D&D 5E Setting up a Dungeons and Dragons Club at my Local Library

[Jaiken]

I was wondering what module I should start with these are my modules:

Curse of Strahd
Tales of the Yawning Portal
Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Lost Mines of Phinedelver

My goal is to play DnD 5e (of course) but it would be also to improve players improv, social interaction and critical thinking skills.

 

[Mort]

I was wondering what module I should start with these are my modules:

Curse of Strahd
Tales of the Yawning Portal
Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Lost Mines of Phinedelver

My goal is to play DnD 5e (of course) but it would be also to improve players improv, social interaction and critical thinking skills.

Of those Lost Mines is, IME, the most "new player" friendly - I'd start there.

Plus it's a pretty good product so a good intro to 5e, in general.

 

[Clint_L]

Of those, I would 100% choose Phandelver - it's one of the best starter adventures ever made, and I've used it a number of times with beginner groups. I don't know if you need to go into the new sections of it, though - I prefer using the old Starter Set version.

Congratulations on starting a beginner group at your library. I think that's awesome!

 

[Mort]

Of those, I would 100% choose Phandelver - it's one of the best starter adventures ever made, and I've used it a number of times with beginner groups. I don't know if you need to go into the new sections of it, though - I prefer using the old Starter Set version.

Congratulations on starting a beginner group at your library. I think that's awesome!

My opinion, best course of action is to pretend the "new sections" and the follow-up adventure just don't exist!

I am REALLY not a fan of the follow-up and wish they had not gone in the direction they chose!

 

[Jaiken]

Of those, I would 100% choose Phandelver - it's one of the best starter adventures ever made, and I've used it a number of times with beginner groups. I don't know if you need to go into the new sections of it, though - I prefer using the old Starter Set version.

Congratulations on starting a beginner group at your library. I think that's awesome!

Thanks. I wanted a guaranteed way to use my physical Dungeons and Dragons stuff. It will not cost the library anything except paper, time and space.

Here is to hoping my group is big enough to run.

 

[jasper]

None. Go with 2 hour or one hour modules.

 

[Jaiken]

None. Go with 2 hour or one hour modules.

My Local Library said that games can last for around 4 hours maximum.

 

[mikeburke]

Any expectations on player age etc?

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is great for people with no prior exposure or expectations and offers some good options for non-combat resolution and role play. If the players trend younger then the kobolds are a good way to get engagement if you’re willing to lean in to voices etc.

I also appreciate its design of being on an island which immediately constrains down options and paths to something more digestible than “here’s a map of the sword coast - go!”

By the way would love to hear how it goes, how you attracted players etc etc. I have thoughts on doing something similar

 

[aco175]

I would go with Phandelver as well. I'm also thinking that the adventure league (AL) stuff is worth looking into as well.

I'm wondering what other problems there might be? Running a long campaign might be great, but I am thinking that some people might be on and off in showing up each week. Same issues as a lot of games. Also, these people are not friends (yet) and have no loyalty to make the commitment. I would be tempted to start with 6-8 players if that many come and them some will fall off over time.

There is also a issue with new players coming on week 3 and not week 1 or 2, but now just heard about it and want to play. They might be friends of the other players and want to try it out.

New players might want to try out other races and classes over time and not be locked into one character for 6 months.

Some odds and ends to think about include;
Age of the players and mixing adults with 'kids'. The Scouts have a rule about not leaving 1 child alone with only 1 adult.
Session 0 stuff like not talking about drugs or sex or whatever your table is fine with.
Dice and who has them or are you ok with loosing some of yours.
Books, same thing but less likely to be stolen.
As DM, I might want to hold onto the PC sheets to make sure they come back each session.
Phone numbers of parents if the player is under a certain age. In case things break up early or you need to boot the player.

I would love to start something like this myself at the local library or school. congratulations.

 

[Jaiken]

Any expectations on player age etc?

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is great for people with no prior exposure or expectations and offers some good options for non-combat resolution and role play. If the players trend younger then the kobolds are a good way to get engagement if you’re willing to lean in to voices etc.

I also appreciate its design of being on an island which immediately constrains down options and paths to something more digestible than “here’s a map of the sword coast - go!”

By the way would love to hear how it goes, how you attracted players etc etc. I have thoughts on doing something similar

Thanks. My player age range is for teens and adults ages 16 and up. As little kids tend to be too rough with miniatures, dice and books. I will also keep you updated how it goes.

@aco175 Thanks for the heads up about what I should expect or prepare for. I have plenty of dice I don’t mind parting with.