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5 Best Beginner D&D Campaigns to Start Your Adventure
DIR By: Penny
Date: July 8, 2022, 4:01 am
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5 Best Beginner D&D Campaigns to Start Your Adventure
ADVENTURES
5 Best Beginner D&D Campaigns to Start Your Adventure
As a new dungeon master picking a campaign of the right
difficulty level can be daunting. If you’re running a game for
new players, the last thing a new player needs is a DM who’s
going to make the game seem more complicated as they try to
figure out how the campaign they’re trying to run works. This
article will help you pick the right adventure by outlining five
easy to run adventures perfect for beginner Dungeon Masters!
Why run a Published Campaign?
Running a Dungeons & Dragons campaign can be difficult,
especially if you’re doing it for the first time. There are so
many things to keep track of, and there’s a lot of pressure to
make sure that you provide an exciting story and everyone has
fun. Coming up with the story hook, world lore, NPCs, items, and
figuring out how to connect individual adventures up into an
epic campaign is a lot of work.
Thankfully there are some official premade campaigns that make
it easier to learn how to DM. These cut out a lot of the prep
work and teach you how to DM, starting easy and upping the
complexity as you go along. They also give players a great
adventure they won’t soon forget!
What to Look For When Picking a Campaign
To help you pick a campaign that is both fun and easy to run, as
well as matching the style of game you want, you should consider
the following:
How complex is the campaign to run?
How interesting is the world setting and storyline?
Are there great locations, fights, or NPCs?
Does it have an easy introduction that will get the game moving
quickly?
Is the campaign structure linear or sandbox?
The Best Adventures for a Beginner
#1 Storm King’s Thunder (Best Choice)
Storm King’s Thunder sees the players caught up in a struggle
attempting to restore order to a land inhabited by giants, and
provides a vast world rife with danger and intrigue for players
to explore. It takes out some of the challenges for a DM that is
usually found in running a vast world, while still providing a
great setting for players that want something exciting.
The story has a focus on giant races which give plenty of
opportunity for players to roleplay. There isn’t a huge focus on
combat, but when the combat situations do occur they are
exciting enough to be an exciting experience for players.
Storm King’s Thunder is a well-written and organized campaign
and is an adventure that is easy for novice DMs to run. There is
an intro section that takes players from level 1 to 5, and it is
a well-organized book that provides all the information a DM
would need to run the game.
However, where Storm King’s Thunder falls is that the plot’s
hook lacks the spark needed to draw players’ interest and
doesn’t provide any compelling character arcs for your
adventurers. If you’re the type of DM that struggles to inspire
your players to get moving, then this may be a bit of a
struggle.
To make up for this the DM is provided with plenty of monsters,
magic items, and NPCs to enhance the game, so the setting has
tons of personality. Also, the players get to play through the
lair of the five giant lords, which is a pretty epic dungeon
setting.
If you’re new to Dungeons and Dragons and want an easy start,
but still want an adventure with some depth to it then Storm
King’s Thunder is a perfect choice.
Pros
Provides a rich setting and interesting locations
There’s plenty of depth without being overwhelming
Gets players going on an adventure right away
Cons
The adventure hook isn’t great, it can be hard to keep players
following the intended story
Is a linear campaign, so you may feel like as the DM you are
telling a story rather than creating it
#2 Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an ideal campaign for new dungeon
masters to start with, as the game world has a lot of depth and
content while not being too hard to run.
Unfortunately, there won’t be any stealing from dragons as this
adventure is actually about investigating a heist that happened
five years ago. But if you’re looking for an adventure with some
mystery, lots of roleplaying, and interaction then this is an
ideal pick.
The story is set in the city of Waterdeep which is expansive and
has many different areas that your players can explore. The
players may fall in love with the city so much they want to stay
even after the campaign is over. But not to worry, the city of
Waterdeep is a major setting in the Forgotten Realms (one of the
main settings in Dungeons & Dragons) so it’s a great option to
use as a base for further adventures.
Sometimes people get a little antsy playing through an adventure
focused on mystery and intrigue. This type of campaign doesn’t
have the normal dungeons to crawl through or hordes of monsters
to kill, and that can be tough for players who play D&D for the
dungeon experience.
The layout is very well done so it’s easy to understand what
goes on in different parts of Waterdeep, which helps when you’re
trying to guide your players on where they should go next. This
short adventure can be finished in just 5 levels (plus side
quests). It’s ideal if you are just testing out the waters and
don’t want to commit to a long adventure that will take hundreds
of hours.
Note that Dungeon of the Mad Mage is made as a follow-up to
Dragon Heist, but we recommend you keep Dragon Heist as a
stand-alone experience, as Dungeon of the Mad Mage is quite hard
to run.
Pros
Short adventure makes it easy to run
Intriguing plot
Well laid out book
Cons
Not actually about stealing from dragons
Lack of dungeon crawling and fighting
A short adventure for the price
#3 Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
This is a dark story set in an isolated, cold setting that
captures the feeling of constant fear and hidden lurking
dangers.
In the first part of the story you have ten towns under threat
and there’s a bunch of quests that you can do in pretty much any
order to help out these towns. This type of environment offers
players the feeling of freedom, as well as allowing Dungeon
Masters to put their imagination to use.
The quests that are introduced at the start of the story build
up the backstory required for the next part of the campaign,
which is more linear and leads players towards the ending, an
ultimate climactic fight with a frost god.
The story features some epic locations such as a great city full
of secrets to explore. The players also get to have some epic
battles, with fights against mechanical dragons, giants, and
other new monsters that tie in well with the game’s lore.
Rime of the Frostmaiden is one of the newer official Dungeons
and Dragons books, so is well laid out and offers tips
throughout. It’s a book that offers everything you need to run a
great adventure without having to do much work at all.
Pros
Easy to run
Includes both sandbox and linear components
Epic locations and battles
Cons
Lots of quests to run can be difficult to manage
Need to stay organized with tracking what’s been explored
#4 Tales From the Yawning Portal
Tales of the Yawning Portal is a different type of book, as
rather than one long campaign this book contains seven classic
adventures that are updated for 5e players.
Each of these adventures is a dungeon crawl that recaptures the
feeling of what dungeons and dragons was like in the golden age
of Dungeons & Dragons. Some are deadly, intense, and chaotic,
but others manage to be just right for beginner dungeon masters.
The first adventure in this volume, The Sunless Citadel, is a
particularly great introduction for new dungeon masters. A new
DM can learn a lot from the design of this adventure and the
inbuilt advice on how to run it.
The adventurers are sent to explore the remains of a sunken
citadel where goblins and kobolds have infested the ruins. There
are plenty of things to explore, with each of the areas,
encounters, and fights feeling different. And like any great
story, it ends with an epic boss battle.
The other adventures in this book are all targeted at different
player levels and provide several options for DMs looking to
fill gaps in their campaigns or just have them on hand as
inspiration for future adventures. But be aware that these
adventures are not made to go in order so if you want to do that
you’ll need to use some imagination to string them together into
a coherent plot.
The mix of adventures is great, with each one having a different
feel. However, you can feel the age of some of them, with the
dungeon crawls missing the narrative and interactions that we’ve
come to expect in 5e. Some players think this feels dry and
lacks character, while for others dungeon crawls is the main
reason they play.
This book provides a good beginner adventure, and then a bunch
of dungeon crawls that you can use when you’re a more seasoned
DM. So if you want to experience some of the nostalgia of
old-school Dungeons & Dragons then this is the perfect pick.
Pros
Good beginner adventure
A lot of adventures to choose from with a good mix of different
play styles
The nostalgia of an old school D&D experience
Cons
Some players may find this book repetitive or lacking
interaction
Does not provide a single, cohesive storyline
The difficulty of the adventures varies drastically
#5 Out of the Abyss
Another decent option for new DMs is to pick the Out of the
Abyss as their first campaign.
Out of the Abyss is like playing in an immersive horror film. It
has big moments that will make your players scream and panic,
but it can sometimes be slow to get to these moments. The
characters can spend a lot of time trapped with no equipment
just trying to survive.
This story was 5th edition’s first attempt at horror so it’s not
the most polished, but the Underdark setting is pretty
interesting with great monsters to fight such as the Demogorgon
(recently made famous by Stranger Things) and other Demons.
This is a good choice because the book is broken up into chunks,
and the adventure starts pretty linear which makes it fairly
straightforward to prepare. Out of The Abyss is also easy to set
in motion and get the players straight into the action,
something many DMs have a difficult time doing initially.
Also included are a variety of “side quests” that can be easily
incorporated into this adventure, and are fun, chaotic, and a
little bit quirky.
So if you are looking to run something where the story is
relatively linear Out of The Abyss is a good choice. It has an
“adventure path” type feel that is still lots of fun while
keeping the choices manageable for the DM.
Pros
Linear style is simple to run
Horror adventure is very immersive
Quirky side quests are chaotic and entertaining
Cons
The linear story can make players feel limited in their choices
Horror adventure is not everyone’s cup of tea
Being an older book means it does not have the best layout or DM
guidance
Bonus – Curse of Strahd (for those who want a challenge)
If you’re looking for something spooky that gives your players
lots of freedom then this is a great choice. It immerses players
in the mind of their characters as they go through an eerie
adventure, and encourages roleplaying to create an engaging
experience at the table.
The curse of Strahd takes characters from levels 1 through to 10
and takes place in the land of Barovia, which is ruled by an
evil vampire named Strahd von Zarovich.
The location of the campaign is in a pocket dimension, which
means that you can start from anywhere in the D&D multiverse
(which is useful if you’re coming from another beginner
campaign, such as The Lost Mines of Phandelver).
The best thing about this campaign is that it is constructed
very much like an open-world video game. Players can explore the
environment at their leisure, perusing its numerous side quests.
But be aware that this type of sandbox-style adventure can be
hard for a new DM to manage and requires a lot of prep work.
If you’re up for a challenge you’ll have hundreds of hours of
fun with your friends exploring this dark realm, fighting
monsters, solving puzzles, and uncovering secrets as you go
along on your journey to defeat Strahd von Zarovich. If you’re
the type of DM who wants some freedom and doesn’t mind a bit (or
a lot) of preparation, this is the perfect adventure for you.
Pros
Spooky adventure
Sandbox style adventure gives players a feeling of freedom
Easy to connect up to other adventures
Cons
Can be too scary for young/sensitive players
The sandbox environment is challenging to run
Conclusion
In this article, we have outlined 5 great campaigns suitable for
a new Dungeon Master (plus a bonus one for those who want a
challenge). If you’re just getting started our top pick is Storm
King’s Thunder, as it provides a great story in an immersive
world with a good balance of interaction and fighting. But each
one of the campaigns has a different appeal and with the amount
of variety available you’re bound to find one that’s perfect for
you.
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