Also, some of the things in the "adventures" sections are not full campaigns, like Saltmarsh and Radiant Citadel. They are standalone adventure anthologies.
I was just reading back over this thread and i'd like to ask you if standalone adventure anthologies are a bad thing?
How does it work, compared to a full campaign? And if you are feeling generous with your time, what are the pros/cons? :)
Anthologies are ok. They just don't really have an overall narrative, or if they do, it's paper thin. For example, Tales from the Yawning Portal is basically your character telling stories in exchange for beer. I'd steer clear of them for your purposes - having a binding narrative can be a really powerful draw, and really you want that done for you.
Anthologies are good for one shots - just having a no strings attached evening of D&D - or like Caerwyn said, slotting into other adventures. I'm currently home-brewing an adventure for my first party. They got 7 people killed, and so they're going to find a way to resurrect them. They don't know how, so they'll go to Candlekeep and do some research - a nice slot in for an adventure from the book The Candlekeep Mysteries. On the other hand, I'll probably use Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel as a Stargate SG-1 type campaign. The characters will be visiting the different worlds and exploring culture and fulfilling a quest.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of what the anthologies are good for.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Also, some of the things in the "adventures" sections are not full campaigns, like Saltmarsh and Radiant Citadel. They are standalone adventure anthologies.
I was just reading back over this thread and i'd like to ask you if standalone adventure anthologies are a bad thing?
How does it work, compared to a full campaign? And if you are feeling generous with your time, what are the pros/cons? :)
Anthologies are ok. They just don't really have an overall narrative, or if they do, it's paper thin. For example, Tales from the Yawning Portal is basically your character telling stories in exchange for beer. I'd steer clear of them for your purposes - having a binding narrative can be a really powerful draw, and really you want that done for you.
Anthologies are good for one shots - just having a no strings attached evening of D&D - or like Caerwyn said, slotting into other adventures. I'm currently home-brewing an adventure for my first party. They got 7 people killed, and so they're going to find a way to resurrect them. They don't know how, so they'll go to Candlekeep and do some research - a nice slot in for an adventure from the book The Candlekeep Mysteries. On the other hand, I'll probably use Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel as a Stargate SG-1 type campaign. The characters will be visiting the different worlds and exploring culture and fulfilling a quest.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of what the anthologies are good for.
I'm a fairly experienced player and DM (since '83) and I absolutely hated HoDQ/RoT. The first encounter was ok, then IMHO it became really bad really quick, to the point where I discarded entire sections of the campaign for requiring serious herding of the party beyond what was reasonable, and replaced it with homespun tales and some nerfing of the bad guys. The end of HoDQ was ok, but I never even attempted to run RoT, instead ending it before RoT began. Needless to say I'd not recommend anyone to run that campaign
I'm a fairly experienced player and DM (since '83) and I absolutely hated HoDQ/RoT. The first encounter was ok, then IMHO it became really bad really quick, to the point where I discarded entire sections of the campaign for requiring serious herding of the party beyond what was reasonable, and replaced it with homespun tales and some nerfing of the bad guys. The end of HoDQ was ok, but I never even attempted to run RoT, instead ending it before RoT began. Needless to say I'd not recommend anyone to run that campaign
Hello,
Do you think new players would see it the same way? If you were experienced at the time, then it's probably fair to say your bar was set higher.
Does the Lost mine of Phandelver available here on DDB come with maps? We prefer to have visuals
I just want to make sure I have everything for the group before we begin.
Yes, with DM versions and Ayer versions that hide certain information. Check it out, you should have a copy on your account now.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Keep in mind that recommendations from the folks here are based on the DM's
Experience: for example, many seasoned DMs don't like Dragon of Icespire Peak, but many new DMs like it.
Buy-in: Does the adventure "sing" to the DM, or does it focus on the things the DM isn't interested in? I've seen many DMs recommend Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden as one of the best modules available, and I've others say it needs tons of effort to make it work. I've played in Water Deep: Dragon Heist and had a great time. I've heard many DMs thought it was great, and many who have said it was awful.
So, I think the best advice any of us can offer is to start with an adventure for new player/DMs. These include Dragon of Icespire Peak, Lost Mine of Phandelver, and the new Starter Set adventure that comes out next month. After that, pick your poison.
Horde of the Dragon Queen is not a terrible adventure. You do not need to be experienced to run it, but it suffers from a few issues. It was the first hardcover adventure for 5e and was outsourced to Kobold Press. It was written while the 5e rules were still being finalized, so some of the encounters are deadlier than they should be. People critique it as being too much of a railroad that doesn't allow players enough agency. If you plan on using the Tyranny of Dragons campaign, keep that in mind. If I were to run it again I'd make heavy use of the anthologies and Dragon of Icepire Peak, as well as raid Princes of the Apocalypse for material so the party has some options on where they'd like to take the story.
For those of you who know the Lost Mine of Phandelver - can you tell me whether this is ok to put in the campaign discord, in the campaign background channel.
Essentially, I want to know if it's information widely known. AKA, not a spoiler.
Background
More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when ores swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path. A powerful force of ores reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost. For centuries, rumors of buried riches have attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area. Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More important, the Rockseeker brothers-a trio of dwarveshave discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they intend to reopen the mines. Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is.
My players were brand new (I started it up with a new group) and they really lost traction when they could not reconcile what the scenario wanted them to do vs what they thought they as heroes ought to do. So yeah, I reacted to their reaction/rejection
Horde of the Dragon Queen is not a terrible adventure. You do not need to be experienced to run it, but it suffers from a few issues. It was the first hardcover adventure for 5e and was outsourced to Kobold Press. It was written while the 5e rules were still being finalized, so some of the encounters are deadlier than they should be. People critique it as being too much of a railroad that doesn't allow players enough agency. If you plan on using the Tyranny of Dragons campaign, keep that in mind. If I were to run it again I'd make heavy use of the anthologies and Dragon of Icepire Peak, as well as raid Princes of the Apocalypse for material so the party has some options on where they'd like to take the story.
Bolded was exactly what my players experienced. Granted, for new players a modicum of railroading is often needed, but I found this extreme
Anthologies are ok. They just don't really have an overall narrative, or if they do, it's paper thin. For example, Tales from the Yawning Portal is basically your character telling stories in exchange for beer. I'd steer clear of them for your purposes - having a binding narrative can be a really powerful draw, and really you want that done for you.
Anthologies are good for one shots - just having a no strings attached evening of D&D - or like Caerwyn said, slotting into other adventures. I'm currently home-brewing an adventure for my first party. They got 7 people killed, and so they're going to find a way to resurrect them. They don't know how, so they'll go to Candlekeep and do some research - a nice slot in for an adventure from the book The Candlekeep Mysteries. On the other hand, I'll probably use Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel as a Stargate SG-1 type campaign. The characters will be visiting the different worlds and exploring culture and fulfilling a quest.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of what the anthologies are good for.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Hi,
It does help, thanks!
Also, good luck with your campaign, sounds fun!!
Does the Lost mine of Phandelver available here on DDB come with maps?
We prefer to have visuals
I just want to make sure I have everything for the group before we begin.
I'm a fairly experienced player and DM (since '83) and I absolutely hated HoDQ/RoT. The first encounter was ok, then IMHO it became really bad really quick, to the point where I discarded entire sections of the campaign for requiring serious herding of the party beyond what was reasonable, and replaced it with homespun tales and some nerfing of the bad guys. The end of HoDQ was ok, but I never even attempted to run RoT, instead ending it before RoT began. Needless to say I'd not recommend anyone to run that campaign
Hello,
Do you think new players would see it the same way?
If you were experienced at the time, then it's probably fair to say your bar was set higher.
Yes, with DM versions and Ayer versions that hide certain information. Check it out, you should have a copy on your account now.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Keep in mind that recommendations from the folks here are based on the DM's
So, I think the best advice any of us can offer is to start with an adventure for new player/DMs. These include Dragon of Icespire Peak, Lost Mine of Phandelver, and the new Starter Set adventure that comes out next month. After that, pick your poison.
Good luck!
Horde of the Dragon Queen is not a terrible adventure. You do not need to be experienced to run it, but it suffers from a few issues. It was the first hardcover adventure for 5e and was outsourced to Kobold Press. It was written while the 5e rules were still being finalized, so some of the encounters are deadlier than they should be. People critique it as being too much of a railroad that doesn't allow players enough agency. If you plan on using the Tyranny of Dragons campaign, keep that in mind. If I were to run it again I'd make heavy use of the anthologies and Dragon of Icepire Peak, as well as raid Princes of the Apocalypse for material so the party has some options on where they'd like to take the story.
Thanks for the input guys!
Very helpful!
For those of you who know the Lost Mine of Phandelver - can you tell me whether this is ok to put in the campaign discord, in the campaign background channel.
Essentially, I want to know if it's information widely known. AKA, not a spoiler.
Background
More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and
gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s
Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous
cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its
mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power.
Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves
and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great
forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could
be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town
of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well.
But then disaster struck when ores swept through the
North and laid waste to all in their path.
A powerful force of ores reinforced by evil mercenary
wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and
magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their
dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and
the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern.
Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of
Wave Echo Cave was lost.
For centuries, rumors of buried riches have attracted
treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around
Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the
lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area.
Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More
important, the Rockseeker brothers-a trio of dwarveshave
discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they
intend to reopen the mines.
Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only
ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain
known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit
gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have
followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black
Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is
taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is.
My players were brand new (I started it up with a new group) and they really lost traction when they could not reconcile what the scenario wanted them to do vs what they thought they as heroes ought to do. So yeah, I reacted to their reaction/rejection
Bolded was exactly what my players experienced. Granted, for new players a modicum of railroading is often needed, but I found this extreme
Hi,
This may be wierd but im looking for a campaign im new to dnd and want to learn where i can find a campaign
I believe one of the other sub forums is literally titled looking for players and groups
ETA if you are looking to purchase material and not a group of people to play with then check out the tab "Sources" at the top of your screen
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/looking-for-players-groups