D&D 5E Yawning portal adventures: Best one shot?

[speculart]

I am thinking about taking a break from COS and doing a one/two session spritzer game from the yawning portal.
Out of the list available I am thinking of doing the Forge of Fury but I have never played any of the games..owned some of them back in the day and read them...just never played them.
I am curious to see what others think would be the best one for a two session hack and slash adventure?
Heres my thoughts so far:
Against the Giants: I used to own this one in the 80s. Cant remember if it would be fun or not.
Dead in Thay: I know nothing..but is this meant to be an adventure for multiple groups?
Forge of Fury: Mixed reviews, some very positive though. Sounds like more of your pick up type of game.
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan: Love me some jungle..is this good?
Sunless Citadel: Used to own this one..but cant remember much. The couple of pages I have read talk about the Gulthias tree and, having just played a similar bit in COS, players may think its a bit samey. Is this worth a look beyond the twig blight/druid type stuff?
Tomb of Horrors: Too fickle
White Plume Mountain: Legendary game. Would this be a good contender?

Thanks for any help

 

[JonnyP71]

I'm biased.

As long as the 1E conversions are true to the originals, I'd go for some Central American themed creepiness with Tamoachan, or some madcap-funhouse shenanigans with White Plume Mountain.

Tomb of Horrors is magnificent - with the right group, and if you are in the right frame of mind - it should be experienced by EVERY gamer the world over.

Against the Giants might be a bit beefy (hurr hurr) for a one-shot, in 1E it was great - it looked to be a difficult hack and slash fest, but often brought out some inventive tactical play on the part of the party. Those who've played it will know which room makes the penny drop for the players that they simply cannot succeed with brute force!

I haven't read the others.

 

[darjr]

I'm running Tomb of Horrors all day for my bday. The catch is that players must be 1st level. I'll run seven at a time and folks who die get in line for the next try with a different character. Tpks start a new table immediately.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Not sure if I'll ever play Tomb of Horrors. It's the ultimate 'adversarial DM' module and I've never been a fan of that style of play.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Lidgar]

Forge of Fury is very good, and concise enough to play in a few sessions. Nice "end boss" too. I would pick that or Hidden Shrine, depending on how good the conversion of it is.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Brutal! Granted, high-level power doesn’t serve one as well as player smarts, but they help a little.

For my part, I’d vote for Sunless Citadel or Tomb of Horrors. Even though Sunless Citadel has the Gulthias Tree, I think the tone is dramatically different from Curse of Strahd.

Tomb of Horrors is a vicious module, but with a bunch of pregens, it could be a fun break in the campaign. Make it a competition, with awards given for most amount of deaths, longest lifespan, most hilarious death, etc.

As for the other ones, as much as I dig the classics, I’m not sure that they could be run in just one or two sessions.

I'm running Tomb of Horrors all day for my bday. The catch is that players must be 1st level. I'll run seven at a time and folks who die get in line for the next try with a different character. Tpks start a new table immediately.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Tomb of Horrors is great for when you don't feel like playing but have a session scheduled and feel obligated to run something.

As one-shots go, it can't be beat; odds are high that the adventure itself will take less time than the character creation.

 

[Luz]

My pick would also be Tomb of Horrors, but seeing as you're not inclined to go with that, these are my recommendations:

Against the Giants: any one of these three modules can be played through in two sessions. As far as good ol' fashioned hack n' slash, it doesn't get any better. I'd go with either Hall of the Fire Giant King or Steading of the Hill Giant Chief.
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan: very atmospheric and not at all a mindless hack n' slash, just a fantastic module. Not sure if this could be completed in one or two sessions, unless played original tournament style where the PCs have three hours to find their way out. That could be a lot of fun!
White Plume Mountain: perfect for a one-shot session, easy to pick up and play with very little prep. A dungeon that makes no sense but is a blast nonetheless.

 

[aco175]

I'm running Tomb of Horrors all day for my bday. The catch is that players must be 1st level. I'll run seven at a time and folks who die get in line for the next try with a different character. Tpks start a new table immediately.

This sounds awesome!