D&D 5E New DM Starting 5e. . . go with adapted RotRL or HotDQ?

[pontinyc]

I'm a new DM who is about to start a 5e game with a bunch of guys who haven't played D&D (or any rpg) for literally 30 years (myself included). I started one session as GM of a Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords campaign not long ago but found PF to be awfully rules heavy which slowed me down. However, I found the module (Anniversary Edition) to be a fantastic read and very fun to prep.
My question is. . . do I take these guys through the adapted for 5E Rise of the Rune Lords that's been floating around the internet (not my adaptation) or through Horde of the Dragon Queen which I have heard is pretty sand box-y (not great for some guys who are as rusty as can be around a table) and not a great module overall (that is merely opinion, I understand, but have encountered that opinion in a number of reviews).
Any thoughts would be truly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Jester David]

There's a LOT of support for RotRL. Face cards, maps, an amulet prop, item cards, minis, the pawns, syrinscape, etc. More than any other adventure it's possible to make it an experience. And, as so many people have run it, there is a wealth of fan resources and feedback and advice.
It's also almost universally praised.

The Tyranny of Dragons adventures look okay. But the bar is high.

 

[Inchoroi]

Currently running Rise of the Runelords in 5e, and we're having a blast. Hoard of the Dragon Queen would, ironically, take a lot more work to get up to par, at least for my purposes. If you go with Hoard, though, run the Starter Set adventure first, then go into Hoard of the Dragon Queen.

 

[pontinyc]

Thanks for the tips. Can I ask how you adapted it, Inchoroi, and most specifically how you changed loot tables and treasure? Pathfinder relies on the pc's having access to so much more gold and magic items than in 5e, my concern is maintaining balance.

And where encounters are concerned, did you simply substitute monsters from the 5e MM for those in RotRL or did you create entirely new stat blocks for them? I'm way too new and don't yet have a grasp of either system to be able to adapt in that way.

Thanks!

 

[Paraxis]

I have run Rise of the Runelords a couple times using Pathfinder, wonderful adventure there are some blah points but mostly top notch and great support.

I am currently playing through Horde of the Dragonqueen, and it is lackluster and so far not all that great.

I strongly suggest RoTR although I haven't seen the conversion.

 

[MerricB]

Might I suggest going for the D&D Starter Set? The adventure there is great; it will allow your players to get a handle on 5E, and then you can choose to continue on to Hoard afterwards (starting in Chapter 4), or do something else.

Cheers!

 

[DaveDash]

I'd suggest the Starter Set as well, it's actually a fine adventure.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Run Rune Lords. I found Hoard to be a waste of time. If you haven't purchased Hoard yet don't, it's not worth the money.

 

[delericho]

Another vote for the Starter Set here. "Lost Mine of Phandelver" is a great adventure - one of the best WotC have ever put out for any edition.

If the choice really is HotDQ or RotRL, then for a new DM my vote reluctantly goes to HotDQ. It's not a particularly good adventure (although better than I'd feared; though, sadly, "Rise of Tiamat" is the opposite), but it has the big advantage of working as-is. RotRL is liable to require significant work to convert, especially as the campaign progresses to higher levels.

 

[DaveDash]

Another vote for the Starter Set here. "Lost Mine of Phandelver" is a great adventure - one of the best WotC have ever put out for any edition.

If the choice really is HotDQ or RotRL, then for a new DM my vote reluctantly goes to HotDQ. It's not a particularly good adventure (although better than I'd feared; though, sadly, "Rise of Tiamat" is the opposite), but it has the big advantage of working as-is. RotRL is liable to require significant work to convert, especially as the campaign progresses to higher levels.

I echo this.

As someone who is converting a 3e module, it does become a lot of work at higher levels. This is due to the fact that 5e uses large numbers of lower CR monsters, and 3e CR scales more linearly, so once you start getting higher level in 5e you will find yourself missing a lot of easy plug and play options from the 5e monsters manual. This means more conversion work for you.
Also NPC conversion/CR calculation in general can be quite a chore, and 3e loves using monsters with class levels.