What Module (or Modules) next?

[5eNeedsDarksun]

So our group has played a fair bit of the of the published content that fits into our wheelhouse and it's my turn to DM. Must haves would be a fair bit of combat and travel / exploration; some social/ role play is ok, but not something that relies too much on that pillar to resolve problems. Preferably something that gets into tier 3, better to the end of tier 3. I don't mind a fair bit of work in sewing (or re-sewing) things together if there are interesting concepts. I don't think one of the modules that are an anthology of adventures in one book would sustain us, though I did find enough connective tissue in Ghosts of Saltmarsh to keep things going.

Something along the lines of Out of The Abyss, Descent into Avernus, or Rime of the Frostmaiden would be optimal.

Besides what I've already listed we've played Rise of Tiamat (after GoS), Tomb of Annihilation, Curse of Strahd, and Dragon Heist followed by about 1/2 of Dungeon of the Mad Mage, which just got to be too much dungeon crawling.

What to do? Based on a bit of research here are a couple of initial thoughts:

1) Storm King's Thunder: Gets mixed reviews, but I don't mind doing a little re-structuring if that would help. I'd also be interested to know if anyone thinks 'Against the Giants' could be run after this mod, as that would get us to the level our group likes. This is probably my #1 thought at the moment if you guys think it would work.

2) Princes of the Apocalypse: I like the idea of something that goes on to high level, but it seems like just too much dungeon crawling.

3) Critical Role, Call of the Netherdeep: Reviews seem like this is just too role play heavy for our group.

4) Take one of the lower level mods then add on adventures from one of the anthologies, or perhaps a few levels from Dungeon of the Mad mage that we didn't get to. Could start with Mines of Phandelver, Dragon of Icespire Peak, or the Wild beyond the Witchlight, then move on.

5) Anything else (or combo of things) that fits our criteria?

Thanks in advance.

[J-H]

Have you looked on the DM's Guild? There are a lot of options there.

[sithlordnergal]

So, I've actually played Storm Kings Thunder and Princes of the Apocalypse, and I'll be honest, I enjoyed SKT a lot more. It has a nice mixture of things, with a good mix of RP and combat. You also end up getting an airship eventually, which is pretty fun. Against the Giants is a really good module to run after it too, so it fits.

Outside of that, if your ToA game was recent, there is a series of high level ToA modules that involve Dendar the Night Serpent. I think it starts with Streams of Crimson.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

So, I've actually played Storm Kings Thunder and Princes of the Apocalypse, and I'll be honest, I enjoyed SKT a lot more. It has a nice mixture of things, with a good mix of RP and combat. You also end up getting an airship eventually, which is pretty fun. Against the Giants is a really good module to run after it too, so it fits.

Outside of that, if your ToA game was recent, there is a series of high level ToA modules that involve Dendar the Night Serpent. I think it starts with Streams of Crimson.

That's good news about SKT; particularly what you say about a good mix if pillars and the airships. Ship battles in GoS and Infernal war machines in DiA were highlights for my group. Sounds like there are a few iffy plot hooks, but those things I can usually tidy up.

[Zhorn]

Just like LMoP is a good go-to for starting a module campaign, SKT is a good go-to for a middle campaign.
Versatile and replayable.
So much of the adventure can be chopped and changed about, and the overall structure remains pretty solid.
Trade out a giant lord for one with different goals and that whole faction can be played entirely differently between groups. Similarly you can shift focus on the printed antagonists as to who's the true BBEG it all builds up to, the module gives you a lot to work with on most of them.
10/10 have replayed multiple times.

[verbatim]

In my mind Out of the Abyss is the best campaign of them all thematically. It has a lot of amazing set pieces and letting your players each pick a demon lord for the Battle Royale at the end before the PC's have to fight the last one standing (give them a mythic phase or a reset back to full hp if you think it necessary) is one of the coolest things I've seen out of 5e.

The one big caveat is imo that OotA is also the module that requires the most work out of the DM. One of the most infamous examples imo is that no map is provided for an incredibly three dimensional combat (https://i.redd.it/i779c4pkdfr41.png) that is the highlight of most player's experiences with the module (https://www.elventower.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Karazikar-maw.jpg) when it is run well, which ends up requiring a lot of work on the dm (irl example (https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDIY/comments/dlz533/the_vast_oblivium_from_out_of_the_abyss/), a good example (https://www.reddit.com/r/OutoftheAbyss/comments/lmeu3x/karazikars_maw_map/) of how to do it in VTT, how I did it in VTT (https://imgur.com/gallery/JHfkQNR), a 3d model (https://talestavern.com/slab/the-vast-oblivium-out-of-the-abism/).

By the end of the campaign my resources folder for OotA was up to 13 GB, feel free to tag me if you ever have any questions about it.

[Yakmala]

I'm a big fan of SKT. I've run it and I'm currently playing in it. There's a ton to do in SKT and that is both its blessing and its curse.

You can run SKT in a very linear manner, sticking mostly to the main plot, but then you are missing out on a ton of side content. However, doing that side content provides the players with a lot of options, and it's easy for them to get off track. If you enjoy letting players roam and you are looking for a longer campaign where you are slow rolling the level ups, SKT is great for that. From what I've seen, no two SKT campaigns are quite alike. But if you are looking for a more focused, shorter experience, you have to take the steps to keep everyone on track and that can often feel like railroading to the players.

[Longshanks126]

I ran a combined Lost Mines of Phandelvar and Dragon of Icespire Peak campaign for my group and it was a lot of fun. The more linear LMoP combined with the very sandboxy DoIP gives you a lot to play with. You end up with 2 major antagonistic groups, being the Black Spider and the Talos Cult, so there's some possible interplay there. And there's a lot you can do with the two dragons, I had them in a territory dispute with the green dragon trying to manipulate the party into killing the white dragon. It did definitely take some work to stitch them together and decide what fat to trim, but it was my first time DMing so you may find it easier.

From there, the Icespire Peak follow-up adventures (Storm Lord's Wrath, Sleeping Dragon's Wake, Divine Contention) would take you to about level 13. I can't speak too much on these yet, I'm running them now as a follow-up to the previous campaign but we're still in Storm Lord's Wrath. I'm combining them with Rise of Tiamat as well since you do encounter some Cult of the Dragon members in LMoP, but I see your group has already played that one. One note on these though, I believe they're exclusively digital. I bought the Essentials Kit which came with a code for DoIP and its follow-up adventures on DnD Beyond (and maybe other digital services, not sure). Just want to make sure you're aware in case you prefer physical copies.

[KorvinStarmast]

I'd also be interested to know if anyone thinks 'Against the Giants' could be run after this mod, as that would get us to the level our group likes.
If you start at about level 11, Against the Giants took us into levels 14 and 15. Fiver person group. Good adventure.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

If you start at about level 11, Against the Giants took us into levels 14 and 15. Fiver person group. Good adventure.

Sounds like we have a winner. There's a fair bit of advise floating around about streamlining SKT, so I should be able to make it flow without having to re-invent the wheel. Then on to AtG.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and experience.