Thoughts on 5th Edition Fantasy modules by Goodman Games?

[Adar]

Someone recommended the Goodman Games Fifth Edition Fantasy series of modules for good drop-ins. I searched the forum here and found the occasional reference, but not a whole lot of information. I'd love to hear from anyone who has run (or played in) one of these modules... what did you think of the experience? Was it easy to run? Well organized? Balanced?

In particular I was looking at War-Lock (https://goodman-games.com/store/product/fifth-edition-fantasy-4-war-lock/) and The Archmages Lost Hideaway (https://goodman-games.com/store/product/fifth-edition-fantasy-11-the-archmages-lost-hideaway-print-pdf-bundle/). I am also unclear about how far these modules go for the players, experience-wise. Like if we work through War-Lock with 5 or 6 5th level characters, will they be at 6th level by the end of it?

Thanks in advance for any insight or experience you share.

[ad_hoc]

I bought the Treasure Box, a collection of 10 of them.

I played 3 of them I think and then sold the collection. Didn't like them at all.

Played War-Lock, I think it's pretty bad.

War-Lock is pretty straightforward which is to its detriment. It's mostly a combat slog with some light exploration elements. The War-Lock has a backstory and motivation that won't matter and has no reason to actually present itself. Bad guy is bad wants to do bad stuff heroes must kill is essentially it.

I found the adventures in general to be confusing and convoluted. Lots of space given to backstory and not much effort put into actual game presentation. I don't care about the backstory if it never comes up in the game. I want my published adventures to make it easy to pick up and play and I find I have to do too much work with them to be worth it.

It's not particularly well balanced either.

That was my foray into 3rd party publishers. I'm going to stick to the WotC adventures now.

[Adar]

I bought the Treasure Box, a collection of 10 of them.

I played 3 of them I think and then sold the collection. Didn't like them at all.

Played War-Lock, I think it's pretty bad.

Wow thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. Do you mind answering a few more questions?

I don't mind if backstory isn't all that relevant since I'm going to warp it to fit whatever story had already been happening for the characters... but the fact that it's unbalanced is a red flag. Was it too hard for the characters, too easy, or just really inconsistent?

Basically, I don't have time to draw up maps and populate dungeons - it's a lot of work and it takes time. That's why I buy modules. A lousy backstory I can deal with, but if the module doesn't do the main thing I want to buy it for (maps/dungeons that are nicely populated), there's absolutely no point in my purchasing it.