1st Time DM, Introducing players to 5e?

[HelplessPeasant]

Hey guys, I'm a relatively new DM, although I have plenty of playing experience, and I'm gonna be introducing some players to 5e for the first time. I don't know if anything I homebrew up right away will be good or interesting enough, so I was hoping you guys could recommend some premade adventure modules good for players who've never played 5e before. Any suggestions?

[Sigreid]

I thought the starter set was a good intro into 5e. Reasonably straight forward, a few branches that can be taken etc. Just remember low level is pretty dangerous in 5e.

I've gotten the other adventures so I can cut them apart and use their pieces in my game and I don't think any of them would be very good for a first outing.

Alternately, consider creating just a simple 5-10 room goblin cave. Nothing too fancy, but put different ability and skill checks in there just to get them familiar with their character/class and a feel for the rules.

[DMThac0]

Alternately, consider creating just a simple 5-10 room goblin cave. Nothing too fancy, but put different ability and skill checks in there just to get them familiar with their character/class and a feel for the rules.

If this is a 1st time for everyone, and especially if the players have no experience in D&D, I suggest following something like this as well. I created a homebrew for 5e and have a wide mix of skill levels for players (from 2e vets to first timer) and none of them had played 5e yet. With that in mind the first 3 sessions I created for the campaign were a "coming of age" trope which allowed me to use that time to introduce the players to the mechanics of the game and their respective classes.

As such, it is going to be vitally important that you communicate with your players as much as possible before starting the campaign proper. The more information you have about your players and their characters the easier it will be to tailor encounters in the game to their individual strengths as well as give them ways to support each other as a group. It will also help the players understand what it is you are trying to do as a DM (seeing as you are new to the role as well). At the end of the first handful of sessions do a "de-briefing" to see what the players enjoy/dislike and to see what you can improve on.

[Laserlight]

I thought the starter set was a good intro into 5e. Reasonably straight forward, a few branches that can be taken etc. Just remember low level is pretty dangerous in 5e.

I'd give them 5 extra hit points each, just to provide a little cushion against monster crits.

One fight with about as many monsters as PCs; one with a few more (and weaker) monsters; one with only one or two monsters (semi-boss fight).

At least one of those fights should start at fairly long range to allow casters and archers to do their thing.
One fight should have a skill challenge worked into it--"cross the rope bridge / balance beam to get away from the horde of not-exactly-giant-but-still-pretty-dangerous rats", for instance.

[Ruslan]

I'd give them 5 extra hit points each, just to provide a little cushion against monster crits.If you're already willing to bend the rules slightly, it's much simpler to just ignore monster crits (treat them as regular hits).

[Oramac]

One fight should have a skill challenge worked into it--"cross the rope bridge / balance beam to get away from the horde of not-exactly-giant-but-still-pretty-dangerous rats", for instance.

I like it, but what do you do when the party inevitably decides to fight the rats instead of running like they're supposed to?

[Sigreid]

I like it, but what do you do when the party inevitably decides to fight the rats instead of running like they're supposed to?
Let them learn why that is a bad idea. Or figure out how to win.

[Oramac]

Let them learn why that is a bad idea. Or figure out how to win.

So you kill a brand new party with brand new players who probably don't know to even look for an alternative to fighting? No fallback option? Just "I'm sorry you don't know how to play, now you're dead. Reroll."

[HelplessPeasant]

One thing I really should specify after reading these replies is that these people aren't new to [I]D&D[I], they're just new to 5e. They're all my family members, actually, and one of them is my dad who's been playing for 30+ years. He's new to 5e because he was really really hesitant to play a new edition after 4th, and so far my two brothers have only played with him as the DM, in game using a mix of 1e and 2e rules. I wanna introduce them to 5e specific concepts, not overarching D&D tropes that cross all editions, like "don't fight the 30+ horde of giant rats instead of escaping".

[Sigreid]

So you kill a brand new party with brand new players who probably don't know to even look for an alternative to fighting? No fallback option? Just "I'm sorry you don't know how to play, now you're dead. Reroll."

No, but there's nothing wrong with them falling unconscious and then the rats finding a need to be somewhere else.

Edit: This is also a good time to mention that you can, in fact die, and you should try to avoid that.

[DMThac0]

So you kill a brand new party with brand new players who probably don't know to even look for an alternative to fighting? No fallback option? Just "I'm sorry you don't know how to play, now you're dead. Reroll."

That's where the DM does the divine intervention, fudge rolls, or a random NPC adventurer happens upon the scene. There are ways to save a new party from TPK if you choose to.

[Grod_The_Giant]

One thing I really should specify after reading these replies is that these people aren't new to [I]D&D[I], they're just new to 5e. They're all my family members, actually, and one of them is my dad who's been playing for 30+ years. He's new to 5e because he was really really hesitant to play a new edition after 4th, and so far my two brothers have only played with him as the DM, in game using a mix of 1e and 2e rules. I wanna introduce them to 5e specific concepts, not overarching D&D tropes that cross all editions, like "don't fight the 30+ horde of giant rats instead of escaping".
In that case, I wouldn't worry too much. Give 'em a little briefing on the big changes from the editions they're used to, help everyone roll up level 1 characters and go to town. I hear Out of The Abyss is good.

[Sigreid]

In that case, I wouldn't worry too much. Give 'em a little briefing on the big changes from the editions they're used to, help everyone roll up level 1 characters and go to town. I hear Out of The Abyss is good.

Yep. It should be a pretty good one for people who already know how to play and just need to adjust to the specifics of this edition.

[2D8HP]

Try this adventure:
Return to the Caves of Chaos - pdf (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwiavcaL7YXQAhUqjFQKHTsdDfAQFggdMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wizards.com%2Fdownloads%2Fd nd%2FDnD_Next_ReturnCavesChaos.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGhQsKYRVQFSuOUepKbXHe3-GWwmA)

[Hopeless]

Could try drive thru rpg and checking out their free 5e scenarios which should be useful.

What game stuff do you have?

Any maps, do you have any scenarios from the other editions of d&d that might be worth porting over?

You should be able to download starter character sheets if you want some pre-gens since they're the same as those in the starter set?

[DMThac0]

I got dumped into 5e at my LGS without any preface. They handed me Rise of Tiamat and said have fun. TBH the group had a ton of fun, the learning curve was about even on both sides of the screen and the premade was a heck of a lot of fun. With that kind of background in D&D you should be fine dropping them in on the starter kit's tools and easily transition into something homebrewed or more indepth.

[mephnick]

So you kill a brand new party with brand new players who probably don't know to even look for an alternative to fighting? No fallback option? Just "I'm sorry you don't know how to play, now you're dead. Reroll."

To be fair, I've found that new players are often the first to think of fun ideas to get out of trouble.

It's the jaded experienced players I've played with that treat the game as numbers to be killed.

[ClintACK]

A classic for a reason: Start in a tavern.

Then have a bar fight.

All improvised weapons and non-lethal damage. Something of a free-for-all with lots of opportunities to apply advantage (he's just popped out from hiding behind the bar) and disadvantage (he's falling down drunk). Plenty of opportunity to try out skill checks, too -- whether it's screaming in a drunk's face (Intimidation) or swinging from the chandelier (Acrobatics). You can even start things off with social skills, just before the fight breaks out.

And no one gets killed -- if you get dropped to zero, you are unconscious, and wake up the next morning, with aches and pains, in the tavern's root cellar.

[Laserlight]

I like it, but what do you do when the party inevitably decides to fight the rats instead of running like they're supposed to?

I'm answering because OP said he's new to DMing:
You don't just ask the party "Are you sure you want to do that?" because sometimes the party is a bunch of reckless idiots and says "Yep!" without thinking,

Instead, you say "Are you sure you want to do that? There are a lot of rats, and you can each only kill one or two per turn; if you stay and fight them, you'll be surrounded and overwhelmed. What other ideas have you got?" Sometimes they'll say "Oh, I thought there were only four rats total. I guess we run." And sometimes they still say "Yep, we fight!" , but if they TPK, that's on them, not on you.

[Laserlight]

One thing I really should specify after reading these replies is that these people aren't new to [I]D&D[I], they're just new to 5e. They're all my family members, actually, and one of them is my dad who's been playing for 30+ years. He's new to 5e because he was really really hesitant to play a new edition after 4th, and so far my two brothers have only played with him as the DM, in game using a mix of 1e and 2e rules. I wanna introduce them to 5e specific concepts, not overarching D&D tropes that cross all editions, like "don't fight the 30+ horde of giant rats instead of escaping".

That's why I suggest a few fights with different numbers of foes--your players will see the action economy. Difficult terrain. No 5ft step. No flanking. Shooting throuhg a melee provides cover to your target. A few skill rolls--athletics for grappeling, for example.