So my old gaming group finally got back together for a game this weekend. We had proposed either Deadlands Reloaded or D&D 4th. Everyone thought D&D sounded good, so we set about making characters. It was a learning experience. Its a sufficient change from 3rd to make it not as intuitive as one might think. Since I wasn't sure what game we would be playing, I really did not have a proper adventure plotted out, so I did a few off the cuff encounters. Not smooth, but now we have a good handle on the rules. Everyone had a blast.

So now, we are planning on continuing into a proper campaign. Has anyone tried any of the available modules from Goodman or any other company for that matter? I like the combat system, but I know I will just scratch the surface of the encounter system. I honestly don't know where to start with it.

I haven't discussed 3rd party modules with anyone. I do know that the Scales of War adventure path via the online subscription has gotten great reviews (better than the in-print published modules start with Keep on the Shadowfell).

I've been playing with my son here and there. The one thing that I recommend is using the Character Builder from WOTC. It really works. Game play is fast and fun, but at the expense of getting all the details right on the character sheet.

I've been running Keep on the Shadowfell for my 4e group. We're having a blast, and will finish it off this Saturday (4th game, playing monthly). Actually, I need to build one more big encounter to make sure we have enough to do.

We'll be proceeding to Thunderspire Labyrinth afterward.

I made full-size battlemats for all of KOTS, feel free to use them if you decide to run it. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1081740

I have not played a great deal of 4e, but I like a lot of what I've seen so far. My advice to anyone who plans to play is to grab one of the sets of fan-created power cards floating around the net. Having all your abilities organized on cards that you can just flip as you use them is a HUGE help in keeping everything straight.
-Curry

I like a good dice slinging adventure

Arabin

I seriously don't want them to.

In fact, this month's Dragon magazine has been the best I've read in the last 18 months. And I can tell it's because they don't have to rush to print any of it, since it's electronic - they have a little more time to work on articles and get maps/art in. Which is a vast improvement.

I noticed that some of the power cards for the PHB2 are now on Insider, and some are still at the development level because I think some of the bard's and avenger's powers are going to be FAQ'd.

I'll play Devil's Advocate here and just ask - isn't that sort of the whole point of a BETA... to see where the bugs are, work through the problems, and fix them before the software goes live? If people are getting frustrated in the Beta and quitting because things aren't running smooth then I think they're missing the point...

I've been in the BETA for a number of different MMO's over the past 4 to 5 years and it's typically the same thing - server instability, features not working as intended, graphics glitches, etc... I always saw it as my job as the Beta Tester to find that stuff and report it - so it could get fixed.

I know WotC is having financial issues, so I wouldn't be completely surprised if they cut back on the production or scrapped the project beacuse of budget issues.

For me personally, the online tabletop sort of defeats the purpose of D&D. I play plenty of MMO's with friends when I want to game with them online. If I'm playing D&D it's because I want to "unplug" and be across the table from the folks I'm playing with. Just my $0.02

To me at least, considering since if you sign up for a year, the cost for insider is under $6 a month... DDI is well worth it for just Dungeon/Dragon and the Character Builder.

I'm not saying anything on about the online tabletop... That app might possibly be interesting, but I agree with Buck. No online game will ever replace the social enjoyment of sitting around the table and playing a game with my friends.

loydb those are great maps for KotSF. Thanks for making those...!

So this Scales of War adventure line... is this in the digital version of Dungeon??

I'd like to check this out.

~F

ps. I am getting ready to run Keep on the Shadowfell.

Scales of War is in the digital version of Dungeon.

And, I believe when you sign up for DDi, you can download all back issues of Dungeon and Dragon magazines. They were going to limit it to when you sign up, but I remember them saying that was not in effect.

Check it out!

Good luck with KotS. You may have to mod some of the encounters or cut them short to avoid a TPK, especially if you do not have 5 PCs.

So I ended up picking up Goodman Games In Search of Adventure. Its a book of 6 first level quests that have guides on increasing difficulty for more characters or higher levels. Been reading through the first one and it is very nicely detailed! Should be a lot of fun to run.

Good deal! Let us know how it goes.

My FLGS does not carry many 3P products anymore (after 3.0/3.5), and has no 4E 3P stuff. I will probably order it online (and sadly, it will probably be cheaper), but I try to keep the guys in business who have been good to me over the years.