On Running 4th Edition
So I got to run Keep on the Shadowfell for the usual suspects of the gaming group. We had a good mix of races and classes (dwarf fighter, elf cleric, dragonborn paladin, eladrin warlord, human wizard, halfling rogue - drangelo that leaves you with a half elf ranger or warlock). We finalized characters, a mission briefing, a "gather clues in town" round robin and two fights, all in about 3 hours.

Thoughts:

I like the adventure layout. Because I'm that kind of DM, I printed out stat blocks for the monsters on index cards, but because all of the stat blocks for an encounter were on the same page as the maps and such for the fight, I pretty much just referred to the book (and the initiative chart / monster condition tracker that I wrote up before the game). I also appreciated the tactics sections to help me figure out how they'd fight.

I also like the adventure itself - there's a very nonlinear quality to it, with multiple quests to pick up as you go.

The combats went well. The bits on monster tactics and the way monsters are designed made them easier to run. I suspect that once folks get used to their characters' abilities that things will run even more smoothly.

Players are more powerful out of the box, but so are the monsters. Who knew that kobolds could be so tough?

I really like the change to hit points - they're much more cinematic now, and there's not the limited resource of healing spells & potions to slow them down. Everyone can self heal so you aren't forced to have a cleric in the party anymore. (Though it certainly would be a lot harder without a warlord or cleric in the party.) You do lack a system for big wounds that take some time to heal, but I'm willing to pay that price.

I'm anxious to see how the Skill Challenges play out - there aren't any in the actual module, but I can probably throw one or two in there.