Price Check for Yawning Portal Campaign

[Ryuson]

I would go with Ultimate License (Sub if you like), Players Handbook and your choice of Adventure.

I'd recommend this too. If you use other source books like XGtE, you might want to pick that one up. Otherwise, you can manually enter in the random feat yourself. As for adventures, a single one can last you months/years (as you've said). Finally, watch for sales

[Myrdin Potter]

You can easily cut and paste from DnD Beyond to create classes and such. Just takes time and a little practice.

If you have more money than time, what you listed will get you super well prepared and will let players easily create characters and get playing.

[Gattica]

I guess I'll be that guy... I don't know why you picked Tales of the Yawning Portal but it not the greatest as an adventure path, IMO.

It's not horrible either, but I have reservations about "Dead in Thay" which was a D&D Next (5E) playtest convention module meant to be run simultaneously by different tables in different parts of the dungeon. I found that one tricky to run for a single party. It was converted to home use but its sandboxie (not necessarily a bad thing) so its unpredictable when they will encounter some sub-bosses and if they hit the wrong one when they are still 9th level they may well get wiped.

TYP is good if you want some nostalgia and to revisit those old adventures in 5E, but if you are looking for just a 5E adventure path that was designed to take a 5E party from 1st to 15ish I think you would do better getting a module that was developed that way from the start instead of a bunch of stitched together old converted modules.

That's my two cents, take it for what it's worth...

On the stuff to buy, I agree with the others you probably just need your license, the adventure path and the PH.

I agree. The goal is to visit "old school" playing with young, modern players. I have discussed this with them so they know what to expect. It's different for them because they are young and aren't familiar with what the game was like in the 80s. If they don't like it we'll stop.

Now I'LL be that guy: although I think modern narrative driven style of play is good and how RPGs should be (to deliver what computer simulations can't), the games make it very easy to survive. Part of old school style is that it is difficult to survive and I want to give a taste of that.

[Gattica]

Thank you, everyone for the feedback. I was very helpful.

[spoofer]

Part of old school style is that it is difficult to survive and I want to give a taste of that.

In that case, you are going to need to make adjustments, or you will find the whole experience very disappointing. Take the infamous character killer, the Tomb of Horrors, as a case in point. Here is the text for a pit trap in the tomb (below). In first addition, this sort of damage was painful, as hit points were a limited resource. Enough traps, and you run out of hit points. How about in 5th edition? Well, your fighter has over 100 hp, and they all come back on an a long rest. "Fall in few traps, no problem, I long rest." I replaced all of that sort of stuff with fewer, but much more lethal traps when I ran it. I found that approached worked well.

Each pit is spiked at the bottom, so someone who falls
in takes falling damage plus 11 (2dl0) piercing damage
from the spikes. The spikes are also poisoned, so someone
injured by them must make a DC 15 Constitution
saving throw, taking 22 (4dl0) poison damage on a failed
save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

[Myrdin Potter]

There are plenty of instant death, no saving throw traps in the 5e Tomb of Horrors.

[spoofer]

There are plenty of instant death, no saving throw traps in the 5e Tomb of Horrors.

Not anymore. 5E got rid of save or die in general. I ran this adventure in the fall. Let me give you an example.

The mouth opening is similar to a (fixed) sphere of annihilation, but it is about 3' in diameter - plenty of room for those who wish to leap in and be completely and forever destroyed.

has become in 5th edition...

A creature who enters the Sphere takes 4d10 force damage.

This is the most iconoclastic trap in the dungeon, and perhaps in the whole history of D&D. And yet it has become 4d10 damage that the character can restore on a long rest.

Yes, there is still some good stuff in there, but it is not the death trap that it used to be.

[Myrdin Potter]

Not anymore. 5E got rid of save or die in general. I ran this adventure in the fall. Let me give you an example.

The mouth opening is similar to a (fixed) sphere of annihilation, but it is about 3' in diameter - plenty of room for those who wish to leap in and be completely and forever destroyed.

has become in 5th edition...

A creature who enters the Sphere takes 4d10 force damage.

This is the most iconoclastic trap in the dungeon, and perhaps in the whole history of D&D. And yet it has become 4d10 damage that the character can restore on a long rest.

Yes, there is still some good stuff in there, but it is not the death trap that it used to be.

That is not the description from the adventure.

Where do you see that?

It is exactly like the AD&D version, instant death.

[Myrdin Potter]

Not anymore. 5E got rid of save or die in general. I ran this adventure in the fall. Let me give you an example.

The mouth opening is similar to a (fixed) sphere of annihilation, but it is about 3' in diameter - plenty of room for those who wish to leap in and be completely and forever destroyed.

has become in 5th edition...

A creature who enters the Sphere takes 4d10 force damage.

This is the most iconoclastic trap in the dungeon, and perhaps in the whole history of D&D. And yet it has become 4d10 damage that the character can restore on a long rest.

Yes, there is still some good stuff in there, but it is not the death trap that it used to be.

I think I see your mistake, you are reading the magic item, but the area description and the magic item itself is instant death:

"The sphere obliterates all matter it passes through and all matter that passes through it."

The force damage is if you touch it. Touching it was not fatal in AD&D as well. I ran it three times in my AD&D DMing days, a 10' pole revealed what it was instantly. Touching it destroyed what touched it (not specified in AD&D what that meant, up to the DM).