The Official Acaeum Top 30 adventures of all time
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:48 pm 
 

I can do top 5! Top 20 is just wayyyyy too many hehe.

1) T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil
2) B2 Keep on the Borderlands
3) I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
4) U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
5) I3 Pharaoh

Couple caveats here. When I say U1 I mean U1-2-3. Probably the best low level adventure series I've ever read/ran. I3 means I3-4-5. I liked these better than the epic Giants/Drow/Queen series.

Temple is my favorite for obvious reasons. Frank, my hat's off to you for writing such an epic adventure. B2 was my first experience with D&D and I've run it a zillion times with a new stunning story every time. I2 just has a special place in my heart, I almost can't explain why. I love it enough that I won the auction for Gary's own copy. :)

If you count U2-3 and I4-5 that's top 9. Maybe I'll come back and finish out my top 10.

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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 9:31 pm 
 

Top 20 is too many for me as well, so here are my top 5. I've included a more recent adventure from a non-TSR publisher just because I enjoyed it so much.

1. T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil. No explanation needed. I hero-worship at the altar of Frank Mentzer for putting this one together.

2. U1-3 - The Saltmarsh Series - Sahuagin, a coastal town, and lizardmen. What more could you ask for in a fantasy adventure?

3. H1-4 - The Bloodstone Pass series. The only one we really played was H2, and I loved the Orcus plot and the vampire priest at the village cathedral. It took at least a month of gaming sessions for them to figure out the blood on the wall was in the shape of Orcus' head - daft players, or something! H4 was a great read - I still can't imagine running into 100 Tyrannosaurus Rexes in the abyss, even if I HAD a 20th level character....

4. The Tomb of Absythor - High quality stuff from Necromancer games. Never ran this one, but read it and couldn't put the darn thing down.

5. Return to the Tomb of Horrors - Who would have thought that TSR could have put together an adventure even deadlier than the original?


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Last edited by Magelin on Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  

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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:18 pm 
 

I'm gonna roll with the punches concerning the "Top 5s" and supermodule "violations" (which I'll count as the first module in the series). Keep 'em coming; I'll probably compile and post the results sometime around a week + a couple days from now. More love for T1-4 this time, definitely.


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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:27 pm 
 

Most of the adventures I ran or played in BITD were homebrews, so I certainly don't have a top 30 list of published modules.  Best I can do is a top 10:

1.  Keep on the Borderlands (absolute classic D&D, to me anyway)
2.  Tomb of Horrors
3.  White Plume Mountain
4.  Dark Tower
5.  Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
6.  Ghost Tower of Inverness
7.  Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
8.  Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
9.  Hall of the Fire Giant King
10.  Descent into the Depths

By the time T1-4 came out, I was running my own campaign with my own material, so never actually played or ran it.  Maybe some day . . . .


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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:40 pm 
 

I think it's likely that the vast majority of us who were active players back in the day played in homebrew campaigns. I have distinct memories of a world called "Darvin" (still being run by someone in Delaware) which influenced my older son's name (I'm David, he's "Davin"--technically David IV, but we actually call him Davin), and could rattle off endless details of the geopolitical situation (which I'm not currently abreast of), house rules, and overall general weirdness. It's a 1E/3E crossbreed at this point, though it was begun in '81. I keep trying to get the DM (who is a Luddite and would live in his Mom's basement, if she were still living and if she had had a basement) to let me edit and publish his material (literally thousands of maps, and probably a multiple of that of pages of material) as an "OSR" product, but he's having none of it.

It's likely that the TSR/non-TSR stuff is mere inspiration for the "true" DMs out there (I'm NOT one, I'm a hard-bitten PC of many campaigns), but the scope is the scope :).


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Post Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:33 pm 
 

My opinions have changed in the six years since my first run at an all-time greatest list.

Some classics never change.


1)     G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chieftain

The module that started it all.  G1 is a hell of a lot of fun to play.  I remember being terrified of getting cornered by the hill giants.  Also, we turned invisble and ate lunch under the chieftain's feasting table.  As a DM, I go back to G1 every time I have players who are not familiar with it.  G1 turns deadly deadly if you convert the giants to AD&D Second Edition.  Used with the 3.5 rules, G1 is hard to survive.  Although it is full of classic memories, I was surprised to find that this old favorite was only 16 pages (eight leaves) long.  

2)     G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King

Starts with the ultimate boss fight.  Lots of things to kill.  Ends with the first appearance of the drow and a totally unexpected battle at the shrine of Elder Elemental Evil - Gygax's take on Lovecraft.  I have modified Hall of the Fire Giant King for D&D 3.5, which makes it a much more challenging adventure.  The level of detail in this module is outstanding for a relatively thin publication.  It is astonishing how much adventure TSR could cram into 16 or 32 pages of module.

3)     G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl

Don't fall into the rift. That is the most dangerous place.  The remorhaz makes a dramatic entrance into AD&D.  Falls only slightly behind G1 and G3 in its overall quality.  Although G1-3 and D1-3 were written as tournament modules, the G series modules manage to avoid the stank of clumsy, tournament writing and railroad situations. (D1 has this stank all over it  and does not make my list because it is an interesting set of encounters, but nothing really more than a monster hotel.)

4)    Dark Tower

The quintessential old-school adventure, even though it was written for AD&D rather than OD&D.  Dark Tower has lots of things to do and plenty of fun encounters.   Of the non-TSR modules, Dark Tower is the classic;  holding its value to this day.  Dark Tower has appeared in multiple versions of the game, with an initial appearance as a primitive 3.0 module that came close to ruining this masterpiece.  Fortunately, Goodman Games was able to forge a come-back for Dark Tower late in the D20 era.  I met Louis Zocci at GenCon in 2001 because he was selling re-prints of Dark Tower.  The idea of a reprint didn't appeal to me then, even though I was not yet a collector.  Now, a Zocci reprint probably has collectible value.

5)     Pathfinder Adventure Path #2: The Skinsaw Murders

Possibly the best use of horror in Dungeons and Dragons.  Also, this module represents the pinnacle of the D20 rules set.  It shows how powerful D&D 3.5 really could be when the designers were masters of the rules set and all its potential.  There are elements of real horror in this module, which is about madness, disease and murder.  Some of the scenes would fit well in a B movie Lovecraft adaptation...and I mean that in a good way.  Other scenes are just downright creepy, including a memorable one in an insane assylum.  The Skinsaw Murders incorporates material from Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary in order to make familiar monsters frightening.  If you never played 3.0/3.5/3.75 D&D, you still ought to read this master work module.

6)    Verbosh

Too much fun and too funny to leave off an all-time list.  I know that I will be the only one to vote for Verbosh, but that doesn't mean it isn't an excellent publication.  Verbosh has almost everything in it, from city adventure to aquatic adventure.  Written in the simple and direct style of Judges Guild, Verbosh is a nice example of what was best in the early days of D&D.

7)     D3 Vault of the Drow

If you don't have a favorite memory or two from Erelhei Cinlu, you never really played AD&D.  D3 was Gary Gygax at the height of his powers.  You seldom find a used D3 in good condition because they got played to death.  The drow became a fantasy trope that remains a powerful theme in fantasy literature.   In my campaign, the physical/magical/psionic battle with Lolth lasted one round.  It left one character insane, one unconscious, one stunned and one screaming with berserk rage...and Lolth banished back to the Demonweb Pits.  There was a long wait for the sequel to D3.  Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits  will probably make lots of these best of lists as well, but I do not have rich memories of that module.  As a DM, I was astonished that the players did not want their characters to linger in Erelhei Cinlu.  The chance to be outlaws of good in an evil society?  Priceless.  Unfortunately, the drow city was not adequately mapped for the module as Gygax was focused on the Egg of Lolth as the tournament adventure climax.  So many possibilities!  There is a very good, rather small picture of the walls of Erelhei Cinlu which I would have put on the module's cover.
 
8      T1 Village of Hommlet

Gygax showing how it should be done.  T1 is not the primer on medieval life that many gamers think it to be, but the images from T1 are so universal among gamers of a certain era that this module has to be near the top of any list.  Show gamers from the AD&D era a picture of the moathouse gate and the stories flow.  More than a couple of game groups turned on the the villagers and began to rob Hommlet.  There's lots more treasure hidden in the village than there is in the moathouse.  The inclusion of a jeweler in the village seems to invite a burgulary attempt. I wonder what Gygax thought the player characters would do.

9)     Rappan Athuk Reloaded

The most famous and extensive dungeon set from the best publisher of the D20 era.  You grognards need not knock Rappan Athuk Reloaded for being a D&D 3.5 module.  It began life as an AD&D dungeon.  Soon to reappear as a Pathfinder module, Rappan Athuk offers a deep dungeon delve and a chance to rock with Orcus.  The name comes from a dwarven language dictionary that Bill Webb read as a kid.  It means "Dungeon of Graves" (which you probably knew, but anyway...).  The Rappan Athuk Reloaded boxed set is one of the most valued collectibles from the D20 era.  It is a good example of how a readily available pdf does not lessen the value of a top level collectible.  Mine is still in its very fragile shrinkwrap.

10    S2 White Plume Mountain

The best of the tournament modules.  S2 avoided many of the problems of tournament modules by being fun to play and having many interesting situations.  I went through S2 as a player.  Good stuff.  Our gaming group was heavily combat oriented, so we didn't find any of the battles too challenging.  I have heard that the final encounters were really dangerous for some parties.  White Plume Mountain manages to have enough cool combat situations to sate the bloodlust of power gamers while still entertaining the puzzle players.

11)   S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

Central to the mysteries of the Greyhawk setting.  S4 was a tournament module, but managed to come back from that by having lots of cool stuff to kill.  It is a pity there was no published sequel to S4 because Gygax hinted at further connections in the Greyhawk sandbox.  As a DM, I had a near total party kill in the black sphere at the center of this module. Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth was practically a new monster manual all by itself.  A number of creatures made their debut in the caverns.  My favorite was the behir.

12)   B2  Keep on the Borderlands

If you are introducing D&D to a sourpuss, B2 is the way to do it.  This is D&D in its most basic and classic form.  Who here got killed by the crazy hermit?  (My party killed him and his panther, no sweat.)  It is interesting that this module is named for the keep, since the heart of the module is the Caves of Chaos.  Weird, aye?

13)   Thieves Guild #3 The Duke's Dress Ball

Not written for D&D, so listing it here is a technical foul.  But the Thieves Guild modules were really meant for AD&D...with just some rules tinkering.  It takes some preparation and some sharp DM skills, but this module is my favorite of the social situation city adventure genre.  There is a sense of malicious/mischevious joy in the entire Thieves Guild line from Gamelords. One gets the idea that Kerry Lloyd was a very fun DM and his games were light-hearted.  Everyone loves a charming rogue.

14)   D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa

Everyone from the AD&D era has at least one funny or cool memory from D2.  The player characters could just walk right on through this module, but they never do.  Once they set off the kuo toan guards, D2 becomes what I call a "chase and stomp," with monsters crawling all over the characters.  I wonder if there are any gaming groups in the old days who noted the shrine on the map and found a way to bypass the whole thing.  Although D2 was a tournement module, there is enough detail here for the place to become a regular stop in an underworld campaign.

15)   I6 Ravenloft

I6 showed how D&D could be really artistic and complicated and how a vampire could possibly be played with skill.  Watch out for the 3-D map of Straud's castle...dang hard to use!  Ravenloft was probably the most complex and complete AD&D module.  Unfortunatlely, in order to make the module work, Ravenloft was set in its own plane of existence...which spawned the Ravenloft line of modules...an unfortunate publishing venture that still lingers on the shelves of Half Price Books.

16)   B1 In Search of the Unknown

Where D&D really began.  Gygax taught a clinic on how to build a fun and interesting module but left the details up to each DM.  Very cool.  As a player, I kept expecting the original owners of the dungeon to turn back up.  Bill Barsh made this happen...30+ years later...with a Pacesetter module that solves the mystery of the missing heroes.  This module is where my high school brain first encountered berserkers.  As I recall, they were listed on the wandering monsters table.  It took me a while to figure out what they there...since they sounded to me like some sort of Dairy Queen specialty.  What human berserkers were doing wandering around the subterranean halls of Quasqueton was never adequately explained.   Why didn't they fight monsters?  There certainly were enough of them wandering around.

17)   Irilian - White Dwarf #42

Another technical foul on my part, since this comes from a British RPG magazine, but Irilian is just a huge adventure with an entire city as a stage.  You could play an entire campaign in Irilian...which is exactly how the adventure is written.  I have no idea how Game Workshop managed to cram Ilirian into a single magazine, but it is the best of the British contribution to AD&D.  Should have been a stand alone module.  I first encountered Irilian as the centerpiece of a "best of scenarios" publication for White Dwarf. Irilian easily dwarfed the rest of the publication in both scope and quality.   The storyline has some grim and tragic elements that seem to have been more popular with British gamers in the early days.

18)   Kingdom of the Ghouls - Dungeon #70

The best from Wofgang Bauer.  This is how an underworld adventure should be done.  A great twist on a classic D&D monster.  Kingdom of the Ghouls has seen press in Dungeon Magazine and has appeared as an Open Design Project and as a 4th Edition module that doesn't credit  Baurer on the cover.

19)   S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

Too many shared memories here to leave S3 out.  I believe this must have been one of the most widely-played modules of the AD&D era.  S3 was complicated by an overly large and hard to draw map, but it is a classic of game design and player memories.  Like a few other modules, S3 had a confusing title...since the only things missing from the module were the Barrier Peaks.  The only drawback to this module is that I've never heard of an adventure group actually finishing it.  Hunting down robots and taking their technological weapons becomes the goal of the module.

20)   S1 Tomb of Horrors

No all-time list would be complete without S1, which beat out several worthy competitors for the last spot.  I don't know if anyone should bring a beloved character into S1, since it is a collection of death traps that go against the traditional spirit of the game.  I wonder how many gamers actually played through this module as opposed to just reading it.  I have heard of at least one gaming group that played Tomb of Horrors with their standard characters, and supposedly they survived.  I don't see how.  Gygax shows how the trap/puzzle dungeon should be done, with an ultra-deadly tomb crawl that predates publications like Grimtooth's Traps by several years.  All it needs to be in the top 10 is less deadly traps and a bit more combat.

Far far from making my list:

A1-4  Against the Text Boxes and Railroad Plot of the Slavelords
C2 Ghost Tower of Nothing to Kill in Inverness
DL1- DL?  Dragon (AD&D Losing its Way) Lance
Pretty much anything with Forgotten Realms in the cover blurb.


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:17 am 
 

How about "generic" modules that we all know were realistically written for D&D - are those legal for this list?


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:23 am 
 

Well - I cheated, so....yeah.

Most of the generic modules are too transparently D&D to be anything else.


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:19 pm 
 

I was less commenting on your list and more preparing mine... which would be flooded with the non-TSR side of things.


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:21 pm 
 

Absolutely, any adventure you can play using D&D rules is fair game AFAIC.


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:18 pm 
 

My original list:

1.  G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
2.  I6 Ravenloft
3.  B2 Keep on the Borderlands
4.  I1 The Forbidden City
5.  L1 Secret of Bone Hill
6.  N2 The Forest Oracle
7.  S2 White Plume Mountain
8.  D3 Vault of the Drow
9.  D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth
10.  U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
11.  WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
12.  G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
13.  G2 Glacier of the Frost Giant Jarl
14.  Dead Gods
15.  S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
16.  U3 The Final Enemy
17.  X1 Isle of Dread
18.  X11 Saga of the Shadow Lord
19.  Vecna Lives!
20.  UK3 The Gauntlet

My updated list:

1.)  G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
2.)  WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
3.)  B2 Keep on the Borderlands
4.)  Dark Tower
5.)  G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
6.)  I1 The Forbidden City
7.)  Tomb of Abysthor
8.)  I6 Ravenloft
9.)  U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
10.)  D1-2 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth
11.)  G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
12.)  L1 The Secret of Bone Hill
13.)  D3 Vault of the Drow
14.)  S2 White Plume Mountain
15.)  N2 The Forest Oracle
16.)  S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
17.)  A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords
18.)  Starstone
19.)  Tegel Manor
20.)  UK3 The Gauntlet

Others that didnt quite make the cut:

A Paladin in Hell
Hammers of the God (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)
Crown of Shadow (d20 adventure for the Midnight setting)
Caverns of Thracia
The Lost Abbey of Calthonwey
The Black Monastery


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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:50 pm 
 

Thanks for resurrecting a great thread :D

  

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Post Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:53 pm 
 

TheHistorian wrote:I was less commenting on your list and more preparing mine... which would be flooded with the non-TSR side of things.


Bring it!  I'm wondering which ones will make the list.


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Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:17 am 
 

Well I wasn't around when this thread was originally created, but I too am glad it has been raised from the dead. I haven't played in years so my list is not complete, but here are my recollections and opinions.

1. Vault of the Drow- This was the Sine Qua Non of D&D for me. Before I got so sick of the Drow that I wanted to spit, the were the perfect enemies. Sinsiter, evil, and just plain deplorable. However they were portrayed as having their own motivations and not evil for for just the sake of being so.
2. Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth- Love the Behir, loved the 2nd booklet with all the new monsters and treasure. Got killed by a lurker above when I was young because I didn't get the hint.
3. Ghost Tower of Inverness- The very first module I ever got (apart from the one included in my boxed set)). The Soul Gem and the mad wizards lair. Loved it all and was mystified by it at the same time. The elemental levels, life sized chess? Couldn't get enough.
4. Tomb of Horrors- Ack, what even needs to be said.
5. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh- Loved the Pseudo-dragon and the scooby-doo-esque fake haunted house.
6. Against the Cult of the Reptile God- Loved the naga. Reflecting on it now, I love that the descriptions of all the villagers houses included insane amounts of treasure below floorboards and in mattresses. Its begging a party to ignore the villagers troubles and transition from 'adventuring party' to 'raiding party'.
7. The Temple of Elemental Evil- Village of Hommlet is my favorite start locale ever. The temple itself is so huge and so complex that we played through it like 4 times and never saw it all.
8. The Final Enemy- The secret room filled with swimming and underwater breathing magic items that we missed the first time around and drowned in a most unheroic manner.
9. Against the Giants- Loved the concept and the artwork. Only actually played through G1 and G2. I love the orcs who are the kitchen slaves. Isn't the Hill Giant Chief's name a play on Arneson's name?
10. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks- Mind Flayers, enough said.
11. Queen of the Demonweb Pits- The title alone is enough to make it great. I loved the demonweb and how unique it was compared to so many other products. Its depiction was better than anything new in the Manual of the Planes as far as I am concerned.
12. Isle of Dread- Loved the King Kong feel, and viscousness of the creatures.
13. Sentinel- Cool low-level type artifact and interesting monsters (Skulk and Xvarts)
14. The Gauntlet- Even cooler low-level artifact with even cooler final enemy.
15.Hidden Shrine of Tamochan- Very cool setting with a unique feel
16. Dwellers of the Forbidden City- Yuan-Ti, the only race that made me re-consider my long-time love of the drow.
17. The Secret of Bonehill
18. Danger at Dunwater- My least favorite of the U series, but still a great module.
19. Sword of the Daimyo- Only OA adventure I ever played. Although I knew nothing about far eastern culture or mythos I had a good time (don't know why I didn't use OA again).
20. Lost Temple of Tharizdun- The guys on the front cover of the booklet look suspiciously like KKK members, I thought this was funny because that would never get published now (and not then either). Another reminder that the D&D I love is a product of its time.
21. Descent into the Depths of the Earth- I loved Vault of the Drow so much buit I was underwhelmed when I was younger by its prequels (so to speak). I have since changed my opinion significantly to overwhelmingly positive, but I made my list with my playing days in mind. Plus side was the Kuo-Toa.
22. Keep on the Borderlands- Good, but not as classic to me as some of the others.
23. The Lost City
24. The Assasins Knot- Murder Mystery
25. In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords- End to a cool serious of modules that I once again undervalued when I was younger.
26. In Search of the Unknown- Unknown reason why I didn't like this one much. Like it better now.
27. When a Star Falls- One of my favorite module titles. Played through it, thought it was quite good.
28. Castle Amber
29. White Plume Mountain
30. Ravenloft- Way cooler than any of the World of Darkness stuff, in my opinion



  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:44 am 
 

1) U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.
2) B10 Night's Dark Terror
3) U3 The Final Enemy
4) D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth
5) T1 Village of Hommlet
6) L2 Assassins Knot
7) I6 Ravenloft
8. OA1 Swords of the Daimyo
9) S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
10) D3 Vault of the Drow
11) B4 Lost City
12) A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade
13) B2 Keep on the Borderlands
14) U2 Danger at Dunwater
15) Xvarts: Silent but deadly
16) H1 Bloodstone Pass
17) G1-2-3 Against the Giants
18) X8 Drums on Fire Mountain
19) X10 Red Arrow Black Shield
20) X1 Isle of Dread
21) A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity
22) Adventurer's Wanted
23) S1 Tomb of Horrors
24) X5 Temple of Death
25) I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City
26) Revenge is Best Served Cold
27) OA4 Blood of the Yakuza
28) B6 Veiled Society
29) CM6 Where Chaos Reigns
30) N4 Treasue Hunt

  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:56 am 
 

Ekim Toor wrote:15) Xvarts: Silent but deadly


Another classic I left off my list :)



  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:13 pm 
 

Jaquays made a strong impression the first time I read him and I think he and Gygax are the most distinguished adventure writers by some distance although it took me a long time to appreciate what Gygax was trying to achieve with his presentation.

[1] Caverns of Thracia
[2] Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun - WG4
[3] Dark Tower
[4] D3 Vault of the Drow
[5] The Enchanted Wood
[6] Trouble at Embertrees / Starstone
[7] Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - C1
[8] Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl - G2 --- [Mostly for the map which is extraordinary]
[9] Horror on the Hill - B5
[10] Irilian - White Dwarf



  

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:14 pm 
 

My previous list:

1.   A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade
2.   U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
3.   X4 Master of the Desert Nomads
4.   G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
5.   A1 Slave Pits of the Under City
6.   T1 Village of Hommlet
7.   I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
8.   L1 Secret of Bone Hill
9.   I1 Dwellars of the Forbidden City
10. S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
11. N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God
12. A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords
13. S1 Tomb of Horrors
14. B5 Horror on the Hill
15. X1 The Isle of Dread
16. B1 In Search of the Unknown
17. UK5 Eye of the Serpent
18. Thieves Fortress of Badabaskor
19. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
20. D3 Vault of the Drow

I am trying to look at these as great modules vs. my favorites. In many cases they are one in the same, though. I am looking at several features that make a module stand out: great story, new features/monsters, runs easy (not hard on the DM), innovation and finally, just plain coolness.


My new list:

1.   A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade
     This module is flat out fun. It is really just a dungeon crawl but it is loaded with classic encounters and great NPCs.

2.   U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
     I love running this module. Back in the day, my group was 100% sold it was loaded with undead. It was great!

3.   X4 Master of the Desert Nomads
     This is my sleeper module. Do yourself a favor and read it. Then run it. It just works.

4.   G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King
     Gary's best.

5.   A1 Slave Pits of the Under City
     If you don't know it, I love tournament adventures. This one was one of the best.

6.   T1 Village of Hommlet
     Gary's second best. Probably one of the best campaign starter adventurers ever produced.

7.   I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
     Solid and fun.
    
8.   L1 Secret of Bone Hill
     Next to T1, this is the best campaign starter modules out there.

9.   I1 Dwellars of the Forbidden City
     Alone in a ruined city. Fantastic atmosphere.

10. S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
     Gamma World meets D&D. Can't miss.
    
11. N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God
     I actually went through this one as player. It was a blast just trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

12. Palace of the Vampire Queen
    It just needs to have a place on the list.

13. S1 Tomb of Horrors
     The killer of killers. Nobody gets out alive. And it should stay that way.
    
14. Dark Tower
     It was between DT and Dragon's Hall. Size won out.

15. X1 The Isle of Dread
     The basic/expert campaign starter.

16. B1 In Search of the Unknown
     My introduction to modules. I was hooked.

17. UK5 Eye of the Serpent
     I am not the biggest fan of the UK modules, but this one is unique and fun.

18. Thieves Fortress of Badabaskor
     Went through as a player. Or should I say I tried. Dozens of characters bought the farm in this classic. We just would not give up.

19. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
     The epic bar room brawl in the main room was awesome. I had a magic-user and walked out having used every spell and burned through every disposable magic item I had.

20. D3 Vault of the Drow
     When we played the G/D series back in the day, we alternated DMs so each of us could play. I drew D3. I spent four months preparing, writing and designing it out. I have about 120 sheets of paper - hand written (it was 1979!) of encounters, maps and other stuff. This module did more to inspire me to start writing more homebrew adventures. 33 years later I am still as excited to create encounters and adventures as I was after reading D3 for the first time.


And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

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