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[Cthulhu]

That's basically what the Krypt is in Mortal Kombat 11.  You can go to Shang Tsung's island which is loaded with treasure chests full of all kinds of shit and Shang Tsung greets you at the start and is like "yeah take whatever you want really, I don't care."

[delphonso]

Incredible.

Anyone have experience with pre-made modules for DnD? I've never run one and only played one for about 3 sessions (a nightmare in 3.5 with 8 players. Took about 20 minutes to get back to my turn in combat.)

I just ran the first session of Horde of the Dragon Queen for my cousin and his wife. They're playing a fighter and a rogue and are competent players. According to the rules, they've hit level 2, but far before the end of chapter 1 (actually just entered the keep, if you know). Not sure if I should just go level per chapter or let them boost themselves a bit because they're doing this 4-6 players adventure with only 2...

[IcyTea31]

With a smaller party, naturally there are fewer characters to divide the XP between. The solution would be to either reduce the number and CR of enemies so that they'll gain about half the XP of a full party, or to just let the characters temper themselves through adversity and have the campaign balance itself that way. In other words, either make the campaign easier or let the PCs be stronger than expected. The first few chapters of HotDQ can be really difficult, especially for an undermanned party limited in magic support.

[Trekkin]

I'd go the latter route, personally. Rogues and fighters are linear enough that letting them have bigger numbers is like scaling the monsters down, but less work on your end.

That said, I'm a huge fan of story-based levels and eschewing the XP mechanics entirely, so maybe just go level per chapter while operating faster than that for the first two?

[delphonso]

Yeah, I didn't particularly prepare for this (came up when two other players bailed on short-notice and modules have been on my mind.) I just ran it raw and let the chips fall where they would. Without magical healing, they're pretty boned if they go forward - but that gives them motivation to get to the church which might have clerics. The fighter is a dex-build, so the two of them can sneak past basically any fight they need to.

I read a bit ahead and saw the general challenge level is pretty high, even for 4 players. There are some unwinnable fights too, so what I might do is just keep them at level two for now and cut down chapters 2 and 3 a bit - since they look like a slog to me. There's also a decent chance we'll shift to this and those other two players will join in later. I've never played an inequal game, but could bring them in as level 1 characters.

[Persus13]

Incredible.

Anyone have experience with pre-made modules for DnD? I've never run one and only played one for about 3 sessions (a nightmare in 3.5 with 8 players. Took about 20 minutes to get back to my turn in combat.)

I just ran the first session of Horde of the Dragon Queen for my cousin and his wife. They're playing a fighter and a rogue and are competent players. According to the rules, they've hit level 2, but far before the end of chapter 1 (actually just entered the keep, if you know). Not sure if I should just go level per chapter or let them boost themselves a bit because they're doing this 4-6 players adventure with only 2...

I've run and played a couple of the 5e HCs, but not Dragon Queen. In terms of the 5e HCs, it doesn't have the best reputation, but that doesn't mean you and your party won't enjoy it. If you're running for 2 players, I'd get them out of being squishy level 1s as soon as you can reasonably do it (preferably their first long rest). You can slow down leveling to be by chapter later on.

The main thing about HCs is that they can sometimes make prep time easier, but you still need to have read the HC through before running anyway, so you know the big picture of what's going on.

[delphonso]

Yeah, I think part of the reason I let them take a lot of time getting to the keep was because I was reading ahead at the same time. Like I said, it kind of just came up.

I hear very mixed things for the modules - and can't tell how objective any of it is. Especially when you consider the very obvious fact that people play DnD for vastly different reasons. I will say, the fact the book says something like "this monk objects and doesn't want to go with the part, but is too weak to resist," but then assumes the party takes them with you is pretty messed up. I've heard they're planning to re-release the Tyranny of Dragons books with a pile of modifications.

[Iduno]

I've run and played a couple of the 5e HCs, but not Dragon Queen. In terms of the 5e HCs, it doesn't have the best reputation, but that doesn't mean you and your party won't enjoy it. If you're running for 2 players, I'd get them out of being squishy level 1s as soon as you can reasonably do it (preferably their first long rest). You can slow down leveling to be by chapter later on.

The main thing about HCs is that they can sometimes make prep time easier, but you still need to have read the HC through before running anyway, so you know the big picture of what's going on.

One of the issues with 5th edition is it's kind of designed for play from levels 3-6. That's why Adventure League restarts each season. Characters are all more-or-less balanced between each other within that band, but it's a narrow band.

[Persus13]

Yeah, I think part of the reason I let them take a lot of time getting to the keep was because I was reading ahead at the same time. Like I said, it kind of just came up.

I hear very mixed things for the modules - and can't tell how objective any of it is. Especially when you consider the very obvious fact that people play DnD for vastly different reasons. I will say, the fact the book says something like "this monk objects and doesn't want to go with the part, but is too weak to resist," but then assumes the party takes them with you is pretty messed up. I've heard they're planning to re-release the Tyranny of Dragons books with a pile of modifications.

Definitely agree with you with regard to the people playing DnD for different reasons and taking those expectations to the HCs. I like this article's quick rebuttal of the crowd of people who disdain pre-written adventures on principle. But despite that, HotDQ is still the one I hear the most criticism about, probably because folks were still figuring out how the new edition worked. A lot of the early HCs were contracted out to third party companies, and once Wizards started doing the HCs inhouse, with Curse of Strahd and Storm King's Thunder, the quality improved a bit (not to say everything before that was trash, or everything after was perfect).

One of the issues with 5th edition is it's kind of designed for play from levels 3-6. That's why Adventure League restarts each season. Characters are all more-or-less balanced between each other within that band, but it's a narrow band.

That has not been an issue in my experience. Also, Adventure League does not restart each season.

[Cthulhu]

Yeah, I think part of the reason I let them take a lot of time getting to the keep was because I was reading ahead at the same time. Like I said, it kind of just came up.

I hear very mixed things for the modules - and can't tell how objective any of it is. Especially when you consider the very obvious fact that people play DnD for vastly different reasons. I will say, the fact the book says something like "this monk objects and doesn't want to go with the part, but is too weak to resist," but then assumes the party takes them with you is pretty messed up. I've heard they're planning to re-release the Tyranny of Dragons books with a pile of modifications.

Ive heard strahd is good, I've only read part of Dragon Heist and it's awful.  No heist for one, it's just the same shit as every other adventure, which is a huge missed opportunity.    Its also extremely railroady, with gossamer-thin chains of logic that no group could possibly get through without DM intervention, and a macguffin that literally takes over your brain and forces you to go to the next scripted encounter if you get it too early

[delphonso]

I've also heard Strahd is great and haven't read it since I'm hoping someone will run it for me in the future. This article strikes true to my own experience with game-related fiction. I read several Shadowrun novels just because they got the scenarios running in my head and widened my toolbox for the actual game.

I think 5e is one of the most balanced games out there across levels, but that can severely change depending on the situation. Lost Mines of Phandelver expect a magic-user in the party, and without that, the loot is unbalancing.

Railroading isn't always a bad thing. Like that article says, though - bad railroad is really bad. I think there's a level of railroading expected from modules, but there needs to either be good motivation, personal stakes, or a likable character who motivates the party to follow the path. Without that, I think any module is a failure. Horde, at least in the first three chapters only has two instances that I've noticed. One being the very first scene. Which, in all honesty, is probably the easiest one to ignore.

[IcyTea31]

I think we need more modi operandi in our 5e campaign. Currently, our plan A is to pretend we're gods and plan B is to murder everyone. Plan A often works because we're in the Underdark so small tribes of somewhat dumb humanoids are common. However, when we face something like drow or duergar, negotiations almost always become "surrender yourselves as our slaves and we'll let you live," which understandably is a deal we can't agree to.

[Cthulhu]

Is horde the one where the level 1 players walk up to a town being besieged by monsters and a dragon and they're expected to strut in like how can we help?

I disagree also, I think railroading kills the soul of D&D, it undermines the most fundamental elements that make D&D special

[Kagus]

I disagree also, I think railroading kills the soul of D&D, it undermines the most fundamental elements that make D&D special

Depends on if they bought tickets or are tied to the track.

[Cthulhu]

Why not just play a video game?  Why not play divinity or neverwinter nights or something?

The freedom to approach a situation in any logical way you can think is what makes d&d something different.