Campaign Suggestion to DM

[Sicmetal43]

Hey guys, I'm getting ready to start my second campaign as a player, CoS, we are just finishing Princes of Apocalypse. When we are finished with CoS the DM and I are switching places (we are a group of co-workers and friends) he is going to play and I am going to DM.

I'm still new at DMing, I started to DM Hoard of the Dragon Queen as a side campaign when 1 of the people couldn't play for a bit.

I am looking for suggestions on a module to run when I take over, looking for something not too complicated since it will be our third campaign but still not too easy. Something fun that will keep everyone entertained while I settle in as a DM.

I was thinking of these as options:

Out of the abyss

Baldurs Gate, Descent into Avernus

Storms Kings Thunder

Tomb of Annihilation

Or starting over Hoard of the Dragon Queen and running both modules

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[OldTrees1]

Out of the abyss: I would not recommend. It starts off very railroady and adjusting that would be effort.

Storms Kings Thunder: I heard good things but I have not looked at it. This is probably the most similar to CoS and PotA.

Tomb of Annihilation: A solid campaign, but only if the players want to play it. It is a trek through an overpowered dangerous jungle and then you get sent inside dangerous trap riddled dungeon. If the party wants a trap filled dungeon that plays a bit unfair at times, then this is a great campaign. If the party does not like traps, then this is a poor fit. I would also not suggest it for a first time DM.

[J-H]

There are lots of modules on the DM's Guild as well, usually at pretty reasonable prices.
What levels do you want to start and end at?
What sort of focus do you want to have? Dungeoncrawl, exploration, diplomacy, war, etc.?
Heroic/noblebright, ambiguous, evil party?

[Sicmetal43]

There are lots of modules on the DM's Guild as well, usually at pretty reasonable prices.
What levels do you want to start and end at?
What sort of focus do you want to have? Dungeoncrawl, exploration, diplomacy, war, etc.?
Heroic/noblebright, ambiguous, evil party?

I would like to start at level 1 and go to maybe 15 or so, im ok with up to 20. Not sure on the focus and the party party depends on what they want to create

[Keravath]

Depending on how often you play and how long each session is, CoS can take 6 months to a year to run. I just finished running it recently and it was 33 sessions of ~4-5 hours each. So you should have enough time to prepare :)

As for choices ...

I've played Tomb of Annihilation. It is, in general, really good. It is a sandbox and can really benefit from added content from the DMsGuild website like Return of the Lizard King since these give more things to do when traveling in the jungle than random encounters. Also, the module as written is sparse on magic items so depending on the DM and the party, the DM may want to add or change around some of the available items.

Out of the Abyss starts off with the premise that the characters are all prisoners of the drow in the underdark. I have heard it can be fun but due to the circumstances of the setup, characters are likely to have only a limited number of directions they can go if they want to survive. However, this is one of those I would like to play one day.

Rime of the Frost Maiden - the most recent release. I just started playing this and so far it is good.

Storm King's Thunder - heard good things about it but I haven't played it.

Another option would be to use the modules from Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Tales from the Yawming Portal to create a campaign based on the series of adventures. There is lots of content there - Ghosts of Saltmarsh could also be played stand alone with a couple of the TftYP adventures tossed in to fill any gaps.

[J-H]

You may want to go ahead and reach out to your players and ask for their opinions on this topic, and form your own. There are hundreds to thousands of possible modules (including 2e/3.5 material that can be adapted), so it's hard to narrow down a selection without more info.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Hey guys, I'm getting ready to start my second campaign as a player, CoS, we are just finishing Princes of Apocalypse. When we are finished with CoS the DM and I are switching places (we are a group of co-workers and friends) he is going to play and I am going to DM.

I'm still new at DMing, I started to DM Hoard of the Dragon Queen as a side campaign when 1 of the people couldn't play for a bit.

I am looking for suggestions on a module to run when I take over, looking for something not too complicated since it will be our third campaign but still not too easy. Something fun that will keep everyone entertained while I settle in as a DM.

I was thinking of these as options:

Out of the abyss

Baldurs Gate, Descent into Avernus

Storms Kings Thunder

Tomb of Annihilation

Or starting over Hoard of the Dragon Queen and running both modules

Any thoughts or suggestions?

So far as Rise of Tiamat goes, I'd just say no. There are a bunch of dragons that your players have to go deal with. Travel is generally hand waved and the whole thing seems kind of contrived. By the end I was just trying to get through it and wishing I'd done something else. Now, on to stuff I'd recommend.

I've DM'd Out of the Abyss and I'm in the process of Descent into Avernus. I really like both in some ways. The first half of Out of the Abyss is really good for our playstyle as my players liked the hex-crawl/ exploration/ survival aspects. The second half I'd say needs a bit more work from the DM; I added a storyline including Orcus and the creation of a Dracolich to carry some of the first half through. I'd say overall this is easier to DM as is to create a decent adventure for a newer DM. There is an issue of numerous NPCs, but as your players level up the numbers diminish; if they don't you can assist. Based on what you said I'd probably recommend OotA.

Descent into Avernus I'd say is a skeleton of a good adventure, with some amazing art and very creative ideas. My players are loving it, but I'm having to do a lot more work. Chapter 1 is pretty disconnected from the rest of the adventure, and several sites online encourage connecting the characters to Elturel instead of BG, which I did (and agree with). In truth though I think the whole adventure would be better if the characters spent the first 4 levels in Elturel, but then they couldn't have published a city guide for BG. (More on that later) Chapter 2 is fine. Chapter 3 is where the adventure is really thin for what it is supposed to be and you will have to do a lot of work. This is the 'Mad Max in Hell' bit that everyone is looking for, but there is little to support the sort of travel/ trade/ exploration/ vehicle combat in Avernus that I was expecting (or to really have characters progress through tier 2.) There are a lot of ideas online including the Encounters in Avernus supplement that is almost a must have unless you are planning to do a lot of work yourself.
Basically DiA has about 40ish pages on BG that could easily be cut in half and used for mid level content for the purpose of just the adventure, which would be fine if the rest of the book was as meaty, but it isn't. I don't have a lot else going on right now, so I'm happy filling in a lot of the gaps and creating connections for my players, but if you aren't willing to put in the time I'd think twice.