D&D 5E Need help - back in the DM chair - easy adventures for D&D Next?

[buddhafrog]

I haven't been on Enworld for almost two years... I had been DMing several games for middle school ESL (English as a second language) groups in Korea. My work changed and I only ran one game in the past couple years.

I'm now going to start a new game with my son, nephew and a few friends, all middle school, and some with only intermediate English skills. I wasn't too fond of 4E, think Pathfinder/3E will be too complicated, and I'm curious about running D&D Next, so that is what we'll be doing. I've been downloading the playtests and have the rules, but need some help finding the right adventure. I've spent most of Sunday on Enworld learning, but am not much closer to making a choice, so I thought I would bring it to you for advice:

• I need a game that is more linear, easier to follow, less dependent on fully understanding the nuances of dialog/NPCs, etc. Railroading is somewhat OK. For example, Murder in Balder's Gate looks GREAT to me - but it sounds like it would be far too complex for these kids.
• We can only play a couple hours a week, so the progression is slow. I can't imagine we'll ever get to 10th level.
• I don't have tons of time, so I'm hoping to find a pretty easy adventure to run.

QUESTIONS:

1. Any advice on straight forward, easy adventures for me to run and the kids to follow. Free or pdf purchase is OK.
2. If I get one of the official D&D Next adventures, will it be affected by which playtest rules I have and use.
3. I know that some folks have made conversions for older D&D adventures. I have many older adventures - is there a place where conversions can be downloaded? I've never converted an adventure myself and am a little daunted by the task - but is converting it to D&D Next simply getting new monster/NPC player stats? That doesn't sound too hard, right?

Thanks a lot for helping me get back into D&D and hopefully providing the kids with a good game/intro into RPGs.

 

[frogimus]

Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle is fairly straightforward, has a lot of the classic DND tropes, and also has the playtest rules bundled with the PDF.

 

[buddhafrog]

Thanks Frogimus. I forgot to add: only folks with "frog" in their name are allowed to participate in this discussion. Frog-only zone.

BYW, I know that there are many threads about D&D Next adventures, but things are changing so fast. Because new conversions are becoming available, older playtest adventures might not work with new playtest rules, and new adventures (official and others) have been coming out, I was having a real hard time sorting through all the different info - that's why I started this new thread.

 

[Mistwell]

Scourge of the Sword Coast is sort of like "Keep on Borderlands", with a few exceptions.

1) You start in a town, and the players need to talk to NPCs to figure out where to go next. But, it's not that hard, and it's pretty easy for the DM to feed them the information in those conversations. You could easily short cut those developments.

2) The locations of the "mini-dungeons" are not right next to each other.

3) There is a meta-plot to the adventure. You learn things at each location that points to the next, or to what's going on overall. Again, there is no need for this to be subtle. There are plenty of NPCs you can use to just directly feed this information to the players.

Other than those things, I'd say it's a pretty good intro adventure. You go to the "mini-dungeon", you kill the things there and take their stuff, you go back to town to learn where the next "mini-dungeon" is located. Each mini-dungeon can probably be completed by your group in 2-3 sessions, at the rate you mentioned.

That's a simplification, but I think it's an OK summary.

 

[Plaguescarred]

Add another vote for Ghost of Dragonspear Castle, it seems like what you're looking for really. Its a good adventure, despite being a bit railroady, but if you want something straightforward, you will be well served here.

-Frogscarred

 

[biotech66]

My favorite adventure so far for 5e has to be the Legacy of the Crystal Shard. Great GM screen with a great adventure. I'd start with that one.

 

[DiceyDM]

Id run "Keep on the Boarderlands" and honestly steer clear of a railroad adventure. Especially since railroading completely kills agency. I remember my first experience with Dnd when I was 15. Kids have crazy imaginations, and interesting choices. I think it would be a mistake to use a railroading system because it implies that your choices dont matter and the DM will do as he/she wills or has to do as the adventure states. Especially with kids, they could take this as a DM vs Player attitude, which of course is bad.

The Keep on the Boarderlands is in the downloadable play test packet that you have, it might be called "the caves of chaos" in the packet. It has so many opportunities for adventure, exploration, and if you choose can engage players in simple conversation for example "attempting to get out of a fight by intimidating words or a bribe". Its nothing to heavy on getting info from NPCs or anything.

Furthermore this is compatible with later play test packets, just make sure that you use the most current beastiary. So when they encounter "Shur'lack" the Ogre (either alone or with the Goblins), the encounter is the same, but refer to the new beasitary instead of the monster stats that are in the adventure.

Have fun!


Also on a side note, since your getting back into DMin' try playing without a screen. Ive been doing this for the last two years and my players and I LOVE IT. Roll attacks, saves and initiative in front of your players that way they know you're not helping or hurting them. I do roll monster HP and wandering monsters behind my hand. Only because once you roll in the open players will be used to paying close attention to your dice- not what you want with HP and wandering monsters. It will make them stronger dnd players in the future. Also you wont have issues with a kid's character dieing and him running to mom saying "dad just killed my character" if the dice are out in the open, they know the result of their actions is a consequence of their choices.

 

[buddhafrog]

I lot of good info, thanks a lot. I will look into this adventure. And yes, I also play without a screen for similar reasons.

...and honestly steer clear of a railroad adventure. Especially since railroading completely kills agency.

The big concern here is their ability to make meaningful decisions dependent upon the story/NPCs because of English level. In the past I've been DM with a dozen different ESL groups in Korea - and it has been wonderful for all sorts of reasons. The single biggest problem is finding the balance of complexity (mechanics, but even more so plot) that best fits with the English levels to create a game that is challenging and fun for the players - but one that can actively follow and truly participate in.

 

[Blackwarder]

Ghost of dragonspear castle and scourge of the sword coast are the adventures that you want to start with.

if you don't mind me saying, why don't you play in your native language? Instead of reading alod t just narrate what's happening.

Warder

 

[buddhafrog]

Ghost of dragonspear castle and scourge of the sword coast are the adventures that you want to start with.

if you don't mind me saying, why don't you play in your native language? Instead of reading alod t just narrate what's happening.

Warder

My native language is English, first of all. Secondly, these are part-time tutoring jobs that I have for small groups of ESL students. We play D&D for some of our classes as a reward but also to stimulate free conversation. It has works very well.