Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1) by Bruce Cordell, Mike Mearls Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
Book Review: Keep of the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
Summary: 5 Stars
Great product! Very easy to read through. It does a good job of explaining how the adventure should be run, but also allows for changes that you deem appropriate. If you're thinking of DMing an adventure for the first time, start with this. Even if you've been DMing for awhile and would like a campaign to run, try this one, you'll enjoy it.Book Review: Review for Keep on the Shadowfell
Summary: 5 Stars
Keep on the Shadowfell is was a very good product and is useful even without the other core books. Definitely worth the money.Book Review: Great fun and well worth the price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've dabbled in DnD since it first came out and couldn't wait until my kids were old enough to play. I had introduced them to the 3rd edition, and it was fun, but the rules seemed so daunting to them, they never felt like they could do more than scratch the surface. So we all were looking forward to the 4th edition rule set.
I have to say that I was a little taken aback when I first started reading the 4th edition rules. They seemed a bit too simplistic and were more streamlined than I anticipated. But once we started playing....
It actually took a few sessions to for the spirit of game to really sink in. This version is all about letting the players try anything they want. They are heros! And the rules are there to support that mindset. They made my job as the DM so easy. I could focus on the encounters and the players were spinning the story as they went!
As for the Keep on the Shadowfell module, I think it provides a wonderful example of how to design compelling story lines. The encounters were well balanced with a good mix of interesting creatures and great settings. The tactical options were countless. Our group wanted to run through some of the scenarios multiple times because new strategies and tactics were constantly being discovered. I've never had so much fun DM'ing! The encounters are well laid out. They will serve as a great model for me as I dabble in creating some of my own encounters. There are many threads in the story that will make compelling jump off points for an ongoing campaign.
Another great thing about the module are the concise 4th edition rules summaries that are included. They have made it really easy to get new players up and running in just a few minutes. It really is all a group needs to get started with DnD.
The long and short of it is this: My kids and I are having a blast! We only play once a week, but they now talk about DnD all the time. They have gotten so many of their friends excited, we don't enough room to let them all come over and play at once. This has convinced me that the new rules are the best yet at striking the right balance between having an approachable game for newbies, a compelling game for gamers, and a wonderful vehicle for DM's to participate in the unfolding of epic adventures! Keep on the Shadowfell serves as a good example of how various 4th edition elements can be mixed up to produce compelling encounters that will keep players retelling their stories for years to come!
Book Review: FANTASTIC
Summary: 5 Stars
For a long I hadnt seen a D&D product so beautiful.
Made me remember of the old campaign box, wich came along maps and other utilities. Not quite the same thing as the past but as much as nice.
Better than the 3rd edition commom paperback adventures.
Book Review: Worst. Module. Ever.
Summary: 1 Stars
I've run this module for two different groups now. They have both hated it. In 25 years of running D&D this is the first module I've had a group simply quit in the middle of it. It is a series of miniatures battles almost incoherently stuck together. There is almost no roleplaying, exploring etc.
Here is a sample of how the module basically works. The characters start out immediately in combat on a map. After winning this battle, they arrive in town. Then they can talk to various NPCs who have little depth or information. If you ask the right questions, the NPCs gve you directions of where to go next, like "The keep is northeast of here." Then, if the characters want to go to the keep, they are instantly there (well, they get ambushed first, using the first map again).
What if the characters don't ask the right questions? It doesn't matter. My players wished to find the hidden lair of the kobold brigands. How hard is it to find this hidden lair? Well, the module says if the characters decide to search for the hidden lair, pull out the lair map and start the lair encounter. I felt like I was in a bad 1980's computer game "click here to go to hidden lair."
So essentially the module is all about combat. Is it fun combat? My players haven't enjoyed it. The worst part of the module is it makes it hard to tell if 4th edition is flawed or if just this module is bad.
With work, a good DM can turn this into a good adventure. But if you try running this without adding a lot to it and rewriting parts of it, it is not good. And if you want to put that much work into fixing the module, save $30 and just write your own adventure.
In the end, saying "With work this is good" is a bit silly. I suppose almost anything is good if you spend enough timing fixing it.