I’m a fairly new DM (I have DMed: Waterdeep Dragon Heist and the Essentials Kit. I also have the core books DM Guide, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual) and my players are new. I am wondering what is the best prewritten campaign for A. New DMs and B. Overall. Please consider puzzles, villains, encounters, environment, and combat before posting.
A cliché, but Lost Mine of Phandelver is the beginner adventure for both players and DMs. For players it features:
Enough branching paths to make presented choices feel meaningful.
A small enough 'quest hub' to develop rapport with NPCs and buy basic adventuring supplies.
Introductions to the number of factions they may want to be apart of, and can reap the opportunities and rewards of should they be involved in further adentures.
Characters and deeds that may test alignment, priorities and class features.
A dragon.
For DMs it features:
Reminders and hints on how to run the adventure, albeit it only enough without further aid from the DMG/internet.
Basic tables for rumours and random encounters.
Info on loot and how it works.
A variety of traps, features, and their difficulty checks to notice and/or disarm them.
A map that can lead into another adventure of the DM's choosing.
A dragon.
Though the adventure would benefit from a vast of improvements on a base level, let alone what DMs add to run it, it is - as written - a great introduction to D&D. Nothing about it is too complicated, and encounters can hot up if the players are finding things a bit too easy. In my opinion all three pillars of the game (combat, exploration, social interaction) are well represented, and its scope is small enough to let players decide where the journey goes rather than DMs pushing them because there's so many avenues to go down.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
I’m a fairly new DM (I have DMed: Waterdeep Dragon Heist and the Essentials Kit. I also have the core books DM Guide, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual) and my players are new. I am wondering what is the best prewritten campaign for A. New DMs and B. Overall. Please consider puzzles, villains, encounters, environment, and combat before posting.
Thanks and remember, don’t TPK.
I suggest Tomb of Annihilation. It starts slow, and that's good. It has plenty of room for RP, combat, exploration, and player agency. It could be run quickly in months or long in years. I think I ran it for almost 2 years meeting almost weekly, and we had fun every single session. I think it helps a newish DM to learn those aspects like RP, etc. If you've run an adventure or two, TOA can be a good next step.
The Ruins of the Grendleroot is a good adventure for new DM's and players by Sly Flourish (but at least with my party) it railroaded us a lot.
In terms of fun. Lost Mine of Phandelver is good, but a little hard for the players at times (my party TPK'd).
I also like Candlekeep Mysteries and think you could, with a few adjustments, run it as a campaign that is a lot more interesting then just combat after combat.
AVOID WATERDEEP: DUNGEON OF THE MADE MAGE, it is a boring dungeon crawl with almost no RP time.
PS. Arcane eyes article about prewritten adventures and how easy and hard they are for the players and DM's is a really helpful tool.
Edit: DotMM does make a good example of how to use monsters for new DM's. That's why I bought it, and you can take a lot and incorporate from it. But to actually run it full on, It'll probably get boring by the time it reaches level 3 (my group only made it one level before disbanding).
Dungeon of the Mad Mage is easily the most important campaign for new DMs and players, far and away. It hammers home the most important part of D&D- the dungeon. A discreet environment where the action of the game takes place. As a DM you learn how to: Design and build them, use monsters and traps, position treasure (the reward for playing the game), how to document and present them to players. As a player you gain a tactical grasp of combat and resource management, while learning how to solve puzzles and other obstacles.
This is the meat of D&D and where new folks should start.
Since you DMed Dragon Heist and DoIP, I wouldn't suggest Lost Mine of Phandelver, I consider the other two overall better.
I think that some good follow up adventures that have the same vibe are:
Curse of Strahd - Sandbox, very well structured book, but you gotta like the horror vibe.
Rime of the Frost Maiden - Another great book, very well written and offers you a great story.
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Great book, very RP driven, but is open enough that you can play however you want.
Aside from that, I think that most adventures are playable, but would require a bit more work on the DM side. The only adventure I don't recommend is Hoard of The Dragon Queen, this is outright bad.
Mad Mage, Avernus, Storm King's, Out of the Abyss and Tomb of Annihilation are all good, but they're not as pick up and run as my recommendations. Netherdeep, I haven't read/ran, so I can't give you an opinion yet.
The anthologies (Yawning Portal, Saltmarsh and Candlekeep) are great supplements, but it takes work to make them stand up on their own. Players might complain about them being disconnected or linear without some workarounds.
Thank you all for contributing with your answers and posts, I really appreciate it, (a lot!)
Hextherapy i like your answer very much, with all due respect, but the Dragon of Icespire Peak has all of the things you mentioned for both a DM and a player. As well as the essentials kit has what you actually need to run a good and memorable campaign and can be tweaked and used for home brew and the areas and dungeons can be used as one shots or in bigger campaigns. But I really thank you for your answer, have a great day.
to the BoringBard and SireSamuel both of your answers were compelling about Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage I asked my player if they wanted to have a bloodbath/puzzle/trap campaign (for i have just finished Waterdeep Dragon Heist ) or more RP/story (because both your points were compelling especially SireSamuel’s). They opted for a mix of the two.
My players voted out of all of you answers Curse of Strahd or Rime of the Frost Maiden. I think i will go with Curse of Strahd, but i’m told not to do the death house.
Again thank you for all of your answers.
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Hello fellow DMs
I’m a fairly new DM (I have DMed: Waterdeep Dragon Heist and the Essentials Kit. I also have the core books DM Guide, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual) and my players are new. I am wondering what is the best prewritten campaign for A. New DMs and B. Overall. Please consider puzzles, villains, encounters, environment, and combat before posting.
Thanks and remember, don’t TPK.
A cliché, but Lost Mine of Phandelver is the beginner adventure for both players and DMs. For players it features:
For DMs it features:
Though the adventure would benefit from a vast of improvements on a base level, let alone what DMs add to run it, it is - as written - a great introduction to D&D. Nothing about it is too complicated, and encounters can hot up if the players are finding things a bit too easy. In my opinion all three pillars of the game (combat, exploration, social interaction) are well represented, and its scope is small enough to let players decide where the journey goes rather than DMs pushing them because there's so many avenues to go down.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
The Lost Mine of Phandelver is good for new players. But Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden and Ghosts of Saltmarsh are my favorites.
I suggest Tomb of Annihilation. It starts slow, and that's good. It has plenty of room for RP, combat, exploration, and player agency. It could be run quickly in months or long in years. I think I ran it for almost 2 years meeting almost weekly, and we had fun every single session. I think it helps a newish DM to learn those aspects like RP, etc. If you've run an adventure or two, TOA can be a good next step.
The Ruins of the Grendleroot is a good adventure for new DM's and players by Sly Flourish (but at least with my party) it railroaded us a lot.
In terms of fun. Lost Mine of Phandelver is good, but a little hard for the players at times (my party TPK'd).
I also like Candlekeep Mysteries and think you could, with a few adjustments, run it as a campaign that is a lot more interesting then just combat after combat.
AVOID WATERDEEP: DUNGEON OF THE MADE MAGE, it is a boring dungeon crawl with almost no RP time.
PS. Arcane eyes article about prewritten adventures and how easy and hard they are for the players and DM's is a really helpful tool.
Edit: DotMM does make a good example of how to use monsters for new DM's. That's why I bought it, and you can take a lot and incorporate from it. But to actually run it full on, It'll probably get boring by the time it reaches level 3 (my group only made it one level before disbanding).
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Dungeon of the Mad Mage is easily the most important campaign for new DMs and players, far and away. It hammers home the most important part of D&D- the dungeon. A discreet environment where the action of the game takes place. As a DM you learn how to: Design and build them, use monsters and traps, position treasure (the reward for playing the game), how to document and present them to players. As a player you gain a tactical grasp of combat and resource management, while learning how to solve puzzles and other obstacles.
This is the meat of D&D and where new folks should start.
Since you DMed Dragon Heist and DoIP, I wouldn't suggest Lost Mine of Phandelver, I consider the other two overall better.
I think that some good follow up adventures that have the same vibe are:
Curse of Strahd - Sandbox, very well structured book, but you gotta like the horror vibe.
Rime of the Frost Maiden - Another great book, very well written and offers you a great story.
Wild Beyond the Witchlight - Great book, very RP driven, but is open enough that you can play however you want.
Aside from that, I think that most adventures are playable, but would require a bit more work on the DM side. The only adventure I don't recommend is Hoard of The Dragon Queen, this is outright bad.
Mad Mage, Avernus, Storm King's, Out of the Abyss and Tomb of Annihilation are all good, but they're not as pick up and run as my recommendations. Netherdeep, I haven't read/ran, so I can't give you an opinion yet.
The anthologies (Yawning Portal, Saltmarsh and Candlekeep) are great supplements, but it takes work to make them stand up on their own. Players might complain about them being disconnected or linear without some workarounds.
Thank you all for contributing with your answers and posts, I really appreciate it, (a lot!)
Hextherapy i like your answer very much, with all due respect, but the Dragon of Icespire Peak has all of the things you mentioned for both a DM and a player. As well as the essentials kit has what you actually need to run a good and memorable campaign and can be tweaked and used for home brew and the areas and dungeons can be used as one shots or in bigger campaigns. But I really thank you for your answer, have a great day.
to the BoringBard and SireSamuel both of your answers were compelling about Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage I asked my player if they wanted to have a bloodbath/puzzle/trap campaign (for i have just finished Waterdeep Dragon Heist ) or more RP/story (because both your points were compelling especially SireSamuel’s). They opted for a mix of the two.
My players voted out of all of you answers Curse of Strahd or Rime of the Frost Maiden. I think i will go with Curse of Strahd, but i’m told not to do the death house.
Again thank you for all of your answers.