My players are currently playing the lost mines of phandelver and I am planning to continue the campaign after finishing the module.
My question is whether I should follow up with the DOIP trilogy or with SKT? and what are the main differences between running these adventures?
My final goal is to reach waterdeep by the end of one of these two and end the campaign by inserting the party into a level of dungeon of the mad mage depending on what level they are by then. And then just continue to reach level20.
First, don’t “plan” that your party will reach Waterdeep. This is a common mistake among GMs, especially newer ones (not knowing how long you’ve GMed for) and one that is best avoided. The players should be able to choose where their party is going. If you have ideas for Waterdeep but they feel like going to Neverwinter then you may need to flex to fit this. After all, it is their game. As the GM you should have fun and be in the story as well, but you aren’t THE storyteller. You’re one of many who are working together to tell a story you all enjoy. If Waterdeep isn’t part of their idea of fun, then don’t force it on them.
Secondly, I always recommend that DMs continue their adventure from a low level module with a bit of homebrew. Don’t hurl them into the next module yet. Instead, try giving them some breathing room, letting them adventure around the area a bit and wrap up any loose ends they may have. This makes your world feel bigger and more real and it makes you seem (and it actually does help) like a competent GM. Then, once they are looking for a bit more structure, pull out the module that fits them best at that time. If it’s Waterdeep DotMM then great!
"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
I don’t know why there’s a lot of hate towards SKT, I’m about to finish it and it has been very fun. The module provides multiple options for the players so they con go anywhere in a very big section of the swords coast and north of Faerun, there are multiple enemies so it’s hardly a railroad.
my only suggestion would be to prepare some more wilderness encounters because for a big portion of the beginning, players will often have to walk and camp in the wilderness.
I personally love this adventure. It’s not poorly made, it’s just designed for more GM involvement in story building. It’s especially good for relatively new players or very experienced players because it gives both ends of the spectrum a chance to really explore the world.
STK will introduce the players to a much wider world of the continent where DOIP stays in a very limited area around the sword coast.
STK also acts a the closest thing 5e has to a forgotten realms campaign guide and has a little bit of lore and current events for different locations around the map that may or may not have anything to do with the plot. You can use STK as a base of a totally homebrew/ sandbox game using plot hooks and encounter ideas from the info on different locations, so I'm not sure why some people think it's railroady.
SKT also ties in with a ton of other official campaigns and can give a lot of other things context. For example, the reason why the D ends up on IP in DoIP is due to events that happen in STK. There are also tie ins with Tomb of Annihilation, Tyranny of dragons, Out of the Abyss and probably some others that I'm missing
There is also a written in transition from LMoP to STK which makes things easy for you.
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My players are currently playing the lost mines of phandelver and I am planning to continue the campaign after finishing the module.
My question is whether I should follow up with the DOIP trilogy or with SKT? and what are the main differences between running these adventures?
My final goal is to reach waterdeep by the end of one of these two and end the campaign by inserting the party into a level of dungeon of the mad mage depending on what level they are by then. And then just continue to reach level20.
Do DOIP. STK is not well written or laid out.
A few notes in general on this:
First, don’t “plan” that your party will reach Waterdeep. This is a common mistake among GMs, especially newer ones (not knowing how long you’ve GMed for) and one that is best avoided. The players should be able to choose where their party is going. If you have ideas for Waterdeep but they feel like going to Neverwinter then you may need to flex to fit this. After all, it is their game. As the GM you should have fun and be in the story as well, but you aren’t THE storyteller. You’re one of many who are working together to tell a story you all enjoy. If Waterdeep isn’t part of their idea of fun, then don’t force it on them.
Secondly, I always recommend that DMs continue their adventure from a low level module with a bit of homebrew. Don’t hurl them into the next module yet. Instead, try giving them some breathing room, letting them adventure around the area a bit and wrap up any loose ends they may have. This makes your world feel bigger and more real and it makes you seem (and it actually does help) like a competent GM. Then, once they are looking for a bit more structure, pull out the module that fits them best at that time. If it’s Waterdeep DotMM then great!
The trilogy Beyond the Dragon of Icespire Peak may be a good option taking place in Leilon and even return to Phandalin at some point.
There's also a new book coming this summer that will follow up on The Lost Mines of Phandelver if you want.
SKT is a railroaded mess of hot garbage.
#OpenD&D #ORC
"...or you can find the secret tunnel that leads to the Vault of Dickish DM which is filled with 10,000,000 copper coins and a 5,000 pound solid gold statue of a middle finger that is too big to fit through the door."
I don’t know why there’s a lot of hate towards SKT, I’m about to finish it and it has been very fun. The module provides multiple options for the players so they con go anywhere in a very big section of the swords coast and north of Faerun, there are multiple enemies so it’s hardly a railroad.
my only suggestion would be to prepare some more wilderness encounters because for a big portion of the beginning, players will often have to walk and camp in the wilderness.
I personally love this adventure. It’s not poorly made, it’s just designed for more GM involvement in story building. It’s especially good for relatively new players or very experienced players because it gives both ends of the spectrum a chance to really explore the world.
STK will introduce the players to a much wider world of the continent where DOIP stays in a very limited area around the sword coast.
STK also acts a the closest thing 5e has to a forgotten realms campaign guide and has a little bit of lore and current events for different locations around the map that may or may not have anything to do with the plot. You can use STK as a base of a totally homebrew/ sandbox game using plot hooks and encounter ideas from the info on different locations, so I'm not sure why some people think it's railroady.
SKT also ties in with a ton of other official campaigns and can give a lot of other things context.
For example, the reason why the D ends up on IP in DoIP is due to events that happen in STK.
There are also tie ins with Tomb of Annihilation, Tyranny of dragons, Out of the Abyss and probably some others that I'm missing
There is also a written in transition from LMoP to STK which makes things easy for you.