D&D: The Best Beginner Modules for New Parties
Running an adventure for new players is one of the most daunting responsibilities. Fortunately, some adventures help ease both into the game.
After making their characters and finishing their sheets, the players are ready to embark on an epic adventure! Unfortunately, the dungeon master doesn’t know how the adventure will go. Why? Because they have horrible planning skills and don’t know where to start writing.
But it’s a hard thing to ask of someone! Especially if they are new to the game and don’t know what goes into making a good story.
Prewritten Adventures are Your Friend
DMs don’t have to look far for help, though. With over 50 books released since 2014, WotC offers a prewritten adventure for every DM!
And there’s no shame in running a prewritten adventure, either! Prewritten adventures offer intricate stories and unique challenges, making them as enjoyable as homebrew campaigns.
It might be good to see what WotC expects new players to handle before throwing them into an encounter they’re not ready for.
Lost Mine of Phandelver
As the first ever written D&D 5E adventure, it’s an ideal introductory experience for most new players.
Written for four to five 1st-level characters, Lost Mine of Phandelver (LMoP) takes players to the Wave Echo Cave, an underground resource-wealthy formation. Once shared by dwarves and gnomes under the Phandelver Pact, the cave benefited all who did business with it.
However, after a tribe of orcs allied with power spellcasters attacked the caves, seizing the resources for themselves, it collapsed. For centuries, the Wave Echo Cave’s bountiful treasures were lost and unable to be found. Its story tempts adventurers from far and wide to try and rediscover what once had been lost.
LMoP is an ideal introductory adventure that helps teach new players the basics of campaigning. Since it’s for 1st-level characters, it eases players in by letting them use system mechanics and features at their own pace.
The Wave Echo Cave offers a classic dungeon crawl divided into four distinct parts, each rich in depth and story. It takes the players through a fantasy mine littered with magical remnants and spooky underground dangers.
Curse of Strahd
In terms of popularity, it’s hard to beat Curse of Strahd (CoS) and its impact on the community.
Released in 2016 to widespread praise, CoS takes its players through Barovia, a living nightmare of a realm. Written as a gothic horror adventure, players often feel like stalked prey no matter where they go.
Trapped in Barovia, the players must confront the land’s horrors to return home. This ultimately leads them to face the Dark Lord Strahd von Zarovich in a fight for their freedom.
While not the most leisurely adventure for newbies, CoS has a fantastic setting with even more amazing encounters that keep players yearning for more. Intended for levels 1-10, CoS leaves a profound impact through its creative horror-themed encounters, rich setting, and engaging conflicts.
I also recommend it for beginner DMs looking for good references on in-depth worldbuilding!
Tales from the Yawning Portal
While not a conventional pick, Tales from the Yawning Portal (TftYP) contains more than enough materials to make an adventure out of it. TftYP features seven separate dungeons that progressively increase in difficulty over time.
Although not designed as a campaign module, the DM can easily use it as one by linking the dungeons together.
The book recommends using “The Yawning Portal” or another tavern as a framing device. Players enter the tavern, meet someone telling stories of the dungeons, and then proceed to hunt them down themselves. Easy as pie!
This “breadcrumb hook” can also be done in various ways to engage players in multiple settings. From contractors hiring parties to explore dungeons, to drunks rambling about a strange tomb on a mountain.
Like CoS, difficulty-wise, some of these dungeons are not ideal for new players. But TftYP is ideal for groups that want to focus on combat, loot, and puzzles in a narrative-light setting.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Diverting from the standard “dungeon” adventure, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (WDH) sets the players in a race against the clock.
After a job with the famous (and sexy) Volo, the players catch wind of someone hiding a hoard of treasure, and everyone is looking for it. The prize for finding it first? Half a million gold pieces.
Oh yeah. It’s time to assemble the crew.
This urban setting campaign gives the players much control over how the narrative goes. Players can choose who they side with during their quest, which enemies they choose to fight, how they approach finding the hoard, etc., etc.
Meanwhile, the Dungeon Master has plenty of setting material at their disposal. Like which NPC gets to be the primary antagonist to what troubles the players encounter during their investigation.
WDH is a relatively straightforward adventure that’s great for beginners. Social scenarios also force players to not solve every problem through “murder hoboing.” WDH is an excellent level 1-5 adventure with many story beats to explore. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a roleplay-combat-balanced D&D experience.
Tyranny of Dragons
Tyranny of Dragons (ToD) combines the Hoard of the Dragons and Rise of Tiamet campaigns into one big adventure. Released as part of 5E’s fifth anniversary, ToD is a level 1-15 adventure epic hero’s journey.
In this conjoined adventure, the players are responsible for hunting down and stopping the “Cult of the Dragon.” Stopping them from doing what, you ask? Oh, nothing.
Just the release of Tiamet from her prison in the nine hells.
As quests grow increasingly dangerous and raise the stakes, players realize their failure will doom the world and everything in it. It is as standard as an adventure can be! With each level, players are fluidly introduced to new challenges and problems that they can only solve as they level up.
ToD is a fantastic adventure with a fearsome BBEG and plenty of challenges to make a complete hero’s journey. I highly recommend it for DMs with players who want to save the day in a chivalrous style!
