I have all the WOTC published 5e adventures, both here and in print.
But I have never actually run or played any of them. I have read most of the books, but used them only for inspiration in my home brew worlds and adventures.
But I’m now thinking of starting a new campaign with a new group and was also considering just running one of the published adventures. As I say, I’ve read a lot of this content, but not having played it, I was wondering what people who actually have thought.
So, how would you rank the actual published adventures, and why?
Curse of Strahd, is by far my favorite to run. Out of the Abyss Princes of the Apocalypse (Even though I think this is supposed to be played after Lost Mines, its a much better adventure and that's with Lost Mines being a pretty good adventure too.) Lost Mines of Phandelver
I personally couldn't stand the Tyranny of Dragons Story Line (Hoard of the Dragon Queen & Rise of Tiamat)
Tomb of Annihilation is my favorite, followed immediately by Storm King's Thunder. These are amazing! All of the Adventurer's League and Guild Adept content for these has been stellar. I love all of it.
Now, I want to preface that I like Curse of Strahd, but I only like it without Death House, but instead with the Tyranny of Dragons Adventurer's League modules (e.g., Defiance in Phlan and Tales Trees Tell especially) and probably Suits of the Mists as the real intro to Barovia, which is the first of the Curse of Strahd Adventurer's League modules. The campaign finish I recommend is with the Reclamation of Phlan at the end of the Curse of Strahd Adventurer's League series. There are a few CCC modules that could be tie-ins since they either start near Phlan (e.g., A Scream in the Night), or take place in that same-general Moonsea area. Not-only the CCC content, but also Princes of the Apocolypse, Elemental Evil, Lost Tales of Myth Drannor, and Window to the Past are available there. So much is, but I can't always bring myself into the Moonsea as much as the Sword Coast. Maybe because of the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and the Icewind Dale Trilogy.
I absolutely do love Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, and I love even-moreso their location and ability to jump between other parts of the Sword Coast from there. I would be more-likely to run these over Curse of Strahd merely because I enjoy the melting pot of Baldur's Gate far-more than the messy-political nature of Phlan. The core, classic Factions (the ones in the 5E DMG and in Adventurer's League) are easier for new players to comprehend -- and add a lot of flavor and story-arc capability. If a set of players really wanted to run Curse of Strahd, I would run it as above -- and I think for the right group it would be extremely-enjoyable.
Lost Mine of Phandelver is awesome. It is especially great because it can jump to In Volo's Wake, Out of the Abyss, and/or Storm King's Thunder.
I don't know how to fit Tales of the Yawning Portal into anything. I'm not a fan.
Let me also preface this answer with that I really like the D&D Beyond for tracking rules with character data and the Fantasy Grounds engine for modules. One of the modules I have yet to try is Those That Came Before -- but it looks to have a Fantasy Grounds mod file as of this past weekend. Anyone worked through this module yet? Any other suggestions like it?
I put Waterdeep: Dragon Heist as number 1 on my list, it is very well written. Dragon Heist is one of my favorite prewritten adventures in 5e. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage is a great dungeon crawl, but isn't for all parties as it is very large and you will rarely see the light of day. I have am running a Dragon Heist/Dungeon of the Mad Mage campaign, we are almost 2/3rds of the way through the campaign. My party loves the game, but the dungeon is very basic as it is, but I didn't put it higher on the list because of how bare-bones it is in the book. You have to do a lot of work in order to get it to work as a campaign, and I have many side quests in order to keep the players from getting bored of the game.
I also put Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus as #4 on my list. It is a great adventure, but also needs a little bit of work. I am currently running it, and my players seem to like it, though they haven't gotten into Avernus yet.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
1. Baldur's Gate Descent into Avernus. Just be sure to tweak the combat encounters during the first few levels if you have new players... they are far beyond deadly. :D
2. Curse of Strahd. It has a pretty unique atmosphere, a great villain, mysteries and a lot of opportunities for great combat / chase encounters. And it will quickly result in the players paying absolute attention to the small hints and foreboding a DM can (and should) add.
3. Lost Mines of Phandelver. A nice and simple adventure with more down to earth story lines than most others.
4. Stormking's Thunder. Overall I'd say it is the best balanced adventure so far and it has a nice, slow intro that somehow naturally evolves into a semi-epic story. I just don't like giants that much as enemies or it would probably rank higher. :D
5. Out of the Abyss. It has a great plothook to literally chain all the party members together, regardless of their personality and background. The finale is a bit too much ob the "cosmic epicness" end for my tastes, though and it uses a whole lot of NPC companions that can quickly turn into DMPCs that spoil a lot of the story.
6. Princes of the Apocalypse. It is essentially a huge dungeon crawl with little story and a very obvious lack of motivation for the villains. And the important NPCs all have names I can't remember long enough to pronounce them even if I wrote them down. :/
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I have all the WOTC published 5e adventures, both here and in print.
But I have never actually run or played any of them. I have read most of the books, but used them only for inspiration in my home brew worlds and adventures.
But I’m now thinking of starting a new campaign with a new group and was also considering just running one of the published adventures. As I say, I’ve read a lot of this content, but not having played it, I was wondering what people who actually have thought.
So, how would you rank the actual published adventures, and why?
Legendary Bundle ~ Master Tier
Curse of Strahd, is by far my favorite to run.
Out of the Abyss
Princes of the Apocalypse (Even though I think this is supposed to be played after Lost Mines, its a much better adventure and that's with Lost Mines being a pretty good adventure too.)
Lost Mines of Phandelver
I personally couldn't stand the Tyranny of Dragons Story Line (Hoard of the Dragon Queen & Rise of Tiamat)
Tomb of Annihilation is my favorite, followed immediately by Storm King's Thunder. These are amazing! All of the Adventurer's League and Guild Adept content for these has been stellar. I love all of it.
Now, I want to preface that I like Curse of Strahd, but I only like it without Death House, but instead with the Tyranny of Dragons Adventurer's League modules (e.g., Defiance in Phlan and Tales Trees Tell especially) and probably Suits of the Mists as the real intro to Barovia, which is the first of the Curse of Strahd Adventurer's League modules. The campaign finish I recommend is with the Reclamation of Phlan at the end of the Curse of Strahd Adventurer's League series. There are a few CCC modules that could be tie-ins since they either start near Phlan (e.g., A Scream in the Night), or take place in that same-general Moonsea area. Not-only the CCC content, but also Princes of the Apocolypse, Elemental Evil, Lost Tales of Myth Drannor, and Window to the Past are available there. So much is, but I can't always bring myself into the Moonsea as much as the Sword Coast. Maybe because of the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and the Icewind Dale Trilogy.
I absolutely do love Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat, and I love even-moreso their location and ability to jump between other parts of the Sword Coast from there. I would be more-likely to run these over Curse of Strahd merely because I enjoy the melting pot of Baldur's Gate far-more than the messy-political nature of Phlan. The core, classic Factions (the ones in the 5E DMG and in Adventurer's League) are easier for new players to comprehend -- and add a lot of flavor and story-arc capability. If a set of players really wanted to run Curse of Strahd, I would run it as above -- and I think for the right group it would be extremely-enjoyable.
Lost Mine of Phandelver is awesome. It is especially great because it can jump to In Volo's Wake, Out of the Abyss, and/or Storm King's Thunder.
I don't know how to fit Tales of the Yawning Portal into anything. I'm not a fan.
Let me also preface this answer with that I really like the D&D Beyond for tracking rules with character data and the Fantasy Grounds engine for modules. One of the modules I have yet to try is Those That Came Before -- but it looks to have a Fantasy Grounds mod file as of this past weekend. Anyone worked through this module yet? Any other suggestions like it?
These are my top 5 favorite campaigns:
1. Tomb of Annihilation
2. Out of the Abyss
3. Storm Kings Thunder
4. Lost Mines of Phandelver
5. Dungeon of the Mad Mage
tomb is the best easily, then storm kings then princes of the apocalypse
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Edit: Forgot Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Wow I'm amazed that there's only 2 small mentions of the Waterdeep stuff, and no mention whatsoever of the newer stuff (Avernus, etc)
Are they that bad?
I put Waterdeep: Dragon Heist as number 1 on my list, it is very well written. Dragon Heist is one of my favorite prewritten adventures in 5e. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage is a great dungeon crawl, but isn't for all parties as it is very large and you will rarely see the light of day. I have am running a Dragon Heist/Dungeon of the Mad Mage campaign, we are almost 2/3rds of the way through the campaign. My party loves the game, but the dungeon is very basic as it is, but I didn't put it higher on the list because of how bare-bones it is in the book. You have to do a lot of work in order to get it to work as a campaign, and I have many side quests in order to keep the players from getting bored of the game.
I also put Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus as #4 on my list. It is a great adventure, but also needs a little bit of work. I am currently running it, and my players seem to like it, though they haven't gotten into Avernus yet.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Ranking those I own:
1. Baldur's Gate Descent into Avernus. Just be sure to tweak the combat encounters during the first few levels if you have new players... they are far beyond deadly. :D
2. Curse of Strahd. It has a pretty unique atmosphere, a great villain, mysteries and a lot of opportunities for great combat / chase encounters. And it will quickly result in the players paying absolute attention to the small hints and foreboding a DM can (and should) add.
3. Lost Mines of Phandelver. A nice and simple adventure with more down to earth story lines than most others.
4. Stormking's Thunder. Overall I'd say it is the best balanced adventure so far and it has a nice, slow intro that somehow naturally evolves into a semi-epic story. I just don't like giants that much as enemies or it would probably rank higher. :D
5. Out of the Abyss. It has a great plothook to literally chain all the party members together, regardless of their personality and background. The finale is a bit too much ob the "cosmic epicness" end for my tastes, though and it uses a whole lot of NPC companions that can quickly turn into DMPCs that spoil a lot of the story.
6. Princes of the Apocalypse. It is essentially a huge dungeon crawl with little story and a very obvious lack of motivation for the villains. And the important NPCs all have names I can't remember long enough to pronounce them even if I wrote them down. :/