style.
The actual adventure (read as: the encounters) are alright, but to me weren't where I got the bang for my buck. Because, as someone else mentioned elswhere, encoutners in 4e are easy - the hard part is setting up an adventure, and Sceptre Tower does that beautifully. I skipped the second "dungeon" in this adventure (the catacombs) and went straight to the tower. There were too many encounters in this part, which I cut out, but it was still pretty fun.
The ending is a bit anti-climactic, but I fixed that (and boy, did I!).
Highly recommend it. I ran a bit of Shadowfell, but hated it (blech). And Trollhaunt bored me to tears just reading it, so it never got used (except for the monsters and maps). Sceptre Tower is the only adventure i read that fits my fast and loose style.
wedgeski
Adventurer
DM'd H1, heavily up-plotted, and it served its purpose well enough. 5/10 unmodified though, a poort first effort from the Wiz.
H2 we're playing now, although again, I'm using the locale as a backdrop to my own plotting. However I've found the encounters a little bit meatier, and the NPC's much more interesting. 7/10
H2 we're playing now, although again, I'm using the locale as a backdrop to my own plotting. However I've found the encounters a little bit meatier, and the NPC's much more interesting. 7/10
I've run H1 and H2.
I didn't like H1 at all. While H2 was a decent adventure and the players enjoyed the interaction with the people in the Seven Pillared Hall, some of the combat encounters were poorly designed.
I should restart my 4e game in a week or two. As I posted elsewhere, I don't want to lock the party inside a dungeon for 3 levels, so I'll rip some encounters from H3 and rebuild a different adventure.
I didn't like H1 at all. While H2 was a decent adventure and the players enjoyed the interaction with the people in the Seven Pillared Hall, some of the combat encounters were poorly designed.
I should restart my 4e game in a week or two. As I posted elsewhere, I don't want to lock the party inside a dungeon for 3 levels, so I'll rip some encounters from H3 and rebuild a different adventure.
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