Not sure what adventure to buy

[Dallion80]

I am currently working on my next game, and I have decided to run one of the official adventures. I am not sure which one to get, in my 27 years of DMing I have always created my own worlds and adventures. Any in put would be welcomed. Thank you.

[Musthelog]

I would recommend Curse of Strahd. Its a very fun, dark and interesting module. As a dm it id super easy to run and you can chop and change things as you see fit. I am looking forward to getting to play it instead of just dming.
I can also recommend Storm Kings Thunder. I havnt had the chance to play or dm it but everyone i know who has has nothing but good things to say about it.
Talking20 on youtube did a video a few months ago ranking all the modules from worst to best, worth a look if your not sure what to pick.

[Dallion80]

i have looked at CoS one issue i might have with that is my girlfriend, who plays in my game, hates anything horror related.

[Ivor_The_Mad]

My group last year played CoS and we just finished SKT both were very fun and I would definitely recommend them. I also would recommend Out of the Abyss and the Waterdeep series. I have not yet played the Waterdeep dungeons but I own and have read them. They seem like a lot of fun.

[Unoriginal]

I am currently working on my next game, and I have decided to run one of the official adventures. I am not sure which one to get, in my 27 years of DMing I have always created my own worlds and adventures. Any in put would be welcomed. Thank you.

What do you like to run, and what do your group like to play?

[Trask]

I think out of all the adventures currently published I recommend Lost Mine of Phandelver, Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation. All the others feel overwritten and hard to run imo, with books so large that you have to make tons of notes and photocopies to do it justice and its just a ton of work which defeats the purpose of using one anyways.

Lost Mine is relatively concise and manageable complete with a town and several dungeons laid out in a semi sandbox environment. Its got a sort of american frontier feel to it if you ask me, and I like the way it unfolds for the most part, but I do think it is probably the most railroaded module of the three as well as being the shortest (but also the cheapest). I do recommend it for ideas, but I wouldnt play it 100% by the book.

Curse of Strahd is the most well textured and has a lot of great detail and flavor to it, but it is geared towards a specific tone and feel which you or your players might not be a fan of (gothic horror). You mentioned your girlfriend doesnt like horror, and its possible to downplay those elements but if you do that you lose a big part of what makes it cool. And there are some pretty darn creepy things in the book, so some areas you might have to rewrite entirely. Its a semi sandbox with some gimmick of random placement with tarot cards, and it has a lot of things to explore that are often rewarding in their own creepy way. Its a good time and I think its a good option.

Tomb of Annihilation is the best adventure product WotC has produced for 5e imo. Its not too bloated but covers a huge amount of ground with its time. An entire jungle island complete with many subregions, a thriving port city, factions and intrigue, and a complete dungeon tentpole for the whole campaign. Its sandboxy and fun and has a great feel, and on top of that its very easy to hack apart and make your own including just dropping entire regions or dungeons of your own onto the map if thats something you're interested in. It also conveys a feel different from most "standard" fantasy d&d with its primeval jungle and faux african veneer, it feels like it belongs more in the Hyborian Age with Conan than in Faerun with Elminster, and if its not obvious I consider that to be good praise. Highest recommendation for it. I would say that main downside is that the hook is weak in my opinion, a death curse feels pretty contrived and unnecessary and honestly could have been done without.

NOTE: I havent read or run Dragon Heist so I can't comment on that adventure, but for what its worth I've heard good things about it from others and might be a decent pick if you enjoy urban style adventuring.

[Joe the Rat]

i have looked at CoS one issue i might have with that is my girlfriend, who plays in my game, hates anything horror related.
If horror is off the table, CoS can be done, but it comes off rather campy. Like really campy. With the right mindset, Strahd Zombies are hilarious.

Out of the Abyss actually dabbles a bit in the dark end as well, what with the madness, but the locale is exotic, and it makes a wonderful "exploration with a side of pursuit" adventure.

I'm only at the reading stage, but the Waterdeep books are fun. You can run Dragon Heist, then branch off into other things if you find megadungeons aren't your group's thing.

[ad_hoc]

If horror is off the table, CoS can be done, but it comes off rather campy. Like really campy. With the right mindset, Strahd Zombies are hilarious.

Out of the Abyss actually dabbles a bit in the dark end as well, what with the madness, but the locale is exotic, and it makes a wonderful "exploration with a side of pursuit" adventure.

I'm only at the reading stage, but the Waterdeep books are fun. You can run Dragon Heist, then branch off into other things if you find megadungeons aren't your group's thing.

She definitely would not like OotA. There is quite a bit of body horror in it.

[Ivor_The_Mad]

If you don't want horror then I would go with SKT or WDDH/DotMM

[MilkmanDanimal]

Waterdeep Dragon Heist is a fun, lighter adventure. I mean, compared to Strahd.

[Man_Over_Game]

From what I've gathered from what people have experienced with each module:

Storm King's Thunder: Very "heroic". Lots of combat and lots of places to explore. Can take place over several years, if you want it to. The main problem is that you don't stick anywhere for very long to get to the next Giant, so you don't get a chance to build up relationships or a base camp until late in the campaign. Overall premise is that Giants are angry and destroying the Sword Coast and you gotta play whack-a-mole.

Horde of the Dragon Queen: Very straightforward, a bit railroaded. It does a good job of making everything dramatic, but make sure you do your prep work, since it doesn't do detours very well. Overall premise is that some cultists of Tiamat are gathering resources needed to bring her to this plane so she can rule, and the players are chasing the cultists and the treasure around the countryside to stop that.

Waterdeep Dragon Heist: A bit of an odd campaign, as the majority of it takes place in a single city. Lots of different factions and ways to play, and it does a good job of rewarding narrative creativity and social interactions.

Dungeon of the Mad Mage: A difficult dungeon with a lot of things to experience. Your players will need to rely on wit and grit to manage their resources properly.

Tales From the Yawning Portal: Not a campaign, or even a single module. Rather, it's a series of unrelated modules that are self-contained. That is, each one has its own plot that is easily modified to fit into your campaign. Want a dungeon for level 1 players? Got it. Want a dungeon for a level 6 players? Got it. Theoretically, you could level from 1-20 on the modules alone, but there won't be much of a plot to string them all together. These are best used for inspiration or for enhancing an existing world.

[Finback]

i have looked at CoS one issue i might have with that is my girlfriend, who plays in my game, hates anything horror related.

Heh. We had a player leave in the first few games, as they felt a bit unsettled by the horror. We have since pointed out that since then, it has descended into utter farce at times, replete with were-beavers, an aerial squadron of alchemical fire-dropping ravens, psychedelic pastries, a magic chicken, the dumbest dragon ever, and kite-surfing harpies. That is, using harpies AS kites.

We have now threatened our DM with retribution if he turns the warforged juggernaut into a bat again, by flying above Strahd's castle, waiting one hour, and then letting 400lbs of warforged crash through his ceiling.

It's why that meme of "What I wanted to play: *Game of Thrones*. What I got: *Monty Python and the Holy Grail/Pirates of the Caribbean" is so damned true.

(Said player who left is going to return, but playing the game I dm, which is ToA, which is a bit more pulp-adventure driven, but we also have a very divergent group of players, and it feels a lot more madcap)

[Finback]

Tales From the Yawning Portal: Not a campaign, or even a single module. Rather, it's a series of unrelated modules that are self-contained. That is, each one has its own plot that is easily modified to fit into your campaign. Want a dungeon for level 1 players? Got it. Want a dungeon for a level 6 players? Got it. Theoretically, you could level from 1-20 on the modules alone, but there won't be much of a plot to string them all together. These are best used for inspiration or for enhancing an existing world.

Yeah, I threw the Lost Shrine of Tamoachan into ToA, and it fit perfectly - you already have a jungle with ziggurat-like structures, and classic trap-filled temples - this is just more of the same. I used it in order to allow one player to get a bit of a story arc (githzerai ranger, hunting down a rogue illithid - just found a fairly empty, non-descript spot to throw him and some toadies in). You can always just swap some of the wandering encounters as well - anything that seems a bit too "classic", like a carrion-crawler, or a wight? Throw in a dinosaur. Players getting too cocky? Throw more dinosaur.

[Dallion80]

What do you like to run, and what do your group like to play?

I myself like to run and play any type of game, I always switch it up. As for my party with the exception of one player my current game is their first game. My current game is rather Rp heavy it is dealing with a struggle between basically dragons, outsiders and fey for the control of divine power. They reason I also feel CoS is a no go was because I added Death House as a part of my current game to judge how the group would do with CoS and it really unnerved my girlfriend in fact she barely engaged in the game. Right now they tend to lean towards Rp heavy actions in the game, they have yet to derail the game and I will be honest i didn't know how to handle that at first.

[Legendairy]

Having run or played in pretty much all of them to some capacity, it depends on if you are good with adding your own flavor to things. OotA is my personal favorite, but my group is ok with horror and madness, but a lot of that can be handeaved or explained slightly different, it’s also a bit more off the rails. SKT seems like a good fit, only having to adjust minor elements at best. Waterdeep dragonheist is good but very much on the rails as soon as you start the encounter chain. I own mad mage but haven’t ran it yet. Basically if you are good with modifying any of them you can make them fit, just depends on how far you are willing to go.

[Dallion80]

Looks like I am going with HotDQ/RoT, because my girlfriend bought me HotDQ last week. I have already started to workout how to adjust it for my world and their play style.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I've been running CoS for a while now and my party's almost done, and I have to say... the Death House was probably the creepiest, most horrific part of the module. The rest I'd describe as "gothic" more than "horror"-- there's a lot of dark background and dreary present, but nothing else quite as horror movie.

(It IS hella deadly, even if you don't wander too far off the expected path; most areas have wound up being one huge desperate fight that almost killed half the party)