1) It's a complete campaign, right? Meaning when they finish the last adventure, they've saved the world or whatever and are mighty heroes the bards will sing songs of for years to come? Plus if I recall its 12 adventures that take the PCs from level 1 to level 20? Like the old "Night Below" campaign of 2nd edition (well kinda.. NB I think was level 16 or so)?2) What's the basic premise (no spoilers, please!)? I recall reading somewhere (I don't remember where, though) that the "shackled" part of the name meant you couldn't leave the city for some reason??
3) Just how killer are the adventures? I've read varying things that place the lethality from average to nearly a TPK per adventure. Are the adventures challenging (on average)? Very hard?
4) For those of you who have/had run this, what's the preferred chargen method? Does the book mention chargen at all?? I was thinking a 28 point buy (although most of my players dislike point buys because *gasp* it puts them on equal footing! The horror!).
5) The campaign is "generic" so takes place in Greyhawk, I assume? Is it very difficult to place it in Forgotten Realms or somesuch game? I know there are threads on this.. just asking for a general answer here I'll probably keep it in Greyhawk for simplicity's sake, although my players are used to FR.
6) Not quite SC related, but if I'm keeping it in Greyhawk, what's the greyhawk equivalent to the FR Campaign Setting (you know, has details about the land and gods and such). Living Greyhawk Gazetteer?
Thank you all for the replies.. and please excuse the n00bish type questions.
1) Yes, it's designed to go from 1st - 20th+, depending on party size. The scope is, indeed, of epic proportions, so if the PCs succeed, they will be great and legendary heroes.
2) The PCs can leave Cauldron whenever they like; the Shackled bit refers to the fact that, essentially, the story revolves around stopping a cult of crazed fiend-worshippers from turning Cauldron into a permanent gateway to the planar prison dimension of Carceri, flooding the world with evil Demodand outsiders.3)The book describes itself as a very challenging adventure for a group of 6 PCs, and yes every single adventure has multiple opportunities for a TPK if your players do not prepare themselves well, fight with tactical coordination, and remember that often discretion is the better part of valor (read: know when to run the heck away).
4)This really depends on how many players you have. Even with a full group of six, the book recommends a 28 point buy or else the high-power, 5d6 keep 3 highest system for random rolls. Fewer players, and I'd recommend modifications to give them more advantages.
5)There are, as you say, multiple threads discussing a FR conversion, and from all that I've seen, it's not very hard to do. I myself kept it Greyhawk.
6)The best product I'm aware of for general info on the world of Greyhawk, as of the 3.X editions of the game, is in fact the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, so if you have it you should be good to go.
Hope these answers help you out, and enjoy one of the *coolest* campaigns this DM has ever read/run!