D&D 5E Challenge: Build a 5E campaign with classic modules

[Mercurius]

So here's an idea for a thread that I hope to mine for ideas for my upcoming 5E campaign. Consider it a challenge!

Build a "complete" 5E campaign, say from levels 1-20, using classic D&D modules of any edition. Think both in terms of the micro-level - what adventures work well together - but also macro level; how can you integrate them into a cohesive whole? This doesn't have to be a meta-plot, but preferably you'll think about some kind of overarching story or themes.

Feel free to interpret the various components above as you wish. For instance, "classic" could mean pre-2E only, or it could mean whatever you deem to be classic or very good. You could go for a metaplot, or no over-arching plot whatsover (although, I suppose, there would have to be some reason the PCs go from one adventure site to the next).

That's it. How would you do it? One tricky part is lining up levels, because levels aren't the same across editions. But do your best - I have faith in your individual and collective creativity.

 

[Halivar]

The temptation to start with Hommlet is strong​. But I just ran it (and the rest of ToEE) in 1E so I couldn't possibly start a campaign with it. A1, perhaps?

 

[billd91]

Having done the same with 3e, I think doing it for Next should probably be a snap. If anything, the conversions are starting to look even easier than in 3e. But time will tell...

I placed the Keep on the Borderlands in foothills near the Lortmil Mountains along the frontier of Veluna and we played through Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. After that, they followed the trail of a slaver to the east, attended the wedding of a PC's father in Celene (a modified version of "Wedding Bells" in Dungeon #89), and made it out to the Wild Coast in time to get embroiled in the A series - Scourge of the Slavelords. From there, they went to Greyhawk for a modified version of "Thirds of Purloined Vellum" from Dungeon #88 and then on to White Plume Mountain and a beleaguered small land called Barovia with Castle Ravenloft stuck in the Bandit Kingdoms. After those adventures, one of the PCs was summoned home to Geoff by his father, the Grand Duke, to look into the troubles with giants raiding their allied friends in Sterich.

And that's pretty much where the campaign sits due to other games we've been playing (between G2 and G3). There were a number of other encounters/elements of connecting tissue between adventures, particularly during the A series run like a tournament in Jewell Bend in the Principality of Ulek and avoiding the Hextorites starting to run rampant through the Pomarj as the Slavelords collapse.

 

[Libramarian]

My favorite classic module campaign is:
Start with L1 and U1, using Restenford in place of Saltmarsh. Make the smugglers slavers instead.
Put maps for the isle from A3-4 and X1 in the pirate ship, as well as the hook to sell exotic beasts in Specularum. The players may now choose to:
Stay in Restenford for U2-3 and L2.
Go to Suderham for A3-4 and finish off the slavers.
Go to X1 with I1 on the plateau and C1 inside I1.
Go to Specularum (using B6 for power factions), and use it as a base for G1, G2, WG4 and S4.
G2 leads into G3, and then D1-3.

When the players gain possession of the pirate ship, let them know that the stuff around Lendore is for early levels (1-3), the stuff on the Isle of Dread and the Slavers' isle is for mid levels (4-7), and the stuff around Specularum is for high levels (8+), but otherwise let them choose where to go and what order to do stuff in. When I ran this we made it to the end of C1 before calling it quits to play other things. (The link to the next phase is weak unless the PCs go to Specularum first.)

If you could take this campaign and have the relative challenge work out pretty closely in DDN without having to modify the adventures much (just straight mechanical conversion), I would be very impressed with the new edition.

 

[howandwhy99]

I would begin with 3 low level, 3 intermediate level, and 3 high level adventures in place to start. I could do more and will certainly need to add more as the campaign progresses, but I don't want to overwhelm myself. I would also need basic stuff, things found in settings, which includes everything provided in the adventures, but also your standard overall monster populations, magic items in the land, items, fortifications, and other constructions, NPC classes and specialty classes, spell / environmental effects definitely, and really everything needed to fill out the game so the rules work. That would be generated to time where the campaign can begin as the adventure starting states are fully supported. This helps integrate everything and provides tons of more game content, which can be interacted with by the players.

Then, ideally with the Player Characters developed in the first session of the campaign, I would playtest the PCs through the starting scenario of the campaign. Good campaign starting adventures need to demonstrate the game elements in place right away. This means towns, wilderness, and dungeons, allies and enemies, monsters, magic, deities, sneaks, item providers, and so on. B2 is iconic for a reason, but I could see T1 doing a great job too. Add additional adventures while keeping the game in a balanced state and the campaign could potentially go on forever, well practically speaking.

For an off the cuff adventure pick, let's go a little different. Say L1, B7, B10, to I1, I12 and a secluded, not closed I6, and finish with G1, G2, G3 or if that's too overdone WG4, WG5, and Dark Tower. But I'd definitely want player input from the first, campaign starting session. Sometimes players want custom worlds and adventures they create then and there, sometimes they have a favorite module they always play or always wanted to play, sometimes its about the setting itself and all the details which go into that.

 

[GX.Sigma]

This is basically what I've been doing for the last year or so.

We started out in the Keep on the Borderlands. The caves had a drow with a map to "Melf's Acid Arrow" (hidden under Fallcrest), a dead tiefling with a map to an interesting demi-plane (Isle of Dread), an evil priest with a map to a bunch of powerfully chaotic/evil places (Fallcrest, Firestorm Peak, Ravenloft, etc.), where they're searching for a portal to the Outer Planes to try to reawaken a dead god (Dead Gods), and a githzerai who wants to help them because the githyanki have built their capital city on that god's corpse (Lich-Queen's Beloved).

The party decided to go to the Isle of Dread. After returning to Waterdeep, they spent a few nights in Undermountain (Castle of the Mad Archmage for DM sanity reasons), swung by Baldur's Gate (Murder in Baldur's Gate), were recruited to fight some giants (Steading of the Hill Giant Chief) found some weird ruins (Bastion of the Boglings), explored the undead-infested ruins of Fallcrest (original content!) before finding the sewers (Slave Pits of the Undercity), and meeting the lich-like ruler of the city, who wants them to go to Barovia, where he tells them the wizard who created him lives (Ravenloft).

It's going pretty good. It's been a lot of improv and a lot of "streaming" (reading the module for the first time as I'm running it). The campaign's recurring villain is box text.

 

[Lanefan]

One way to cheat a bit might be to use B10 Night's Dark Terror as the core of your setting and as your starting point, you can mine this module for enough mini-adventures (e.g. using each goblin lair as its own little standalone adventure, the mine as another, the ruins of Xitaqa as another, etc.) to get them levelled enough to go up the valley and finish.

After this (note that if they're still weak after B10 throw 'em into L1 Bone Hill first) you can dive into the Slavers series A1-A4.

From here you could jump to WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun and-or Judges Guild's Maltese Clue and-or S(?) Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - around this level you've got loads of very good options.

The problem comes at the high end as "classic" modules tend to cap out, other than some chestnuts like Q1 and Tomb of Horrors. You could jump to some BECMI adventures in the C or M range but these tend to (in my experience) not be very good; you could also try some 2e adventures as I believe some of them get into the higher levels, but I don't know any specific ones to suggest.

That said, I don't know how 5e levels are going to line up with 1e levels in terms of relative strength thus I've no idea what level a 5e party would be after doing these.

Lan-"the above is the only way to make B-10 useful"-efan

 

[jodyjohnson]

My plan is to run Pathfinders APs at breakneck speed until I catch up.

Rise of the Runelords might be considered a classic at this point.

Maybe squeeze a less-grindy version of Age of Worms in too. And maybe SCAP.

 

[Vague Jayhawk]

I don't have 20 levels worth. I've got a good start based on what I own sort of a semi-aquatic campaign.

I think I will start with Against the Cult of the Reptile Gods using Saltmarsh as the base. I will definitely do U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Followed by an abbreviated version of the next 2, U2 and U3.

I will change it up a bit as they hack through the swamps to find the Tomb of the Lizard King and locate the Dwellers of the Forbidden City. In both of those I will over emphasize the yaun-ti.

I'll conclude it with some homebrew Against the Yaun-ti or something like that.

I'll stretch it out and pad it all a little. I'll make it fit.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

This has already been done. They put out a hardback of previous adventures and on the back of the book it says "compatible using D&D Next rules".