There is no time more dangerous or exciting in the life of an RPG than the edition change. Some get better, some get worse, and some don’t survive. The lords at Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast have decreed that Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of them all, is up for a new edition. There have been tears of joy, bellows of sorrow, and more threads about how the new edition will rule and/or suck than any other game in the history of the Internet.
The tidbits trickling out of conventions, play test groups, fuzzy photo scans, and previews have been gone over more times than the Zapruder film. As the game gets closer and closer to release, the first module has been put up for sale. It includes the rules for the first few levels as well, either for those not totally sold on the new edition or those curious fools picking up D&D for the first time. Will "Keep on the Shadowfell" bring in more D&D players? That is the subject of this review.
The Product:
"H1-Keep on the Shadowfell" comes in a cardstock portfolio. The portfolio opens into a two-pocket side folder cut to show off the new "D&D" logo for Fourth Edition. The left side contains the Adventure Book, while the right side contains the Quick Start and 3 Battle Maps
Quick Start: This book is primarily for the players. It contains a small rules summary in the front and ends with the five pregenerated characters for the module. The choices are: Dwarven Fighter, Human Wizard, Half-Elf Cleric, Dragonborn Paladin, and Halfing Rogue. All their information fits on two sheets, and that includes the blocks that describe their various powers. There's even a space for a small pencil drawing in the corner, though someone forgot to tell the art department they changed some things on the character sheets.
Battle Maps: The folio includes three double-sided battlemats that can be used with the adventure. Some of these are repeats from D&D Miniatures, but the battlemaps are attractive and functional. A few of them are generic enough that they could probably get recycled during random encounters.
Adventure Book: The adventure book is the meat of the product, with the majority of the rules and encounters. Each encounter is cleanly laid out and there is a map to the town of Winterhaven within. Winterhaven is meant to be the PC's HQ during the events of the module. It also bears a striking resemblance to a certain keep on the borderlands.
The Read:
I will refrain from comment on the rules directly, as there will most likely be multiple reviews of 4e on this site very, very quickly. Suffice to say I was excited about the new edition and not heavily invested in the others. I own some 3rd Edition material but was never a big player of previous editions.
The module is a fairly standard one. The PCs are ambushed by some kobolds on the road and, sure enough, when they arrive at the nearest town, the local lord hires them to eliminate the threat. The kobolds are only a part of a larger plot, which leads the PCs to the Unfriendly Local Evil Dungeon, where they have to stop an evil priest from opening a portal to Someplace Bad.
There are a few elements that try to make the scenario a bit more dramatic, like one of the local townsfolk being a spy for the main bad guy. This module isn’t high drama, but then it really isn’t meant to be. Many D&D players cut their teeth on basic modules like this, and in that sense it fits well enough.
The character sheets for the PCs are well laid out, with all of their powers written out for easy reference. The characters also get the chance to level up and those selections are included on the sheet as well.
The rules for both the players and DMs are a bit sketchy, even for a demo product. For example, a monster has a recharge power, but that power is never explained in the product. Anyone looking to travel outside the walls of the scenario are directed to the PHB.
The Play:
I was able to get a group of my regular players together to run through part of the scenario. We had six players and were able to accommodate thanks to the Tiefling Warlord character that is downloadable from the Wizards site. I adjusted the monsters in each encounter except the last. The players went off onto the kobold lair track from Winterhaven. We made it through through three encounters before we called it for the night.
The first encounter was a kobold ambush on the road. This was the first combat, so it naturally ran a little clunky, but by the end of the fight the players were getting into it. The Dragonborn Paladin was even reading the flavor text every time her character used a new power.
The second was encountering kobolds worshipping outside their lair. As written, it was meant to be a combat encounter, but I wanted to give the skill challenge rules a tryout so I offered an alternative - win the skill challenge and the players neutralize the kobolds quickly. Lose, and they have to fight it out. The players won the skill challenge, 8-1, with an excellent combination of skill uses, from the rogue casing how to steal their blasphemous idol to the paladin charging in, light glinting off her plate mail, snarling "I am your God now!" in Kobold.
The last fight was vs. the minions in the lair, a kobold wizard, and a big bad kobold boss fight. Once the other kobols were eliminated, the players did a classic "ring of blood" around the big boss, but that worked to the advantage of the boss, who got two attacks if he didn’t move. Once the players realized this, they all uncorked their dailies in quick succession and defeated the bad guy.
Comments from the players:
"I can see the MMORPG influence."
"I thought I'd hate playing the cleric but healing is way more interesting than it used to be."
"I am definitely playing a halfing rogue when you run this."
Comments from the DM:
The Halfing rogue was the MVP. She quickly grasped how combat advantage worked and used her sneak attack in a very devastating fashion in each encounter.
The encounters had some interesting tweaks against the characters. The paladin and the cleric both did a lot of fire based damage, and some of the kobolds had fire resistance. The kobold wizard was resistant to acid, which would have made the wizard's acid arrow less effective.
The rules that let players identify monsters with skill rolls were interesting, but the rules never said what sort of action it cost to do during battle. The DCs seemed a little high as well.
Minions do what they are supposed to - dogpile on a character until they are dispatched quickly and messily by an AoE attack or the Fighter's Cleave.
The two fights felt exactly how they should. The kobold attack was a warm up and combat primer. The kobold lair was the end fight and felt tense. It was the longest combat, but the players were into it.
The tactical feel of the game felt right. The players were engaged in the fight, thinking of their next move or coordinating with players on their turn.
Pros:
A Modular Module: The encounters in the module are very cleanly written. All the monsters have their stats in the module area with all their special powers written up. The experience gained from specific monsters is spelled out and the total XP for the encounter is calculated as well. Even if you find the module itself lacking, the portability of the specific encounters is very useful. It reminds me of White Wolf's Storyteller Adventure System, which makes salvaging scenarios for parts very easy. I will probably use all of these encounters in my D&D4e game, even if I don't necessarily run the whole adventure.
This One Goes Up to Eleven…Minus Eight: Preview products like this usually end at first level with a "Want to keep playing? Buy the books, pal!" message. The pre-generated characters got up to level three. Their leveling options are preset, but it's still nice to get more than a single session out of a demo product. It is also a good way to show how characters grow from that first level and offers some insight to players familiar with other editions.
Scale Mail, Chain Mail, e-Mail…: WotC has already released two web exclusives to enhance the adventure. The first is a skill challenge for the final encounter that shows off one of one of the most-talked about features of this edition. Non-combat encounters now have mechanical support, and the challenge does a good job for involving those groups that want to defeat the Big Bad without just wailing on him for a few rounds. The other is a sheet for a Tiefling Warlord, showing off one of the other new races as well as classes of fourth edition. The Warlord was initially put up with typos and omissions, but fixed within hours. If WotC can support the whole game with this type of stuff, 4e players will be pleased as punch.
Cons:
Extreme Dungeon Makeover: As an all inclusive intro to the new D&D edition, there are a couple of things missing from the adventure. While the big fold out maps for the main encounters are nice, if Wizards is going to provide maps they should provide maps for everything. There's a weak sales pitch for their official D&D Dungeon Tiles set. There should be a paragraph on suggestions on mapping the dungeon, while offering the tiles as an accessory to make your life as a GM easier. Along similar lines, while I know they want you to buy some D&D minis, is it too much to ask for a set of counters included in the folio?
The Mall is Closed: One of the traditional parts of the D&D experience is shopping at the local blacksmith in town. The module doesn’t support this. The module even mentions that any players wanting to shop should refer to the PHB, which isn’t an option if the module is being used by non-gamers. While I can understand not wanting to print up the weapons table and keep things simple, a basic items list would have been useful to allow for first-time players to relish all those iron rations they bought. I'd even be happy with a narrative conceit like the last kobold ambush killed the local blacksmith or something.
That and Five Bucks Will Get You a PHB: The price point is in a strange place. This adventure/quick-start is slightly less expensive than the PHB. If this adventure came out two months ago, it would be a different matter, but presumable this will be sitting right next to the new core set on the shelf. Old hands wanting to check out the new rules would be better advised to just wait and pick up the new PHB. In that case, a lot of the info here is redundant. At the same time, the module doesn’t feel complete enough to run on its own. Thirty bucks is a lot less to invest than the $105 MSRP for the new core set, but if you are not sure of that investment, finding a D&D group might be a better choice to see if D&D is right for you.
Bottom Line: As an introductory product, it's not the worst one out there, but it doesn’t feel like it will bring in new players to the new edition of D&D.
Perfect for: That player still on the fence about D&D, your younger relative looking to get into the hobby, someone with a whole lot of miniatures
Review Summary