3.5 1st level adventure for 10 yr old DM

[Aplus]

If he wants to be creative with it, the 3rd edition "Basic Set" has some cool double-sided dungeon tiles and a very rudimentary adventure. The adventure itself wasn't great, but while I was reading it I came up with a ton of ideas for cool stories and reasons why the group might visit this dungeon.

I would also have put my vote in for Hollow's Last Hope, having read it. However I haven't read any of the modules that come after it. But it shouldn't matter anyways if you're not planning to make a campaign out of the series of modules. It's free, so what have you got to lose?

There are some good Pathfinder ones, but I wouldn't want to put him in a position of having to convert monsters and things like that.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

If this is to be a regular thing, have you considered an adventure path?

I found, when I was a beginning 19 year old dm, that adventures were not particularly challenging, but campaigns were much more difficult.

I think the Drow War Trilogy (mongoose) might be good, as would several (if not all) of the Paizo paths.

Both Rappan Athuk and Castle Whiterock are FANTASTIC long term dungeons (the first is more deadly).


But another good option might be the necromancer games series:
1. Free module: The Wizard's Amulet
2. Crucible of Freya
3. I believe the series goes further and perhaps into Rappan athuk, but I'm not sure.

 

[Festivus]

I didn't spot it on the list, but then I have old eyes.

There were some great 3.5 adventures towards the end of the Dungeon print run. "Whispering Cairn", I think it's Dungeon 124? Erik Mona did a smash up job with this adventure, it's a heck of a lot of fun. Has a very old school feel to it, with some great dungeon exploration / mystery elements as well as some hacking of stuff up.

Another would be "Siege of the Spider Eaters", by the Tim and Eileen Connors in issue 137? That one has all kinds of roleplay opportunities in it and some neat plot twists.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

There were some great 3.5 adventures towards the end of the Dungeon print run. "Whispering Cairn", I think it's Dungeon 124? Erik Mona did a smash up job with this adventure, it's a heck of a lot of fun. Has a very old school feel to it, with some great dungeon exploration / mystery elements as well as some hacking of stuff up.

VERY VERY MUCH THIS!!!

In previous discussions here on EN World about which adventures from 3.5 will be remembered as classics, The Whispering Cairn rated the highest and with very good reason. It is just that much fun to run and play. Great storyline, fantastic NPCs to run, perhaps the best low level dungeon of ANY edition, and just so many things that will get a DM excited to run it. It could be construed as jumping in the deep end but if your 10yo has been playing for a while, this is just a further challenge that he will relish.

It should be noted that this is part one of the 12-module Age of Worms adventure path although the tie-in between the first and latter modules is not necessary. If your son wishes to, he can get heaps of advice here on EN World on running it (a lot of people including myself have run this and would be more than happy to help out). However, if he goes over to the Paizo website, there is an entire forum just for the Age of Worms and there is a metric ton of threads about the Whispering Cairn and how to get the most out of it, tips, suggestions and possible pitfalls [The Whispering Cairn can be a little tough on PCs]. The level of support is fantastic.

In short, while somewhat advanced, I could not think of a better introduction to DMing than the Whispering Cairn for an enthusiatic young DM.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[SiderisAnon]

I would suggest Goodman Game's "Dungeon Crawl Classics #31: The Transmuter's Last Touch". It is a fairly straight path dungeon with some interesting and fun bits to it. It also has kobolds. It is one of my favorite Goodman Game's modules and it's sold both in PDF and print for $2 as a way of getting you into their modules.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #31: The Transmuter's Last Touch - Goodman Games | RPGNow.com

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I would suggest "Gorgoldand's Gauntlet". It was in Dragon Annual #5 as well as Dungeon #87 (on the bonus CD included with the issue). You can get Dungeon #87 from Paizo in PDF format for $4.95.

Alternatively if you Google "Gorgoldand's Gauntlet" a link to the PDF is the first search item.

It is set in a dungeon (appropriately named "Gorgoldand's Gauntlet") and has quite a few traps and puzzles as well as a good mix of combat and roleplaying. The puzzles aren't too difficult for 10 year olds and are pretty fun. However if your son or his friends hate puzzles then it may not be for them.

The overall tone of the adventure is relatively light-hearted though so it is definitely suitable for a younger group of players.

Olaf the Stout