What Adventure Should One D&D Launch With? (+)

[Reynard]

Let's pretend that One D&D is going to launch with a big fat campaign adventure. It could be a revised and updated 5E adventure, a 1D&D adaptation of a classic adventure or series, or something completely new. What do you think they should lead with, adventure wise?

Note: "should" here can mean either :what I would like" or "what would be good for 1D&D" but in either case remember this is a + thread.

Personally, I would like to see either a big fat dungeon campaign (maybe Castle Greyhawk or Ruins of Myth Drannor if they wanted something legacy, or something totally new) or a full globetrotting Eberron campaign that hits all the high notes and cool locations on the way to 20th level.

But perhaps the best thing to do would be for them to revise and expand a beloved 5E campaign not already done. I would have said Phandelver but they are already doing that next year, so maybe SKT?

 

[Scott Christian]

Launch with a brand new campaign. One that involves travel throughout the land: from artic territory to desert sands to tropical rainforests. Place in distinct cultures and a few new creatures. Make the questline not as big as the travel. Meaning the heroes are doing something that is not saving the world, but maybe protecting the little person that can't protect themselves or thwarting a plan to terra-form an island the size of Cuba to one that is completely devoid of living things.

Then...

Publish smaller adventures that bring the smaller regions the heroes visited more to life. Ones that delve into the deserts and its people, one that explores the rainforest and its flora and fauna, etc.

My players don't want to save the world every time. They want to be in a story. A story with a beginning, middle, and end. This would allow that, and then in the other smaller adventures the breadcrumbs of the past would be easy to place in. A win-win for players and for newer DMs.

 

[aco175]

I would like to see an updated Keep on the Shadowfell (KotS). Could even tie it to FR someplace if needed. Likely will get a new starter box set with a red dragon this time.

 

[Loren the GM]

I'd love to see a really good starter adventure set. Something along the lines of Phandelver, with a good central location for players to get connected to. Not world spanning, just a local threat that can be built on into a larger homebrew campaign, or extended through a second adventure released separately. I'd be happy for this starter adventure to be level 1-5 if they can really deliver on the next paragraph.

As important as the adventure side would be to build this as an on-boarding game for new DM's. Really build it out with advice on how to run a campaign through the adventure. Start with Session 0 tips, then into simple encounters, dungeons, how to run npcs, home bases, foreshadowing a villain, escalating the story, providing rewards, introducing quests, etc. I think Lost Mines of Phandelver and the newest Starter Set both do this reasonably well, but I think it could be done even more intentionally and stronger.

Make this starter set truly the essential, best way for a new DM and set of players to get into the game.

 

[Charlaquin]

I would like to see an updated Keep on the Shadowfell (KotS). Could even tie it to FR someplace if needed. Likely will get a new starter box set with a red dragon this time.

I assume you mean the full H-series? If so, hell yeah!

 

[MockingBird]

I wouldn't expect a "redo" on a 5e campaign since the adventures are supposed to be backward compatible. I personally would love a introduction to Greyhawk with a full campaign. Hopefully we get another starter set with a 1-5 level adventure like we got with 5e starter. I think it would be cool to have a starter 1-5 adventure focused on a local area in Greyhawk then a adventure book going from 5-15 (or 11 or 20) expanding the setting and hitting more locations.

I'm hoping for some Greyhawk but we might get FR again. I'd be okay with that either way.

 

[J.Quondam]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a big campaign/adventure tightly linked to the movie among the earliest OneD&D books.

 

[Minigiant]

A new one.

Write for the audience you have

 

[Reynard]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a big campaign/adventure tightly linked to the movie among the earliest OneD&D books.

Isn't the heisty book the movie tie in?

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I'd go with a redux of Keep on the Borderland, with the addition of using the new homebase rules to refurbish the keep. Add a little more story rather than just ''go explore there and loot stuff''.

Give a few exploration region with each their own threats or factions with ideals and goals and ask the PCs to recruit some of them or oppose some of them to prepare for an imminent attack on the keep, ala Red Hand of Doom.

 

[R_J_K75]

Something generic, completely new, unique, and not tied to any campaign setting. To be honest as much I like a lot of the old legacy settings and adventures, I'm kind of burned out on them. I think it's time to move on. That stuff is out there if people want to convert them, my thought is, if it's a new edition/revision start fresh. I'd prefer unconnected adventures not attached to anything previously done.

 

[Oofta]

Go old school. Return to Castle Greyhawk!

Seriously, I would really like them to branch out from FR into just about anything else, even a brand new setting. Start out with something like LMoP and then build out from there with new modules. Return the sense of exploration and discovery of a (mostly) new world. For the intro module I'd consider tying in directly to the new DMG and expand on details that complete newbie DMs need.

I don't really expect that to happen, sequels are the name of the game nowadays but one can always hope.

 

[bedir than]

Isn't the heisty book the movie tie in?

Probably

I still think they should release a Starter Set based on the movie

 

[payn]

I wouldn't mind something more urban, but wont hold my breath.

 

[Reynard]

Probably

I still think they should release a Starter Set based on the movie

It feels like it would be a major oversight not to. But maybe they are waiting to see how it does?

 

[Reynard]

I wouldn't mind something more urban, but wont hold my breath.

Actually playable Dragon Heist?

 

[Azzy]

I think they should do an update and expansion of The Forest Oracle.

On a more serious note, I'd like something along the lines of what @Loren the GM suggested. I'd like to see a better starter for on-ramping new DMs that walks them through various aspects of the game with an adventure that gives advice and suggestions for fleshing it out and expanding upon it. DMing can be an imposing job for those new to the game and those that haven't DMed yet, and I believe that WotC should do more ease new DMs into it and teach them the skills they need.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I would vote for a series of old school dungeon delves.

/ducks

EDIT: or an updated Sentinel and Gauntlet. With the caveat that I haven’t actually looked at either since they were originally published so I may be wearing Rose-Colored Nostalgia Glasses(tm).

 

[jerryrice4949]

I'd love to see a really good starter adventure set. Something along the lines of Phandelver, with a good central location for players to get connected to. Not world spanning, just a local threat that can be built on into a larger homebrew campaign, or extended through a second adventure released separately. I'd be happy for this starter adventure to be level 1-5 if they can really deliver on the next paragraph.

As important as the adventure side would be to build this as an on-boarding game for new DM's. Really build it out with advice on how to run a campaign through the adventure. Start with Session 0 tips, then into simple encounters, dungeons, how to run npcs, home bases, foreshadowing a villain, escalating the story, providing rewards, introducing quests, etc. I think Lost Mines of Phandelver and the newest Starter Set both do this reasonably well, but I think it could be done even more intentionally and stronger.

Make this starter set truly the essential, best way for a new DM and set of players to get into the game.

My group found Lost Mines to be such an average adventure. There was nothing memorable about it at all. I am surprised how often people refer to it.

 

[Digdude]

I would like to see an updated Keep on the Borderland (KotB). Could even tie it to FR someplace if needed. Likely will get a new starter box set with a red dragon this time.

Fixed it for you.!