Seeking Advice on Modules

[Khaalis]

Hey all. After a few year hiatus due to burn out, I am being asked to come back to the DM's chair. However, I do not have the time I once had for developing involved adventures. Thus what I would like to do is grab a few really good pre-written modules/adventures that I can use as a baseline. The players are not huge fans of dungeon crawls, so adventures like the Return to Temple of Elemental Evil would be lower on the list.

My question to you all is, what pre-written adventures/modules would you most recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Necromancer Games has a number of modules that aren't exclusively dungeon crawls (although they also have plenty that are, so make sure and read the reviews).

But if you want a great kickass module that's about something other than dungeoncrawling, probably the current winner in the category is the Red Hand of Doom, wherein a group of heroes try to stop an advancing army set on conquering the lands in the name of Tiamat. It's a multi-level not-quite-supermodule-in-size adventure from WotC. You might want to pick up Monster Manual IV so that you know what the heck the Spawn of Tiamat all are.

 

[Khaalis]

Necromancer Games has a number of modules that aren't exclusively dungeon crawls (although they also have plenty that are, so make sure and read the reviews).

But if you want a great kickass module that's about something other than dungeoncrawling, probably the current winner in the category is the Red Hand of Doom, wherein a group of heroes try to stop an advancing army set on conquering the lands in the name of Tiamat. It's a multi-level not-quite-supermodule-in-size adventure from WotC. You might want to pick up Monster Manual IV so that you know what the heck the Spawn of Tiamat all are.

This sounds very interesting. I will have to look into it, especially as this is for a homebrew world where one of the dominant nations is ruled by dragons and the Bahamut/Tiamat angle is a very strong story arc. This could work well. Thanks!

PS: What is the estimated Run-through time on this one?

 

[MerricB]

This sounds very interesting. I will have to look into it, especially as this is for a homebrew world where one of the dominant nations is ruled by dragons and the Bahamut/Tiamat angle is a very strong story arc. This could work well. Thanks!

PS: What is the estimated Run-through time on this one?

It's levels 5-10, so should take roughly from 18 to 30 sessions, I guess. YMMV. Part 1 took us 3 sessions, but I run games about 2x as fast as most others. 5 parts, some longer than others.

Cheers!

 

[Khaalis]

It's levels 5-10, so should take roughly from 18 to 30 sessions, I guess. YMMV. Part 1 took us 3 sessions, but I run games about 2x as fast as most others. 5 parts, some longer than others.

Cheers!

Hmm... I'll definitely need to read this through. What we'll be doing is our annual D&D Fest. Most of us are now scattered around the country and once a year we get together for a 6 day gaming marathon as a vacation break. We get in probably close to 8 hours a day of gaming in but tend to focus a lot on RP not just pure combat. It sounds as if this module would cover the whole event. Definitely something worth checking out and would be a lot less work than trying to string together a whole series of mini-adventures into an ongoing storyline.
Thanks.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There's RP in RHoD, but it's of the "make hard decisions while the enemy army is bearing down on you and the village" variety and not so much the "make small talk with the courtiers while waiting for the queen to return from the powder room so the croquet game can continue" variety.

If your crew got emotional during the siege of Helm's Deep (and the evacuation leading up to it), they'll probably really click with RHoD.

 

[deltadave]

Why don't you try running a Living Greyhawk game? There are dozens of adventures already written. I have had great results and started doing the game for the exact same reasons you listed.

 

[Dykstrav]

Where do you go to get Living Greyhawk adventures exactly?

 

[BlackMoria]

You should look at the Adventure Path (from Dungeon magazine), as any of them are definately worth running.

Each Adventure Path takes the party from 1st to 20th level. All have mixtures of dungeon crawls, outdoor adventures, intrigue elements and possible outer plane adventuring. All have gotten high marks for story line, plot elements and writing style.

The Shackled City (the first adventure path) is out in hardcover and is available from Paizo.

The Age of Worms (the second adventure path) is only available in Dungeon mag back issues right now but it is expected at some point to be out in hard cover (the only holdup right now is WOTC approval)

The Crimson Savage Tide is the new kid on the block and is currently unfolding, with 4 issues out and another 8 issues expected.

They are worth the effort to locate and buy, IMHO....but as always, YMMV.

Edit: Error pointed out by Wik

 

[Wik]

Er, That's Savage Tide, and it's Fuggin' AWESOME.