Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
by Bruce Cordell, Mike Mearls
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce Cordell, Mike MearlsBrand: Wizards of the Coast
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-20
ISBN: 0786948507
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Book Reviews of Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
Book Review: The meat, the actual writing makes it an awesome intro adventure
Summary: 5 Stars
Yeah I hate that it comes in a folder, I like books with covers. The paper is crappy it curls and creases easily. The price is high. The cover ink comes off on wet hands.
What's important though is what's inside! It's an absolutely awesome module to showcase what's new in 4th edition. It's a combat intensive adventure to teach new 4th edition players what 4th edition is capable of. Each encounter takes into account different terrain features, and amazing new tactics by our old favorite monsters redefined. They really captured the feel of certain monsters by giving them powers that just seemed to fit. Like the lowly Kobold being able to shift at will. Giving these little short guys ways to mob up on you and get underfoot. Goblins are cowards and good at hiding and fighting on the run "Catch that damn goblin before he gets away!". Zombies can grab you giving you that horror movie feeling of the zombie horde threatening to overwhelm you "Get these things off me!". Even some of the rooms you fight in have their own special qualities which open up tons of new horrifying strategies like being knocked down into a pit and struggling to get out. Or you can knock a goblin into a pit and kick away his ladder. All in all the area features and the enemy combat styles make this adventure really fun to play. Each encounter is fun to run again and again for different players as they are set up great and can turn out completely different. The trap room sucks though.
There is a small town filled with characters. While their physical descriptions are a bit lacking and there's no pictures of NPC's; they did include a lot of NPC dialogs with written out answers to common PC questions. These really help to flesh out the townsfolk. There's even a well written encounter with a major enemy where he asks questions and the PC's have to roll different skill checks like Religious knowledge, Intimidate, etc, in order to succeed at the negotiation. I really like that. It spells out what might actually happen and gets all the characters involved in a negotiation rather than just relegating it to one Diplomacy check by the PC with the highest CHA. The lead negotiator still gets to be in charge though.
The story is basic save the world or at least general area of the town. The party makes the town their base. There are a bunch of side quests they go on to get an idea of what's happening and to acquire XP. There's even a plot event that happens when the PC's return to town after they have been adventuring for a while. Lengthwise I'd say it would take 6 five hour play sessions or more to complete the whole thing. I might be underestimating. I'd say it's 30% outdoor and 70% inside a dungeon. The module is a "site based" adventure that is not high on plot/story. Players explore the area around town and the dungeon encountering all the baddies. If you want a high fantasy story this isn't for you.
The format is the standard everything in order where you need it: encounters and monster stats right next to descriptive text which is way better in my opinion than having encounters and monsters separately at the end of the book. You'll do way less page flipping.
You get three large double sided color maps. One battle near a waterfall looks pretty. These are nice, I probably will use them, but I like chessex mats better anyway.
I try to think to myself "In ten years after everyone is playing 4th edition will this module still be that awesome?" I'd say it might become a classic. They borrowed some cool things from some other old modules with similar names. It's a good 4th ed. intro filled with classic monsters, a decent story, and some very memorable encounters. One criticism I have is that the PC's don't get much interaction with the villain until the end. I would suggest adding two talking encounters with him.
I'm revisiting this review: Now after playing 4th edition for months I realize how much this module taught me about how to DM a game. I'm constantly referring DM's to read this so they can learn how to run a solo monster or how tactics and terrain really make an encounter unique. As a DM you have to create encounters that open up choices. Interesting choices that the party has to pause and consider. Like "Should they chase the goblin who ran around the corner and hid or is it more important to hold the area near the pit so they can try to push the hobgoblin in" This adventure is really great at showing what the 4th edition rules open up in terms of tactics. If you're DM is used to the "X monsters in a room, fight!" style, isn't always trying to set up the flank, and can't see why a kobold's extra shift action is extremely valuable then you aren't going to have fun with this adventure.
P.S. WotC posted this in PDF form for free on their website!
Summary of Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
A D&D adventure for characters of levels 1-3.The town of Winterhaven stands watch over a ruined keep that was once a bastion of good in the realm. This keep overlooks the Shadow Rift, a dark scar in the world that was once a gateway to the Shadowfell but has been dormant for many years. Now, an evil cleric of Orcus, Demon Lord of the Undead, seeks to re-open the gate, and the only thing standing in his way is a small yet determined band of heroes from Winterhaven.
Keep on the Shadowfell is an exciting Dungeons & Dragons adventure designed for characters of levels 1-3. It includes three double-sided poster maps suitable for use with D&D miniatures, as well as information on the town of Winterhaven and environs.
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