Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TheVanisher 06-24-07, 10:06 PM	Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land, will be released this July and all I can do is just shake my head in disappointment. I think all of us acknowledge that the Dalelands are a good place for a DM to begin a campaign for 1st lvl characters. It's your classic Middle Earth setting that nearly everyone has a strong visual concept of, so it's easy for the DM to give the players the picture. But enough is enough, this is like the 7th or 8th detailed accessory and/or adventure in this one little town. And what do we have in store for the adventurers this time ? ".....Elminster’s tower lies in ruins, and the town of Shadowdale has been conquered by evil Sharrans and the nefarious forces of Zhentil Keep. To drive the villains out of Shadowdale, the heroes must organize and lead a desperate revolt of Dalesfolk against their conquerors, as well as thwart the sinister designs of Shar’s servants and the Zhent garrison." So ordinary Dalesfolk must challenge the armed forces of Zhentil Keep...again. Didn't Randal Morn do this already ? And didn't this happen again during the Time of Troubles....yes, i believe the adverture was called....."Shadowdale". And in the 2nd edition boxed set, an entire book was devoted to an adventure in Shadowdale. Full detailed map in the 2nd Edition Adventures accessory. More detail in the 2nd edition accessory titled "The Dalelands." Full detailed map in the Forgotten Realms Atlas. I suppose the 3rd edition had yet to see something specifically set in Shadowdale, so this was overdue. But c'mon, how about something set in the Old Empires ? How about a trek to Novularond to locate Ulutiu's tomb ? How about a journey to the bottom of the Sea of Fallen Stars to explore the ruins of a fallen Netherese enclave? There are so many fascinating areas of the Realms that have never seen a single produced adventure, why must we keep returning to Shadowdale to fight the Zhentarim? Please, please, please oh producers of Realms material, give us something different than the material we already have. I know Shadowdale like the back of my hand, but if I wanted to run an adventure in Skuld, I would have to spend hours digging through my archives just to find what little reference material there is.
Dark Wizard 06-24-07, 10:25 PM	You said it. More on the other parts of the Realms. Or at the very least a revisit to the Dalelands/Cormyr area that is not just a massive adventure.
Sullivan 06-24-07, 10:36 PM	I think this adventure is mostly a response to people kvetching about Elminster and the Chosen stealing the thunder of the players. I don’t think the adventure is in response to persistent and massive demand to revisit Shadowdale. And the next adventure is the series will go to Shade. But, yeah, going to the Great Glacier would be fun.
Kid SixXx 06-25-07, 07:54 AM	Sorry, but I am not bummed. This is probably the perfect excuse to convert the awesome 2ed Beneath the Twisted Tower for 3ed play, run Raiders of Galath's Roost & her sequel (Woe to Mistledale?) from Dungeon Magazine, and then have this later module serve as a later follow up. If I were still heavily into the FR, I would buy that module in a heartbeat.
Panurg 06-26-07, 11:10 AM	I think this adventure series is rediculous! I bought Cormyr (Why did they call it Cormyr? it could take place everywhere even outside of Faerun!) and I hate it! What a DM needs for managing a good adventure or a Campaign is a book regional sourcebook, not a stupid adventure. Not that I don't use adventures at all, but this one is so lame I hardly can explain how I feel about it. :mad: (I liked City of the Spiderqueen, and many other adventures for their detail and for the INfo on the regions players went through, but in this case I don't see the use for it.) And I agree totally with 'TheVanisher' that there is allready enough material about Shadow Dale. I have adventures and Infos about it from 2ed Boxed Set on, and I can't see it anymore ... Why not adventures in Chessenta, Thay, or Calimshan? Why no regional sourcebook about Cormyr? :confused: :confused: :confused:
Crust 06-26-07, 02:51 PM	Shadowdale is as important as Waterdeep or the Underdark. All three locales have tons of information, novels, and modules detailing them. More are bound to come. Though I'm not a huge fan of the Cormyr adventure, I'm excited to see what's going on in Shadowdale now. Sure there's a lot out there dealing with Shadowdale, but this particular piece isn't repeating any cannon information. Instead of a novel, we get a module. I think that's great. As for the rare locales, there are so many. If you'd like to game in Chessenta or the Spine of the World or Halruaa, download some old maps and start building.
Faraer 06-26-07, 08:01 PM	There has been exactly one detailed description of Shadowdale published, the one in the 1993 Campaign Setting, plus a couple of short overviews. And one decent adventure set there, "The Dread Lair of Alokkair" in REF5 ("Beneath the Twisted Tower" is barely a Realms adventure at all). As an important place in the Realms and a hugely important place in the published Realms -- as Crust says, as important as Waterdeep -- it easily deserves much more. (For instance, we waited 19 years to see a map of Castle Krag, which wasn't even labelled as such, and we've been waiting 8 to find out more about Northend, the new development introduced in Silverfall.)I think this adventure is mostly a response to people kvetching about Elminster and the Chosen stealing the thunder of the players. I don’t think the adventure is in response to persistent and massive demand to revisit Shadowdale.Why? The first is something almost exclusively trotted out by people who don't play in the Realms, while the Dales are one of the most popular parts of the setting.
Light_Colonel 06-27-07, 02:22 PM	I can't remember, where was City of the Spider Queen set? (I ran the adventure, you'd think I would remember) I think it was either Battledale or Shadowdale. Hrrm... On a City of the Spider Queen note; when I ran it my players were quite successful.... except for the whole stopping the BBEG part. I love modules with a ticking clock. :invasion:
Muddman 07-02-07, 01:25 AM	I disagree. I don't have the 2nd edition stuff as I got into gaming after that, so some inof on Shadowdale would be great for alot of people. As for the adventures, I thought Cormyr was pretty good, not great but pretty good. The info on Wheloon was uselful for me to set up the players in the city and have them get from 1st to 4th level with the info stated. It wasn't alot, but it was enough to make Wheloon a place they care about. The story was, again, ok. The story was alright and I liked the BBEG and the final leg of the quest. Its not nearly as good as City of the Spider Queen, but that was great. Red hand of doom was also better, a more concise storyline and the players were taking part in the world rather than its babysitters. Personally, I think they need more stuff like this adventure path, just do it better. Alot of people have 2 jobs like me and a family, so I don't have time to craft an interesting and productive adventure every week. With this book in my hands I can read for two hours before my game and I'm good to go. The Dungeon magazine line has done a great job on adventure paths, I just wish the adventure folks at WoTC did a better job with it. My BIGGEST beef is if you want people going from one adventure to the next, then for goodness sakes put some suggestions at the end of Cormyr to get them TO Shadowdale, otherwise why would they bother?!
Bluenose 07-02-07, 10:05 AM	My BIGGEST beef is if you want people going from one adventure to the next, then for goodness sakes put some suggestions at the end of Cormyr to get them TO Shadowdale, otherwise why would they bother?! I suspect the "how to get your players out of Cormyr" bit will be at the start of Shadowdale. That way people who don't continue with the series aren't getting unused material.
Muddman 07-06-07, 12:01 AM	You're probably right, but it would have been just as easy to put it at the end of the first books, especially since the two books have come out so long apart. My timing is going to be tricky since Shadowdale comes out on the 17 and I think that same friday (July 20) is when my group will be done with Cormyr. This makes for a tough couple of days to read up on the new book and get them ready for the new adventure. Here's to luck being on my side :)
MerrikCale 07-06-07, 08:22 AM	There has been exactly one detailed description of Shadowdale published, the one in the 1993 Campaign Setting, plus a couple of short overviews. And one decent adventure set there, "The Dread Lair of Alokkair" in REF5 ("Beneath the Twisted Tower" is barely a Realms adventure at all). but a lot of novels