Any hobby relies on new players to grow, and Dungeons & Dragons is no different. Fresh blood into the community benefits everybody and ensures that creators can continue to make the products that fans enjoy. As such, DMs should take care when playing with somebody who has never played before, especially in the choice of the campaign.
Some campaigns are well-suited to introducing new players to the game, but others could serve to create a poor first impression or even to turn the player away. Whether it is from high difficulty, a certain level of complexity, or even potentially the subject matter of the campaign, some things are best-suited to players with more experience under their belt.
10 “Tomb Of Annihilation” Is Difficult By Design
The name of Tomb of Annihilation can serve to give a good overview of the tone the adventure goes for. Set in the jungles of Chult, with an ominous ‘death curse’ hanging over much of the world, the campaign is designed to be a difficult meat grinder, putting vicious enemies and devious traps around every turn with the expectation that many characters will die.
This is well-suited to many players, especially those who enjoy a challenge. For new players, however, it is likely to just feel unfair, and losing a character – or even several – could well spoil their enjoyment before they’ve learned how fun Dungeons & Dragon can be.
9 “Waterdeep: Dungeons Of The Mad Mage” Is A High-Level Dungeon Crawl
Most Dungeons & Dragons adventures begin at the first level, or at least at lower levels. As a sequel to Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the campaign Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage instead begins at 5th level and goes up all the way through to 20th.
This already makes it poorly suited for newcomers, with early levels specifically designed to be easier to play and learn. Furthermore, as one lengthy dungeon crawl, the campaign – although not without its own merits – gives a poor first impression of the game, without revealing the wealth of other aspects to the game.
8 “Out Of The Abyss” Is Lengthy And Harsh
The Underdark is one of the most notorious places in all of Dungeons & Dragons, a subterranean world beneath the world filled with Drow, Mind Flayers, and worse. There is no sunlight, and most of the inhabitants are dangerous in their own way, even the intelligent ones.
A huge section of Out of the Abyss – up to months in real-world terms – is spent inside the caverns of the Underdark in Out of the Abyss, with players struggling to survive – while also racing against the clock. Although a well-loved adventure, it is certainly one that might not appeal to people attempting to learn the game.
7 “Candlekeep Mysteries” Is Disjointed
Several of the campaign books for Fifth Edition are actually anthologies, presenting a collection of different adventures with a framing device holding them together. Most of them aren’t designed to be played as a whole campaign, but instead to be used for one-shots or parts of other campaigns.
Candlekeep Mysteries is one of these. Although its framing device – players exploring adventures contained within the books of Candlekeep – can be used to string multiple adventures together, it is an unusual way to present a story, and most new players are likely to be confused at a time when they want to focus on learning the rules.
6 “Hoard Of The Dragon Queen” Shows Its Age
Early in the lifetime of any roleplaying game, the developers are still getting the hang of the system, especially in terms of balancing difficulty. Hoard of the Dragon Queen was the first campaign released for 5e outside of the starter set and has some problems relating to that fact.
Although it has its defenders, the module is noted for its uneven balance – beginning with the players facing a townful of enemies and having little way to even the odds – and for being overly railroaded, to the extent of some players getting bored. While not unrunnable, it could prove offputting to newer players.
5 “Princes Of The Apocalypse” Is A More Advanced Challenge
Difficulty in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign can be there to increase tension or to scare the players, as in campaigns like Tomb of Annihilation, or it can be there to test the skills of the players and their characters, encouraging them to build to a more advanced degree and make characters capable of besting tougher challenges.
Princes of the Apocalypse is largely the second approach. It is noted as a somewhat difficult campaign, but in a way that is relatively easy to overcome with character building. Obviously, this isn’t ideal for a new player. In addition, the campaign’s nature is a sandbox, with almost total player freedom. This can be ideal for more experienced players, but new players may wish for more guidance while they get their bearings.
4 “Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus” Has Uneven Difficulty
First impressions are important, particularly in a game like Dungeons & Dragons when a campaign has to hook a new player even as they focus on learning the rules. As such, for many campaigns, the very beginning is one of the most important areas to get right for new players.
Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus has a somewhat notorious beginning. Although the campaign has its merits, the beginning is noted for being forced, disjointed from the rest of the adventure, and has some significant difficulty spikes that can kill an entire party. For new players, it may prove discouraging, confusing, or simply un-fun.
3 “Tales From The Yawning Portal” Isn’t Designed As A Campaign
The first adventure anthology book for 5e, Tales from the Yawning Portal is a well-loved book, but not one that makes any pretense of being used for a campaign. It is an update of several beloved adventures from the past of Dungeons & Dragons, recreated for the new edition with a more modern game design.
Despite the adventures all being high-quality, Tales from the Yawning Portal is best used for one-shots and is not designed to be run from beginning to end. Jumping from one-shot to one-shot is likely to make things more difficult for newer players, and be a more complex learning experience than a more traditional campaign.
2 “The Rise Of Tiamat” Is Considered Underwhelming
The sequel to Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat suffers from a clear problem for new players: it begins at about level 8 or 9. This would force new players into a much more complex ruleset without the easy learning experience, and also thrust them into the middle of the story without much explanation.
In addition, the campaign is one of the earliest in 5e and suffers from difficulty spikes, a confusing plot, and areas that are often considered simply unfun. While not unplayable as a module, it is considered to be one of the weakest in all of 5e, and certainly poor for new players.
1 “Curse Of Strahd” Doesn’t Play Fair
Curse of Strahd is one of the most acclaimed campaigns released over the course of 5e, beloved by players and DMs alike, and considered the edition’s gold standard for campaign design. Nonetheless, part of its acclaim is for its unique tense atmosphere, which is primarily achieved by making the land of Barovia utterly lethal and stacking the deck against the players.
Strahd has an utter home-field advantage in the campaign, and the DM is encouraged to run him, plotting against the characters at every turn. In addition, there are several notorious areas and encounters, and a high level of difficulty throughout. Good as it is, the campaign is best-suited as a second or third impression, not a first.
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