Good Three-Hour Adventurer?

[Mistwell]

I am looking for a good published adventurer (Dungeon, Module, downloadable PDF, etc...) that can begin and end in a 3 hourish time frame. I'd prefer it to be lower level (level 4-6 or so), but I would consider any level if it's a good adventure. Anyone have some advice?

 

[Mark]

Some of the Cliffhangers should fit what you need -

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=154448

 

[JoeBlank]

The Temple of Mysteries by Monte Cook is a cool little adventure.

http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mpress_Temple

WARNING: do not read too much about this adventure if you expect to be a player in it. Cool twists will be revealed and spoil your fun.

There are some neat twists that require using the pre-gens provided, but if you don't mind doing that then go for it.

 

[jasin]

Not sure if you'll be quite able to fit it inside 3 hours, but Ill Made Graves (Dungeon #133, 7th level) has a very good cool/length ratio.

We went through it in some 6 hours, but there were 7 players, so with a smaller, experienced group and if you cut some corners (like the sea tigers encounter), I think you could do it in 3.

 

[balterkn]

Experience of players (not characters)? Desired group composition (class mixes)?

For complete novices, I found "A Dark and Stormy Knight" to be sufficiently cheeky, covering most bases (giving various character types a chance to shine), and definitely run-able in 3 hours. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20050329a

I beefed it up a bit (mostly increasing number of opponents) and had the group investigate if hobgoblins were moving back in. I'll have them report back to the town, have some small, custom encounters in town and in the wilderness (about 3 hours), ultimately finding the "Hobgoblin Outpost" (from MM web enhancement at wizards web site - which again looks to be playable in about three hours as a follow-on). http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20030725a

Not sure where to go from there yet (trying for 3 hour increments).

Time estimates for adventures vary greatly depending on the experience and personality types of players and preparedness of the DM. I spent about 2 hours preparing for “A Dark and Stormy Knight” - printing out all the various rooms to be scaled for use with counters (we're not into minis), printing individual encounter stat-blocks, customized for me with highlights for things I sometimes forget (like DR) and adding in notional plans for the first 1-2 rounds (trying to make sure that everything that typically slows me down are already done).