3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's a roleplaying product, so it'll be reviewed as a roleplaying product, 4 July 2007
By Anthony Bates "Tony & Julia" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (Forgotten Realms S.): Ruins of Mych Dradder (Paperback)
Unlike many of the previous reviewers I haven't played the computer game that this module is apparently based on - I'm going to treat that as a good thing because it will allow me to review this item on its merits (or lack thereof) and not be predisposed to a negative review.
The adventure is unfortunately very linear and the authors have assumed that the players will naturally move from encounter A to encounter B. Any experienced GM will know that a group of PC's can be distracted by the most benign of things - mention there are some shadows moving in the trees as they walk down the path and off they go finding out what the shadows are all about - even though they were only intended to add colour to the scene.
Additionally, the hooks are very weak - but then its been my experience that all hooks for published modules are weak and that is for the simple reason that the writers of these things have absolutely no idea what shape or size individual campaigns are going to be in hence they go for the lowest common denominator - but every module is prefaced with the advisory that individual GM's know the best way to get thier players invovled, so I don't understand why people complain about hooks.
The thing that annoyed me most about this module was the fact that the main battle happens in the castle of Myth Drannor (which by any measure is a big frigging city) and yet the characters are led by the nose to the castle and the big fight in the dungeon. It seems so simplistic as to be laughable (and I suspect here is the strongest link to the computer game).
One final criticism is that of the creature index. I agree with a previous reviewer that having the index listed 'when encountered' is very frustrating; much better to have everything listed alphabetically.
On the good side, I thought the plot was reasonably well constructed and kind of clever having the PC's 'stumble' into it. Unfortuanately that's about it for the good parts, hence why it only gets two stars.
I would advise you only buy this if you're looking for a good way to get dracoliches involved in your campaign, otherwise you're probably better staying away.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but could be better, 12 Sep 2002
By Charles A. Grybosky "chuckg74" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (Forgotten Realms S.): Ruins of Mych Dradder (Paperback)
If you are a DM looking for a decent adventure to fit into your Forgotten Realms campaign, you could do worse than to run this adventure. The hook to get the players involved is a little weak, but you can always write your own in. It was obviously written before the new (excellent) Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and Creatures of Faerun were released (it has a Phaerimm listed as a random encounter, and sez it is WAY over the heads of 6th level characters, which is not necessarily true), the monsters and NPC's are listed in full stats at the end of the book, but in order of appearance, which is a little difficult to reference (I like the method that WOTC uses now, listing NPC's & Monsters' stats alphabetically in an index). The story is not bad, certainly better than some of the 3rd party modules I've seen. The adversaries seem a little under-powered in terms of magic items, so DM's may want to beef them up a bit with more equipment. The adversaries can be truly nasty, in my opinion truly fitting of the Cult of the Dragon. A Dungeon Master can get a lot more out of this module if he applies the info on the Cult found in "Lords of Darkness" (which I heartily recommend), as well as "Creatures of Faerun."
It is useable as written, but with a little DM work, it can be a truly memorable adventure.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, 18 May 2009
By John Mazz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (Forgotten Realms S.): Ruins of Mych Dradder (Paperback)
I found a copy of this book at my old job at a mall. I brought it home and loved it. I've read it again once or twice since then and its great.