It's been quite a while since I have run a lv 1 through Korthos and when I ran in Lamannia for the last couple of days, I was able to run without a healer through Korthos on normal and hard(after which I got lv 20 xp ). Im not sure if knowing what to expect has made it easier or if this was by design, but knowing I can do this kind of took some of the excitement out of it.
*This is not a chastisement- just an observation and a curiosity as to whether or not my perception is skewed by having been in DDO for a while.