D&D 5E Looking for suggestions on an introductory adventure for newbies

[Mercurius]

Here's the situation. I teach at a small private high school and a colleague and I are introducing a group of kids to D&D, during a kind of "electives week" in which teachers bring something they really enjoy doing to the students. We each have seven kids and will be playing three hours over four days, so 12 hours in all. This includes character creation.

The idea is to give the students a sense of the range of D&D play, although with an emphasis on adventure and dungeon-crawl. The basic plot is that the two sons of a missing lord were left a cryptic message by their father, to find their inheritance in an underground complex. The catch is that the sons--who are both young wizards--cannot enter the caves themselves, so each hire separate adventuring parties to go to the heart of the caves. They each give the parties a kind of homing device that, once they get to their destination, they can teleport to them.

The basic outline of the four days is as follows:

Day One: Character creation. Plot hook - hired by the lord's son (maybe in the standard tavern). Leave town, maybe first combat if possible.
Day Two: Travel, wilderness encounters of some kind. Getting to the caves.
Day Three: Into the caves.
Day Four: The caves, reaching the heart of the caves. Conclusion.

My colleague and I have decided that no matter where we are on the last day, at the end of the first hour we are going to have the parties reach the heart of the caves, with the final confrontation between the brothers, who teleport in and fight over their inheritance (it may turn out that their father is there, either dead or frozen or just waiting for them).

Anyhow, we plan on leveling them up once per session, so that they are 4th level by the last day. The idea, again, is that this is a one-off: an enjoyable educational experience. I'd like it to include a range of D&D experience: NPC interaction (mainly on the 1st and 4th days), wilderness trekking (maybe weather? wandering monsters?), dungeoncrawling, natural caverns, traps and puzzles, etc.

Now the hard part: We start in two days, on Tuesday, so I'm a bit crunched for time. I'm considering doing one of the following:

1. Taking a pre-made adventure and adapting it to the above plot. I'm considering using the Wave Echo Cave of Phandelver with some adjustments, or something on DM's Guild. Any suggestions?

2. Make it from scratch, perhaps using the DMG's random dungeon generator.

3. (Likely) some combination of the above, meaning taking ideas from Phandelver and other sources, but also generating some of it.

Any suggestions? How would you structure such an adventure as far as daily encounters, "must see" things to include? Specific monsters? Etc.

While I'm crunched for time, I can also design it day by day. But I'd at least like to have the first two days planned out before starting. Oh yeah, this can be railroady! I want them to have freedom of choice but, due to the limitations of the format--that it will not be an ongoing campaign--I'm going to bring them back on track if they stray too far.

Thanks!

 

[Quickleaf]

Here's the situation. I teach at a small private high school and a colleague and I are introducing a group of kids to D&D, during a kind of "electives week" in which teachers bring something they really enjoy doing to the students. We each have seven kids and will be playing three hours over four days, so 12 hours in all. This includes character creation.

Too much fun God bless you (geek) educators!

1. Taking a pre-made adventure and adapting it to the above plot. I'm considering using the Wave Echo Cave of Phandelver with some adjustments, or something on DM's Guild. Any suggestions?

Well, starting in a town then making wilderness trek to dangerous monster-inhabited caves? That sounds like Keep on the Borderlands. Which is a pretty classic place to start.

2. Make it from scratch, perhaps using the DMG's random dungeon generator.

I'll vouch for the DMG random tables being very usable, much cooler than I was expecting. You can see some of my attempts at making sensible dungeons using those tables in my sig.

Any suggestions? How would you structure such an adventure as far as daily encounters, "must see" things to include? Specific monsters? Etc.

Hmm. Well, you haven't given a lot to go on yet...but I'll wing some ideas...

Day One:

• The eccentric peddler met while traveling or in town; he's comic relief but may sell them something that proves to be helpful later. Best if you ham up his personality, helping kids to get over any shyness or hesitation, showing them it's OK to role-play.
• Goblin raiders with something distinctive to their weaponry or appearance – a strange brown "feather" maybe? – that foreshadows who they serve or what sorts of monsters they keep in the caves – rust monsters maybe? For the kids who are paying attention.

Day Two:

• The man in the crow's cage (think Mad Martigan); he's clearly sketchy, the terms of his punishment may or may not be just, but he offers to help guide the PCs. Do they trust him? Good intro to inter-party conflict and coming to agreeable compromises.
• Guardian of the caves; a seemingly scary ogre, ettin, or troll, who is actually quite docile and enjoys basket-weaving or some other harmless hobby. Watches over entrance next to a giant gong. Very polite, would let the PCs pass if he/she could, but needs a good story to tell the boss if questioned. Introduces the kids to the idea that not all monsters need to be killed, and sometimes talking is a better solution. Attacking, but allowing guardian time to ring the gong, lets kids see consequence of their actions.

Day Three:

• That treasure chest is actually a mimic! It has helpful advice about the caves, but won't share it unless the PCs bring it whatever its favorite food is. Maybe a rust monster?
• Rust monster training grounds, with goblins mounted on rust monsters wielding bone spears tipped with dangling coins to lure the rust monsters forward into battle. Scenery-wise some kind of epic chasm bridge would be classic. Think Goblin-Town from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.

Day Four:

• Hall of riddles leading up to the final chamber. Each riddle answered correctly gives some boon in the upcoming battle. Maybe combine with a room trap to put some pressure on them.
• A plot twist! Are both brothers to be trusted? What's in their inheritance? Why couldn't they enter the caves really?

 

[Eltab]

Use something from The Caves of Chaos (in Keep on the Borderlands) but don't connect the caves to each other.

The Minotaur and his gets-you-lost labyrinth might be a good pick. Put another lost group and some wandering critters in there, too.
(I see DM'ing labyrinths as a Skill Challenge rather than a map, but you may not have the time to put that together.)