Less than a month after ending all online sales of digital current and out-of-print Dungeons & Dragons products — and launching a firestorm of nerd rage — Wizards of the Coast has re-released the first product in its new Fourth Edition line as a free PDF.
Keep on the Shadowfell, a 71-page adventure module for first-level characters, was released in 2008 just before the three core rulebooks debuted — so it also contained a 27-page booklet of “quick-start rules” to get new players started in the roleplaying game. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
The scenario and the rules booklet are now free to download as two separate PDFs in what the company is calling “D&D Test Drive.”
The announcement also reiterates that the Character Builder software remains free to download and use to create characters of levels 1-3. This, of course, is an attempt to entice people to subscribe to Wizards’ D&D Insider online service, which includes access to articles from the online Dragon and Dungeon magazines as well as the use of online tools to enhance the game.
