D&D 5E (2014) Rank the Official 5e Adventures (Updated)

[guachi]

I'll only rate what I own or have played.

Top Tier
Lost Mines of Phandelver (So good I've run it thrice)

Mid Tier
Candlekeep Mysteries
Tomb of Annihilation (It might have been better but I played this at a FLGS and the random assortment of players didn't make for great play. The DM, a player in my home game, really gave it her all, though.)

Low Tier
Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Tales from the Yawning Portal (I forgot I even owned this until I looked at my book shelf)

 

[Burnside]

The most interesting thing in this thread is how few people even mention Dragons of Icespire Peak.....

It's part of an introductory boxed set product that not aimed at most of the posters here who are very seasoned DMs and players, so probably not that surprising.

That said, I've DMed it and it's Lost Mine of Phandelver except worse. You can cannibalize it for a few solid tier 1 and low-tier 2 sidequests and locations, but that's about it. The DM has to inject a lot of personality to make it interesting or give it really any depth at all, but it's fine for beer-and-pretzels sessions.

 

[Retreater]

I'm still pissed there's no Heist in it

Dragon Heist rant:

I'm more upset that you use only 1 villain.
You don't visit their dungeon or deal with them directly.
The climax of the adventure is so boring and anti-climactic that few players will feel any sense of accomplishment.
You can't keep the treasure.
The chase scene for the Macguffin is so railroaded that you can't let your players win before the designated time.
The mystery is amazingly easy to solve by anyone paying attention - or if their characters have above average rolls.
It's a poor substitute for Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, and the city isn't well fleshed out.
The maps are low quality scribbles.

 

[Bolares]

Dragon Heist rant:

I'm more upset that you use only 1 villain.
You don't visit their dungeon or deal with them directly.
The climax of the adventure is so boring and anti-climactic that few players will feel any sense of accomplishment.
You can't keep the treasure.
The chase scene for the Macguffin is so railroaded that you can't let your players win before the designated time.
The mystery is amazingly easy to solve by anyone paying attention - or if their characters have above average rolls.
It's a poor substitute for Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, and the city isn't well fleshed out.
The maps are low quality scribbles.

Yeah, that was a bummer to me too. So much so that I started sprinkilng all the other seasons in. Making everyone a little relevant. My players loved the campaign (the part we played before the pandemic hit) but it was A LOT of work on my part. I was planning on using the 4 HQ's, making them do heists in each of them for itens.

 

[Thunder Brother]

The only official adventure I've ever ran is Lost Mine* of Phandelver. I liked it for the most part. I thought the initial introduction to Phandalin was awkward with all the side quests, and the best side adventures ended up being the ones I heavily modified (such as turning the encounter at Wyvern Tor into an awkward family reunion for a half-orc PC).

I also kinda hated the layout of the final dungeon, but oh well. I do think it's a great introduction to the "Platonic 5e experience", and would definitely run it again with a group of new players.

I have both Curse of Strahd and Ghosts of Saltmarsh, but have yet to run either. I think my brain just doesn't retain written adventures well, so homebrew is often easier.

From what I've heard and read from The Alexandrian and Sly Flourish, Rime of the Frost Maiden and Descent into Avernus are two big hot messes.

*calling it "Lost Mines" seems to be a really common mistake.

 

[Mort]

Yeah, that was a bummer to me too. So much so that I started sprinkilng all the other seasons in. Making everyone a little relevant. My players loved the campaign (the part we played before the pandemic hit) but it was A LOT of work on my part. I was planning on using the 4 HQ's, making them do heists in each of them for itens.

The 4 HQs are by FAR the best part of the book - and, chances are, the PCs won't encounter any of them -it's infuriating!

If the party does somehow get to one of the HQs it will result in a TPK/Near TPK unless the party is very lucky/ very organized or knows that getting out of there fast is the only solution.

I will likely use the HQs on their own for other purposes- they're good - but they're wasted on the adventure.

 

[Bolares]

If the party does somehow get to one of the HQs it will result in a TPK/Near TPK unless the party is very lucky/ very organized or knows that getting out of there fast is the only solution.

That's why I was planning on making them heists. Go in and out virtually undetected or be in big trouble...

 

[Charlaquin]

Rime is popular now mainly because it's the newest campaign; time will tell where it settles in people's estimation.

Rime also seems really polarizing. I’ve heard people who love it, people who hate it, and people who like it but acknowledge it has some flaws that make it hard to run. I haven’t come across many people who are indifferent about it.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Rime also seems really polarizing. I’ve heard people who love it, people who hate it, and people who like it but acknowledge it has some flaws that make it hard to run. I haven’t come across many people who are indifferent about it.

My big grippe with Rime is that it was presented as an horror adventure but, reading it, there wasnt much horror in it except darker themes than in some other adventures.

 

[Malmuria]

Rime also seems really polarizing. I’ve heard people who love it, people who hate it, and people who like it but acknowledge it has some flaws that make it hard to run. I haven’t come across many people who are indifferent about it.

It's a shame because if the modules moved in a more sandbox style direction, but with actual support and good layout, I would be more inclined to pick one up