D&D 5E Newbie Adventure Recommendation

[Urriak Uruk]

I have been tempted to run Princes of the Apocalypse a number of times. I think it would require quite a bit of prep, so I haven't done it yet. If this group seems interested in continuing to play after a few sessions, this may be the next step. I do have the full adventure. Are there things in the free version that are not included in the book?

There aren't, no. It is more of a sandbox than Dragon Heist or Phandelver, so will require more prep.

 

[uzirath]

What shortish adventures do people recommend running for a group of new players?

Tales of the Yawning Portal has several smaller adventures in it; Sunless Citadel would be a good adventure to start a group out (and it's follow-up, Forge of Fury is also in the book). . . . Personally, I'm partial to U1 - Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.

I second the recommendation for Sunless Citadel from Yawning Portal. It's a straightforward scenario that I've used with beginners. I love the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and a 5e version is, of course, included in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. I've run it for beginning groups in every edition of D&D (plus GURPS, to boot). I'm running the 5e version with a newbie group (including some kids) and they're having a blast. You can cut the town portion (chapter 1) short at the start to get them right into it. If they love the campaign setting, you can build in some of the NPCs and background after they complete the first scenario. If you also want to speed things up at the house, you can use the "aged poacher" hook under Background on p. 37; this gives them a clue that gets them to the heart of things more rapidly (and builds some good suspense).

 

[Nebulous]

I have been tempted to run Princes of the Apocalypse a number of times. I think it would require quite a bit of prep, so I haven't done it yet. If this group seems interested in continuing to play after a few sessions, this may be the next step. I do have the full adventure. Are there things in the free version that are not included in the book?

I ran Princes in 2015. I loved it, but it's not an easy one for new DMs. If you are experienced I would say yes try it. I have a thread where I posted all the recaps and lots of people contributed ideas. The module is better if the DM adds/modifies it some, so how much you enjoy it will depend on the amount of effort you want to put it into it.

The free version just looks like a couple scenarios cut out from the book, Red Larch, etc although I noticed the free one has Feathergale Spire which was one of my favorite parts.

This is the thread, it took us 74 sessions to complete. Other people mingle in their own stories so you can see how other groups handled it.

D&D 5E - Princes of the Apocalypse campaign recaps

Session #1 - Red Larch https://app.box.com/s/oj0jy718p6wrjxaws8po0ygg0gqnj8ua

www.enworld.org

 

[Eltab]

Seconding the first couple chapters of Dragon Heist. You can clear out your own home base (currently an abandoned dilapidated building) - how cool that can be !

 

[ddaley]

Seconding the first couple chapters of Dragon Heist. You can clear out your own home base (currently an abandoned dilapidated building) - how cool that can be !

Luckily, I have a bit more time than I thought I originally had... so I should have time to investigate more of these suggestions. I thought we were playing this weekend!