4E: Intro adventure/group suggestion

[DK]

Hello everybody!

Here's the story: after a few years of inactivity me and my friend are going to meet each other again for a few nights of good old d&d!
Last time we played it was 3.5, so nobody know 4E; I'm the DM, I have read the rules but never played.

There will be 3/5 characters pre-made by me and chosen by the players randomly.

First question: which classes should I chose? Which roles to chose (in case of 3, 4 or 5 characters) - I have CB, so access to PH1&2

Second question: do you have any good introductory adventure to suggest? I guess we could also start beyond 1st level (but not too high - I want to be light on rules and things to keep track of) Maximum 2/3 sessions (about 4hours each) allowed. I'd like something with an interesting scenario and fights - something that would show bright side of 4E. I have a DDI account (hence all Dungeon) + most of pre-4E stuff (AD&D1-2-3). If you have a good pre-4E adventure to suggest I would take it into account only if it would be very easy to transport to 4E. I don't have any 3rd party stuff.

Thanks in advance for your help!

DK

 

[FireLance]

The recently-released Dungeon adventure Stick in the Mud (for five 1st-level players) might be what you're looking for. It has four encounters with a good mix of interesting terrain, a trap, a skill challenge, and monsters which are relatively simple to run. To make them even simpler, you could remove the bullywugs' Rancid Air aura and Nature's Release abilities.

For PCs, I would go with Fighter, Cleric and Ranger (if you have three players) plus a Sorcerer (if you have four) and a Barbarian (if you have five). Just give the Sorcerer an area at-will spell like blazing starfall or burning spray and they probably won't miss a controller.

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

As for classes I'd say Fighter, Warlord, Barbarian for three. That will give them a decent comparison of the 3.5 to 4 shift, and each are relatively easy to learn.

At four at add a rogue if running a trap where they might feel cheated without one (they are of 3.5 mindset still) or a sorcerer otherwise (just not a wild one).

At five I would then suggest a wizard. Out of the three/four controllers it most easily shows the idea of a controller without having to know the mechanics that well. If you print it out on the CB all the powers will show, even the one's not prepared, so make sure you point out that some are marked with Spellbook and cannot be cast until after an extended rest.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I have just had a quick skim through Stick in the Mud and it looks good, so I would reccomend giving that a try.

Party wise I would reccomend fighter, rogue, bard, wizard,barbarian.

I have seen leaderless parties work quite well but I reckon that defender, striker leader is best then add strikers and controllers.

 

[malraux]

I would go with your instincts and start them slightly higher level than the adventure calls for. I personally think 4e is a little monotonous at first level. I would probably do 3rd level, but have them with mundane gear only. That gives a few more encounter powers to spice things up. Their attack and defenses will only be 1 higher, and the extra hitpoints cushions the inevitable learning curves.

 

[Dausuul]

I would go with your instincts and start them slightly higher level than the adventure calls for. I personally think 4e is a little monotonous at first level. I would probably do 3rd level, but have them with mundane gear only. That gives a few more encounter powers to spice things up. Their attack and defenses will only be 1 higher, and the extra hitpoints cushions the inevitable learning curves.

1st level is a bit monotonous once you have the hang of the system, but it's a good starting point for players new to 4E. Remember that these guys will still be getting the hang of healing surges, action points, magic item usage limits, short versus extended rests, and figuring out their powers and class features.

With people who've played previous editions, you probably want to move them along fairly fast through the first few levels, but I see no problem with starting at 1.

Class-wise, my experience is that you want a defender first, a leader second, and a striker third. Controller is optional, but you do want someone with AoE in case of swarms or minions. The traditional four is not a bad idea; fighter, cleric, rogue, and wizard, in that order. Substitute a warlord for the cleric if you think the players can handle a bit more tactical complexity.

If you need a fifth, I recommend a sorceror or barbarian... probably a barbarian to help out the fighter on the front line. Striker is usually the best role to double up on, and sorcs/barbs are much more fun than the other striker options (ranger = effective but boring, warlock = stylish but useless, avenger = generally blah).

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

For a free pdf adventure ... the Ennie-nominated Raiders of Oakhurst - Reloaded.

 

[Wik]

I don't know about which adventure to run, but here's my nomination for race/class combinations. Note that they're in order, so if you have four players (for example), take the first four.

Dwarf Shield Fighter: Give him Tide of Iron, and some useful Dwarf-friendly powers from Martial Power. The character can heal himself with a minor action once per combat (the best dwarf power, ever). If you give the character Comeback Strike, he gets even more useful.

Human Inspiring Warlord: Build the character to grant as much healing as possible. The character will be able to heal his teammates, but also has powers that allow him to move around the battlefield and generally be a good leader.

Half-Orc Brutal Scoundrel Rogue: You can really build this guy up for damage, and I suggest doing just such a thing. It'll be a kick for 3.5 players, too, to see a Half-Orc built so well for a rogue's position. This guy, with a sneak attack (assuming a Dex of 18 and a strength of 16) will deal something like 3d6+7 points of damage at first level, with no feat investment. And that's pure striker awesomeness.

Human Strength Paladin: A close-range defender was chosen for #4 over a striker because it expands upon the group's "Front" - with the paladin, fighter, and warlord all frong line characters, the rogue has three possible flanking options. This guy is also able to heal himself. In short, the warlord gets a bit freed up by the paladin's limited healing capabilities.

Eladrin Wizard: Minion-Popping is fun, and for this character to really feel useful to the group, you're going to make sure there's minions for him to target, right? On the plus side, with the rest of the group being front-line fighters, this character will rarely get hit by anything but artillery and occasional controller monsters. Try to throw in powers that are more than just flat damage - at least half this guy's powers should be "controller'y" in scope. I'd spend your feat on a non-combat power that expands this character's versatility, and makes the wizard a bit more like the old wizard's role as "problem-solver".

 

[Skywalker]

I ran Heathen as my first D&D4e adventure and it was awesome. It is 5th level though.

 

[DK]

I ran Heathen as my first D&D4e adventure and it was awesome. It is 5th level though.

Is that a Dungeon adventure?