I have a weird hypothetical question. If one wanted to run a campaign that spans the entire sword coats while also relying purely on prewritten adventures, how many could the DM reasonably draw on at once? How many different storylines and threads could be going at the same time, and are there any that could be reasonably interwoven with one another?
As some examples:
(Main Story) Out of the Abyss - This takes place in a region of the Underdark directly below the Sword Coast region, so it could be a main storyline - type adventure.
(Side Jobs) Candlekeep Mysteries - The Candlekeep Library is located in the Sword Coast, so this could work well. Since its adventures are independent from one another and can be run as an anthology series, you could reasonably use these adventures as sort of "side jobs" for the party, especially if there is a character aligned with the library. As a small change, perhaps the books are scattered throughout the Sword Coast and the party needs to first find each one (perhaps hidden among their other adventures)
(Side Jobs) Keys from the Golden Vault - Dont know much about this one, but it also feels like anthology-type adventures. I feel like it would be fitting to go on these types of adventures as a task from a Thieves Guild or similar patron.
(N.A.) Curse of Strahd - Does not take place in the Sword Coast so likely shouldnt be drawn on. That being said, it could be a temporary spin-off adventure if the party got wisped away to Barovia for a few levels only to return home after defeating Strahd.
If you were to try and make an adventure spanning the entire Sword Coast, what modules would you try to mix and match? Would you try to write one cohesive storyline across them, or would you release your players into a Sword Coast sandbox and follow whatever story hooks they choose to pick up on (regardless of an over arching narrative)?
It really depends on how much work you're willing to do to fit them into your campaign. If you're willing to put tons in, then all of them really, if none then only really two (a L1-5 adventure like LMoP or W:DH, then W:DotMM all the others overlap) plus the compilations to provide side quests.
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I'm in a game that went into Princes of the Apocalypse after completing Lost Mine of Phandelver. Our party was overpowered for the first third of PotA till we started getting into the level 5 and 6 stuff.
Chapter 1 of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is a decent enough resource for Faerûn's lore.
I used Heroes of the Borderlands, with significant homebrew techniques to tie the Cult of Chaos and the Bandit Clan together and to the larger Sword Coast area. The players are all new to DND, so starting at level 1 to learn mechanics was vital... and we are still working through some familiarization. My players are about to start a "defend the keep" session which will finalize the adventure. I have a few options staged and am trying to sandbox the Sword Coast, determining which adventures to focus on based on their decisions. I suspect, and will encourage the following, though I'm prepared to go in most any direction:
Next Major Movement: Hex crawl to Phandalin and run it with Dragon of Icespire Peak. I decided that the Keep on the Borderlands is Yartar being built. Simultaneously, I'll pull a few adventures from Quests from the Infinite Staircase, Adventures in Faerun, and 3rd Party Adventures while they mess around near Neverwinter.
I'm also attempting a series of faction quests simultaneously to complete my sandbox.
Major Movement 2: Kick off Storm King's Thunder, Tyranny of Dragons, or Icewind Dale. While they traverse the sword coast, they will be prompted with options to engage with Candlekeep Mysteries, additional adventures input into the hex crawls, or Dragon Heist.
Somewhere in there, Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
Depending on what they decide, I'll move into the final phase of one of those larger adventures and close out the campaign. I'm imagining at least a year and probably a lot of work scaling... but I like the players enough to attempt it.
Hope this inspires you. Let us know if you press forward with the idea!
If you want to see how all of these adventures can be woven into something of an amalgamated storyline, you can browse through all of the Acquisitions Incorporated live PAX games on Youtube. Those were all run by the the D&D team for the Penny Arcade folks and usually showcased content from each of the main adventure books that were releasing at the time. As Chris Perkins was the DM for most of the run, it was his job to make all of these adventures they were showing off feel like a "normal" (in the D&D sense) adventure throughline.
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I have a weird hypothetical question. If one wanted to run a campaign that spans the entire sword coats while also relying purely on prewritten adventures, how many could the DM reasonably draw on at once? How many different storylines and threads could be going at the same time, and are there any that could be reasonably interwoven with one another?
As some examples:
(Main Story) Out of the Abyss - This takes place in a region of the Underdark directly below the Sword Coast region, so it could be a main storyline - type adventure.
(Side Jobs) Candlekeep Mysteries - The Candlekeep Library is located in the Sword Coast, so this could work well. Since its adventures are independent from one another and can be run as an anthology series, you could reasonably use these adventures as sort of "side jobs" for the party, especially if there is a character aligned with the library. As a small change, perhaps the books are scattered throughout the Sword Coast and the party needs to first find each one (perhaps hidden among their other adventures)
(Side Jobs) Keys from the Golden Vault - Dont know much about this one, but it also feels like anthology-type adventures. I feel like it would be fitting to go on these types of adventures as a task from a Thieves Guild or similar patron.
(N.A.) Curse of Strahd - Does not take place in the Sword Coast so likely shouldnt be drawn on. That being said, it could be a temporary spin-off adventure if the party got wisped away to Barovia for a few levels only to return home after defeating Strahd.
If you were to try and make an adventure spanning the entire Sword Coast, what modules would you try to mix and match? Would you try to write one cohesive storyline across them, or would you release your players into a Sword Coast sandbox and follow whatever story hooks they choose to pick up on (regardless of an over arching narrative)?
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It really depends on how much work you're willing to do to fit them into your campaign. If you're willing to put tons in, then all of them really, if none then only really two (a L1-5 adventure like LMoP or W:DH, then W:DotMM all the others overlap) plus the compilations to provide side quests.
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.
I'm in a game that went into Princes of the Apocalypse after completing Lost Mine of Phandelver. Our party was overpowered for the first third of PotA till we started getting into the level 5 and 6 stuff.
Chapter 1 of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is a decent enough resource for Faerûn's lore.
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Storm King's Thunder takes you far around the place, so has quite a bit to pick up.
And if you want to go beyond the sword coast - since there is so much more to see :-)
Tomb of Anihilation for the jungles of Chult
Rime of the Frostmaiden for the northern lands of snow and ice.
Every adventure in Tales from the Yawning Portal have suggestions for locations in Forgotten Realms
I'm doing something similar.
I used Heroes of the Borderlands, with significant homebrew techniques to tie the Cult of Chaos and the Bandit Clan together and to the larger Sword Coast area. The players are all new to DND, so starting at level 1 to learn mechanics was vital... and we are still working through some familiarization. My players are about to start a "defend the keep" session which will finalize the adventure. I have a few options staged and am trying to sandbox the Sword Coast, determining which adventures to focus on based on their decisions. I suspect, and will encourage the following, though I'm prepared to go in most any direction:
Next Major Movement: Hex crawl to Phandalin and run it with Dragon of Icespire Peak. I decided that the Keep on the Borderlands is Yartar being built. Simultaneously, I'll pull a few adventures from Quests from the Infinite Staircase, Adventures in Faerun, and 3rd Party Adventures while they mess around near Neverwinter.
I'm also attempting a series of faction quests simultaneously to complete my sandbox.
Major Movement 2: Kick off Storm King's Thunder, Tyranny of Dragons, or Icewind Dale. While they traverse the sword coast, they will be prompted with options to engage with Candlekeep Mysteries, additional adventures input into the hex crawls, or Dragon Heist.
Somewhere in there, Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
Depending on what they decide, I'll move into the final phase of one of those larger adventures and close out the campaign. I'm imagining at least a year and probably a lot of work scaling... but I like the players enough to attempt it.
Hope this inspires you. Let us know if you press forward with the idea!
If you want to see how all of these adventures can be woven into something of an amalgamated storyline, you can browse through all of the Acquisitions Incorporated live PAX games on Youtube. Those were all run by the the D&D team for the Penny Arcade folks and usually showcased content from each of the main adventure books that were releasing at the time. As Chris Perkins was the DM for most of the run, it was his job to make all of these adventures they were showing off feel like a "normal" (in the D&D sense) adventure throughline.