Cormyr, Shadowdale, Anauroch

[jasin]

It would seem it this trilogy of adventures has a lot to recommend it, especially for my group: it takes PCs from 4th-16th, which is just a bit outside the "sweet spot" at the extremes; we started Cormy: The Tearing of the Weave and the story seemed impressively Lovecraftian before the DM flaked out; and our first and longest lasting 3E game featured shades and Banites prominently and it might be fun to revisit the theme WotC-style.

On the other hand, our perception of Forgotten Realms WotC adventures are tainted by our memories of City of the Spider Queen.

Has anybody played any of these? What were your impressions?

 

[sinecure]

I read the first one. It was a very bad railroad. The series is supposed to tell you the story of how the realms end. You play through it like a dragonlance adventure meaning you don't really change anything. And then the new ones for 4E will tell you what happens 100 years later. Or that's what I'm guessing.

 

[DM_Jeff]

I am running this series for my every-other-Saturday D&D 3.5 group. Just last night we finished the first book: Cormyr Tearing of the Weave.

Overall impressions? It was good. The delve format many dislike meant my prep time consisted of simply gathering minis and tiles and that's a big relief (it's one of the reasons I chose it for this group).

It was VERY rich with classic Realm goodness, details, history and storytelling. It's apparent that work went into it to give it a very FR feel and remind you you were there. This went a long way to making the campain enjoyable for the couple of new players I have who never adventured there.

The last third of the adventure has little in the way of roleplaying and it began taking a toll on my players who expect some moderate interaction (with something other than to kill you at all costs) in my games. That, and that it's a gauntlet of combats to the point where they are noiw carrying around loads of treasure and stuff they can't use because they could not get back to a community to sell any of it.

But now they are back, looking very forward to visiting some cities, and in another level or two start book 2. Books 2 and 3 I noticed seemed to have more roleplaying encounters and possibilities for the group, so I too am looking forward as well.

Specific questions about book 1 I can easily tackle.

-DM Jeff

 

[DM_Jeff]

I read the first one. It was a very bad railroad. The series is supposed to tell you the story of how the realms end. You play through it like a dragonlance adventure meaning you don't really change anything. And then the new ones for 4E will tell you what happens 100 years later. Or that's what I'm guessing.

While the last part of book 1 seems a bit railroady during reading, the book was actually very much NOT railroady in my experience running it. Maybe our definitions differ a bit.

I think it was once supposed to tell you "how the Realms end" because at one point book three had the subtitle "The Sundering of the World" which got changed at some point during development, and now in book three PCs do very much get to make a diffference and the Realms does not end or blow up or anything like that.

-DM Jeff

 

[Shroomy]

I have all three and I think they are a great series of adventures, right up there with the best WoTC adventure offerings, such as RHoD. They are not analogous to the Avatar Trilogy.

 

[sinecure]

To clarify, it's the "Forgotten Realms as we know it" end.

I'm actually down them them busting up the Realms and giving them back to DMs to change as they wish.

EDIT: And the first, Cormyr, is definitely a railroad. It has 5 chapters and your players absolutely will be confronting them in order.

 

[DM_Jeff]

To clarify, it's the "Forgotten Realms as we know it" end.

Not quite sure where you get this. At the end of book 3 if the characters stop the evil, there are plenty of continuing adventure ideas to keep the campaign going. It does not play out the destruction of the Realms as we know it either way.

Regardless I'm not going to be advancing any timeline so the books are very friendly to my approach to the campaign!

-DM Jeff

 

[Shroomy]

Yeah, the trilogy has nothing to do with the Spellplague, though if the PCs do fail SPOILER

Spoiler

the power of Shar and her Shade followers definitely will grow

.

 

[Neil Bishop]

For those of you who have run these, what did you use for a prequel adventure?

I'm planning on running a modified Haunted Halls of Eveningstar, albeit with a more Keep on the Borderlands-feel. A portal will ultimately link Eveningstar with Wheloon so that the published adventures can begin.

However, I'm nowhere near starting so was wondering what others have done.

 

[DM_Jeff]

Rats, I didn't run through an adventure beforehand. It's for 4th level PCs but I have a group of SIX players, so I started the campaign at 2nd level and worked through it that way.

Haunted Halls would be a great starter for the game!

-DM Jeff