D&D 5E Princes of the Apocalypse or Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I'm running HotDQ right now and my group and I are really enjoying it.

That said... I would probably go with Princes to avoid some of the errata issues Hoard has.

But I guess I could get a list of all the errata out there and write it in the hoard book as well making it then a perfect book?
 

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But I guess I could get a list of all the errata out there and write it in the hoard book as well making it then a perfect book?

That could work! Honestly I think starting with LMop is a great idea, I wouldn't go too far in planning beyond that for now. One never knows where their adventures will really lead.

Also... Read theangrygm.com. Hilarious and genius.
 

I'd disagree slightly with [MENTION=2093]Gilladian[/MENTION], I would recommend your nephew should look through either the pregens (or the PHB if you have it) and see what sounds cool.

Along with the non-basic bound DMG, I have the Basic Player's Handbook Rules, which covers just the Warrior, Cleric, Wizard, & Thief. This is just fine by me, because that's what the basic D&D had when I first played it back in 1983. It keeps things more simple and less intimidating to me (since I am a total newbie DM).

So I'll have him play the Warrior and I'll play Cleric as you suggest. I'll cut the monsters in half. And I'll add NPC's in where needed to fill any gaps.

I have a question (which is probably already answered in the PHB/DMG I have), how does a fighter TANK in DnD? i.e. to take the hits that a cleric might otherwise take. I forget, it's been so long since I played Baldur's Gate & Icewind Dale on the PC. (In Everquest & WoW the "tanks" had threat and skills/spells for taunting.) Right now, as a DM, I could have the monster go right for the healer .. how does the fighter keep this from happening?
 

I don't think there are any aggro management powers. Maybe later for some classes, but it's not really a thing in D&D. If the cleric gets ambushed by 6 goblins, the fighter can't just shout and draw them all away like mindless mobs. The rules don't work like that.

UNLESS... You say they do and he can. Then it's cool and you get to invent the mechanic.
 

I don't think there are any aggro management powers. Maybe later for some classes, but it's not really a thing in D&D. If the cleric gets ambushed by 6 goblins, the fighter can't just shout and draw them all away like mindless mobs. The rules don't work like that.

UNLESS... You say they do and he can. Then it's cool and you get to invent the mechanic.

If the fighter is in front of a cleric in a narrow hall (5 feet wide let's say), can a goblin in front of the fighter pass through the fighter and hit the cleric? narrow halls can be used for effectively tanking right? The fighter and cleric could run back to a corridor once they spot some goblins, draw them back and then the fighter stay in front taking all the hits?

Oh I forgot about the "protection fighting style" that a fighter can choose. I might suggest that in his build.
 
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I would say that would work fine. Maybe if desperate to get to the cleric the enemies could try to tackle the fighter and run over him but....
The rules in the PHB cover combat and I think things lik this are in there but I don't think that will tell you anything you can't figure out using common sense, going by the 'rule of cool' and saying 'yes and' or 'yes, but' when your heroes do things.
 

If the fighter is human, you could go with the optional rule to give him a feat at first level. Tough is a good choice to buff HP.
 

Yeah, Prot is probably your best bet for tanky fighting styles. But there aren't really any mechanics to force an enemy to attack you. Instead, often times enemies will be going after the one causing the most pain. That'll likely be your fighter anyway.
 


[MENTION=6795724]JenniferRPG[/MENTION]: I had a similar conundrum. Here are my thoughts: Princes vs Tyranny.

Thanks, I enjoyed reading your post. I'm for whatever module would be the easiest for me to DM.. since I am newb, I am thinking Hoard (with Eratta corrected). Since I'd be a PC as well (along with my nephew), I'd probably get lost in sandboxes as well. Linear sounds the easiest for a beginner like me. Although I am used to sandbox scenarios in video games with RPG.
 

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