What would you recommend as a oneshot or something similar for a group of probably 4 that haven't played since at least 3rd edition? I've been a long time player, but I'm still pretty green as a DM. I've run a couple of one shots and one failed campaign before, so I guess I have some experience. Given that information, what might you suggest as the simplest thing to run as a DM and to play as one of those 4 I previously mentioned?
If you've played 3rd edition, I suggest running a 1-shot in 3rd edition. I once tried to learn 3.5e from 5e, and it's not an easy transition from one edition to another. Unless your players want to try out 5th edition, don't force them to.
If you've decided to play 5th edition, I'd run a simple one-shot encounter to dip your players' toes into 5e. The Encounter of the Week section of the D&D beyond articles has some pretty good stand-alone encounters you can run as written or tweak slightly to your liking. Of course, briefly go over the 5e rules first to make sure everyone's up to date with how the game works.
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Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
5th Edition is the easiest edition so far for people to get into, so I don't think they should have any trouble with it. I switched to 5th from Pathfinder about the time Pathfinder 2E was released.
Limiting the options they have to choose from to the Player's Handbook would be an easy way of letting them build their characters without overloading them with options. If they're like me, they'd prefer to build their own characters. But if they're OK with pre-gens, you could have characters pre-made and then let them pick which ones they want at the table.
DMDave has a couple free one shot campaigns that can either be used as is or added to a bigger campaign for flavor. I use those to add to the dragons of icespire peak and I have 2 players brands new to dnd and 1 player that's played a couple times but not a lot (this is his second campaign to ever play in) and watches a lot of critical role and reads a lot of the dnd books (mostly the drizzt ones). It's been great.
Also if it's in person, I got the essentials kits (old player, new dm) and it comes with a dm screen with a lot of helpful info on your side, a generic rulebook to help everyone, and a campaign book to help the dm run things. Also comes with cards for magic items and says what they do so if they pick up an item that's in the books loot table, you can hand them the card so they can see what it does. Also comes with combat step cards
Check for a solid Players Contract and agree with the players on the universal points of the game, enjoying the game together, working together to have fun rather than contending with each other, and the freedom for the DM to make a judgement and keep the game going for the enjoyment of the table rather than be tied up with uncertainty and verification.
If these are 3E players and they have any etiquette from their prior experience with roleplaying, this shouldn't be a problem. Most of the serious problems that tables encounter are not about new players, transition players, or edition preference, they have to do with table etiquette and understanding of a healthy arrangement for a gaming experience. Master that subject, and you can develop your understanding and preparation of 5E for them without much concern.
Be aware of their homebrew preferences and artifact expectations. They may have more requests beyond what's simply from 3E RAW, but if they are committed to experiencing the difference between editions, this shouldn't be a problem. I'd also advice against doing any homebrew at the start too, but that's just me.
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What would you recommend as a oneshot or something similar for a group of probably 4 that haven't played since at least 3rd edition? I've been a long time player, but I'm still pretty green as a DM. I've run a couple of one shots and one failed campaign before, so I guess I have some experience. Given that information, what might you suggest as the simplest thing to run as a DM and to play as one of those 4 I previously mentioned?
If you've played 3rd edition, I suggest running a 1-shot in 3rd edition. I once tried to learn 3.5e from 5e, and it's not an easy transition from one edition to another. Unless your players want to try out 5th edition, don't force them to.
If you've decided to play 5th edition, I'd run a simple one-shot encounter to dip your players' toes into 5e. The Encounter of the Week section of the D&D beyond articles has some pretty good stand-alone encounters you can run as written or tweak slightly to your liking. Of course, briefly go over the 5e rules first to make sure everyone's up to date with how the game works.
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
5th Edition is the easiest edition so far for people to get into, so I don't think they should have any trouble with it. I switched to 5th from Pathfinder about the time Pathfinder 2E was released.
Limiting the options they have to choose from to the Player's Handbook would be an easy way of letting them build their characters without overloading them with options. If they're like me, they'd prefer to build their own characters. But if they're OK with pre-gens, you could have characters pre-made and then let them pick which ones they want at the table.
DMDave has a couple free one shot campaigns that can either be used as is or added to a bigger campaign for flavor. I use those to add to the dragons of icespire peak and I have 2 players brands new to dnd and 1 player that's played a couple times but not a lot (this is his second campaign to ever play in) and watches a lot of critical role and reads a lot of the dnd books (mostly the drizzt ones). It's been great.
Also if it's in person, I got the essentials kits (old player, new dm) and it comes with a dm screen with a lot of helpful info on your side, a generic rulebook to help everyone, and a campaign book to help the dm run things. Also comes with cards for magic items and says what they do so if they pick up an item that's in the books loot table, you can hand them the card so they can see what it does. Also comes with combat step cards
Check for a solid Players Contract and agree with the players on the universal points of the game, enjoying the game together, working together to have fun rather than contending with each other, and the freedom for the DM to make a judgement and keep the game going for the enjoyment of the table rather than be tied up with uncertainty and verification.
If these are 3E players and they have any etiquette from their prior experience with roleplaying, this shouldn't be a problem. Most of the serious problems that tables encounter are not about new players, transition players, or edition preference, they have to do with table etiquette and understanding of a healthy arrangement for a gaming experience. Master that subject, and you can develop your understanding and preparation of 5E for them without much concern.
Be aware of their homebrew preferences and artifact expectations. They may have more requests beyond what's simply from 3E RAW, but if they are committed to experiencing the difference between editions, this shouldn't be a problem. I'd also advice against doing any homebrew at the start too, but that's just me.