Beginning in the trade town of Scornubel, a mystery begins in the town of Scornubel and leads to dangers far afield from civilized lands. In the first module of the Shadowlords, The Message, a vision by the high priestess of Lathander causes events to unfold. The party is asked to deliver a letter to Captain Preth of the Red Shields. He fights with Zhentarim invaders to the north, though Josura the high priestess suspects there is more behind the battle. The party must make their way to Captain Preth, though the road is difficult and uncertain.
This is my first time through the series. I have to say, running a wizard I have just enough problems to keep me interested. None of the fights were too difficult, but there were enough that made me think of how I was going to approach them. I liked the quests for a introductory character. I think what I liked is that this is one of the few modules where I have felt excited about reaching 2nd and 3rd levels. Most modules rapidly move you up levels to keep you player from being killed with one shot, but I liked the level pacing in this module.
Posted by Mirgalen at on08/15/07
Replayed solo with a monk lvl 2 (finished lvl 4). I had no problem to finish the module. I was able to pick my fights and most of the time did everything alone. Got the 2nd henchmen this time. My score may look a bit low but it not if you compare this item to the latest HoF modules. Back in 2002 I would have probably given the module a couple of extra points. Visuals/Sounds: 5 Gameplay/Action: 7 Documentation: 5 Roleplaying: 6 Fun: 6 I tend to disagree with some design choices like my char is a male but I am with a girl why can't she go get the potion (a farily easy item to script)? Also I am no fighter but if my char got say 18 in Strength why can't he lift the wheel possibly with the help of Nooble?
Posted by nath at 17:04:23 Voted7.00
Just replayed it with a friend after playing back then alone. The first in the series was never that great but it is ok as a short starter to the whole. Sure, it cannot compete with the new modules but at least it mostly worked in MP. There where a couple of instances where enemies stayed friendly to half the party but apart from that there where no MP related bugs. The skills of the author improve through the series and that shows in many parts of the module (like henchmen interaction).
Posted by Jesse_Dylan at on06/18/07
I'm always so surprised by some peoples' comments. "Poor in every respect." What? Nothing like constructive criticism. I really enjoyed this module, and I look forward to playing the whole serious! I do wish there was a walk-through, though, so I could read it and see what I missed. In the town where there is nothing but the inn, the cleric henchwoman, the mine and what not, there seemed to be some subplots and things going on. I can't help but wonder what I missed there.
Posted by Mirgalen at on08/15/07
I tend to agree with Akka's comments this first chapter (have not played the others yet) does look and feel like a barely average entry level module. I wanted to try it solo since it did not work well as a MP module (some faction related bug as I explained previously) but I got tired of the one-hit-oops-my-henchen-is-dead thing. Somebody mentioned two henchmen? Well I would like that but I am still stuck with one after installing the mega shadowlord/dreamcatcher/demon package. IMHO the module is probably best with a strong melee type character with the fighter (the cleric does not turn undead btw) else just avoid all fights and complete the mission ASAP. I shall retry it one more time...
Posted by jreid at on04/07/07
This whole series is excellent.
Posted by Guru at on12/23/06
I found this a nice starter mod, but I wasn't drawn in like I have in some of the "newer" mods. I guess it is not fair to expect this to be as innovative in game mechanics as those. I look forward to see how Nooble develops as the series progresses.
Posted by Salish at on10/23/06
This whole series of modules is awesome! Thank you, to Mr. Miller for making a great game.
Posted by amonsloane at on09/29/06
good module, i love the interaction with the henchmen. it was a little lacking as far as just keeping your interest goes though, but not too bad for me to actually lose interest. the series just gets better from here, though
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