D&D 5E Looking for a missing person adventure

[alienux]

I'm going to run a game for a new group, in addition to the HotDQ game I've been running for awhile. This new group consists of 4 players - 2 adults plus a 13 year old and an 11 year old. They are big fans of Stranger Things and want something that feels like the show. 1 of the adults has played D&D since BECMI, the 2 kids have played 5e before, and the other adult has played 5e once before.

While I have watched both seasons of Stranger Things, and liked it, I'm not keen on just copying the show. I'd like to take elements of the show and incorporate them into an adventure. I'm considering just creating a homebrew, which I've done many times before, but I thought I'd check to see if there's an existing adventure that would work with some modifications (and no, I'm not going to have them fight an actual demogorgon, being that it's a CR26 and they'll be around levels 1-3).

I have a number of ideas to add, but the two main things I'd look for in a published adventure would be:

1. Missing person (a la Will in ST)
2. An alternate dimension (where I can have the missing person currently trapped)

I'm considering using the Sunless Citadel and it's plot hook of the missing NPCs, and just making the actual temple from that story an alternate plane. However, this will not likely be a long term group, so I'd like something shorter that can potentially be completed in a few sessions if possible.

Other ideas I'll incorporate (which I will just insert into whatever adventure I use) are:

-Receive telepathic message from missing character (broken up/hard to understand)
-Creature coming through/out of wall (trap, DEX type SAVE)
-Get into a dungeon or temple and use teleportation circle to other dimension/plane
-Other dimension is the reverse of home dimension
-Spores on ceiling (trap, DEX and/or CON SAVE)

Those don't need to pre-exist since they can be added easily.

So does anyone know of a published adventure that would fit the bill? I'd prefer 1e or 2e era adventures that I'll convert, but any suggestions will be appreciated. I still may just homebrew one, but if something already exists, I'll either just use it or take ideas from it.

 

[ArwensDaughter]

Cave of the Missing on DMs Guild might be a good starting point for you. Involves the ethereal plane, which comes close to another dimension.


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[Wednesday Boy]

I recognize that this is the D&D-specific forum but would you be open to running Call of Cthulhu? I can't think of a specific scenario to run but CoC can easily revolve around a missing person and another dimension. And it would let them play regular humans against a monstrous, unfathomable adversary, like in Stranger Things.

In my opinion CoC is most enjoyable when the players are heavily outmatched and generally go down swinging while fighting the good fight, rather than running CoC with a heroic, positive vibe. Your players may be on board for the doom and gloom that I prefer but if you run it that way you might have to adjust your players' expectations for the system or adjust the system/module to take on the positive nature of Stranger Things.

 

[alienux]

Cave of the Missing on DMs Guild might be a good starting point for you. Involves the ethereal plane, which comes close to another dimension.

Ooh, just took a look at this at the DMs Guild and it looks like it might be just right. Everything in the description fits what I'm looking for.

I recognize that this is the D&D-specific forum but would you be open to running Call of Cthulhu?

Thanks for the suggestion. I do enjoy Cthulhu related things, but none of us know that system and since we'll be starting soon, don't really want to learn a new game right now as a group. However, I'm intrigued and will check it out.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I do enjoy Cthulhu related things, but none of us know that system and since we'll be starting soon, don't really want to learn a new game right now as a group. However, I'm intrigued and will check it out.

Sure thing! When you do get around to running/playing it, it's really easy to run an incredibly simplified version of the Chaosium version. I have the 6th edition and use very little of the crunchy rules. I follow character creation, passing skill checks (roll under your skill's percent to pass), sanity check, and dealing damage as written but play loose and rely on GM fiat for the rest of it (e.g., not worrying about what or how many specific actions you can take per turn, etc.). It makes the entry threshold really low and lets you get to playing the game quickly.

 

[alienux]

Sure thing! When you do get around to running/playing it, it's really easy to run an incredibly simplified version of the Chaosium version. I have the 6th edition and use very little of the crunchy rules. I follow character creation, passing skill checks (roll under your skill's percent to pass), sanity check, and dealing damage as written but play loose and rely on GM fiat for the rest of it (e.g., not worrying about what or how many specific actions you can take per turn, etc.). It makes the entry threshold really low and lets you get to playing the game quickly.

Cool, thanks.. I actually downloaded the free quick start PDF and I'm looking forward to reading through it.