D&D 5E I'm doing some research on modules for my newbie DM

[paradisebunny]

Some other suggestions: start with smaller adventures and string them together around a town, that will give you a little flexibility of trying out different products/writers before committing to a larger campaign at level 3 or so (many campaigns don't start at level 1). Some excellent adventures for beginner DMs are:

A most potent Brew by Winghorn Press (free)
Temple of the Basilisk Cult by The Arcane Library (free)
Prepared 2! by Kobold Press (not sure if still free, but was available for a while if you signed up for their newsletter)

The town you can steal from freely available Lost Mines of Phandelver or from any other Module that has one!

 

[QuentinGeorge]

My recommendations:

1.) Lost Mine of Phandelver is solid and has been free in the past. It is expanded and modernized in Phandelver and Below.

2.) Tales of the Yawning Portal is a series of independent adventures, but the first two in it cover levels 1 to 5 and were part of the same series. I prefer these adventures to Lost Mine of Phandelver.

My recommendation is for a new DM to plan to run a campaign with an expected end at 5th level - and then a reboot allowing the DM and players to start over once they understand the style and approach - and to allow the DM to recover from anything they decide was a mistake (I guess I shouldn't have given you that Vorpal Sword at 4th level....) At this point a DM may want to explore more ideas of Homebrew modules where they create material.

Sunless Citadel is best starter adventure I think.

 

[mamba]

Dragon of Icespire Peak is considered pretty good. Just from the name, it seems it might also be easy enough to tie into Rime of the Frost Maiden if we choose to continue at higher levels

no, it is a starter set, so the content is for levels 1 -8 or so, and it is in a different location.

Location wise it ties into Lost Mine of Phandelver / Shattered Obelisk.

It is a set of individual quests / locations that are only loosely tied together, not an adventure path