Intro D&D Adventure for a mixed group

[Sloblock]

hello all

so next weekend I have been asked to run an adventure for a group of friends, 2 of which are new to RPG world and 2 which have played

* Lost Mines of Phandelver
* Tyranny of Dragons - HotDQ and RoT
* Curse of Strahd
* Princes of the Apocalypse

so my question is what would be a good adventure to play that day, as a one off? I have started going through my stash looking for a good mix of role-play and fights etc. but nothing has jumped out.

help as always is appreciated

 

[OB1]

If the two players who have already played LMoP are okay with taking a back seat in making decisions to keep it fresh for the new players, I'd recommend using that. It is an excellent adventure for new players.

If you want to give everyone something new, I'd go with Out of the Abyss, as the opening chapter is a little light on combat but strong on the RP side and can be done in a single session. The Sunless Citadel from Yawning Portal is also a very good introduction for new players, it leans a bit more towards the combat side, but has some interesting exploration and social challenges as well. It will probably take two sessions to complete.

 

[Sloblock]

thanks for your reply.

I have emailed the 2 other players asking about LMoP, and will dig out my copy of OotA

 

[TerraDave]

Sunless Citadel is in Tales from the Yawning Portal. Not sure if you would get through it all in the day, but it has a nice tone for a starting adventure.

 

[Eltab]

The "In a Caravan" chapter of HotDQ can give you a taste each of a variety of activities. It was the chapter I most enjoyed but we raced through it (about 1/3 of the total possible scenarios) in two weeks.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

My go-to starting adventure is The Mystery of Malvern Manor by Dan Head.

It has a nice mix of roleplaying (shaking down a merchant on behalf of a local crime boss) and combat. It has a horror vibe (a mad scientist performing unspeakable operations) as well as some tragedy (the victims of the mad scientist).

It also has spiders.

I've run it three times with a mix of new-to-the-hobby and experienced players. All have gone really well, even for the experienced people.

 

[haakon1]

It depends on what tone you want to set, and how much work you want to do in converting to the game edition/system you're using. Starting adventures I like:

-- Keep on the Borderlands (original D&D/AD&D) or Return to the Keep on the Borderlands (2e) or Little Keep on the Borderlands (Hackmaster) or the new version coming out for 5e are the ultimate classics. I've run my own homebrewed variant too.

-- As many from mentioned, Sunless Citadel is a more modern classic, for 3e (published standalone) or 5e (in the Yawning Portal book).

The next one I want to try, personally, is Trobridge Inn (written for Harnworld rules & 3e compatible), which I'll run as a neighboring village to the Keep on the Borderlands.

Others I've seen work well are "Three Days to Kill" (3e) and "Keep on the Shadowfell" (4e). Ah, and if you're interested in converting rules, the intro adventure for Song of Ice & Fire RPG, "Peril at King's Landing" has a lot of atmosphere, of course.

Bottom Line: Do what you like!

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Check out the current issue of Dragon+. It has several free adventures included in it and I think at least a couple of them are for 1st level parties.

 

[aco175]

If people are new to DnD, you may need a more simple adventure that is kind of railroady in leading them to the adventure. Adventure League modules are good like this and you could find some cheap/ free ones online. You also want to provide opportunity for those who played before to get some of the limelight and act out. LMoP is designed for new players, but some of the players you have, have already played it. If you have time you could modify it a bit and place kobolds in the first section or move the encounters around a bit to prevent too much player knowledge.

Another thing I have done for new players in to have pre-generated characters for them to choose from. I also have the 2nd level of these on the back for when the advance. I only make the basic classes and races or the more traditional characters for new players to try out early in their gaming days.

Another thing I have seen with new players and experienced players is that the experienced players are told that it is ok for them to be killed and cycle through PCs while leaving the new players to shine more and survive. Although the new players may follow this lead and several TPKs ensue.

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

I always liked the Wizard's Amulet by Necromancer Games / Frog God Games and they did update it to 5th edition. It gives characters and a neat little backdrop for the adventure which can be moved into Crucible of Freya if one so desired (though Crucible hasn't been converted to 5E).

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Wizard's Amulet is free so the price is right also!