D&D 5E Good modules (not APs)

[Warpiglet-7]

Hello!

I was hoping for some recommendations for modules for 5e. Bonus points for older style adventures or even updated ones.

I have keep on the borderlands for 5e.

I really would like shorter adventures in lieu of adventure paths or 1-15 type stuff.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations. Updates of old modules are fair game. I have and like many he yawning portal for example.

 

[Irlo]

I’m following for recommendations. I’ve waded through a lot of stuff on DMs Guild and AL without finding any gems.

 

[payn]

Several of the Paizo PF1 era APs can actually be striped apart and make excellent modules. Especially the early ones which shouldn't be too hard to convert.

Carrion Crown Module 1 is a haunted prison story.
Serpent Skull Module 1 is a stranded on a deserted island story.
Mummy's Mask Module 1 is a necropolis exploration adventure.

Many of the middle installments would work easily too, but conversion obviously more difficult.

 

[aco175]

I recently ran the MCDM adventure Delian Tomb for some scouts on a campout. Good for new players and I found someone had made all the battlemaps for it as well. Otherwise, there is DMsGuild where I never know what is good for my needs and generally the preview just shows me not much- especially the AL modules. That might just leave 3pp for modules since Wizards does not make things for 5e like this. I find updates do not cross over that well that farther one goes back. For instance, I'm playing Against the Giants from Yawning Portal and nobody did much to update it and it just feels meh.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A general shout-out for adventures from The Arcane Library, which are meant to be easy to run cold (and they are), although I find they benefit from a read-through ahead of time and jotting down a few notes to flesh things out slightly.

I've run four of the adventures now, and all of them have been extremely solid, typically with an edge of horror in even the non-horrific adventures.

I also found the systemless Stygian Library to be excellent. You generate an infinite library demiplane, with things getting increasingly stranger and creepier as player characters go deeper. What starts off with a premise from Discworld pretty soon get odd and then a little frightening.

 

[Stormonu]

Well, Tales of the Yawning Portal is a bunch of the older edition adventures, updated for 5E. I've run White Plume Mountain from it and enjoyed it quite a bit. I've run several of the others in older editions (Forge of Fury, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Against the Giants, Tomb of Horrors), but I can't 100% vouch for the 5E conversions. As you said, you've already got that, but I think it's worth mentioning for others.

Also, Ghosts of Saltmarsh is a 5E update of U1-U3, with several not-quite-related Dungeon magazine adventures added in. Even the U1-U3 portions are pretty much self-contained and can be run without using the other parts.

Goodman Games has a line of adventures for 5E (Fifth Edition Fantasy - there's like 17 or so adventures in the line). I have not personally run them, but their older 3E content was quite good, and of course they're the same company behind the 5E updates of older adventures (such as Into the Borderlands you mentioned).

 

[Shiroiken]

I'd second Ghosts of Saltmarsh. It's not an AP, and except for the original trilogy, none of them are related in any way (none of the others are even originally Greyhawk). It's great to use for a campaign, giving you a base and several adventures.

I haven't played it, but I've seen the Goodman Games Isle of Dread remake. One downside is they reprinted the entire original adventure, so you're paying for somewhat wasted pages.

If you're doing a one-shot, and you like some wacky chaos, Goodman Games also redid Castle Amber. I'm currently running it with a playtest game of 1D&D, and it's a blast. Not a fan of a couple of changes, and it might be too long for you (we're 3 session in and maybe 20% of the way through the adventure).

If you're willing to do some of your own updating, I'll always recommend Pharaoh. As a desert themed adventure, it's often tricky to incorporate it into an existing campaign, however.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

Short, older style adventure for 5e? I strongly recommend Winter's Daughter.