Can anyone recommend any good, introductory adventures for newbies with 1st level characters? Looking back through the Dungeon issues (back through 2005 anyway), I've only found one: Within the Circle from issue #130. I don't have that issue handy, so I don't know if it's any good. Are there any others? I'm open to sources outside of Dungeon, as well.
On a related note, it would be awesome if Paizo offered a browseable index of adventures by character level. That would really make things easy for DMs.
Can anyone recommend any good, introductory adventures for newbies with 1st level characters? Looking back through the Dungeon issues (back through 2005 anyway), I've only found one: Within the Circle from issue #130. I don't have that issue handy, so I don't know if it's any good. Are there any others? I'm open to sources outside of Dungeon, as well.
On a related note, it would be awesome if Paizo offered a browseable index of adventures by character level. That would really make things easy for DMs.
Mad God's Key is my favorite. Issue #114. The first installment of Age of Worms is good, too.
Old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure module 'N4: Treasure Hunt' is THE adventure for introducing newcommers to the game. Check for the pdf version on this site or on WoC. With a minimum adaptation to the third (3.5) edition, you can have your new team playing in no time.
(Starts characters out at zero level (-500 xp) and slowly makes their way to first level, each learning their future class as they move along. Really, a great way to introduce deities and orcs to people who never heard of such things.)
Ultradan
If you've got about $25 bucks to spare, I recommed the D&D Basic Game. It's a great tutorial for newbies, and if they like the pre-gen characters they can continue using them into the future. If they've got their own 1st level characters already, then the adventure module it includes is a great primer to get a group through the first 2 levels or so (not to mention the bonus of several dungeon tiles and minis, including a rare medium-size black dragon).
If that's not your cup of tea, I strongly recommend the Sunless Citadel module. It's a solid, intriguing game for beginners that will get them all the way to 3rd level by the time it's done.
|
Mad God's Key is my favorite. Issue #114. The first installment of Age of Worms is good, too.
I second consideration for this adventure. One of the best 1st-level adventures written in a very long time, and requires no 1st/2nd-ed to 3.5e conversion. It includes several urban elements with a dungeon crawl, so you get a lot of mileage out of it.
Too bad the sequel is a Living Greyhawk adventure... I'd love to see it in Dungeon.
Thanks for all the responses!
VedicCold, I don't plan on buying the D&D Basic Game. Sorry if I didn't make it evident in my original post, but I personally am a long-time DM, and I feel pretty good about my ability to teach the newbies. Shelling out $25 just for the adventure seems a little steep to me. Sunless Citadel could work, though.
Ultradan, I own N4! I agree it's a great introductory module. However, I don't really have the time or inclination to convert it to 3.5. Also, if I remember, it had a lot of area that was sort of "unfinished." I'll take a second look at this one, though.
Wakedown and Ameril, thanks for the recommendation of Mad God's Key. I was just able to get my hands on this one, and it looks like it could work. I want to use this adventure to set the stage for the Shackled City adventure path. I have some ideas on how to do this with Mad God's Key, but the parallel between the plot of MGK and Life's Bazaar (from SCAP) mean that I'll have to finagle it a bit. If I can't come up with anything better, though, it looks like this will be it.
Does anyone have any experience with "Within the Circle"?
|
I would add a hearty second to The Sunless Citadel. This is going to be an adventure that brings back waves of nostalgia similiar to The Keep on the Borderlands and other timeless classics. Your players will look back and remember a certain kobold dragon-babysitter with fondness for years to come. An excellent adventure.
FH
Within The Circle was rather straight-forward and quick adventure but nice. That would sure work as the first adventure.
Mad God's Key is a good adventure though the temple was a bit too hard for our group and I needed to fudge some of the opponents a bit...
Box of Flumph was also quite recent and nice 1st level adventure, cannot remember the issue.
Personally, I made a list of Dungeon adventures I have based on character level...
>> it would be awesome if Paizo offered a browseable index of adventures by character level. That would really make things easy for DMs.
It's offered by me not Paizo, but there is a searchable, updateable, free index of adventures here:
http://www.paladinpgm.com/wyrm/
Searching for 1st Level, Publisher Dungeon finds:
Assault on Eddistone Point 1 Mountain, dungeon
Bogged Down 1 Wilderness
Box of Flumph 1 Outdoor, Ship
Funeral Procession 1 Urban
Gorgoldand's Gauntlet 1 Dungeon, Forest
Hollow Threats 1 Saltwater Coastal
Honor and Eta 1 City, Village
Legend of Garthulga, The 1 Wilderness
Life's Bazaar 1 City Caves
Mad God's Key 1 City
Provincial Prior Cause 1 Islands,
Queen with Burning Eyes 1 Dungeon
Swarm, The 1 Underdark
Whispering Cairn, The 1 Dungeon
Within the Circle 1 Overland, Dungeon
And I think #135 had a 1st-level adventure. Isn't there something set in Saltmarsh?
Bocklin
And I think #135 had a 1st-level adventure. Isn't there something set in Saltmarsh?
Bocklin
Thanks Bocklin. Unfortunately, I don't have #135 yet. I decided to go with "The Burning Plague," which is a free download off the WOTC site. I tied it in with the Shackled City AP, and it's straightforward to the point that I felt it would be a good introduction for newbies.
I am a bit biased, but direkobolddotcom lets you choose the character level (campaign level, magic level, etc.) and will scale the adventures for you. There is a free adventure to try out the scaling system too. One of the best ideas in using computers for gamers, but like I said, I am biased O:)
The Burning Plague is what I used to start a campaign a couple of years ago. Watch out you don't slaughter your group with it, it's pretty tough for 1st level! Every encounter is prett high EL. In particular my group really struggled in one of the first encounters, and I have a friend who'd run it prior with 2nd level PC's as a one-off and still managed a TKP (because it was a one-off, he didn't play them any favours and is a skilled DM).
When I can Mad God's Key, I didn't find any part of it to be too much, although my group did have 5 PC's which helped a lot - a few sticky situations, but they survived OK (I never fudge and roll in the open). I think it depends on how cautious and experienced your players are (one of my players kept trying to push ahead too quickly, but the others mostly kept him in line).
The Burning Plague is what I used to start a campaign a couple of years ago. Watch out you don't slaughter your group with it, it's pretty tough for 1st level! Every encounter is prett high EL. In particular my group really struggled in one of the first encounters, and I have a friend who'd run it prior with 2nd level PC's as a one-off and still managed a TKP (because it was a one-off, he didn't play them any favours and is a skilled DM).
When I can Mad God's Key, I didn't find any part of it to be too much, although my group did have 5 PC's which helped a lot - a few sticky situations, but they survived OK (I never fudge and roll in the open). I think it depends on how cautious and experienced your players are (one of my players kept trying to push ahead too quickly, but the others mostly kept him in line).
SPOILERS (for The Burning Plague)
--
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
That's good advice, but I think they might do ok. First, the group made it through the kobolds that are fortified in the storage area. I was really worried about this area because of the Dire Weasel, which can be brutal, and the good tactical position of the kobolds. But the weasel only got off two attacks, both of which missed, and the sorcerer with Magic Missile took care of most of the kobolds.
There are three more battles, all of which are tough, but I think they'll be able to manage. The battle with the kobolds and sorcerer on the ledge is a very tough setup, but the kobolds don't have a view of the entrance cavern, so the PCs should be able to retreat and regroup if need be.
The battle with zombies also looks very difficult. However, the cleric worships Pelor and took Extra Turning as a feat, so as long as they protect her, they should prevail.
And even though the final battle is with a 5th level cleric, the fact that his Constitution is reduced, he doesn't have access to Domain spells, and his tactics are sub-optimal should give them a chance to prevail. If things should go badly, well, the players need practice making up characters anyway ;)
I'd make a few changes to Within the Circle to make it kinder to new players.
(Specific Encounters discussed. i.e. Spoilers.)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1) Make the pit trap in chapter 2 less likely to swallow the whole party. Ask for a marching order so you be justified in saying that only the first couple characters in the group fall in. High HP characters will get through the fall fine, but a bad damage roll for the party mage will drop him and eat one of the cleric's healing spells for the day to get him back on his feet.
2) Drop Krig's rogue level by 1 and have him dual wield even versus high AC foes. As it stands, he's likely to drop the party fighter with a 10+ damage sword blow round one of combat. Most 1st level parties scrape their way to 2nd level by the help of a high strength fighter, so losing this guy is going to make the rest of the combat go poorly.
3) Suggest to the party mage the classic spell 'sleep'. Good for getting the party past one group on group encounter in a single spell.
4) When the characters are choking on poison smoke in the Hall of the Pilgrim, remind the players that they not only have a healing kit for a +2 bonus, but that anyone can use heal unskilled using just their wis bonus, and that a heal check can give a double chance at a saving throw versus poison. Without this, odds are one or two of the party members are going to go down from the gas, and then we're back to the party's one healing potion and the cleric's supply of spells, which are very limited at this level.
To Baudot's comments about Within The Circle:
s
p
o
i
l
e
r
True, our untypical group fared rather well on those encounters...pit was spotted before anyone dropped in and healing and fort save capability was rather good too, so the poison in the end wasn't that scary. Wheezy wizards will be having problems though. And yes, a sleep spell will be good thing here.
Does anyone have any experience with "Within the Circle"?
I ran "Within the Circle" as a prelude to the Age of Worms adventure path. (Spoilers . . .)
I built on the House of the Circlet as a group of renegade yuan-ti who oppose the machinations of most of their kind by supporting leaders among other races who oppose the mainstream yuan-ti houses. The House of the Circlet is aware of the prophecies concerning the Age of Worms and they fear it, for it would mean their own return to slavery under the serpent/worm lords, or some such thing. I dropped hints about the prophecy in the books stored in the depot, with further hints provided by Baron Joaquim's hired sage/wizard.
I ran "Funeral Procession" as an interlude adventure in the PCs' hometown of Brancast (Greyhawk), while the sage studied the yuan-ti texts recovered from the depot. Clues in the texts point to the Cairn Hills as the source of a powerful magic that might help Furyondy's eternal war with Iuz, so the baron and the wizard recruit the PCs to follow up.
By now the PCs are between 2nd and 3rd level, so I'll need to adjust the "Whispering Cairn" accordingly to start them off.
Dymrak Dread is a good first level module. I think it's available on this website somewhere.
Interesting! Thanks for all the replies on Within the Circle. It looks like a good adventure because it sets up opportunities for later plots. LV, I'll have to keep that in mind if I get around to Age of Worms. I had toyed with using the yuan-ti/House of the Circlet as foreshadowing for the ruins of Shatterhorn later in the Shackled City. I think it would work well having the House of the Circlet as a group interested in restoring the Shatterhorn to its former glory.
Baudot and magdalena, those are good points. If I run this, I'll keep them in mind. I'm actually not too worried about the poison, because, IIRC, at that point most of the intelligent opposition should be defeated, so the party should be able to retreat and recoup if they want. I don't have the adventure with me, so correct me if I'm wrong.
Dymrak Dread is a good first level module. I think it's available on this website somewhere.
The name actually sounds familiar. I'll have to dig this one up, if I can find it.