Best First Level Module for New Players

[LordMelquiades]

I'll vote for the Wizard's Amulet and the Crucible of Freya, as they feature dungeons without being dungeong-specific, they make sense within a limited geographic area (instant gameworld), and it's easy to add other elements to them for further adventures.

I've run the Sunless Citadel and NeMoren's Vault, but as has been mentioned, they are such dungeon crawls that if one of your newbies turns out not to like dungeon crawls, you're kinda stuffed...

I've also run Dark and Stormy Knight, which is great if the "how did we get together" question is an issue for you. You could easily add it to WA and CoF.

 

[Darklone]

Wanted to add: Wizards Amulet: I really like the backgrounds for the provided chars, especially Corian. Makes it so easy and nice to start a new group, even with newbies.

Krel has been played 4 times now in my groups...

 

[Richards]

Apologies for mis-spelling your name Johnathan.

P.S. When can we expect to see the next Challenge of Champions?

Olaf the Stout

Don't worry about the spelling of my name - you're far from the first to make that mistake, and you certainly won't be the last. (If it helps, imagine it's "John" and "Nathan" fused at the "N" as the result of a horrific transporter malfunction.)

As for "Challenge of Champions VII," considering they've come out every other year thus far and the last one appeared in 2006, I wouldn't start looking for it before 2008. (Another good indicator is that I haven't even begun writing it yet....)

Johnathan

 

[DemonKing]

I've used B1: In Search of the Unknown a couple of times now - it works well for beginning players but it's overall lack of logic (why the hell is there this room full of pools anyway?)doesn't make it a great adventure for experienced players or a mixed group of first timers and experienced gamers.

Crucible of Freya would probably work well (just make sure you modify some of the wilderness encounters!). Also the Village of Hommlet is great with lots of roleplaying opportunities in the town and a small dungeon adevnture to wrap it up...although the Temple of Elemental Evil is a pretty weak follow up IMO.

Perhaps running a brief introductory adventure followed by the Secret of Bone Hill (one of my all-time favourite low level modules) would also be a good start.

 

[seans23]

if one of your newbies turns out not to like dungeon crawls, you're kinda stuffed...

who doesn't like dungeon crawls?

 

[delericho]

I've run and enjoyed "The Sunless Citadel" and "The Burning Plague". I also very much enjoyed reading "Of Sound Mind", but never got a chance to run it.

One 2nd Edition module I enjoyed running was "The Shattered Circle" by Bruce Cordell, although that might not have been for 1st level characters - it was a while ago.

"The Mad God's Key" is a highly-regarded adventure from Dungeon magazine, if you want something that's not dungeon-centric.

But avoid "Scourge of the Howling Horde" like the plague.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I've used B1: In Search of the Unknown a couple of times now...why the hell is there this room full of pools anyway?

Because Zelligar was a bugshit insane wizard, man.

 

[jasin]

who doesn't like dungeon crawls?

Especially if they're newbies. To RPG newbies (not just D&D newbies), having to get through a ruin that's a war zone for two monstrous subterranean races to find out the source of the insidious magical fruit should be the coolest thing ever, even they're just the same old boring tunnels populated by the same old boring kobolds and goblins we've been killing for each of the dozens of times we've been playing 1st-level characters.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

I'll nominate both Sunless Citadel (3.0) and Return to the Keep on the Borderlands (2nd). Both are simple enough to grasp, but difficult enough that they aren't a cakewalk.

Plus, for me at least, I've ran Sunless Citadel so many times with new groups that I can run the entire thing from memory.

-TRRW

 

[Jakar]

Wizards amulet by necromancergames hasn't been mentioned. Comes along with pregenerated chars and leads straight towards Crucible of Freya. These two together are essentially a small campaign setting.

I agree with this. Used it a couple of times and it has always been fun for the players.