Baby's First Module

[DragonBaneDM]

Hey guys!

So for National Novel Writing Month I'm doing something a little different since my group is pretty lenient and I can't novel worth a heck. I want to design a module. Now, I've DM'd three or so multi-year campaigns to great success (albeit in 4E), designed about half a dozen one-shots and two/three session games, and I churn out an adventure probably about every month for the MegaDungeon game I Co-DM, but I've never done a module before!

I'm not sure what levels I want to make it for this. I consider myself accomplished in 5E even though I've never played or DM'd above level 5. I read probably a different class guide once a week and monster design fascinates me, so I've got the theory if not the practice. I noticed Adventure League modules are 5-10. Would this be a good basis to work off of? Is there a lot of support/guidelines for Adventure League and somewhere I could put the finished product when all's said and done?

What in your opinion makes a good module? I love reading through Curse of Strahd, but I'm trying to stay away from gothic horror since I'm worried I'll just shamelessly steal ambience and effects from them, but I love love love the sandboxiness of the whole deal. I'm thinking something high fantasy! Different races performing things they normally wouldn't be. Sigil, perhaps? Is there a Sigil module/adventure yet? Speaking of premade places, I'm tempted to revamp Ptolus or do something in Eberron, but I kind of want to do some world building of my own here, cause I think that would be good for the creative point of this month.

[Falcon X]

For an experienced DM in 5e, it's hard to beat Out of the Abyss. When it came out, some people were saying it was the best novel published in the last decade.
Then again, the original Ravenloft is often considered the best module of all time...

Skip Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Princes of the Apocalypse. A good DM can make those fun, but why work so hard.

Out of the Abyss (http://thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2016/01/rage-of-demons-out-of-abyss.html) is so much fun.
The NPCs are interesting and the dungeons are well thought out.
The biggest struggle with it is DM management. There are a lot of NPCs that might travel with the group, and you do travel a lot, so you have to make lots of scavanging and random encounter rolls.
However, for an experienced DM, it's a playground that will make you giggle with glee on every other page.
It also introduces all sorts of underdark races as intelligent people you interact with. Heck, it even brings sentience to unintelligent creatures.
You have creatures like: **SPOILERS**
- Sentient Oozes (who can join the party)
- Baby Dragons and Hooked Horrors (who can join the party)
- Serial Killer Derro (party NPC)
- Quaggoth who thinks he's an elvish prince (party NPC)
- Exiled Drow with revenge plots
- Rogue Modrons lost from the Modron March
- A sane Kuo-Toa (and a bunch that aren't)
- Giant librarians who can see into past, present, and future.
- Were-rat gnomes
And... Oh dear, I realized I could pull something like this from every page...

[edit] Someday.... Someday we might have Planescape, but I doubt it. mghamster has done some great conversions of old planescape (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/185801/Dead-Gods--5th-Edition-Conversion) modules (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/183573/The-Great-Modron-March-5e-Conversion?src=slider_view&filters=45532) if that's your dig though. Gotta have the original documents though.

[DragonBaneDM]

For an experienced DM in 5e, it's hard to beat Out of the Abyss. When it came out, some people were saying it was the best novel published in the last decade.

You have creatures like: **SPOILERS**
- Sentient Oozes (who can join the party)
- Baby Dragons and Hooked Horrors (who can join the party)
- Serial Killer Derro (party NPC)
- Quaggoth who thinks he's an elvish prince (party NPC)
- Exiled Drow with revenge plots
- Rogue Modrons lost from the Modron March
- A sane Kuo-Toa (and a bunch that aren't)
- Giant librarians who can see into past, present, and future.
- Were-rat gnomes
And... Oh dear, I realized I could pull something like this from every page...


I'll read through it! Hopefully I'll be able to zero in on a lot of what makes it good, how many environments I should design, and what makes zany PCs function. Thanks!