D&D 5E Any Adventure Recommendations?

[Bagpuss]

I just started a session 0 last night on the Essential box set- Icespire Peak. It is fairly easy to read and play. I'm adding some stuff to it since we played the first box set and the town has grown since that time, but it can be easily played straight up.

Just finished the Essential's box, I must say I was a bit disappointed with it compared to the scenario in the Starter Box.

The first encounter the players are likely to meet is an easy TPK for 1st level characters. There is very little guidance on NPC roleplaying encounters (unlike the Starter box), the final encounter at the Icespire Peak is a huge let down.

Spoiler: Final Battle

The castle on Icespire Peak has virtually nothing in it, so you players can wander round searching for and getting bored, and the dragon once defeated gives no reward as it doesn't have a hoard, it's complete anti-climax. The dragon itself is a really hard to judge encounter, it's breath weapon can instantly drop and even kill outright weaker HP characters on a failed save, but at the same time if the fighter has got the Dragonslayer sword from earlier in the adventure it can die in one round if he uses action surge to get four attacks off.

 

[embee]

It looks like I'm going to need a new 5e adventure - kind of in a hurry to prep - to be ready by next week.

People in the group have read extensively or played all of the official adventures with the exception of Tomb of Annihilation (which I have already run, and just wrapped up a little over a year ago so that would be kinda boring for me), Tyranny of Dragons (which I ran the first half years ago, and I thought it was pretty rough), and Rime of the Frostmaiden (which I've heard almost nothing about because I've been out of 5e for nearly 6 months).

So first, I guess I'd ask what folks think about Rime of the Frostmaiden? And then what are some other good adventures that I could prep in a hurry, with bonus points if they're already available on Roll20. (I'm concerned that "War of the Burning Sky" and "Zeitgeist" might be too involved for me to properly plan.)

I mean, if you want something quick and dirty, you can get a map from Dyson, throw up some DL walls, and stock it. Might take a few hours but that will buy you a couple sessions to build it into a larger delve.

Otherwise, Sacrifice of Innocence/LMoP/DoIP is dead simple to run and will last a few months. Unless they've already done LMoP.

 

[embee]

Just finished the Essential's box, I must say I was a bit disappointed with it compared to the scenario in the Starter Box.

The first encounter the players are likely to meet is an easy TPK for 1st level characters. There is very little guidance on NPC roleplaying encounters (unlike the Starter box), the final encounter at the Icespire Peak is a huge let down.

Spoiler: Final Battle

The castle on Icespire Peak has virtually nothing in it, so you players can wander round searching for and getting bored, and the dragon once defeated gives no reward as it doesn't have a hoard, it's complete anti-climax. The dragon itself is a really hard to judge encounter, it's breath weapon can instantly drop and even kill outright weaker HP characters on a failed save, but at the same time if the fighter has got the Dragonslayer sword from earlier in the adventure it can die in one round if he uses action surge to get four attacks off.

DoIP, I've found, is better as an add-on than a standalone.

One problem is that Cryovain has no business being there. Imagine a polar bear running around Colorado. Not to mention his lair is right next-door to Claugiyliamatar. She's not going to be too keen with having him that close to her.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So first, I guess I'd ask what folks think about Rime of the Frostmaiden?

I'm a big fan of Rime, and the art in the book is great. It's not one you can easily run out of the box though. It needs a lot of prep work and thinking through how your players are likely to navigate the plot.

 

[Retreater]

@Retreater , your timeline wasn't precise, but Candlekeep Mysteries comes out on March 16 (next Tuesday) and it is available on Roll20. The EnWorld Review: Exploring Candlekeep Mysteries makes is sound pretty good.

Our game is Wednesday, so that would be cutting it pretty close. Haha.

I would go third-party in that case. I usually start with Necromancer/Frog God stuff. They make great sandbox modules.

If you don't mind converting from 3ed, take a look at the Lost City of Barakus and the Vault of Larrin Karr.

I've actually run Barakus and Larin Karr back in 3e - good stuff. I just won't have the time to do a conversion before the first session. (And put in maps, etc.)

We had a campaign-ending (or at least put-on-hiatus) session last night. I'm honestly bummed about that, but need to provide something for my players. (A high profile Kickstarter released yesterday which is basically the same exact theme as what we were playtesting/revising for a project I've been working on for a few years. I just can't even look at it right now.)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Our game is Wednesday, so that would be cutting it pretty close. Haha.

Episode 1: Journey to Candlekeep.

Repurpose the journey to Balder's Gate stuff published on D&D Beyond in the run up to Avernus.

 

[ccs]

Define "Next week".
Is that Sunday? Wed? Or next Sat? How long do you have?

Have you had your session 0, created characters, everyone know what to expect/on the same page?
Do you know what you're working with character wise - races/classes, backstory wise?
Does that stuff matter to you/your group??

What type of game do YOU want to run?
-----------
Anyways, let's say atm your just throwing some characters together & have to get going....
You don't need an entire campaign, beginning to end plot, & a master plan.
What you need is to stall for time - while you come up with those things.

So try a take on Dungeon of the Mad mage.
•The worst you'll have to do prep wise is adjust things down a bit if the party is 1st lv.

Idea #1: it's a slow night at the Yawning Portal. (As in there's no other character types of note around to solve the problem).
A minor but important enough noble type gets into a scuffle with a anither patron. Things go badly. Just before the watch can intervene he gets thrown down the well & the patron flees. Some of the watch give chase.
Every one rushes to look down the well.
"I'm ok! Lower the bucket!"
And a slimy green tenticle yoinks him out of sight....
Remaining Watch member(s) "Shite!. You (points to partner) go back to the station & file a report/bring help."
Off runs partner.
Looks around, gaze settling on the only adventurer looking types present (the PCs).
"OK, you lot, by the authority of WD, you're with me. We have to go get {minor nobles name}. Grab your gear & let's get down there."
Simple dungeon crawl ensues.

The mission is simple. Explore Undermountain until you find the minor noble. Then get him out.
You can kite the party around for as many sessions as it takes you to do prep on the real adventure/campaign.
And you don't have to worry about why this mix of pcs is together. They could know each other or be complete strangers, either way they're drafted into the service of WD for the moment.

Other similar ideas:
●The rookie pcs take a bet/challenge. Map x rooms of lv.1 Each room mapped is worth x.
Or map the route to the stairs to lv2 behind the giant Dwarf statue, etc
Now lv.1 is fairly well trodden. The barkeep has a fairly accurate map that the pcs will be compared with to determine if they've actually mapped anything vs just sitting in the first room for x hours, playing cards, & attempting to cheat.
●heres x$ & a map. Visit the goblin trading bazaar on lv.2 & bring back ______.
Of course the map quickly proves inaccurate fir whatever reason....

*From things you've said in the past though I think that one of your problems is the speed you play. You burn through content in a race from start to finish. If you slow down you'll find all kinds of details in the published stuff that you can spin off into your own content. You can get a lot of "replay" out of various chapters.
So even though your group has played say, SKT?
I bet they didn't play ALL of the giant lairs. Tweak one to fit your game & you have a near ready made adventure for lv?.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

With that short time frame to prep, I'd question Rime of the Frostmaiden. It's an awesome adventure, and you could prepare just what you need to get started within a week's time. But I'd fear that, depending on how frequently your gaming group plays, you'd be stuck having to read very quickly, essentially laying down the track right as you go.

I was going to suggest Dragonheist, but you've already played that. In lieu of that, I'd suggest something from Goodman Games - either one of the short 5e module or something from the OAR line. Either that or one of the AL adventures. Heck, if you want to do Rime of the Frostmaiden, you could get one or two of the current season's adventures to buy you time while you prepare for the full campaign.

It looks like I'm going to need a new 5e adventure - kind of in a hurry to prep - to be ready by next week.

 

[dave2008]

Our game is Wednesday, so that would be cutting it pretty close. Haha.

Yep, that might be. However, it sounds like a book that is supposed to be able to be picked up and run without to much prep. I suggest checking out the review at least to see if it suits you. If nothing else it seems good to have in your back pocket for a side quest as they have discrete adventures at each level from 1-16.

 

[aco175]

which adventure from that will be you session 0?

I made my first level adventure for Icespire Peak and then I will let the group choose the Dwarf Excavation or The one with the manticore, Umbrage Hill, but plan to add some undead tomb stuff there to make it a full night of play. The gnome adventure I find a bit silly and do not plan to offer it.

Session 0 was more having the group make PCs and I explained to overview of the town and main events. There was some problems in the past where we went to a convention and the PC had fire powers and then we were transported to hell. Essentials looks basic and while I made a rumor of an devil cult, that would only be a night or two and not the shtick of the campaign. We did have time for the opening scene with the expanded town and the get to know each other with a fight in the town square involving some recovered clay jars and some mephits inside. This will lead to a NPC and some adventure ideas from him over the next few levels, but mostly between the published stuff.