D&D 5E Where to next? (post LMOP)

[Lyxen]

All true. BUT to a group unused to difficult combats and/or a group expecting a level appropriate fair fight? That last encounter is a doozy!

That's not necessarily a strike against it - but the DM needs to know it going in.

I agree, it's not easy to play and even less easy to run, just pointing out the quality of it, in particular in comparison to WDH.

 

[Burnside]

Just a point, the tomb is not that much of a deathtrap. It is actually very cleverly built, with the "behind the scenes" look that allows clever players to do much more than just survive. Add this to the unlikely allies that you can find there and which offer great roleplay, I think it's much better than Tomb of Horrors.

I totally agree with this. However, I think ToA is a bit much for somebody's second-ever campaign. Third or fourth, sure.

 

[Mort]

I totally agree with this. However, I think ToA is a bit much for somebody's second-ever campaign. Third or fourth, sure.

I would agree, it's a bit advanced. BUT, there's SO much help online for DMs running this module that a think a rookie DM who dedicated some time to it could really make it work.

That said, the DM and the players REALLY have to be on the same page for this one, more so than usual. Players who don't enjoy jungle treks, sometimes pointless jungle treks - could be frustrated /disapointed.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Isn‘t ToA on a ticking clock? Doesn‘t the quest giver only have a couple months to live or such? Kind of cuts down on the fun of exploration when you know you don‘t have much time to do it.

 

[Eltab]

Isn‘t ToA on a ticking clock? Doesn‘t the quest giver only have a couple months to live or such? Kind of cuts down on the fun of exploration when you know you don‘t have much time to do it.

As written, this is true. Which is why I suggested a different goal for the trip. Set aside the Tomb and the Curse, get a chance to really look at a place full of "you cannot find this, back home".

 

[pming]

Wouldn’t even need to go that far. The 5e DMG has tables for generating random adventure ideas, and an appendix for generating entire random dungeons. I used the appendix to create the starting adventure for my campaign and it worked out really well. After determining the original layout, purpose of the structure and the rooms in it, you dungeon-fy it and figure out what has happened since. It took care of a massive amount of the work in a satisfying manner, and I still got something that felt like I had created it after I interpreted everything and added the specific elements I wanted to.

The 5e DMG doesn‘t have as large of a word count as most previous editions, but it is concise and very useful with those words.

Actually, when my DMG first arrived, the next day I whipped out my "Mini-Dungeon Booklet" that I use to "doodle dungeons" on one page, and on the facing opposite page I write the info. ( fyi, it's called the "ARC System"; https://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/arc/index.html ). I then used the DMG tables to write an entire little mini-dungeon. It worked very well! Didn't really "inspire" me all that much, but it did get the juices flowing enough that it was a quick and enjoyable hour or so and I ended up with a pretty deadly "old pirate cave by the sea".

The other books though, like the D30 ones I mentioned (or my own "HMC d12" tables and system I wrote for a different game system) tend to give more results and more 'unusual' possibilities.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[LordEntrails]

Thinking more about this, if you want to run something without having to prep or otherwise remix, and you want to stay I the area, Storm Lord Wrath, Sleeping Dragons Wake and Divine Contention are perfect. Easy for new DMs, ready to run as is, and virtually no changes needed based upon the parties previous play.

They won't take you to level 20, but few things will as written.

 

[jgsugden]

Suggestion 1: Don't. Start over at level 1. Why? Players learn a lot in their first 8 to 12 sessions. Once they've figured out a few things, they can benefit a lot from trying a different set of characters out. When I start with a brand new group, I run a "getting to know you" series of adventures that span levels 1 to 5, then I run a campaign that is designed to run 20 levels.

Suggestion 2: Run adventures, not adventure paths. With players still finding their path, running an adventure that has a shorter storyline may be more rewarding. There are a number of positively reviewed adventures on the DMs guild.

Suggestion 3: Don't run a current 5E Campaign Path. I have yet to find one that I like more than I like a number of the older Adventure Paths. I would recommend running Shackled City, a 3E adventure path, that has a lot to offer. There are conversion kits on the DM's guild, although converting it yourself is not that hard. You can skip the first 2 chapters and have the PCs rescue an NPC adventurer in the third chapter that tells them of what took place in the first two chapters when his (deceased) party undertook those adventures. Age of Worms is also good, but Greyhawk (more so than Shackled City, which can be fit into FR easily).

 

[MerricB]

Storm King's Thunder - I know this looks good on paper. There is an obvious on-ramp at level 5. It's in the same general region as Lost Mine. But that's where the virtues end. You're already level 5 so you'll mercifully skip the irrelevant levels 1-5 prologue part. Your adventure will begin in a city on the Sword Coast. As a pointless gimmick, in the first session your players will play NPCs assigned to them instead of their own characters as they defend a city from giants.

"In this chapter, each player runs not only a player character but also an NPC who has ties to the settlement that the characters are defending."

You run both, not just the special NPC.

 

[akr71]

Does it have to be a purchased adventure? Its been years since I've run it, but if I remember correctly LMoP has a lot of hooks for your own content. There's a found 'treasure map' in the mines. What's the Red Wizard after? Maybe there are ancient ruins that need exploring (and have more treasure). There could still be some Redbrands lurking about and want to take back their turf. It would be quite easy to expand the orc presence too. What about Venomfang? If they didn't kill the dragon, that would make a great reoccurring villain.