serleran wrote:In no particular order, in my opinion:Tomb of HorrorsKeep on the BorderlandsCastle AmberRavenloftDescent into the Depths of the EarthLost TamoachanAssassin's KnotThe Forgotten Temple of TharizdunThe Village of HommletExpedition to the Barrier PeaksWhite Plume MountainQueen of the Demonweb PitsThe Giant SeriesDark TowerCaverns of ThraciaTegel ManorTreasure HuntIsle of DreadIsle of the ApeShrine of the Kuo-ToaFrank Mentzer's R-Series (I forget all the names of them, individually)(Probably more I'm forgetting, but I'm tired.)
bclarkie wrote:You are still missing the point. Even if the College Professor would think I was crazy for saying so, that doesn't make it any less of his own opinion versus mine own opinion. Both are firmly rooted in one's own personal preferences and are not rooted in facts. If you want to say that a guy writes with a much greater vocabualry or writes with a more complex storyline, those are measurable things that can be compared. However, that still does not make one better than the other in everyone's opinions. Some people prefer to be able to understand what they are reading without having a dictionary nearby too look up all the words that they don't understand, while others may prefer less complex storylines, but it all boils down to a matter of personal preference and none of what ones personal likes and dislikes are, are rooted in facts.
jamesmishler wrote:The fact that most such modules are priced even lower still than the rate of inflation is indicative of how hard hit the people in the industry are today, and why writers and editors in the game industry get paid a tenth or less of the rate they would writing novels or in other literary endeavors...
Keith the Thief wrote:Off Topic: When asked who the best fantasy writer was, Harlan Ellison replied Dr. Seuss. I don't think he was joking.Also Off Topic: I'm an Alabama football fan. Thus, I'm cracked. And it is very difficult to assess my favorite team without resorting to sentimentality: Alabama is among the elite college football programs historically but is currently an average program. However, Alabama's fortunes could (cough, cough will) change.On topic: A dungeon module like G1 isn't going to change. Only our perception of it changes.For me, railroading was not a bad thing. In fact, it helped because I had a group of players who took chaotic alignment to heart. When I found a tournament module back in the day, I welcomed the chance to drop it into my world since it helped me maintain better control over the situation. I preferred to home-brew my dungeons, but it was a hell of a lot of effort to tailor them for my devious and unruly players. Hell, maybe that means I just wasn't a good DM.The one thing I could always count on, though, was getting their attention with a good intellectual trick or trap.
jamesmishler wrote:Please, please, PLEASE stop judging the prices of modern game products on the prices we paid back in the day. Unless you stopped getting raises 20 years ago yourself, it just doesn't make any sense... That 32-page $6 module you bought 25 years ago should be $14.15 retail just based on inflation alone, let alone the higher costs of better production values, the much much higher cost of paper, a much smaller market (ergo much smaller print runs) and other factors. The fact that most such modules are priced even lower still than the rate of inflation is indicative of how hard hit the people in the industry are today, and why writers and editors in the game industry get paid a tenth or less of the rate they would writing novels or in other literary endeavors...
Keith the Thief wrote:From this list -- setting sentiment aside -- I would choose:White Plume MountainTomb of HorrorsG1G2G3The Village of HommletI bought the Caverns of Thracia last year and read it for the first time. It seemed solid enough from what I recall.Once I own a copy of A4 again (In the Dungeons of the Slavelords), I'd like to re-assess it against my own criteria.
Badmike wrote:Obviously we are not going to agree in the slightest on this issue, no matter the opinions expressed. I'm going to go forward with "Some modules are definitely better written than others" while you'll stand by "Every module is the best module ever made in someone's mind and we should respect that preference." Neither is right or wrong, to ourselves, but at this point there IS no point in commenting on our positions to each other any further.... Mike B.
deimos3428 wrote:Well..this thread got stupid in a hurry. Sorry, that's an opinion, not a fact.
Badmike wrote:if Ed Greenwood was independently publishing "Undermountain: The Lowest Levels" and it was exactly the dimensions of the Castle Whiterock set, I would be there the first day to buy one. I guess I'm just an old schooler at heart... Mike B.
bombadil wrote:I'd be interested in hearing how others of the older generation here first heard about the G-series. G1 is the only adventure I can think of that generated a near-mythos among the gamers I hung out with. Its reputation for good battle and great treasure swept through gzmers in our school the way the storyline of the adventure swept through the characters embedded in it.
Deadlord39 wrote:We stole the G series, along with the D series and Q1. Well, my brother did, actually. He was a phenomenal shoplifter. We couldn't come close to affording more than one module at best.
bombadil wrote:Did anyone here play the G-series at the tourney or con where they were introduced? I can't remember which convention it was...
