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FishAreWet
2010-01-09, 12:40 AM
I've been playing for a year or so and I'm starting to get my feet wet DMing. And, well, modules are a great way to do that I think. I've ran Barrow of the Forgotten King and my players seemed to enjoy it, and we're hoping moving onto Sinister Spire/Fortress of the Yuan-Ti. I've played in Tomb of Horror (the 3.5 update) and I must say, that's ****ing stupid! {Scrubbed}But at the same time, I loved it. I don't know how I feel about it.

Either way;

What are you favorite modules, and why?

and in the same vein,

What modules suck? and why?

babson99
2010-01-09, 12:53 AM
Good ones:

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: good plot, good encounters, good production values.

Many Dungeon adventures. Well-balanced encounters; many opportunities for different types of characters to shine.

Bad ones:
Most 1E and 2E adventures, unfortunately, don't live up to modern standards. One thing that annoys me is dungeons that don't function well as mixed-use facilities -- large living quarters with no food preparation facilities, etc. -- and pre-3.0 adventures often weak this way.

Thurbane
2010-01-09, 01:12 AM
Basic: Chateau d' Amberville

1E/2E: ToEE, Castle Ravenloft, Egg of the Phoenix, Against the Giants (series)

3.5: RHoD, Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde, EttRoG

Akal Saris
2010-01-09, 01:24 AM
I ran barrow of the forgotten king, was decidedly uninspired by it.

I really loved 'What's Cooking', a short free online module by Monte Cook I think. Despite being a tiny one, my players swear it's the most fun they've had in D&D. For longer ones, I loved running Tomb of Horrors, and I'm definitely enjoying running the Rise of the Runelords adventure series by Paizo right now.

As a PC, I enjoyed the 2E version of Against the Giants a lot, but otherwise I don't get to play in many modules.

nyjastul69
2010-01-09, 05:45 AM
As a PC, I enjoyed the 2E version of Against the Giants a lot, but otherwise I don't get to play in many modules.

There was a 2e version of AtG? I'm intrigued, where can I find it? Edit: nevermind I found it.

My favorite modules are UK2 and UK3 The Sentinel and The Gauntlet respectively. They are an excellent mix of dungeon exploration, town/personal encounters and puzzle solving.

The U series is also excellent. U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, U2 Danger at Dunwater and U3 The Final Enemy

U1 is more or less a standard adventure. Trying to figure out how to get on the smugglers ship is fun though. U2 is interesting because you're not supposed to kill the lizardmen, you're supposed to befriend them. U3 is a difficult under water adventure against sahuagin.

These are all 1e modules BTW

I don't think there are any 'bad' modules. A competent DM should be able to utilize any adventure effectively, even 4e's H1 Keep on the Shadowfell.

Eldariel
2010-01-09, 05:57 AM
Frankly? Bastion of the Broken Souls. It's the only high-level adventure EVER I feel actually plays out like a high-level adventure should. The...feel of power is in there and it's very real. And the PCs' reasons for adventure are equally real.

It's the only made adventure I've played throughout my D&D career that does the pre-epic levels justice; it truly is a level 20 adventure both in scope and style. It's made 3.0, but converts nicely into 3.5. Backwards conversion into AD&D 2e could also reasonably be made though that would of course be notably more difficult and more work, already.

BobVosh
2010-01-09, 06:46 AM
http://paizo.com/pathfinder/v5748btpy7zdb
Curse of the Crimson throne has been pretty good. I'm playing in it, but the DM says he hasn't had to change much. Pathfinder setting, but still 3.5.

I'm running the Second Darkness module. It is reasonably good, needs a few tweaks. However I didn't like the 4th book much, I didn't feel it added anything.

bosssmiley
2010-01-09, 11:53 AM
BECMI: M1, Into the Maelstrom (http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-m1-into-maelstrom.html)
1E: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, GDQ1-7, Tsojcanth
2E: Wildspace for Spelljammer, Golden Voyages for Al-Qadim
3E: Rise of the Runelords (paizo)
4E: I'm afraid I don't do 4e


Bad ones: Most 1E and 2E adventures, unfortunately, don't live up to modern standards.

That's because they weren't made with modern assumptions about the game in mind. Does that make them objectively bad? No. You're basically complaining that this lame Super-8 film won't work on your Blu-Ray player. :smallwink:

The requirements and assumptions informing the design of many TSR-era modules were completely different - in many respects diametrically opposite - to those informing contemporary module design philosophy.
Sham's Empty Room Principle (http://shamsgrog.blogspot.com/2008/05/empty-room-principle.html) applies.

arguskos
2010-01-09, 12:15 PM
I liked the 3.5 Expedition to Castle Ravenloft and Bastion of Broken Souls modules. Ruins of Undermountain was fun too.

I also enjoy the older iterations of the Tomb of Horrors, and the Return to the Tomb of Horrors. :smallamused:

Demons_eye
2010-01-09, 12:23 PM
What could people suggest to my group with more focus on hack n' slash but want to learn to better their roleplaying. None of us want to DM and a module would be just the right fix.

More on topic, I have elder evils and found its very fun.

nekomata2
2010-01-09, 12:28 PM
I really loved 'What's Cooking', a short free online module by Monte Cook I think. Despite being a tiny one, my players swear it's the most fun they've had in D&D. For longer ones, I loved running Tomb of Horrors, and I'm definitely.

Is that the one with the Calzone Golem?

Quirinus_Obsidian
2010-01-09, 12:33 PM
Pathfinder's Hook Mountain Massacre was fun for the hacky-slashy types. The Legacy of Fire looks intriguing. Kobold King was awesome.

Tomb of Horrors was also a ton of fun for those of us that like RP and puzzles in our games.

For an entire campaign path, the Shackled City has been awesome. As a DM I needed to make some changes to the creatures and traps vs. the party's relative "power" and experience, but all in all it has been a fun time.




I really loved 'What's Cooking', a short free online module by Monte Cook I think. Despite being a tiny one, my players swear it's the most fun they've had in D&D.


Is that the one with the Calzone Golem?

Linkage? I've been looking for this one, and my google-fu is weak.

Callos_DeTerran
2010-01-09, 01:21 PM
Return to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk seems like an excellent adventure to me, and I probably should run it on here sometime just to get some use out of it (my IRL group...didn't get very far. They were easily distracted).

I cannot recommend the Savage Tide adventure path enough, it looks simply awesome (again, haven't gotten all the use out of that that I should, should probably try to run it again).

Demons_eye
2010-01-09, 01:23 PM
Linkage? I've been looking for this one, and my google-fu is weak.

Here is the PDF (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Cooking.pdf)

Tiktakkat
2010-01-09, 02:40 PM
Hmmm . . .

BECMI
B1 In Search of the Unknown
B2 Keep on the Borderlands
B6 The Veiled Society*
B10 Night's Dark Terror*
X8 Drum's on Fire Mountain~

AD&D 1st
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil
UK5 Eye of the Serpent

AD&D 2nd
Night Below
The Gates of Firestorm Peak
The Shattered Circle
WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins
The Eternal Boundary*

3E
The Sunless Citadel
The Forge of Fury

3.5
Scourge of the Howling Horde*

* Are my special favorites. The Eternal Boundary and Scourge of the Howling Horde are simply the two best new player adventures I have ever run. The Veiled Society is a great low-level political/city adventure. Night's Dark Terror is more of a mini-campaign than a single adventure, and contains enough raw material to be expanded even further.
~ Drums on Fire Mountain a really good adventure, but contains the most racist monster in any D&D product. Provided you can work around it, the adventure is otherwise a lot of fun.

There are a lot of other adventures I like, but these are my favorites.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-09, 02:51 PM
Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, both available in 1E and 3.5E versions.

RebelRogue
2010-01-09, 03:54 PM
BECMI: M1, Into the Maelstrom (http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-m1-into-maelstrom.html)
I've never played this one, but it sounds awesome! I remember "Talons of Night" (another Master level adventure) as being great as well.

I never got go play the Blood Breathren Trilogy (Hollow World setting) but I've got the third module and by the look of it it seems pretty cool. Does anyone know of any resources on the net for these OD&D modules? I'd love to (re)read a bunch of those.

While we're talking OD&D, The Veiled Society is indeed a pretty good one. I kind of liked Rahasia as well, but it's more of a standard dungeoncrawl.

As for 3.5, I didn't really like ToH, although it can be fun as a novelty. Expedition to the Demonweb Pits has its moments, but some less than awesome stuff as well.

PlzBreakMyCmpAn
2010-01-09, 04:01 PM
Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, both available in 1E and 3.5E versions.Can't find them (want the 3.5e). are they free?

Thurbane
2010-01-09, 06:49 PM
AD&D 2nd
Night Below
Of course, how could I forget? My first time DMing a pre-written campaign/mega module was NB. It's really a great adventure.

DonEsteban
2010-01-09, 06:51 PM
Most 1E and 2E adventures, unfortunately, don't live up to modern standards. One thing that annoys me is dungeons that don't function well as mixed-use facilities -- large living quarters with no food preparation facilities, etc. -- and pre-3.0 adventures often weak this way.
And restrooms! Why are there never any restrooms!?! :smallfrown:

Anyway, I like the Desert of Desolation series (I3-5). Nice settings, nice style, very creative dungeons (you get to explore a pyramid, a palace in temporal stasis, lots of tombs). The out-of-dungeon stuff... uhhh... leaves room for improvement. But you cannot always win. No restrooms, also, not a single one.

P.S. I second The Veiled Society

potatocubed
2010-01-09, 06:52 PM
AD&D
The Night Below - Not so much a module as a campaign in a box, and with plenty of flaws, but it's still one of my favourites.

Faction War and Harbinger House for Planescape. I love all the Planescape modules, but those two are my favourites.

3.0
The Speaker in Dreams - Probably the best of the 3.0 '1-20' campaign, at least for my money.

3.5
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits - The only WotC 3.5 module to come close to that old Planescape feel. It's still not as good as the AD&D stuff, but it was a nice breath of fresh air.

Warriors of the Burning Sky is an expensive option if you go for the humungous full-colour book, but it's a fine campaign. Plus it has an adventure by yours truly in it. :smallcool:

The City of Brass is another 'campaign in a box', and man do you get your money's worth. The box is full. It's intended for 'old-school' (read: larcenous, paranoid and casually violent) characters level 14+, starts savage and gets worse.

Other
The Last Voyage of Santiago for the Babylon 5 roleplaying game. It's scheming, backstabbing politics IN SPAAAAACE! You can probably adapt it to the scifi system of your choice with only a little effort.

drengnikrafe
2010-01-09, 07:01 PM
I found running a really light version of Tomb of Horrors worked with my PCs, who can barely Roleplay and can't solve a puzzle to save their life.
Then again, that's the only module any of us have ever done.

Tiktakkat
2010-01-09, 07:04 PM
And restrooms! Why are there never any restrooms!?! :smallfrown:

Anyway, I like the Desert of Desolation series (I3-5). Nice settings, nice style, very creative dungeons (you get to explore a pyramid, a palace in temporal stasis, lots of tombs). The out-of-dungeon stuff... uhhh... leaves room for improvement. But you cannot always win. No restrooms, also, not a single one.

They were banned.
No, seriously.
Bathrooms were banned from TSR products during the Angry Mom Syndrome era as being inappropriate material.
Silly, but there you have it.

Gorbash
2010-01-10, 03:44 AM
How come nobody mentioned Paizo's Adventure paths?

I'm DMing Savage Tide now, playing Shackled City, and I'm about to play Age of Worms. Really nice adventures.

aboyd
2010-01-10, 06:23 AM
I liked The Adventure Begins (http://www.goodman-games.com/5028preview.html), a 3.5 edition "Dungeon Crawl Classics" module from Goodman Games. It's a compilation of 20 first/second/third level adventures. From that compilation, I liked The Fate of the Vigilant (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=9850106#post9850106), and also By Invitation Only (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=9858989#post9858989).

At 5th level, I quite enjoyed running Tower of the Last Baron (http://paizo.com/store/downloads/pathfinder/pathfinderModules/35E/v5748btpy83wa) from Paizo. This is an infiltration module. The PCs must go around town finding members of the resistance, getting help & hints, and then break in and kill the evil ruler. This module sucks if your players are inclined to just say, "Let's storm the keep! It's level adjusted, we won't die!" Yeah, it's really not going to be easy for 5th level characters to pull off a frontal assault of a fortified building. So the players have to like the idea of getting allies and smartly defeating the untouchable ruler. If they're up for that, it's fun fun fun.

Finally, I loved Cage of Delirium (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12495.phtml). It says it's for levels 6 through 8, but really you do not want to put 6th level characters in this module. I did and the only reason they survived (well, some of them) is because at the time I did not know how to run incorporeal monsters. If I had done something smart such as have them flyby attack and hide in walls at the end of their turns, the PCs would have had a miserable time defeating the challenges. However, I ran these monsters quite stupidly. Note that at one point the players will be fighting an undead fire-breathing 12 headed hydra (it really isn't -- it looks like something else -- but it's almost a number-for-number copy of the hydra stat block). If you imagine your party will not survive 12 attacks per round plus fire, then your party shouldn't play this module. Once they're able to meet that challenge, this is a very fun module. Very very fun. However, to keep it fun for the players, you must be willing to fast-forward through a wing of the haunted mansion (one wing, the upper west floor I think, has nothing in it but maybe 30 empty burned out rooms, and if you make the players go through all of that room-by-room you are really brutal).

Good luck, have fun!

Eldan
2010-01-10, 07:06 AM
I must admit, I haven't read any adventures, for any edition, other than the Planescape ones.
I'll still have to nominate Harbinger House, though. That was fun. And the fanmade adventure Desire & the Dead. Low-level, city-adventure, some investigation. I like it.

AslanCross
2010-01-10, 07:29 AM
My favorite 3.5 adventure is Red Hand of Doom.
1. It's not a dungeon crawl (primarily, at least).
2. It actually has a pretty epic story.
3. The cities are well-fleshed out, and even the villains are interesting characters.
4. Great balance of action and character interaction.
5. The big battle is done right. It's brutal, frighteningly urgent, and not disappointingly easy.

Darcand
2010-01-10, 07:29 AM
How come nobody mentioned Paizo's Adventure paths?

I'm DMing Savage Tide now, playing Shackled City, and I'm about to play Age of Worms. Really nice adventures.

Several Pathfinder adventure paths and Shackled City were mentioned earlier in the thread. I must agree though that Paizo puts out some excellent adventures!

bosssmiley
2010-01-10, 11:22 AM
They were banned.
No, seriously.
Bathrooms were banned from TSR products during the Angry Mom Syndrome era as being inappropriate material.
Silly, but there you have it.

Kneejerk corporate over-reaction to the Suzi Quatro protest song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SXWgC0SLCA) about the presence of latrines in dungeons. :smallwink:

It ain't a proper dungeon unless you can throw someone into a cesspit full of Otyughs!

jmbrown
2010-01-10, 11:53 AM
I don't think there are any 'bad' modules. A competent DM should be able to utilize any adventure effectively, even 4e's H1 Keep on the Shadowfell.

The Terrible Trouble at Tragidore would like a word with you :smallcool:

Thane of Fife
2010-01-10, 01:25 PM
Good Modules:

Goblins' Return always seemed like it would be interesting (Spelljammer).
Death's Ride (BECMI) and Ghost of Harrow Hill (From the Intro to AD&D 2e box) are also potentially very interesting.

I don't think I've played any of those.

And jmbrown is correct - Terrible Trouble at Tragidor is terrible. That one I have played.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-10, 06:30 PM
The Terrible Trouble at Tragidore would like a word with you :smallcool:

I10 Ravenloft II the House on Gryphon Hill is the worst, I assure you.

Thurbane
2010-01-10, 08:02 PM
Isn't the worst usually considered to be The Forest Oracle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_Oracle)? Full of stat block errors and hilariously bad read aloud dialogue boxes.

Enworld (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/112201-forest-oracle-your-experiences.html) had a very funny thread about it.

Foryn Gilnith
2010-01-10, 09:25 PM
All modules are useful, but at some point they cease to be useful as modules. If I'm using a module as a collection of scattershot ideas, it is useful, but it has failed as a module.

dsmiles
2010-01-11, 05:17 AM
Big fan of ToH and Against the Giants. Oh the memories...
Also liked the 3ed Adventure Series (Sunken Citadel, Forge of Fury, etc.). I played through this series as an evil fighter/blackguard with Hextor as my patron deity. We enslaved the tribe of kobolds in the Sunken Citadel and used them to work the nearby mines, staging an economic takeover of the region, as I had nearly free labor and a nearly limitless supply of it.

No likey 4e pre-written adventures. Keep on the Shadowfell was absolutely plotless and poorly written. If I'm going to buy a pre-written module, I want a complete module, not something where I have to make up the fluff myself. If I want to write the fluff, I'll write my own module like I normally do. This new 4e crap is...well...crap!

Ashram
2010-01-11, 05:25 AM
3.0's Bastion of Broken Souls was a good module, despite the fact that there wasn't much of a story to the module itself; it really required you to have played through the story modules before it (The Sunless Citadel, Heart of Nightfang Spire) to get most of the story. The final battle with Ashardalon (And subsequently after killing him, the fight with the bad ass balor Ashardalon was using for a demonic heart) is pretty awesome.

Thane of Fife
2010-01-11, 08:39 AM
I10 Ravenloft II the House on Gryphon Hill is the worst, I assure you.

Looking over it (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x9), it doesn't seem too bad. What's wrong with it?

I mean, the plot seems a bit hokey, but is that it?

Matthew
2010-01-11, 10:45 AM
Hell of a hard question, really. I think I am going to go with the D series, as they were really interesting and original at the time. There are so many modules out there, though, that I suppose a grading system is pretty much the reasonable way to represent them.

Optimystik
2010-01-11, 10:50 AM
Kneejerk corporate over-reaction to the Suzi Quatro protest song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SXWgC0SLCA) about the presence of latrines in dungeons. :smallwink:

That song belongs in a latrine. What were those harpies screeching about? :smallyuk:

On topic, my favorite has to be Tomb of Horrors - it's the one module that highlights the differences between editions.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-11, 12:02 PM
Looking over it (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x9), it doesn't seem too bad. What's wrong with it?

I mean, the plot seems a bit hokey, but is that it?

I don't like railroading adventures in the first place, but even in a railroad at least you set up some pretty darn good fights. The end of House on Gryphon Hill is: the party gathers to watch as Good Strahd and Bad Strahd wrestle each other and fall over a cliff to their doom.

Player: I came to a gaming session so you could tell me a cheesy gothic horror story?

I10 is the only module I can think of that ceases to be a game. Thus, I claim it is the worst module written. Ironically, I6 is one of the best. Hickman - hit or miss.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-11, 12:03 PM
On another note, I loved the 3.0 Speaker In Dreams adventure.

jmbrown
2010-01-11, 12:27 PM
Ravenloft in general restricts character freedom in order to tell a story. Ravenloft is the best D&D setting from a world building and artist perspective (the massive world map and 3D cross-section maps were fantastic) but the game itself encourages a fixed story over character freedom. It's basically like living in a world where god is real and he has his hand in everyone's pockets. Some people like this but I don't care for the fact that walking off the Golden Brick Road warps me back onto it and summons 30 wraiths as well.

I blame Ravenloft and Tracy Hickman for the decline of the classic dungeon crawl. I miss the adventures. Hickman loves telling stories and while I enjoy a good plot, it should never overshadow the player's spirit of adventure. This style of story telling leads to party complacency where they basically sit around a tavern waiting for the DM to introduce the next plot hook. Boring.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-11, 12:57 PM
Ravenloft in general restricts character freedom in order to tell a story. Ravenloft is the best D&D setting from a world building and artist perspective (the massive world map and 3D cross-section maps were fantastic) but the game itself encourages a fixed story over character freedom. It's basically like living in a world where god is real and he has his hand in everyone's pockets. Some people like this but I don't care for the fact that walking off the Golden Brick Road warps me back onto it and summons 30 wraiths as well.

I blame Ravenloft and Tracy Hickman for the decline of the classic dungeon crawl. I miss the adventures. Hickman loves telling stories and while I enjoy a good plot, it should never overshadow the player's spirit of adventure. This style of story telling leads to party complacency where they basically sit around a tavern waiting for the DM to introduce the next plot hook. Boring.

In the original I6 Ravenloft if you simply get rid of the surrounding mist you get a really good, non-railroady dungeon crawl with the greatest castle map ever and a heckuva good backstory. After that, I hear ya.

PS: When I went into the store and flipped through Expedition to Castle Ravenloft the hardcover, the first thing I noticed was the loss of the full castle map. People new to the game will never know what they missed.

Scipio
2010-01-11, 02:36 PM
I am surprised no one mentioned RttToEE, but I guess not a lot of people love the dungeon crawl. We ran the full module over a period of 3 plus years, and it was a lot of fun.

Thurbane
2010-01-11, 03:45 PM
I am surprised no one mentioned RttToEE, but I guess not a lot of people love the dungeon crawl. We ran the full module over a period of 3 plus years, and it was a lot of fun.
I bought it on Amazon a few months back, to run as the next adventure I DM, but decided to go with EtCR instead. From what I've read, it seems like a good module.

ken-do-nim
2010-01-12, 09:08 AM
I am surprised no one mentioned RttToEE, but I guess not a lot of people love the dungeon crawl. We ran the full module over a period of 3 plus years, and it was a lot of fun.

I played through it. I got so bored in the middle, but at the end when the DM learned how to foreshadow it was awesome. Overall I'd say mixed bag, but in the hands of a good DM maybe it could be great all the way through?

Grommen
2010-01-12, 11:43 AM
Cage of Delirium has probably been the most fun we have had in a long time playing D&D. It has a very good back story, spooky ass critters, it's set in a slightly modern Victorian abandoned insane asylum, it is has all that classical horror goodness. Now we naturally just dropped it into Ravenloft and did away with that pesky fog thingy. Didn't change a thing in the adventure, just spent a lot of time as the DM "messing" with their heads. It was a ball. One of my friends coined the phrase "Laundry by Cthulhu", and I'll never forget that room. Our poor thief crawls up the ladder to peer into the laundry vat and screaming banshee's come flying out of the vat to attack him. We all most died in every encounter, and I got the thief in the party to snap. He turned assassin embraced the mists and ended up with Dark Vision, and planned on killing the rest of the party over time to end the campaign. Good times.

The Tomb of Horror is an adventure you don't bring your favorite character too but with a few drinks and the right friends, this is a fun adventure to try and survive.

We are doing "Second Darkness" from Pathfinder right now. It's fun, the first two modules "Shadow in the Sky" and "Children of the Void" are great stand alone adventures, but they don't tie in with the story arc as well as I would like. That said they are still really good modules. The last 4 deal with Golarin based Drow and they are wonderfully evil and bent on blowing up the world. The inside cover of module #1 in the series is priceless "But we feel fine."

The other ones that I have enjoyed over the years are :
Tomb of the Lizard King "I2" - One of the most uneek BBEG's you'll ever find.
Temple of Elemental Evil - It's evil....It's Elemental
Dungeonland - Gygax does Wonderland
The Legacy of Fire - I have not read them all but any title called "The last wish" :smallbiggrin:

My all time favorite was the Bloodstone Lands modules H1-H4. Epic in scope, levels, massive battles. Demons, Liches, and Orcus O MY!