D&D 5E Semi-sandbox product I'd love to see

[The Mirrorball Man]

Wasn't there something like that in the 4e Forgotten Realms sourcebook? I seem to remember that the book started with a short adventure and the description of a small town.

 

[Morrus]

You might want to check out the 1st edition module L1 Secret of Bone Hill. It is available as a PDF at RPGNow.com and dndclassics.

It was the inspiration for Lost Mine of Phandelver.

 

[Gilladian]

Starter Set/Phandelver sounds interesting. How useful would it be when my campaign already hit 4th level?

You would have to boost some of the early encounters, and maybe add foes to make things challenging. The initial goblin lair could have doubled numbers, and add a shaman, perhaps. The bandits could be given war dog companions, or more bugbears, etc...

The bones of the plot are good enough to handle the tinkering easily.

 

[ExploderWizard]

You can also check out Frandor's Keep. It is a product for Hackmaster but 5E stats are easy to substitute. It is a keep on the borderlands kind of mini setting with lots of interesting NPCs, adventure hooks, and places to explore.

 

[SubDude]

It was the inspiration for Lost Mine of Phandelver.

It seems obvious now, but thanks for pointing this out.

 

[Pibby]

This sort of sounds like the way a house-run D&D Encounters setting basically works. Currently all of the adventures start in the town of Phlan and can be done in any order. I may be wrong, but I think there is a way to sign for D&D Encounter subscriptions. Once you do get the material from the subscriptions you might want to take a brief read through all of them because none of the adventures take derailing into account. Other than that they fine as written.

 

[TwoSix]

Wasn't there something like that in the 4e Forgotten Realms sourcebook? I seem to remember that the book started with a short adventure and the description of a small town.

The Neverwinter Campaign Setting is a lot like this, actually.

 

[Fildrigar]

Also, check out Scourge of the Sword Coast, from the playtest. It details Daggerdale, just south of Waterdeep, and has a bunch of plots and local places for adventure detailed. It's designed for the playtest, so very little work is needed to convert it.

 

[Gecko85]

Also, check out Scourge of the Sword Coast, from the playtest. It details Daggerdale, just south of Waterdeep, and has a bunch of plots and local places for adventure detailed. It's designed for the playtest, so very little work is needed to convert it.

I second that recommendation. Lots of really good maps. I bought the entire Red Wizards series. Haven't run any of them yet as-is. May some day, but at the very least I have a ton of stuff to mine for other adventures.

http://www.dndclassics.com/product/...ed-Wizards-Scourge-of-the-Sword-Coast-DD-Next

Also, regarding L1: Secret of Bone Hill. I picked up a copy on eBay that was in very good condition. It's a little more than the PDF going the eBay route, but the comments on dndclassics warned me off the PDF. I've bought quite a few older module PDFs on dndclassics, and most are pretty good, but the comments on this one aren't good. Evidently the pages are crooked, and there are numerous hand-written DM notes throughout. Why they didn't pick up a clean copy off eBay to scan is beyond me...and why they didn't assign the task to someone with a modicum of attention to detail so they would get straight scans is also beyond me...So, they don't get my money for that one.

 

[mserabian]

I used to love adventure path type adventures, but I've grown pretty sick of them at this point.

type of sandboxy, homebase oriented adventure with recurring NPCs as friends and enemies really is what I've been looking for ... I love the opportunity at the end of Lost Mine of Phandelver to take over the keep and use it as a base for the PCs...

I'm considering taking all the recent sword coast stuff and trying to tie it all together... Anybody know of any other adventures in the area that could be appropriated... Or suggestions for other modules that match these parameters would be great!

So glad I found this thread.

mal