D&D 5E Yawning portal adventures: Best one shot?

darjr · Mar 17, 2017

aco175 said:
This sounds awesome!

In Omaha on the 26th. If you will be in the area PM me for details.

Shiroiken · Mar 17, 2017

speculart said:
Against the Giants: I used to own this one in the 80s. Cant remember if it would be fun or not.

It's fun, but can be a real grind if the party plans on killing everything (which the adventure seems to expect). In reality, you just have to sneak in, find out what's going on, and get to the next adventure. Killing the Chief, Jarl, and King are all desired, but technically not necessary. Still... it's far to long for a "one-shot."

speculart said:
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan: Love me some jungle..is this good?

Actually, this one pretty much ONLY works as a one-shot. You start in the middle of the dungeon and have to get out. The explanation for why you start in the middle has been a bit railroady for campaign play. The adventure is solid, but traps play a big role; make sure you're up on your trap rules knowledge.

speculart said:
Tomb of Horrors: Too fickle

I'd disagree, but if you're taking a break from CoS... playing this is redundant.

speculart said:
White Plume Mountain: Legendary game. Would this be a good contender?

Probably my favorite on the list. Only issue I've had is the end assumption (which you'll see when you get the adventure... I don't know how to do spoilers here), which I always ignored. Of course, I've only run it as part of a campaign, so as a one-shot it might be better as is.

speculart · Mar 17, 2017

darjr said:
I'm running Tomb of Horrors all day for my bday. The catch is that players must be 1st level. I'll run seven at a time and folks who die get in line for the next try with a different character. Tpks start a new table immediately.

When you die..dont you know how to get up to that point for the next shot? Seems a bit computer gamey and I am not sure my players will like the arbitrary nature of it.
It sure would be good to be a dick dm for once though. And...of course..its a classic, so maybe the guys will dig it with prior warning.
I love the idea of prizes for most hilarious death etc!
This was my first pick..but I got gun shy...maybe I will return to it.

darjr · Mar 17, 2017

Everyone attending has been informed. Two different groups are meeting at two different stores to make characters, in part for this.

speculart · Mar 17, 2017

Shiroiken said:
Probably my favorite on the list. Only issue I've had is the end assumption (which you'll see when you get the adventure... I don't know how to do spoilers here), which I always ignored. Of course, I've only run it as part of a campaign, so as a one-shot it might be better as is.

I do like the gonzo nature of WP...and having the party end up with these legendary weapons...could be interesting to continue at a later date. What happens when everyone knows you have these awesome weapons? You will need to protect ownership, respond to the never ending requests for help..etc. Hmm. Thanks for your input!

Shiroiken · Mar 18, 2017

speculart said:
I do like the gonzo nature of WP...and having the party end up with these legendary weapons...could be interesting to continue at a later date. What happens when everyone knows you have these awesome weapons? You will need to protect ownership, respond to the never ending requests for help..etc. Hmm. Thanks for your input!

I've always done it as a paid recovery mission, so they didn't get to keep the toys (but LOVED using them in the adventure). One time I did have a party decide to keep them, and it changed the entire dynamic of the game. They couldn't go back to Greyhawk (where they were hired) and had to dodge assassins until they were strong enough to kill them. They even lost out on several commissions when someone said "nice sword, isn't that... never mind, we've already hired another adventuring group."

JonnyP71 · Mar 18, 2017

speculart said:
When you die..dont you know how to get up to that point for the next shot? Seems a bit computer gamey and I am not sure my players will like the arbitrary nature of it.
It sure would be good to be a dick dm for once though. And...of course..its a classic, so maybe the guys will dig it with prior warning.
I love the idea of prizes for most hilarious death etc!
This was my first pick..but I got gun shy...maybe I will return to it.

Tomb of Horrors is the best one-shot adventure ever written - nothing has bettered it in 40 years....

It has nothing to do with the DM being a dick, or adversarial, and everything to do with the DM remaining utterly impassive, and playing the material as it is on the page. The emphasis is squarely on the shoulders of the players to get creative, to realise they have as much time as they want, and that the approach of 'hit 1st, take everything that is not nailed to the floor' will simply get them killed very very quickly.

I've DMed it twice in 1E, and both groups had an absolute blast. They both used the same set of pregens I made specifically to have a chance of success. Both groups failed dismally, but they all had a great time failing!

machineelf · Mar 18, 2017

What people have suggested are great. Let me add a couple: Didn't see anybody mention these, but Amber Castle and Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth are also great.

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JonnyP71 · Mar 18, 2017

secondhander said:
What people have suggested are great. Let me add a couple: Didn't see anybody mention these, but Amber Castle and Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth are also great.

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That's because they are not included in the forthcoming 'Tales of the Yawning Portal' book...

We can but hope that they will make the cut for future editions, as both were/are great adventures.

thenightgaunt · Mar 21, 2017

speculart said:
I am thinking about taking a break from COS and doing a one/two session spritzer game from the yawning portal.
Out of the list available I am thinking of doing the Forge of Fury but I have never played any of the games..owned some of them back in the day and read them...just never played them.
I am curious to see what others think would be the best one for a two session hack and slash adventure?
Heres my thoughts so far:
Against the Giants: I used to own this one in the 80s. Cant remember if it would be fun or not.
Dead in Thay: I know nothing..but is this meant to be an adventure for multiple groups?
Forge of Fury: Mixed reviews, some very positive though. Sounds like more of your pick up type of game.
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan: Love me some jungle..is this good?
Sunless Citadel: Used to own this one..but cant remember much. The couple of pages I have read talk about the Gulthias tree and, having just played a similar bit in COS, players may think its a bit samey. Is this worth a look beyond the twig blight/druid type stuff?
Tomb of Horrors: Too fickle
White Plume Mountain: Legendary game. Would this be a good contender?

Thanks for any help

Against the Giants is a fun adventure. It's a little higher level since it starts with you fighting hill giants, but it begins with a raid on a wooden fort built by giants and turns into an odd dungeon crawl. I'll be curious how much of it they convert over. Will Lloth's magical dimension hopping spider-ship make an appearance?

Forge of Fury is a damned good, quick dungeon. It's a dungeon delve down into the ruins of an old dwarf stronghold. It's big enough to last more than 1 session, but varied enough to provide players with a lot of fun.

Hidden Shrine is an old 1e modules and I'll be interested in seeing how it gets converted. The original was kind of a "generic 1e dungeon" though.

Sunless Citadel was a fantastic starter dungeon. It brought in so many different concepts and did a great job showing players and DM's what could be done in a dungeon. As a DM, the Kobald tribe is a really fun tool to play with.

Tomb of Horrors is a brutal dungeon in 1e. I'll be interested to see how they update it. But damn, the Demilich is one of the nastiest D&D monsters of all time. And not in a fun way. More in a "you all die" kinda way.

So I'd recommend Sunless Citadel or Forge of Fury. Citadel can be run in less time then Forge, but both are fantastic dungeons that can be slipped into most campaigns with a few alterations.