D&D 5E (2014) Player awareness of adventure - would you still use it?

[Miladoon]

Yes. They won't recognize anything anyways. I like to change things up a bit. Usually tumbling into a gothic horror.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

Got to know players a little bit, met in person. These guys are new! Going to have to explain different Dice, the whole shebang.
Our initial sessions are only about 3 hours so right now I don't think LMoP is the place to start - maybe session 2. Looking for a real basic encounter / mini scenario... Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks for great thoughts .

 

[AtomicPope]

Just change a few things, tailor some of the items and monsters to fit the party. That's usually enough to throw them off the trail. I've run "The Return to the Keep on the Borderlands" for over 20 years since 2nd Edition. I've modified the adventure slightly every time, though I still think my 4e conversion was the best. On a few occasions there were savvy players that recognized iconic areas like The Caves of Chaos. Often enough what they remembered (there are bandits and monsters in the caves) was generic enough to remain true and be revealed through roleplaying with the folks of the Keep. I don't see why this wouldn't work for the Starter Set, which is quickly becoming an iconic adventure.

 

[Jaelommiss]

Got to know players a little bit, met in person. These guys are new! Going to have to explain different Dice, the whole shebang.
Our initial sessions are only about 3 hours so right now I don't think LMoP is the place to start - maybe session 2. Looking for a real basic encounter / mini scenario... Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks for great thoughts .

The first chapter of the starter set is based around a fast encounter with ambushing goblins, followed by a reasonably short goblin lair. The whole thing is specifically designed to introduce new players into the basics of combat. If you are doing chargen during the same session you may only have time for the first encounter. I'd suggest reading the first chapter before discounting it, because it is exactly what you have described.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

You're right of course . . . did read it last night. Issue is that's the part guys have done before. Got a few good ideas to change things up a little bit though.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

I don't enjoy DMing an adventure that a player already knows. It's always a requirement for me that only players can join that don't know the adventure yet.

If I notice a player apparently has knowledge he shouldn't have and I don't have the courage to just kick him out of the game, then I just adjust the adventure, though. Like removing all the traps, then placing new traps at different locations and so on.

 

[sleypy]

I have no problem with running an adventure people have played before. The caveat is that the players are interested in running the adventure again.

Additionally, adventures have more going than what is prescribed by the module. Honestly, D&D modules aren't offering any surprises. The PC are the greatest variable in most adventures, and the reason models are replayable.

 

[Mistwell]

I would just go ahead and run it anyway. They will still have fun, things will happen that they don't expect, some will seem new.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Considering running LMoP for brand new group. I'm an experienced DM (new to 5E) but all the players are first timers.A couple players have starter box, access to / read first part of adventure. Is this a big deal? Wondering if I should pick something else brand new? I'd dislike doing that as I think it's a great adventure. I don't want to do a bunch of work changing it up.I don't know what else is out there for short introductory adventures. I don't want to prep / buy anything long as it might be a disaster or group dynamics might not work out so potential one shot at this point. If we have a good time and group clicks will look at something longer.Thoughts? Suggestions?

Not a big deal, if they're good at avoiding metagaming. If they're not so good, you might want to use it as a template, but swap stuff - change around monsters, narratives, places, NPC's, etc., until they're a little off-kilter, reskin everything, introduce your own subplot, etc.

 

[discosoc]

It depends on your players. I've run with some who know the adventures and can still enjoy it from another perspective (different character, or maybe the GM'd it once), others who know the adventures and simply can't be bothered to separate character knowledge vs player knowledge, and then others still who seem to enjoy screwing with the GM by going totally off the rails for the sake of sabotaging a game. That last type is really annoying, and usually will bring up some argument about how RP should be a total sandbox, even though it's clear they know exactly how the adventure is laid out.

As long as you don't have the type 3 player, you should be fine. It doesn't take massive rewriting to make a published adventure your own, because changes are going to come up during play regardless of how much you intend to stick to the book. In fact, I'd say a lot of experienced group of players (who've been together for years) routinely run through adventures 2 or 3 or more times; either because it was a lot of fun or because someone else wants to try GMing it.