Need an adventure that meets some specific criteria

[Greybird]

I'm getting ready to start up a 5e game with my kids, 11 and 13. I've been playing (mostly GMing) off and on for the past 25 years, but don't really have the time to do everything from scratch this time around (I'm also involved in two other adult games.)

I'm looking for something I can run with my kids. With all of the hundreds (thousands?) of published adventures out there, I'm not sure where to start.

Here are the criteria for what I need:

~A fairly direct approach to the adventure without making the adventure shallow hack-and-slash. This is the tough one. These are kids, and a sandbox adventure, an adventure built around espionage, or a story with lots of political maneuvering is going to leave them scratching their heads. That said, I want there to be roleplaying, non-combat encounters, and problem solving mixed in with the combat, not just hall-room-monster-trap-hall-room-monster-trap.
~A decent, but relatively easy to follow story.

What I don't care about:

~Adult content. My kids are mature. I see mature content as an excuse to talk to my kids, not as something to shelter them from. I don't need to give them happy bunnies living in rainbow land.
~Version. I've played nearly every version of D&D from the pre-advanced boxes through Pathfinder and 5e (and a couple of dozen other systems over the years as well. I'm perfectly content converting between editions or repopulating to a different level.

So, what can I grab and play with my kids?

 

[gamerprinter]

One shot, full module or full AP - what length of an "adventure" are you seeking? Since the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) is my creation I am pimping that, though many of its adventures meets your parameters as well. Some Japanese horror involves adult themes and is true for much of the darkness found in Kaidan. Most Kaidan modules have social encounters mixed with combat, though the first one below is entirely combat and deadly traps, but one of the most adult themed of all the modules.

For an adult themed one-shot module there's Up from Darkness for a party of 4 PCs of 7th level, which takes about 4.5 hours to run. Like many one-shots there are included pregens, for this module, because of the way it runs it is highly suggested to use the pregens and not pre-existing PCs. Read Endzeitgeist's review for a near full reveal of the entire one-shot, though even he doesn't mention the "twist" at the end. No real social encounters, but its unique plot, use of Kaidan's twisted reincarnation mechanic allows PCs to die multiple times in this adventure, and a reveal at the end with implications of suicide (making it quite adult).

Something I wrote that is largely a murder mystery play, so indeed includes interrogations and investigation that has both social and other non-combat encounters is Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House. Because of the extensive investigation aspect to this product, it could be treated as anything between an extended encounter, up to a full module, depending on how you run it. Note the ghost and curse involved has much inspiration from the movie, The Grudge.

For a short AP, there's the introductory campaign for the setting, The Curse of the Golden Spear trilogy (5th - 8th). The first module, The Gift, has lots of combat action, though not necessarily hack n' slash, sometimes involving duels where one NPC challenges one specific PC, though there are included rules where PC audience aids the fighting participant, as well as the defense of a village against a large force. Also there some social exchange between the PCs and a local yakuza syndicate boss at his night club (and fight club). Note: the Haiku of Horror, previously mentioned, fits well at the end of this module where the party is required to stay at an inn - a Japanese bath house is a special kind of inn as bath house, restaurant, tavern and lodgings. This module is more "gothic" than the other two.

The second module, Dim Spirit, begins with key social encounters for almost the first full third of the module, though it is combat heavy in the following 2/3rds. This module is more fear while being chased and desperation.

The third module, Dark Path, focuses on phobias and fear of the unknown more than the other two modules, thus being a delving into Japanese horror, but each module explores a different aspect of fear and horror.

Although the only social encounter is at the very start, and a more survival horror adventure that most of Kaidan, Frozen Wind, is being trapped in a mountain monastery during a freak and freakishly cold snowstorm - this is a FREE module, if you simply want to take a gander at Kaidan at no cost.

Note the Kaidan setting guides are still be written, and behind schedule following the Kickstarter that funded it, but you could take a look at the "video" that explores what Kaidan is all about.

There might be other available products out there that fit the bill, but I know my products best and know that your mentioned goals were designed into them. Read the reviews on the linked material, as they are very revealing and mentions the quality of all Kaidan products.

 

[Greybird]

Thanks - I'll take a look, although I'm not sure my kids would be as interested in an Asian setting - they've already been poring over the PHB classes and races.

 

[gamerprinter]

The trilogy of modules for Kaidan, The Curse of the Golden Spear begins with all the PCs as typical classes as westerners visiting the exotic far east. PCs aren't supposed to be locals from Kaidan in that trilogy, so they can keep all their current chosen player options. The plot begins in a port city in the PC's homeland with a merchant bearing a gift for a foreign ruler in the start of a trade negotiation, and needs a party of escorts to guard the gift. So it requires a mostly hand-waved voyage across the sea to reach the exotic archipelago of Kaidan. Plot hooks are included in the pursuit of items and knowledge of Kaidan, as it had closed its borders to outsiders for hundreds of years and only recently opened them to trade, so the setting works for foreign espionage, diplomacy type games that seem to fit some of your criteria.

 

[Greybird]

so the setting works for foreign espionage, diplomacy type games that seem to fit some of your criteria.

To clarify, I was trying to avoid that type of game. I think the kids would lose track of things if too much of the game revolved around intrigue.

 

[gamerprinter]

Ah, I misunderstood - well the modules are all pretty straight forward and is really more an exploration of Japanese horror than any other theme.

You could look at Way of the Wicked, a full AP by Fire Mountain Games, where the PCs are evil characters (LN, N, LE, NE) and are all guilty of some crime as a prerequiste - that is certainly adult themed. It begins with the PCs as convicted criminals and a prison escape.

 

[Greybird]

I'll look at that, although, again, the 'Adult Content' was in the 'Don't Care About' section, not the 'Needed' section. I just meant that I'm not concerned with hiding bad stuff from my kids, not that I'm actively seeking it out.

To clarify, the only two things in 'Needed' were a decent, easy to follow story coupled with mechanics that kids could follow - maybe 2/3 classic hack-and-slash, 1/3 light RP and intelligent problem solving.

 

[Greybird]

Thanks for all your input, by the way.

 

[Fuseboy]

I'm new here, so I can't post links, but I have a series of free one- and two-page adventures, some of which might work for you. I generally build them as adventure locations, so there's a backstory, but the adventures themselves don't have a 'story' to them. The ones that I suspect would be most appropriate are:

The Circle of Wolves
Tannoch Rest-of-Kings
The Cage of Serimet
The Necromancer's Wish

'Wolves' is a werewolf setup with a few unusual twists to it. Tannoch is probably the most likely to result in direct combat, although it would be interesting to see how kids would react to Marta. 'Cage' is an interesting place, although the players will have to decide how they want to approach it - having Yorta escape would be an straight forward ploy, or you could let them encounter him and go full-on creepy for a while. Necromancers' Wish is a dungeon crawl with a transformatively weird aspect to it.

 

[GMMichael]

www.onepagedungeon.info

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