D&D 5E New AP (to run) Ideas?

[Zardnaar]

We are currently mucking around with a game that will likley run for a few months with a weekly game lasting maybe 5-8 hours. IN a few months it will be my turn to step up to the bat as DM again. We had a chat with the group to see what they wanted to play.

HotDQ/RoT got vetoed right away. 2 TPKs at level 1 players do not like.
Ruins of Felk More (level 1-010 megadungoen) also got vetoed. Megadungeons did not appeal.

On of the players kind of wants to run Curse of Stahd. Note sure on this one. Not a RL fan willing to try it if I am bored enough.

This leaves

Princes of The Apocalypse. Started this one last year as a player, looks like fun to run.
Out of the Abyss. Looks a bit more complicated to run and a bit more rail roaded. Prefer PotA methinks.
Holdenshire Chronicles EN5ider AP type adventures a lot more sandboxy.

Pasting togather an AP out of the various stand alone adventures and Quests of Doom is also an option. ANy ideas/advice on an AP type adventure or a series one could link together.

 

[ccs]

1st: I'd come up with some opening adventure that'd work equelly well wether the party was just meeting or allready knew each other.
Something short (2-3 sessions). Something not tied to whatevers to come. And something YOU want to run.

2nd: I'd find out what type of characters the players intended to use, thier stats, & any background info.
Yes, you might be a month or two away from actually running anything. But it's easier to come up with character specific ideas when you've got some lead time than it is later.

 

[Rhenny]

I started Princes of the Apocalypse, but we've only run about 16 sessions so far (4th level so far) - we've been having really tough scheduling issues because nearly everyone in my group (including me) have been really busy with work/family over the past 3 or 4 months.

I like the AP mostly because it provides a backdrop for the DM to paint upon. I don't think it necessarily runs well if you just try to do what is written. I invented my own introductory sessions to get the PCs hooked, and I changed the location of some of the sites around Red Larch. I also added some of my own clues/hints to keep the players informed enough to move the story forward.

Playing 1/week or sometimes 1/2 weeks, it was hard to keep the players focused on the plot of the campaign. I felt that the story of the cultists and the temples in PoTA develops pretty slowly and some of the clues or suggestions in the AP are subtle. Again, this is why it becomes a really good backdrop for a creative DM rather than an AP that a DM can follow lock step.

I'm looking forward to continuing our campaign, but in the meanwhile, we started another group for fewer players and we are running "Harried in Hillsfar." I'm adapting it for 2 players with 1 npc (who guest players can take control of when they join in). The two players who I'm running this for like it so far and they find it less subtle so they can follow the bread crumbs more easily. It is actually very linear, but sometimes players just want that.

Good luck in your search/decision, Zard.

 

[RangerWickett]

Would you be up for converting anything from 4e or PF to 5e? There are plenty of other adventure paths. What's your group's play style? What are they into?

 

[Zardnaar]

Would you be up for converting anything from 4e or PF to 5e? There are plenty of other adventure paths. What's your group's play style? What are they into?

I only have the 4E Dungeon adventures through to 2011. I have used some PF and AD&D adventures with 5E. They liked Kingmaker (at least the exploration parts) and they liked Sasserine in the Savagae Tide. They do not like Mega dungeons and I do not like heavily railroaded adventures like HotDQ.

So more sandboxy with elements of worldbuilding and exploration with 2-4 encounters in a combat session, 0 combats is fine as long as there is a point to it instead of say arguing or dicking around wasting time. I have the PF APs up to shattered star, Skull and Shackles would be one I would be one I would like to play the most.

 

[RangerWickett]

I just was in a Skull and Shackles campaign that ended in TPK. It was amazing, but . . . after we'd all died the GM explained that a lot of cool stuff we adored wasn't in the modules. He'd created a whole mythology of 'free captains of the Shackles,' who were all blessed by Besmara and could basically call upon her power once per year to do epic sea-themed stuff. He put a ton of detail into all the NPCs, gave them individual goals, personalities, and speech patterns, to the point that, after we took a two-month holiday hiatus, when we picked the adventure back up we did a role call of the crew, which he did in character for all, what, 15 of the names NPCs, and we remembered each of them by how they spoke. Quality work by the GM.

But he then went on to say what the later adventures consisted of, and they sounded pretty thin and nonsensical. Apparently one adventure is "someone suggests you throw a big pirate party, but another pirate doesn't like that you're the popular kids, so he tries to mess your party up."

If you like sandboxy, then EN World's own adventure paths probably aren't your thing. War of the Burning Sky is about, well, a war, with each adventure being a mission toward winning the war. ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution is a steampunk investigation, meant to be a mix of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and The X-Files, and the mystery you're solving and conspiratorial schemes you're thwarting are the main focus. Neither has much time for roaming around sandboxing.

 

[jayoungr]

How about the playtest adventures? I hear Legacy of the Crystal Shard is good. Or Murder in Baldur's Gate could be lots of fun if your players like a lot of political intrigue.

Isn't Princes of the Apocalpyse basically a megadungeon? If that's too megadungeon-y for your group, then I also recommend steering clear of Dead in Thay.