I'd say the next best one from a position and easiest for new DM to run is Prince of the Apocalypse. Alternatively you could use stuff from Tales of the Yawning Portal as dungeon side quests.
Or just make up a story line on your own - I always take inspiration from the Monster Manual and build a quest/objective based on a monster type - Volo's guide has some interesting additional info on a couple of different monsters. Also take a look at some of the Adventurer's league stuff, gives a heap of smaller one shots that you can also use as a campaign arc.
+1 for Princes of the Apocalypse, as long as your players are 100% on board with endless dungeon crawling, which is essentially what that adventure is. The dungeons are generally mechanically really neat, and there's a bunch of cool spins on monsters and opportunities for RP. Probably a good idea to grab the DM Guild guide to the adventure, as it can be a little confusing in places.
I'm in a similar boat (likely 1 maybe 2 more sessions until we complete LMoP). I purchased PotA, and am likely going to roll into that with hybrid homebrew. PotA contains guidelines on going into it directly from LMoP, as LMoP is intended to end around level 5, and PotA is intended to start at level 3 (but includes side quests for level 1-3).
Additionally I have read that the timeline fits well with the Tyranny of Dragons, if you are following the years/events in the world as they are occurring. LMoP starts in 1481 DR (it notes that Mount Hotenow erupted 30 years ago). Hoard of the Dragon Queen starts in 1489, with The Rise of Tiamat immediately following. PotA is set in 1491, so the timeline isn't that far off, but it does technically occur after Tyranny of Dragons.
After I purchased PotA and started reading it, I wanted to moreso go into the "correct" timeline and thought of building an arc from LMoP to tyranny of Dragons, just with the other things around the world occuring. During the timeline between LMoP and through Tyranny of Dragons is when Neverember is exiled from Waterdeep and goes to Neverwinter and becomes Lord Protector. in 1481 Neverember is still Open Lord of Waterdeep. So if you're following politics, during LMoP Neverember is in Waterdeep but jumping to PotA, he is in Neverwinter, but that transition occurrs during Tyranny of Dragons. Of course, this may have nothing at all to do with your campaign, but I found it super interesting as I was looking to homebrew more into my campaign than just following one, so I didn't want to miss a large event like that occurring in the world.
Okay thanks everyone, I'll give Princes of the Apocalypse a look over then. Though I've heard that can be a little bit sandboxy, could that cause any problems for me (e.g. having to plan everything in advance just in case the players decide to go down a certain path) or is there some way that could be mitigated?
Thanks again.
(Also any tips/ideas you have for either adventure would also be great :) )
Also, a great piece of advice that was given to me, read the whole adventure through first if possible -- then reread the start before the first session and refresh on what's coming up before each session. While an adventure may be open, there really is so much your players can do that is within the adventure, so if they want to do something outside of it, that's not going to be seen before it happens so can't really be planned. When you end your session, try and gauge your players or straight up ask them what they are thinking going into the next session (somewhat of a recap even, "wow this, this, and that happened, what are you guys thinking of tackling first?"). That will help you prepare for the next session, rather than being completely blindsided.
I'm a new DM as well (and new to D&D in general). I'm currently taking my players through Tyranny of Dragons after finishing LMoP. There are a lot of elements in LMoP that foreshadow events of ToD, so it sets the party up pretty well to roll from one to the other. The first part is fairly structured, while the second is more open-ended, so I feel like it's been a good transition from following a script to doing more improvised storytelling. The biggest problem I have run into so far is that my players are more experienced, and will often take their RP in directions that the module doesn't necessarily cover--so either I have to improv, or steer them firmly back on track. Either way, it's been good practice for me as a DM.
I definitely second the recommendation to read/reread whatever adventure you decide to run, and jot down ideas that may come to you as you are reading/playing through it. I've also found it handy to keep a couple of my own original NPCs handy in case my players spark ideas for side quests or subplots that might evolve organically. It always helps when it's a collaborative effort!
With the campaign guides after LMoP, is the expectation that you fill in most of the story RP and there are general summaries for the different areas? I read through LMoP and it seemed to be great at explaining each room in each place, all of the NPCs, what they provide and discuss, and general flow of the campaign providing little to do other than bring the story to life.
Are the guides like SKT not as inclusive as LMoP and expect you to fill in a lot of the blanks, explain the rooms/places, come up with the NPC dialogue, add side quests, etc.? I'm going to be DMing for the first time with SKT and I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for what I need to come up with on my own vs what is laid out for me already.
With Tyranny of Dragons, I feel like the first part (Hoard of the Dragon Queen) is similar to LMoP in providing descriptions boxes and dialog for you to read aloud. The second part (Rise of Tiamat) is when the training wheels come off. It still provides a great deal of information on NPCs, their motivations, and what they will/will not tell the PCs, but it's somewhat less linear in plot, leaving room for players to decide what missions they want to undertake in what order, and allowing you to spread your creative wings--though in my experience it means I have to do a lot of reading and note-taking to find answers to questions my more experienced players often ask.
The reviews I've read for SKT say it's better organized than previous guides, and very user-friendly, but I haven't gotten to read through it yet myself, so I will let someone else answer that one.
With the campaign guides after LMoP, is the expectation that you fill in most of the story RP and there are general summaries for the different areas? I read through LMoP and it seemed to be great at explaining each room in each place, all of the NPCs, what they provide and discuss, and general flow of the campaign providing little to do other than bring the story to life.
Are the guides like SKT not as inclusive as LMoP and expect you to fill in a lot of the blanks, explain the rooms/places, come up with the NPC dialogue, add side quests, etc.? I'm going to be DMing for the first time with SKT and I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for what I need to come up with on my own vs what is laid out for me already.
I can't speak to SKT, but even LMoP it seemed like chapter 1/2 were very do this do that, chapters 3/4 opened it up and let you interpret and left alot open for potential continuation after the story like (spoilers below, marked as such)
(What's the deal with sister Garaele and Bowgentle's spellbook -- let me tell you having a wizard in the party will open up that story line should it come up -- he definitely wants to know about the ancient wizards spellbook. What's the deal with the Harper person(miner exchange I think) who wanted to take over phandalin/redbrands herself? What happens with the Black Spider if he survives the encounter and is brought to justice? Where the f did Iarno/GlassStaff go if he managed to escape? What does the forge of spells actually do?
Princes of the Apocalypse contains info about key npcs and what they know, and it does give you the exceprts for descriptions on places. There are also dialogues written in it similar to LMoP, where it's like "Gandalf grasping the ledge one last time shouts "Fly, you fools!". I generally don't follow them directly and reword their info, but it does contain that in a similar fashion. PotA is hard to follow though as it's sandboxy and thus following someone elses world/story requires alot of reading and understanding on how things should be, so finding where info is can get confusing (which is why someone actually took time to make a guide, referenced earlier in the thread).
Storm King's Thu... *finishes reading post*
I'd say the next best one from a position and easiest for new DM to run is Prince of the Apocalypse. Alternatively you could use stuff from Tales of the Yawning Portal as dungeon side quests.
Or just make up a story line on your own - I always take inspiration from the Monster Manual and build a quest/objective based on a monster type - Volo's guide has some interesting additional info on a couple of different monsters. Also take a look at some of the Adventurer's league stuff, gives a heap of smaller one shots that you can also use as a campaign arc.
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+1 for Princes of the Apocalypse, as long as your players are 100% on board with endless dungeon crawling, which is essentially what that adventure is. The dungeons are generally mechanically really neat, and there's a bunch of cool spins on monsters and opportunities for RP. Probably a good idea to grab the DM Guild guide to the adventure, as it can be a little confusing in places.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
I'm in a similar boat (likely 1 maybe 2 more sessions until we complete LMoP). I purchased PotA, and am likely going to roll into that with hybrid homebrew. PotA contains guidelines on going into it directly from LMoP, as LMoP is intended to end around level 5, and PotA is intended to start at level 3 (but includes side quests for level 1-3).
Additionally I have read that the timeline fits well with the Tyranny of Dragons, if you are following the years/events in the world as they are occurring. LMoP starts in 1481 DR (it notes that Mount Hotenow erupted 30 years ago). Hoard of the Dragon Queen starts in 1489, with The Rise of Tiamat immediately following. PotA is set in 1491, so the timeline isn't that far off, but it does technically occur after Tyranny of Dragons.
After I purchased PotA and started reading it, I wanted to moreso go into the "correct" timeline and thought of building an arc from LMoP to tyranny of Dragons, just with the other things around the world occuring. During the timeline between LMoP and through Tyranny of Dragons is when Neverember is exiled from Waterdeep and goes to Neverwinter and becomes Lord Protector. in 1481 Neverember is still Open Lord of Waterdeep. So if you're following politics, during LMoP Neverember is in Waterdeep but jumping to PotA, he is in Neverwinter, but that transition occurrs during Tyranny of Dragons. Of course, this may have nothing at all to do with your campaign, but I found it super interesting as I was looking to homebrew more into my campaign than just following one, so I didn't want to miss a large event like that occurring in the world.
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
I'm a new DM as well (and new to D&D in general). I'm currently taking my players through Tyranny of Dragons after finishing LMoP. There are a lot of elements in LMoP that foreshadow events of ToD, so it sets the party up pretty well to roll from one to the other. The first part is fairly structured, while the second is more open-ended, so I feel like it's been a good transition from following a script to doing more improvised storytelling. The biggest problem I have run into so far is that my players are more experienced, and will often take their RP in directions that the module doesn't necessarily cover--so either I have to improv, or steer them firmly back on track. Either way, it's been good practice for me as a DM.
I definitely second the recommendation to read/reread whatever adventure you decide to run, and jot down ideas that may come to you as you are reading/playing through it. I've also found it handy to keep a couple of my own original NPCs handy in case my players spark ideas for side quests or subplots that might evolve organically. It always helps when it's a collaborative effort!
With the campaign guides after LMoP, is the expectation that you fill in most of the story RP and there are general summaries for the different areas? I read through LMoP and it seemed to be great at explaining each room in each place, all of the NPCs, what they provide and discuss, and general flow of the campaign providing little to do other than bring the story to life.
Are the guides like SKT not as inclusive as LMoP and expect you to fill in a lot of the blanks, explain the rooms/places, come up with the NPC dialogue, add side quests, etc.? I'm going to be DMing for the first time with SKT and I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for what I need to come up with on my own vs what is laid out for me already.
With Tyranny of Dragons, I feel like the first part (Hoard of the Dragon Queen) is similar to LMoP in providing descriptions boxes and dialog for you to read aloud. The second part (Rise of Tiamat) is when the training wheels come off. It still provides a great deal of information on NPCs, their motivations, and what they will/will not tell the PCs, but it's somewhat less linear in plot, leaving room for players to decide what missions they want to undertake in what order, and allowing you to spread your creative wings--though in my experience it means I have to do a lot of reading and note-taking to find answers to questions my more experienced players often ask.
The reviews I've read for SKT say it's better organized than previous guides, and very user-friendly, but I haven't gotten to read through it yet myself, so I will let someone else answer that one.
(What's the deal with sister Garaele and Bowgentle's spellbook -- let me tell you having a wizard in the party will open up that story line should it come up -- he definitely wants to know about the ancient wizards spellbook. What's the deal with the Harper person(miner exchange I think) who wanted to take over phandalin/redbrands herself? What happens with the Black Spider if he survives the encounter and is brought to justice? Where the f did Iarno/GlassStaff go if he managed to escape? What does the forge of spells actually do?
Princes of the Apocalypse contains info about key npcs and what they know, and it does give you the exceprts for descriptions on places. There are also dialogues written in it similar to LMoP, where it's like "Gandalf grasping the ledge one last time shouts "Fly, you fools!". I generally don't follow them directly and reword their info, but it does contain that in a similar fashion. PotA is hard to follow though as it's sandboxy and thus following someone elses world/story requires alot of reading and understanding on how things should be, so finding where info is can get confusing (which is why someone actually took time to make a guide, referenced earlier in the thread).
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!