D&D 5E Running Dragons of Icespire Peak for a beginning group

[Quickleaf]

Given the copious time off my kids have from school, I'm thinking of (finally) giving them a taste of D&D. It has been awhile since I've DMed, and while I have the Essentials Kit, I haven't done more than browse through it. I have a few questions - feel free to respond to any, all or none of them:

1. First off, is Dragons of Icespire Peak a good choice? I could also go with Lost Mine of Phandelver or something else, but I'm personally more interested in running Icespire, so unless there's a good reason to run something else, or not run it, that's what I'll do. Any good reasons to choose otherwise?

2. My girls are 11 and 14, and we'll also be playing with my girlfriend (who is much older, lol). The 14-year old has some learning challenges, including with math, so I'm thinking of ways to simplify for her - but not too much. They've also never played an RPG, so I'm thinking of veering more towards the railroady, at least to start. Any recommendations on accomodations or alterations for a young/inexperienced group?

3. After laying out classes and races, it seems their choices are Paladin, Wizard, and Rogue. Is that a good spread for Icespire Peak? Should I add in an NPC? If so, what class?

4. How much prep should I do before starting? As I said, I'm an experienced DM but a bit rusty. Is skimming the adventure enough or should I read it cover to cover? In other words, are there any complexities or subtleties that require a complete reading?

5. Any other thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks!

Hey man, long time no talk! Glad to hear that you're making the best of the coming quarantine with your girls. Wishing you all safety and good gaming.

1. My friend J. ran us through a one-shot with Dragons of Icespire Peak. Seems like a good intro.

2. I'm a fan of using simplified character sheets for kids. This one might work for anyone challenged by maths, since it includes common calculations right there on the sheet: David Bowlin's sheet (pay what you want, DMs Guild).

3. Should be fine with paladin, wizard, and rogue. Just give them a few extra healing potions.

4. Based on the dragon showing up on a random encounter roll, and conversations with J. about the manticore being deadly to low-level PCs, I think those are encounters to think about in advance how you want to handle/adapt.

5. I didn't know this, but there are sequel adventures (I believe free with a code found in the boxed set) to Dragon of Icespire Peak:

3 new official adventures that continue the story of Dragon of Icespire Peak! Level: 7th, 9th and 11th

Dragon of Icespire Peak and the three new adventures that continue the story will be available for sale on D&D Beyond starting September 3rd! @BadEyeAdam explains all the ways you can access th…

www.sageadvice.eu

 

[Nebulous]

1. I would give Phandelver an A grade and Icespire Peak a C+, maybe. Icespire is clearly inferior, but new players might not notice the difference.

I have to agree here. My advice is to also pick up Lost Mine as your core adventure, then use the Essentials setting to flesh out extra encounters. Lost Mine is a modern classic, and has entertained countless people since 2014 and is still popular.

 

[Mercurius]

Hey man, long time no talk! Glad to hear that you're making the best of the coming quarantine with your girls. Wishing you all safety and good gaming.

1. My friend J. ran us through a one-shot with Dragons of Icespire Peak. Seems like a good intro.

2. I'm a fan of using simplified character sheets for kids. This one might work for anyone challenged by maths, since it includes common calculations right there on the sheet: David Bowlin's sheet (pay what you want, DMs Guild).

3. Should be fine with paladin, wizard, and rogue. Just give them a few extra healing potions.

4. Based on the dragon showing up on a random encounter roll, and conversations with J. about the manticore being deadly to low-level PCs, I think those are encounters to think about in advance how you want to handle/adapt.

5. I didn't know this, but there are sequel adventures (I believe free with a code found in the boxed set) to Dragon of Icespire Peak:

3 new official adventures that continue the story of Dragon of Icespire Peak! Level: 7th, 9th and 11th

Dragon of Icespire Peak and the three new adventures that continue the story will be available for sale on D&D Beyond starting September 3rd! @BadEyeAdam explains all the ways you can access th…

www.sageadvice.eu

Thanks, buddy. Yeah, we should get coffee sometime. When this settles down, of course ;-).

Good stuff - that character sheet might do the trick.

 

[Nebulous]

Presently I'm running Dragon of Icespire Peak for a group of five D&D noobs. I would recommend it. What I like is the relative simplicity: the players get a quest card, decide which quest they want to take on, and then complete it in 1 or 2 sessions. The quests are all linked by the overarching threat of the dragon. It's just enough connective tissue without tipping into complicated plotting.

Of course, I've heavily modified it to create a complicated, linked plot. But that's me. Point is, the adventure is simple, but you can make it more complex if that suits your style.

That right there I think is the main issue I have with Icespire. It's functional on its own and can be fun, but as far as an integrated story, that requires a DM with experience to do. New DMs won't really know how to do that, whereas I feel Lost Mine of Phandelver introduces just the right amount of interconnected side quests and NPCs to teach a new DM/Player the basics. Actually, I think integrating the two of them together into a 1st-8th level campaign is probably a fantastic idea.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I really like Dragons of Icespire Peak. Phandelver is probably better at walking new players and DMs through the game, but I like the sandbox of Icespire Peak more.

The class spread is pretty solid - the dungeon with all the dwarven ghouls might be tougher if the paladin doesn't have Turn the Unholy yet.

I'd recommend reading the adventure cover to cover, then skimming as needed later. There are some parts and pieces that connect up that would be good to have an understanding of, such as encounters and the overall ecology.

 

[Nebulous]

I really like Dragons of Icespire Peak. Phandelver is probably better at walking new players and DMs through the game, but I like the sandbox of Icespire Peak more.

The class spread is pretty solid - the dungeon with all the dwarven ghouls might be tougher if the paladin doesn't have Turn the Unholy yet.

I'd recommend reading the adventure cover to cover, then skimming as needed later. There are some parts and pieces that connect up that would be good to have an understanding of, such as encounters and the overall ecology.

Yes, the lighthouse and several scenarios in the forest are interconnected. There might be more, I'm not sure.

 

[Weiley31]

I would say for the sidekick rules, use the UA Sidekick rules instead. They seem better and actually have a full leveling path if you follow up on thru the sequel adventures.

 

[aco175]

I would focus on making some of the NPCs in town feel more alive for the players to become attached to. The Essentials box does not have enough on the town like in LMoP, so if you have both you should use that one for town descriptions.

If you wanted to include a 4th PC/NPC I would go with a cleric tied to one of the quests. You can use him as a guide or glue hinter for the new players to use as a crutch to get their gaming legs so to speak. A cleric is handy to stay in the back and just cast, allowing the players to take the front, or if only the paladin is up front, the cleric can take some of the heat from him.

 

[Scarloc99]

I am running Dragon of Icespire Peak at the moment and love it,

A couple of things I have added in.

I am setting the adventure in my own campaign setting so the wider world is far different. I have populated the town with a number of interesting NPC's aimed at moving the players on once the dragon is dealt with

Session 1 was entirely based in Phandalin, The party met in the tavern, I had fleshed out the patrons a bit more and turned the barkeep into a retired adventurer who had been convinced to settle down by his wife. In the inn was a group of outsiders who had just moved in, 4 of them, they where playing cards and winning through cheating, taking the money of the locals, nothing major just enough to keep in profit without raising suspicions.

I created a simple game involving dice rolling, any player that wanted to participate could. Round 1 roll a D10, round 2 roll a D8 and round 3 roll a D6.
The cheating NPC's could make a simple deception check to automatically match the players roll. (I rolled in secret)

This allowed my players to experience some roll playing activities, get some chances to roll some perception checks (the rogue was at advantage), interact and get to know one another in game. I also had rolled to see if the barkeeper had spotted the ruse. It ended with the players identifying the cheat, getting all the money back off him and returned to their rightful owners.

From there they then had a run in with the card sharks outside the inn on the way to the notice board, this allowed combat experience and a sense that actions can have consequences. Finally I ended the session with the players spotting the white dragon high in the sky giving a sense of wonder and that fantasy element.

This meant that by the end of session 1 the players had experienced some roleplaying, been brought together by the events in the inn and rolled initiative. A really good basic intro to the mechanics.

I have then tweaked each adventure using

Running Dragon of Icespire Peak from the D&D Essentials Kit

This is an evolving article offering tips for running the D&D Essentials Kit adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. I'll be updating this article as I run the adventures in the book and gain first-hand kn...

slyflourish.com

as a guide for things to add

Hoping this is useful