Good modules to run

[Duskranger]

Hi Playground,

I will have in a short while (hopefully) a new party to teach the wonderfull game of DnD 3.5

The question is though (since I want to start with a module) what modules do you suggest?

Some notes:

I will probably restrict the players to core at the start.
I try to make a balanced party, but otherwise will say play what you like.
I prefer a short module, to play as a start of a campaign/one shot.

[SamBurke]

Short? Tomb of Horrors works, then.

[LaughingRogue]

Long? The Shackled City (and related) Adventure Paths

apparently I can't read... Not ToH then -- ToH is a death trap and not fit for new players, in any case, ever ... ever.

[Duskranger]

Short? Tomb of Horrors works, then.

You are joking. I can play in the ToH and stay alive for some time. Beginning players can't. It is indeed short since lvl 1 characters die instantly. And that's about where I will start.


Long? The Shackled City (and related) Adventure Paths

apparently I can't read... Not ToH then -- ToH is a death trap

I know, I've been there and did not finish it. I prefer short, but the modules of the shackled city are they able to be taken apart? And please more information about them. If I like it I can always refluff and rebuild a world around them, run a partial module and run a campaign from there.

[LaughingRogue]

You are joking. I can play in the ToH and stay alive for some time. Beginning players can't. It is indeed short since lvl 1 characters die instantly. And that's about where I will start.



I know, I've been there and did not finish it. I prefer short, but the modules of the shackled city are they able to be taken apart? And please more information about them. If I like it I can always refluff and rebuild a world around them, run a partial module and run a campaign from there.

The shackled city adventure path is a 1-20 adventure that was released in Dragon and won a decent amount of awards, while you can do what you suggest with them and take each chapter (12 chapters and break them up and run them individually and spawn your own game and refluff) I would suggest because of how much I enjoyed the AP and running the AP , to wait until they are ready for a longer adventure or you have a craving for something a bit longer to run.

[Duskranger]

The shackled city adventure path is a 1-20 adventure that was released in Dragon and won a decent amount of awards, while you can do what you suggest with them and take each chapter (12 chapters and break them up and run them individually and spawn your own game and refluff) I would suggest because of how much I enjoyed the AP and running the AP , to wait until they are ready for a longer adventure or you have a craving for something a bit longer to run.

My problem is that I do not really enjoy modules, but it is easier especially if you do not know if someone likes the game or not.

I will need to find the module though and read it.

The one module I still want to play in is the Tomb of Horrors, preferably with a lenient DM that allows me to go wild (for example Planar Shepherd or Swordsage)

[Gwendol]

The Sunless Citadel is a good start; it is designed for beginners. Or dig up some classics and do the conversion yourself (Keep on the Borderlands come to mind).

[Palanan]

I'll second Sunless Citadel. Very basic, and a good intro for 3.5 beginners. The DM of my first 3.5 group ran it for us when we were all just learning the system, and we had a blast.

From there we segued to Forge of Fury, which also worked out well. Running those two back-to-back made for a great time gaming, and gave our DM the experience he needed to branch out on his own from there. If you're already familiar with 3.5 and want a pocket introduction for your players, Sunless Citadel is probably the easiest choice.

[FoeHammer]

This is actually perfect. I was planning on posting a similar thread when i ran across this one. Thanks guys, I think I'll start my newest group of victims players off with those two and then see where the winds take us. :smallbiggrin:

[Gwendol]

Happy gaming! :smallsmile:

[CapnVan]

For conversions of classic modules to 3.0 & 3.5, check here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/conversions/). Excellent resource, just take a look yourself to make sure that the sometimes straight conversions aren't overpowered. As I recall, there's an encounter with giant rats in Keep on the Borderland that goes from appropriate for level 1 chars to a CR 8 or higher encounter.

If you want something short and sweet, check out some of Dyson Logos' work here (http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/downloads-games/). He's writing for OSR, but the maps are excellent and the opposition content is pretty easy to swap out for anything you'd want. They're generally simple but clever and short dungeon crawls, which, for brand-new players, ought to be a great intro.

[Yora]

Does Keep on the Borderland have something resembling a plot or at least a goal? Or is it just a floorplan with encounters?

[ShriekingDrake]

I would recommend the Mad God's Key from Dungeon Magazine. I also found the Whispering Cairn from Dungeon Magazine to be quite good. For a really tough one as they advance to 4th or 5th level consider Meenlock Prison, also from Dungeon Magazine. These adventures went over very well in my group. I'll also give another plug fro the very well done Sunless Citadel.

[kvothe]

I can't say that I've run all that many modules, however, one short low level module that I do recommend is The Burning Plague. It's not particularly complicated, either to DM or to play, but does give new players a good idea of how D&D works.

Logistics-wise, running the module should take 1-2 sessions and advance players either to level 2 or 3, depending on how you run it. It's light on RP (mostly a straight dungeon-crawl). It's also pretty self contained, although you could always tie in the final boss to some bigger baddie's evil scheme as a plot hook for the next adventure.

[DegenPaladin]

The one module I still want to play in is the Tomb of Horrors, preferably with a lenient DM that allows me to go wild (for example Planar Shepherd or Swordsage)

Am I the only one that had a double take at Planar Shepherd and Swordsage being mentioned in the same breath :)

[Duskranger]

Am I the only one that had a double take at Planar Shepherd and Swordsage being mentioned in the same breath :)

I don't play for power, just for fun.

I also enjoy monks, but putting one in the ToH is a bit not done (he won't survive it).

[Yora]

For a really tough one as they advance to 4th or 5th level consider Meenlock Prison, also from Dungeon Magazine. These adventures went over very well in my group.
Running Meenlock Prision was the greatest game I ever had. Little monsters that mess with your head and want to drag you under the earth while you can't simply retreat makes for an amazing game.

[ShriekingDrake]

Running Meenlock Prision was the greatest game I ever had. Little monsters that mess with your head and want to drag you under the earth while you can't simply retreat makes for an amazing game.

I even ran a soundtrack on the Bose system--a track for each encounter area. I used a lot of Nox Arcana and Midnight Syndicate. It worked really well for this adventure.