D&D 5E Rank the Official 5e Adventures (Updated)

[Bolares]

I don't think Dragonheist is unplayable as written. It's just, meh, and has a lot of wasted potential as written... but unplayable is a bit harsh

 

[Parmandur]

While HotDQ isn't my cup of tea as an adventure, I do agree that you can run it as written.

When I say that there are some that are flat-out not playable unless the DM fixes stuff, the ones I'm thinking of specifically are Storm King's Thunder and especially Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - and at the same time, I would still say that there is good to great content in both of those.

Trying to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist straight from the book is like trying to play the beta release of a complicated CRPG. You keep encountering game-breaking bugs and your character can wander into areas that were never finished. And there are other parts of it that are really great and make you think "I can't wait until they finish the rest of this game so it will all be like this part." But they never DO finish it. And then some third party working alone releases a free patch on Steam that fixes the bugs, finishes the missing areas, and makes it playable for you.

All of them are excellent idea mines, which I'd what it seems they intend them to be used for, and how I see them being used.

 

[Retreater]

I don't think Dragonheist is unplayable as written. It's just, meh, and has a lot of wasted potential as written... but unplayable is a bit harsh

I don't think any of the adventures are actually unplayable. There are ones (Dragonheist included) without a good deal of DM finesse would be confusing, unenjoyable, or cause a group to stop in its tracks, unable to move forward without a lot of external guidance. These are like glitches in video games (such as Cyberpunk 2077).
The bad news is that - once printed - these adventures can't get updates, bug fixes, etc. They should be right the first time. For people to devote hours to playing (not to mention reading & prepping), I think we should ask for more than "meh."

 

[Bolares]

I think we should ask for more than "meh."

Absolutelly we should. I'm not trying to defend mediocre adventures

 

[Malmuria]

I don't think any of the adventures are actually unplayable. There are ones (Dragonheist included) without a good deal of DM finesse would be confusing, unenjoyable, or cause a group to stop in its tracks, unable to move forward without a lot of external guidance. These are like glitches in video games (such as Cyberpunk 2077).
The bad news is that - once printed - these adventures can't get updates, bug fixes, etc. They should be right the first time. For people to devote hours to playing (not to mention reading & prepping), I think we should ask for more than "meh."

Are there third party adventures that you really like? I'm wondering if the Grand Adventure Path style has run its course...

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I don't think any of the adventures are actually unplayable.

Yeah anyone here saying a module is unplayable... I mean, they've all been played. People have played with them. They've even been played exactly as written. This is how the D&D playtests them, there's an interview somewhere where Perkins talks about how when playtesting they ask DMs not to divert from the text at all (if they do, they consider the playtest useless).

Now, saying that you think the module can be made better by diverting from the text and adding your own fixes, or saying that the module cannot be run in a fun way for your table... both are fair criticisms. But no one can actually say objectively "Yeah this adventure it totally unplayable."

 

[Retreater]

Are there third party adventures that you really like? I'm wondering if the Grand Adventure Path style has run its course...

Sure. I can give a few examples of ones better than what WotC produces.
First, I'm currently running "Glimmering Crypt of the Ioun King" by Planet X Games. It's a simple dungeon crawl - traps, combats, with enough of a background that it can be dropped into many campaigns. It's around 30 pages, for levels 6-8. You can tell that the writer was focused on this kind of adventure, and the theme is clear. It's a better dungeon than anything in Rime of the Frost Maiden.
Looking at a megadungeon, compare Dungeon of the Mad Mage with Barrowmaze, which comes with a town, NPCs, small "satellite" dungeons, a few compelling villains, traps, backstory.
Look at something like "Hole in the Oak" by Gavin Norman instead of some of the early level dungeons by WotC - and see how formatting and presentation can make something easier to run by new DMs.

 

[Nikosandros]

Look at something like "Hole in the Oak" by Gavin Norman instead of some of the early level dungeons by WotC - and see how formatting and presentation can make something easier to run by new DMs.

Hole in the Oak is truly a great dungeon, I thoroughly enjoyed playing through it.

 

[Burnside]

Yeah anyone here saying a module is unplayable... I mean, they've all been played. People have played with them. They've even been played exactly as written. This is how the D&D playtests them, there's an interview somewhere where Perkins talks about how when playtesting they ask DMs not to divert from the text at all (if they do, they consider the playtest useless).

Now, saying that you think the module can be made better by diverting from the text and adding your own fixes, or saying that the module cannot be run in a fun way for your table... both are fair criticisms. But no one can actually say objectively "Yeah this adventure it totally unplayable."

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has a point at which the adventure will grind to a halt unless the adventurers decide, apropos of nothing, to investigate where a key they found was manufactured.

I have no idea how that made it through playtesting without a whole bunch of DMs saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna fix this part real quick."

 

[Retreater]

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has a point at which the adventure will grind to a halt unless the adventurers decide, apropos of nothing, to investigate where a key they found was manufactured.

I have no idea how that made it through playtesting without a whole bunch of DMs saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna fix this part real quick."

You assume they playtest?