Played Keep on the Shadowfell….Finally!

A few weeks ago, we put together a game group to run the first 4E adventure path, “Keep on the Shadowfell.” Due to the plethora of local and national game conventions, our game got delayed. Or worse, we played the 4E preview modules that were little more than combat encounters.

Finally, last night, we got in a “real” game.  I am not one to post detailed reports about a game session. It is like watching home movies. Interesting to the family  and very boring to the general public. Suffice it to say that many, many kobolds fell beneath our mighty blades.

I did want to mention some of my impressions of the game as a whole, since this is the first legitimate 4E module I played.

Our party consists of an orc fighter, rogue, wizard, warlord (this is me,) cleric and a warlock.

I had expected the orc to be the main damage machine, but the rogue surprised me. Those sneak dice really add up and had significantly more impact than a 3.5 rogue. Most terrifying was the orc player took advantage of the “shift” blocking fighter powers when in flank with the rogue to really crush the enemy sandwiched between them.

For all of WOTCs blather about flexibility and choice in character creation, there are some powers that are clearly no-brainers. Any warlord that does not take “Commander’s Strike” at first level is clearly in need of therapy. It is arguably one of the best abilities in the game and its utility lasts to level 30. The power allows you to give a base attack to another player, at the cost of your own.  I thought it was a cool power, until I started using it. Then it became an amazing power. You tell the character in the best tactical position to attack again. Rogues love it as it increases their opportunity to get that “once per round” sneak attack off.

Speaking of rogues, the feat to increase their sneak dice damage to d8 is also another “must have.” From my experience, they deal as much or more damage as the fighters, so those extra two points can really add up.

Strangest mechanic of the evening was the “Misty Step” from the fey-pacted warlock. Everytime a cursed enemy died, he could teleport a short distance. Kobolds minions are easy meat, so he hopped around the board like a psychotic frog. Humorous, but the mechanic seems like it could use some errata.

I had a good time playing the module, but it seemed a little short on role-playing. We shall see how the rest of the module develops.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer