D&D General What is your favorite intro module?

[overgeeked]

This is a tanget in another thread, so why not give it a home of its own.

What is your favorite intro module for D&D and why?

 

[Cadence]

B2 (at least in B/X, 1e, and especially 5e, I know there is a 2e revisited one but don't remember the changes). I will admit the area map can be quickly made much better*, as can the motivation for being there.

Honestly, probably because I started with it and have run it a lot. Because by default it contains a settlement to explore, wilderness, and a dungeon. Or two if you use the Goodman update for 5e that includes B1. Because it can be a clear the dungeon thing, or it can have negotiation and more subtlety.

It's also interesting because it has advice to the new DM and explicitly leaves some things for them to fill in themselves (keep floor plans and NPC details).

*https://www.enworld.org/resources/reshuffled-b1-b2-borderlands-map.1628/

 

[Lanefan]

Tough question!

I'd have to answer that for me it's a homebrew module written by my long-time DM, which I've now run something like four times.

B2 Keep on the Borderlands is good too.

 

[cranberry]

B2

 

[aco175]

This was the first adventure that I bought to run my own campaign. We had other modules, but other people used them. This one I developed and ran for two groups in high school.

 

[Shiroiken]

My personal favorite is Keep on the Borderlands. It gives new players hints on what to do without railroading them into it. Exploration and combat are easier for new players to grasp, and it gives plenty of both. The only downside is that it's written assuming the DM isn't new to D&D, giving little advice on how to run the keep.

For completely new players and DMs, I like Lost Mines of Phandelver. It provides pregenerated characters, plus lots of advice for the DM. Only downside is that it does tend to railroad just a bit.

 

[jgsugden]

Favorite? B2, Keep on the Borderlands is just classic. It isn't the best module, and a lot of it just doesn't make sense in modern eyes - but for the time it was excellent. Now it is just a huge slice of nostalgia.

Best? For me, it is my starter module. It was designed to be used with players new to my campaign setting but familiar with D&D as a 'tutorial' on my house rules, the way I run combat, and what you can expect out of combat - and as a diagonostic so that I can see how they play. The PCs are given a goal by an NPC, but there are dozens of perfectly reasonable ways for the PCs to tackle the underlying issue. It is best for me because it gives me insight into my new players at the same time it gives them insight into my style as a DM and into how my housrules function. This 'diagnostic' element is something that I don't see discussed in the WotC and 3rd party low level modules, but is a great tool in making your games better suited for your players.

 

[billd91]

Return to the Keep on the Borderlands.
It offers a lot of advice and works to make the B2 setting more functional. Plus it converted really well to both 3e and 5e.

 

[not-so-newguy]

The Ruined Tower of Zenopus. A fair sized dungeon for 1st level located near a town. Plenty to explore, Multiple dungeon entrances/exits, varied enemies (ghoul, giant snake, goblins, pirates) and some good hooks for the DM to expand on.

I ran this 2-3 years ago for a group of newbs and we're all still playing together . A couple of PCs died when they plundered the Wizard's tower, then decided to take a Long Rest on his roof. The Wizard and his cohort ambushed them shortly thereafter.

The Ruined Tower of Zenopus - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

The Ruined Tower of Zenopus - Now with an illustration by CHRIS HOLMES and a PRINTER-FRIENDLY DUNGEON MAP! THE RUINED TOWER OF ZENOPUS is a fifth edit

www.dmsguild.com

 

[R_J_K75]

The Twisted Tower of Asaba from the 2E Forgotten Realms boxed set was good and from there we went onto the Sword of the Dales trilogy of modules. That was a fun series of introductory adventures.