For an introductory adventure, this does not even come close to the quality of Dungeon Magazine did for 3rd edition.

It is ridiculously over priced considering what you are getting. As a GM running the module, running this as my first experience with 4th edition, using the starter rules. Realistically if this is what they're trying to get someone hooked on the game with, they didn't succeed.

It's expensive, the material is flimsy and subpar. I found combat to be dull and very constrained, We ran a session and the vote was pretty much do not continue with the premade characters.

we came back to it with the core books a few weeks later and despite having more freedom and choices, didn't really find it appealing.

There were some interesting elements {for the players} But as a GM there are better games out there and many better Adventures, even if you're just reading them!

This first published adventure for 4e is lacking in the quality content department and perversely overpriced.

Just eight years ago, we were paying $20 for the 3e Player's Handbook. The philosophy then was to offer a low barrier to entry and drive up the number of players. (A strategy which succeeded.) To price this module at $30 is a shocking affront to the fans.

More than 20% of the pagecount (22+ out of 96 pages) in this module is a reprint of 4e basic rules (found in the PHB and DMG), to make no mention at all of the duplicate stat blocks and other nonsense.

Furthermore, I am constantly amazed by Wizards' content bias toward older players. Demonic cults? As the first introduction to the game? It's just as cliche as saving the princess from the dragon. (BTW, has Wizards *ever* done that?) Worse, it makes it much more difficult to pitch the game to potential new players.

There happens to be a culture war going on in the U.S., and Wizards has gone all in on one side of the war. Through their content choices, Wizards is effectively saying, D&D is a blue state game for 20- and 30-somethings. Doesn't sound like smart marketing to me.

While note a great adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell accomplishes what I believe it was trying to do, introduce new players to the 4th Edition ruleset.

The combat is challenging at times and monotaneous at others but overall fun to run as a DM and participate in as a player.

As for roleplaying potential, that's going to depend greatly on your DM and your players. My group veered steeply away from the path as soon as they arrived at Winterhaven and managed to get themselves into too much trouble while bothering one of the more hostile NPC's. After 2 sessions we've only made it through one combat encounter and everything else has been roleplaying.

The module is very basic so I suggest making it your own if you want something more than "Okay."

This adventure is nice for a quick start, but even starter adventures have price lists for adventuring goods and backup gear. The rules are sketchy, and missing some essential knowledge for DM's and PC's. The inability to actually select and know what gear you may utilize is just a crippling shot to the proverbial groin for everyone but the novice DM and players, and surely the least enthusiastic participant may ask, "What happens when I throw all of my javelins/daggers, or fire all of my bolts? Can I buy more? Can I spend the treasure I find? Can my dwarf buy some plate armor? May I use the greataxe the berserker was wielding?" Really, this feels very half-hearted. It's incomplete. Next time, give it your all.

Something about this adventure really got me going. I can't wait for 4th edition to come out, and I REALLY can't wait to run this adventure. I am very happy with the fact that Wizards is now making their own 'adventure paths' so to speak, with this leading off all the way to epic tier!

Overall, looks fun to play, comes with mechanically interesting quick-start characters with no names or real portraits, a real bump up from the Basic Game starting adventure in 3.5 (I'm lookin' at you, Regdar)

The adventure occupies pages 2-4 and 16-80 of the booklet, clocking in at 68 pages total. On these 68 pages you'll find 72 stat blocks each occupying a quarter page. Of those, 62 appear in the 4th Edition Monster Manual; more than 30 are reprints WITHIN Shadowfell itself. Seven monsters appear thrice over, often in close succession. For instance, two hobgoblin types EACH appear *three times* in their full glory on pages 64-68. The Kobold Dragonshield tops its all. His stat block first appears on page 17, and then gets repeated in full length on pages 25, 27, and 28. You read that right.

What's more, the Kobold Dragonshield, along many other monsters in this book, appeared in preview material. Knock those off, and you got a product which lists new encounter material on 52 pages. What you don't get is a product that even attempts to provide a story workable at the game table, or a self standing product. All the money your PCs accumulate during their 30 or so hours of gameplay? Well, they can't spend it on equipment, because equipment for sure is listed in the Player's Handbook. Or so we're explicitly told, and that's not the only time we're referenced to look elsewhere and go, buy the book.

As for the story line (or mostly, lack thereof), there's an astounding claim in this product: spatial limits prevented the authors to go further into it. Yep, that's right, guys. Spatial limitations. Makes me wonder what the heck Paizo is doing, printing a goblin stat block once and then actually providing an, ahm, adventure?

Just ask yourself. Whether you're a DM running this thing at GenCon or at home, what takes up more of your time? To flesh out a whole story, compile 4 pages of equipment based on absolutely no pre-info on how gold is handled - OR TO OCCASIONALLY JUST TURN ONE F***CKING PAGE TO LOOK UP A STAT BLOCK?

That's why I call Keep of Shadowfell just one thing: astounding. Makes me shudder that for $30 you could get two volumes of Crimson Throne.

Not very far. Not very far at all. This product looks like an old folder you might have kept in your Trapper Keeper. The item opens up to reveal two flap pockets. One pocket has the adventure in flimsy, thin stock paper. It doesn't even have a back cover. 80 pages in the adventure book. The next flap has a set of maps and the Quick Start Rules. Again, no back cover for the cheap 16 pages, 5 of which are the pre-made PCs.

The maps aren't bad. They'll be nice for short games of small army D&D minis.

There is just enough of a taste of the rules to keep me interested, but the poor quality of the materials and the lackluster adventure makes this product a very poor entry into the 4e.

I'm glad I didn't pay anywhere near $30 for my copy, but I still paid too much.

Got a copy last night, and have to say I'm rather disappointed.

As one previous reviewer indicated -- this should be their 'A Game', this is the first serious look at 4ed, this should be the best they've got, and it certainly isn't (if this is indeed the best they've got the WotC's in big trouble).

The 16 page quick-start rules summary is okay, there are a few things included in the adventure that should have been printed here instead however.

The 80 page adventure lacks punch, it's neither a great adventure, nor a great introduction to the new system. About 64-pages worth of adventure (and nowhere near the content of a normal 64-page adventure), the first dozen-or-so pages mostly reprint what was in (or should have been in) the quick-start rules, and rather bizarrely are stuck in between the indtroduction to the adventure and the first encounter.

This first encounter is a very poor first step in introducing the new system, there's no discussion of the perception vs stealth mechanics for spotting the ambush, although these are mentioned in the skills section previously they should be specifically referenced here; indeed the text explicitly states that if a PC gets a line of sight to one of the hostiles the hostile automatically notices. The battle's cluttered -- 8 assailants (5 of whom are so fragile that getting out of bed in the morning is tantamount to suicide) slow things down initially as in addition to all of the attackers having a useful (at will) movement ability, most are (primarily) missile users.

Basic editing issues throughout, a few come to mind but as we're in the first encounter -- "a minion not close enough to engage in melee hangs back and throws a spear" -- no, it throws a javelin, simple mistake and easy to rectify but inexcusable in the first encounter of the introductory adventure.

It's not clear what this introductory adventure is trying to achieve -- it should be aimed at people moving from 3.5 but spends half its time

Ok, so i have just recieved my copy of H1, and my initial take is positive.

The module is a easy way to introduce the new rules set to my players, and the fact that it is not overly complicated plot and roleplay wise will definately help my learning of same rules.

Pros:
Nice design
Very good quick start rules
Interesting encounters
Maps

Cons:
Flimsy Design
Party is a 5 member party, and the rules are shallow on how to deal with a smaller or larger party.

Overall i think we are going to have lots of fun with this adventure, and i am pretty sure my players will be excited about generating their own characters for H2

Not gonna cut it in a Paizo world. Physically flimsy, thin on plot and setting, this is a cliche of a dungeon crawl. Worse still, basic things like the treasure parcel rules are ignored. Some good art and a few tactically interesting combats can't save this one. If this is WotC's A game, and it should be, I might just forget about 4th edition.

Not recommended.