Intro D&D Adventure for a mixed group

[GlassJaw]

I'm a veteran DM and have been running LMoP for a group of 4: 3 new players and 1 with some experience. Everyone has loved it, including me. It doesn't feel like a "starter" adventure at all. Lots to sink your teeth into.

 

[akr71]

As [MENTION=27385]aco175[/MENTION] said, some definite boundaries for new players so that they are not paralyzed by too many options. LMoP is great, but 2 of your players have played it and it is definitely not 1-shot material.

The old tropes work well for new players. My go to is the characters are a bunch of strangers who just happen to be at a roadside inn at the same time. Something attacks and the innkeeper calls out for help "Are there no heroes here to protect the innocent?!" Usually, its a bunch of giant rats in the cellar - the inn was built on the ruins of something far older and the rats tunneled up from there. Once the rats have been dealt with the adventurers might ponder what secrets and treasures lurk below. The innkeeper fears for what else might be under the inn and will pay for the adventurers to investigate. What pushed the rats out of their usual den? What made them grow so large?

Google will easily find you maps of an inn, a cellar and a dungeon.

 

[paintphob]

OP, what do you mean by "one shot"? Do you mean an adventure that can be run in a single session, or is separate from an on-going campaign but may take multiple sessions to run?
The answer to that question may help in getting the right answer to you.

 

[guachi]

I'm fond of U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. While it's part of a series it works well as a standalone. I've been able to adapt it to 5e easily enough as well as change things to suit the PCs.

It's a fun adventure that's basically a two-parter and I've managed to complete it in two sessions each time.

 

[Luiz De Azevedo]

My go to is the characters are a bunch of strangers who just happen to be at a roadside inn at the same time. Something attacks and the innkeeper calls out for help "Are there no heroes here to protect the innocent?!" Usually, its a bunch of giant rats in the cellar - the inn was built on the ruins of something far older and the rats tunneled up from there. Once the rats have been dealt with the adventurers might ponder what secrets and treasures lurk below. The innkeeper fears for what else might be under the inn and will pay for the adventurers to investigate. What pushed the rats out of their usual den? What made them grow so large?

Google will easily find you maps of an inn, a cellar and a dungeon.

Cleric's Challenge from AD&D is exactly this setup. You can run the initial encounter easily enough as it's only zombies that you can plug straight from 5e MM. And if the players are up for
more, the rest is pretty good, too.

 

[Slit518]

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

What are your thoughts on homebrew?

And how is your improv?

Perhaps have the 2 players who haven't played in one area, perhaps a tavern, and start things off with a rowdy tavern patron. See how they handle that.

The other 2 could be doing something else with the main goal heading toward where the other two are, even on accident. Perhaps the other 2 are tracking bandits, and the way they happened to go was the town the other 2 players are at.

Jump back-and-forth a bit between the two groups. See if the new group wants to go first, or if they want to watch the more experienced group go first.

Keep DCs simple, maybe around 8-13, and AC around 10-14.

The way I picture it is you set the setting for the first group, the more experienced group, tell them they've been tracking bandits that have stolen something from them. The bandit group as a whole could of been like 6-8 bandits, but on the way tracking them, they may fight 2 bandits at a time, perhaps 2 separate encounters.

The new group could deal with the rowdy tavern patron, big burly type. Think of a rude, traveling Barbarian type. New to the area, civilization, challenges the civilized man. The two knew players could overcome this challenge however they're able. This leaves a lot of room for them to look like the hero.

After they resolve that situation you could go to the original group who dealt with the first encounter. On their way tracking the overall bandit camp they could come across 2 more from the group who have also fell behind, perhaps just get caught finishing off a poor sap off the side of the road, taking his riches.

Go back to the new group, perhaps a social encounter to help them learn the game in that aspect. Perhaps they come across the remaining 4 of the bandit group who steals something from them, Sleight of Hand perhaps?

Experienced players come to town, somehow run into new players. Both realize they have a common goal, they eventually catch up and confront the remaining bandits.

 

[Li Shenron]

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

I haven't played any of these, but from what I know about them, perhaps all of them are too long to fit in a single game day, or maybe only LMoP can do?

If you want to be able to complete an adventure in a day, you may also want to seriously cut down the time between sitting down at the table and starting the adventure. Consider the following options:

1- skip rules explanations -> you don't really need to explain the game extensively in advance, your players probably already know what it is about, and you don't need to explain any specific rule until it comes into play; just jump into the story as soon as possible

2- use pregenerated characters -> with 4 players, make 6 ready-to-play characters, give a quick presentation of them (1 minute each) and let the players choose; leave up the narrative details to them (e.g. name, gender, personality) but have all the stats and equipment ready

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

I haven't played any of these, but from what I know about them, perhaps all of them are too long to fit in a single game day, or maybe only LMoP can do?

If you want to be able to complete an adventure in a day, you may also want to seriously cut down the time between sitting down at the table and starting the adventure. Consider the following options:

1- skip rules explanations -> you don't really need to explain the game extensively in advance, your players probably already know what it is about, and you don't need to explain any specific rule until it comes into play; just jump into the story as soon as possible

2- use pregenerated characters -> with 4 players, make 6 ready-to-play characters, give a quick presentation of them (1 minute each) and let the players choose; leave up the narrative details to them (e.g. name, gender, personality) but have all the stats and equipment ready

I've done all of these and none of those can be completed in a day. The Lost Mines is the shortest of the bunch and I guess you could take one of the encounters (maybe the Goblin Ambush and the Cragmaw Castle) could be done in a day but if you are using that whole book, it's definitely longer than that. That's been my experience anyway.

 

[Sloblock]

hi there

sorry I didn't mean that it needs to be completed in one day, I am not sure how the 2 new players are going to react.

I am trying to find something to play that is good enough for a long afternoon of story and if they want to continue then we can do.

LMoP could be a good shout as I could add to that

 

[Afrodactyl]

I've ran The Horror At Havel's Cross (DMs Guild) with a new group and it went really well. Has combat, a puzzle and a social bit, all of which you can expand on if you want.