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I purchased Dragora's Dungeon at GenCon along with Forges of the Mountain King.
Dragora's Dungeon starts off with a warning that this adventure is not for inexperienced GM's or players, and that players will be rewarded for thinking. After reading the module I would have to agree. PC's that try to hack their way through this module will not last long, and even if they do survive will miss out on a lot of unique role playing opportunities.
The story has kind of a Conan world feel to me, which I like, but would be lost on those unfamiliar with Rober E. Howard's work. This by no means should affect the enjoyment of the module though.
The module makes good use of the new 4E skill challenge system, though I have to admit I would have liked to have seen some more skill challenges, but given the scope of the module an experienced DM should be able to add them in easily enough.
One of the key features of this module is a new race the PC's will face off against. This lost race is part of what gives it the Conan feel to me, and should add an interesting twist for experienced players who may be tired of fighting kobolds and goblins with their first through third level characters.
After giving the module a read through a second time I did discover a bit of a plot line / logic hole, one that I believe astute players may pick up on fairly easily. I came up with a fix for it easily enough though and I believe most experienced DM's will be able to as well. For me this small hole did not diminish my enjoyment of the module. It certainly is a smaller hole than many I have seen published by the worlds supposed leader in hobby gaming.
If I had not already written my own low level module for the start of my 4E campaign I would have used this as a starting point and I certainly would use this over Keep on the Shadowfell for my group. While I think Keep on the Shadowfell is a pretty decent low level, and certainly good for beginning players and DM's Dragora's Dungeon really pushes the limits, and should provide an interesting challenge for experienced players. If you are a new DM with a new group, stick to Keep on the Shadowfell, but if you have the kind of been there done that feel with your group, especially regarding low level play I would highly recommend Dragora's Dungoen.
I mean the concept doesn't sound much different than Dungeon Crawl Classics, does it?
well, by the sound of the other guys review of it, it sounds like its very much different then the concept of dcc.
in the dcc, npcs are meant to be killed, this one sounds like it has quite a few roleplaying parts, and skill challenges, etc.
seems very different.
I mean the concept doesn't sound much different than Dungeon Crawl Classics, does it?well, by the sound of the other guys review of it, it sounds like its very much different then the concept of dcc.
in the dcc, npcs are meant to be killed, this one sounds like it has quite a few roleplaying parts, and skill challenges, etc.
seems very different.
I'm referring to the promotional blurb with the product: "Only the most courageous and cunning of heroes will emerge victorious from Dragora's Dungeon."
This sounds like hack-and-slash. as does the powergamey-sounding bit about great dungeons make graet adventurers. If there IS a deep story in there, maybe they should put that in their promotional material.
Like any other pre-published module it is what you make of it.
Personally I don't get courageous and cunning = hack n slash, nor do I see that great dungeons make great adventures = power game. But heh that is your interpretation so I will leave you to it...
It really sounds to me like you are just looking for reasons to dislike this module and nitpicking so you can convince yourself not to spend money on it. (There's my nickels worth of morning psycho-analysis for you) :)
Seriously though this is a very solid module and is different from their DCC stuff. For 12.99 its worth it just to pick up and read. You might find that you really like it, or you might find that you dont. Thats when you start cherry picking stuff out of a module to drop into your own games.
Ok... just because I can't resist... :)
courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.
cunning:
1 : dexterous or crafty in the use of special resources (as skill or
knowledge) or in attaining an end <a cunning plotter>
2 : displaying keen insight <a cunning observation>
3 : characterized by wiliness and trickery <cunning schemes>
4 : prettily appealing : cute <a cunning little kitten>
Note that at nowhere in the definitions does it mention physical strength or force of arms or magicaly blasting things to pieces. Ergo defeating the "sounds like hack n slash" interpretation...
have a nice day!
:)
We're playing it right now here:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/community/gaming/playByPost/dragorasDu ngeon
I've been reading some mixed reactions to the adventure.. so what's everyone else think?Me, I have been trying without much success to find any reactions to this adventure. Where have you been reading these?
I have to agree about finding reactions (i.e. no comments in 14 months). Has anyone played these? Are they favorable to RolePlaying? That is my main complaint about 4E, but Goodman created a lot of good RP in 3.5 and I have a group that likes some of the aspects of 4E