Recommendations for a first time (teenage) DM

[criticalfumble]

We've been having a fantastic time playing 5th edition over the last year or so. My thirteen year old sons, their friends and I have played LMoP, as well as ToD. My one son DM'd LMoP while the rest of us played, and I've DM'd ToD.

My other son is looking to have a crack at DMing, and I'm looking for something well designed and relatively brief for him to get his feet wet with. Because his brother did the starter set, that's not really an option anymore. They're pretty familiar with FR as a setting at this point, so an adventure set there might be most manageable for him. They seem to enjoy role play as much if not more than combat, and like to cut up and have a bit of humor with their adventure from time to time.

Any recommendations? Seems like the wrong choice might sour him on the whole idea, so I'd like to suggest some options to him.

Thanks!

 

[iserith]

Here's a short adventure scenario I wrote that was ported over from the old WotC forums before they went down: The Barrow of the Evensong. It's a simple little location with some interesting stuff going on within.

If you want something even shorter than that, check out a list of short-form scenarios I have posted.

 

[Eltab]

If all he wants to do is get his feet wet, set up a one-shot scenario.
I created a "Beat Up Goliath" scenario back during the 3e days - a half-dozen L1 characters of various classes vs an L4 Fighter - for a church camp. It was something for a the kids to do during the afternoon in case it rained.
You could do something similar with their existing characters and a suitable tough monster / NPC.

 

[Zardnaar]

Would you be willing to spend $5-$10 on some adventures on PDF and print them out?

 

[koga305]

You might consider a look at some of the Adventurers League modules, which are built for a single 4-hour session. In my experience, they vary in quality, but some are pretty strong adventures. They are set in the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms, so that's a plus.

Here are a few adventures that went well for my group:

• Secrets of Sokol Keep. This one is more of a mystery adventure. It does require the DM to take some time thinking about how to present the clues (and make sure the players understand what's going on), but can be satisfying to figure out.
• Dues for the Dead. A straight-up dungeon crawl, but pretty well written and with a few opportunities for the players to roleplay.
• The Scroll Thief. A mystery that turns into a chase halfway through. Pretty exciting, with lots of little opportunities for the players to discover clues and figure out what's going on.
• Drums in the Marsh. This is an exploration adventure that gives the players a lot of freedom to approach things. If they enjoy coming up with clever plans to win without fighting (or turn the odds overwhelmingly in their favor) they'll enjoy this one.
• Outlaws of the Iron Route. Another adventure where the players get to make clever plans. Plenty of opportunities to sneak and lie here, and to get way in over their heads only to be surprised by an unexpected twist.

 

[criticalfumble]

Here's a short adventure scenario I wrote that was ported over from the old WotC forums before they went down: The Barrow of the Evensong. It's a simple little location with some interesting stuff going on within.

If you want something even shorter than that, check out a list of short-form scenarios I have posted.

Hey thanks - those look promising! The first scenario being optimized for third level characters helps, I think. Characters are not too squishy, but also not overwhelming to deal with. I'll give these a read.

 

[criticalfumble]

You might consider a look at some of the Adventurers League modules, which are built for a single 4-hour session. In my experience, they vary in quality, but some are pretty strong adventures. They are set in the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms, so that's a plus.

I thought of the AL modules as well. Thanks for pointing out some of the better candidates! At first, I was thinking some of the guidance at the beginning of each module was a little AL-specific, but as I read through it, it's generally just good advice.

 

[criticalfumble]

Would you be willing to spend $5-$10 on some adventures on PDF and print them out?

Yup!

 

[Guest 6801328]

You might consider a look at some of the Adventurers League modules, which are built for a single 4-hour session. In my experience, they vary in quality, but some are pretty strong adventures. They are set in the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms, so that's a plus.

Here are a few adventures that went well for my group:

• Secrets of Sokol Keep. This one is more of a mystery adventure. It does require the DM to take some time thinking about how to present the clues (and make sure the players understand what's going on), but can be satisfying to figure out.
• Dues for the Dead. A straight-up dungeon crawl, but pretty well written and with a few opportunities for the players to roleplay.
• The Scroll Thief. A mystery that turns into a chase halfway through. Pretty exciting, with lots of little opportunities for the players to discover clues and figure out what's going on.
• Drums in the Marsh. This is an exploration adventure that gives the players a lot of freedom to approach things. If they enjoy coming up with clever plans to win without fighting (or turn the odds overwhelmingly in their favor) they'll enjoy this one.
• Outlaws of the Iron Route. Another adventure where the players get to make clever plans. Plenty of opportunities to sneak and lie here, and to get way in over their heads only to be surprised by an unexpected twist.

Yeah, I was going to suggest something similar.

You could also track down Bawylie and ask him about his special introduction-to-D&D mini-dungeons. Iserith knows about them.

 

[Rhenny]

I'm running a mini-campaign with "Harried in Hillsfar" (AL material). It is somewhat linear, but provides a nice spine in-case he wants to build around it.

After running with Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Princes of the Apocalypse, it is very refreshing to run just a smaller scaled AL adventure.