Monday, July 10, 2017

Looking for Adventure on the DMs Guild


While mostly I've been content to translate old school adventures for my 5e campaign, I decided to go looking for some adventures there. I haven't been too impressed with what I've found so far, though. They are no worse in basic conception than any number of older modules--indeed, they often have a more interesting high concept--but they tend to be sort of slight and written with a particular scene-based structure that doesn't give you a lot to work with if you're not going to follow their script.

While I don't absolutely reject a scene-based structure (if it's fairly "open"), as a general rule, if there isn't anything interesting about the setup or setting of the adventure, an author's pre-planned idea of a "cool scene" isn't going to work for me.

The DMs Guild 5e adventures I've read have one advantage over the Pathfinder adventures/adventure paths I've read in that at least they aren't as overwritten (though they aren't terse). They don't tend to be as interesting in details though.

Anybody got in 5e adventure recommendations?

8 comments:

Cole said...

You may want to check this and do a rewrite. Have v haven't for a start. It will make more sense and you will probably get some responses.

Trey said...

Well, I only see one instance of have that should be haven't. You think that's the linchpin of the whole thing? What else didn't make sense to you?

garrisonjames said...

Not a fan of the 'cool scene' style of stringing together an adventure, mostly because my various groups have almost always opted to go do something other than follow the obvious breadcrumbs or whatever. Just ran a Wermspittle game for a group of brand new players and they managed to avoid all the really nasty traps by cooperating, communicating and really digging into what was going on around them, which drove all sorts of secondary encounter options, some of which they ran away from, others they exploited to full effect. Wouldn't have had any of that if we'd been stuck using a scene-by-scene approach. Not saying any one way is better, but I thoroughly enjoy a more organic, free-range style of play...

Scott Anderson said...

Content Tourism is usually inferior to open world. In Content Tourism, the PCs are actors with a loose script; in open world, they are the directors. Way different.

And pretty much everything from a big publisher coming after Dragonlance has been adventure paths.

Trey said...

I feel like the job of a director is a bit more narrative control than PCs get in most traditional games old school or otherwise, since DMs control NPCs and the physicality of locations, after all, but I know what you are getting at.

Bill said...

If you'll forgive a little nepotism, my sister has produced some very well-done adventures suitable for players of all ages. "Grammy's Apple Pie" is actually an updated and much-improved spin on the adventure I used to introduce her to D&D almost a decade ago.

http://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?keywords=Jennifer+Adcock&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=

Trey said...

@Bill - I just read the description. Sounds great! I'll check that out. Two of my group have introduced their young daughter and her friends to D&D, so that may be right up their alley.

Aaron said...

I made a few sparse sandbox adventures for 5E. The first two are free here: http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/212841