Age of Worms for newish players?

[Kobold Esq]

I currently dm for a group of fairly new players (3 of 5 it is their first time playing any rpg at all, and only one player can be said to have system mastery). I took them from level 1 to 4 in sunless citadel and then some homebrew stuff with the expectation of the test of the game being scratch built. However I misjudged how much time and desire I would have to write material.

I want to transition them to an adventure path. What are people's opinions on Age of Worms? How would it handle level 3 or 4 characters in the first adventure is I just slightly buffed all the monsters and trap DC/damage?

Any recommendations or advice on things I should look out for in it?

[Eldariel]

On low levels, level differences are on base level much bigger than on higher levels. Level 2 has almost twice as much stuff as level 1 characters and level 3 is a whole different ballgame for all but the spontaneous casters.

Thus the same goes for challenges too; there's a huge difference between what's dangerous to a level 1 and to a level 2. Level 1s die to a small breeze. Level 2s are much more durable and level 3s barely get oneshot by off-the-shelf monsters anymore.

Thus, you'd need to buff them a fair bit. Or squeeze the early stuff together into a small packet and just start at the appropriate point. Or start as is, and let them decimate the early encounters for marginal XP - it's okay for players to feel powerful particularly since the difficulty ramps up quick enough. Due to the way XP works, they wouldn't be too far ahead of the curve for too long.

The campaign path itself is quite fine as is so it should prove reasonably satisfactory an experience, though feel free to modify things difficulty-wise. You have a better gauge of the group power level than any of us so if you feel it warranted and want to accommodate them instead of having them accommodate themselves to the campaign (which is also fine, of course - it's easier to improve than to worsen).

[Kobold Esq]

The party is definitely punching below their weight right now. The makeup is as follows:

Elf druid 4 - new player, barely understands the spells she uses, relies on advice from the wizard player. Doesn't read spell descriptions until after she casts spells. Doesn't ever change spell selection.

Elf ranger 4 - new player, still has basic rules questions about his character even six months in. Can't seem to decide if he wants to be an Archer or a melee warrior, and as a result is not particularly optimized for either.

Human Barbarian 4 - new player, just likes to RP as a young Conan type. Uses a greatsword, but getting frustrated that his lowish AC results in a lot of KOs.

Half elf rogue 4 - experienced role player, but mediocre "gamist" in that she doesn't have a strong handle of the rules and isn't a particularly good tactician, and prone to not making great decisions in combat.

Human wizard 4 - by far the most experienced player. Acting as a helpful resource to the other players, not attempting to control anything or force people to listen to him. Is keeping track of party loot, etc.

I am giving the players the option to make new characters for the new adventure or keep their current ones. The druid player really likes hers and is attached to her animal loving Disney princess. She will be out of town for 7 weeks around the time we will be starting however. I suggested to the other players that if they wanted to try new characters, they could start at level 2 (I like the extra padding that second HD gives), which would mean no need to change the monsters, And hopefully they catch up to the druid by the time she is back from her summer job.

[Reversefigure4]

Age of Worms is notoriously difficult, and in several places will stomp a party that isn't well built and well utilised tactically.

If you've no compelling attachment to the story, you might be better off with Rise of the Runelords, which is designed for the use of new players (and GMs new to Adventure Paths, too).

[Mike Miller]

I currently dm for a group of fairly new players (3 of 5 it is their first time playing any rpg at all, and only one player can be said to have system mastery). I took them from level 1 to 4 in sunless citadel and then some homebrew stuff with the expectation of the test of the game being scratch built. However I misjudged how much time and desire I would have to write material.

I want to transition them to an adventure path. What are people's opinions on Age of Worms? How would it handle level 3 or 4 characters in the first adventure is I just slightly buffed all the monsters and trap DC/damage?

Any recommendations or advice on things I should look out for in it?

Age of Worms is a great AP. However, it is better for more experienced players. It is quite a difficult AP. You started with Sunless Citadel. Have you considered any more of the books from that "Adventure Path?"

Sunless Citadel
Forge of Fury (I really like this module)
Speaker in Dreams
Standing Stone
Heart of Nightfang Spire
Deep Horizon
Lord of the Iron Fortress
Bastion of Broken Souls

These are loosely tied together, which will let you do your own thing if you want. Or just run them as is.

[Kobold Esq]

I ran Sunless because I was familiar with it. I'd been through it as a player and DMed it once before. I'm not really interested in converting the 3.0 stuff to 3.5, especially as the players get to higher levels. I have about three weeks to decide what I'm doing with them, so there is no hurry. I'm mainly looking for something that will require minimal adaptation, and allow the players to have a "standard" DnD experience.

[Mike Miller]

Red Hand of Doom usually gets a lot of praise and is for middle levels. I forget exactly what level it starts on. It ends around 12th level I think.

The Shackled City AP is more forgiving than the Age of Worms and still memorable. You could probably start them out in the beginning of that with little modification. Just have Life's Bazaar and Drakthar's way together as optional stuff, as they will be level appropriate for Flood season. You will want them to do a little bit in Cauldron first to feel connected to the city before Flood Season really geta underway, though.

[GreatDane]

Age of Worms is notoriously difficult, and in several places will stomp a party that isn't well built and well utilised tactically.
I'll second this. Age of Worms is not what I would run for first-timers who lack system mastery. My players had 8-10 months of 3.5 under their belt before we started Age of Worms and they still find it quite challenging. Adjusting the difficulty of an adventure is well within the ability of a dungeon master, of course, but you mentioned time constraints.

I'll also second Red Hand of Doom instead! It's a ton of fun, with lots of dragons, goblins, and other adventure staples that will appeal to newer players. There's even an excellent handbook for DMs running RHoD right here on this forum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?171284-The-3-5-Red-Hand-Of-Doom-Handbook-for-DMs-Major-spoilers!-WIP-PEACH!).

Another benefit of RHoD is that it's shorter; planning to run a new group through a 20-level adventure path (a 1- or 2-year undertaking) is a pretty ambitious gamble on their commitment to the game.

[parryhotter]

interesting..

[Kobold Esq]

So people say RHoD or Shackled City then? Either works for me, but can anyone give reviews of either?

[ComaVision]

So people say RHoD or Shackled City then? Either works for me, but can anyone give reviews of either?

I haven't ran Shackled City but RHoD is great. I found it very easy to scale encounters up/down as needed too. I actually ran Sunless Citadel > Forge of Fury > RHoD.

It'll probably help your Barbarian, Ranger, and Rogue feel more bad-azz too because there are lots of fairly low level mooks through-out the adventure.

[Mike Miller]

I will probably be running Shackled City soon. I have read through it a couple times and think it is really good. Hopefully my group enjoys it too! I think there is a solid mix of railroad and free time for all.