Ghosts of Dragonspear – revisited

Gencon exclusive adventure

A short while back I posted about the Gen Con exclusive D&DNext adventure “Ghosts of Dragonspear“, well those lovely people over at Wizards of the Coast have got together with the also lovely people at Dungeons & Dragons Classics to bring us all an early Christmas present (OK it’s not exactly a present as we have to pay for it but they “present” the opportunity) with the release of the full adventure in PDF format.

I confess, I couldn’t resist, especially as they had lowered the normal price from $29.95 down to $17.99 – how long for is unknown so grab it quickly.

The 290 page booklet has background information on Daggerford and its inhabitants and environs, but also a series of 4 linked adventures which can take pc’s from 1st to 9th level (if they survive). It also includes a set of the D&DNext playtest rules including a bestiary and pregenerated pc’s, though as this is the same as the original Gen Con product you would be well advised to download the latest version of these from the website (though you’ve most likely already done so – haven’t you?)

Wizards have also just released a sneak peek at the upcoming (in February 2014) Encounters season (the third in the Sundering series) “Scourge of the Sword Coast” which alludes to have connections to “Ghosts of Dragonspear” though if they follow the same route the the first and second Sundering adventures have gone down it shall be supplied with its own Campaign guide anyway.

Speaking of the other Sundering adventures, “Murder in Baldur’s Gate” (first one) and “Legacy of the Crystal Shard” (current Encounters season) they have received mixed reactions amongst the fans/players. My own groups (mis)adventures are recalled here within the weekly blog posts (Oh, you haven’t been glued to your screens eagerly awaiting the next exciting installment? WHY NOT!). We’re currently a couple of weeks in to the second adventure and I have to admit it’s set in one of my all-time favourite places – Icewind Dale. I have long been a fan of the Drizzt series of books by R A Salvatore and remember with fondness the hours spent on my old pc playing the computer RPG of the same name (My original boxed game is still in my cupboard, much to my wifes chagrin I’m loathe to throw anything of my collection away).

Anyway enough of my ramblings for today, I have a session of my 4e campaign tomorrow that I need to prep for (in which we are running through a slightly modified version of the published H series of adventures beginning with Keep on the Shadowfell – our progress is also blogged on here, but you already knew that didn’t you, didn’t you?).

So as they say in the Realms, “Swords high till we meet again!“

Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle – an alternative

Gencon exclusive adventure

Wizards of the Coast announced their Gencon exclusive adventure “Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle” and many D&D players collectively went “Oooo” as this would be the first officially available adventure (not counting the playtest ones) available for the D&D Next ruleset – and then many of us let out an anguished “Argh!” as we discovered that it is only available to purchase by those attending Gencon.

To say we we’re disappointed is a huge understatement, with no 4e books released since “Elminsters Forgotten Realms” we were all eager to get hold of not only a fresh Realms product but an adventure to boot.

“Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle is a D&D Next preview and mini-campaign comprised of four thrilling adventures designed to advance characters from 1st level to 10th level. The book also contains everything a Dungeon Master needs to run the adventures, including D&D Next game rules developed during the massive public playtest, monster statistics, spell descriptions, magic item descriptions, and background information on the coastal town of Daggerford, where the campaign is based.

Against the backdrop of the Sundering, brave adventurers must protect the town of Daggerford against an insidious foreign threat while forging alliances, exploring dungeons, and battling monsters. The action moves from the Lizard Marsh to the orc-infested hills, finally culminating in a deadly altercation amid the crumbling ruins of the legendary Dragonspear Castle”

However, all is not as dismal as it seems my friends as the original adventure and mini-campaign much of this is based upon is now available from DnDClassics – the 1e adventure, N5 Under Illefarn

I’m lucky enough to still have my original hardcopy of this brilliant product, and used it as the jumping off point in several 1e and 2e campaigns over the years. If you use it in conjunction with the playtest rules it should run reasonably smoothly and therefore allow us mere mortals that are unable to attend Gencon to still enjoy the richness of such a rediscovered treasure.

With the release of these products, the Realms will never be truly Forgotten. “Swords high, my friends!”