Favourite Adventure Modules

First off; I'm a newbie DM with only a few sessions under my belt (but a year of being a player). Lately I've been trolling through old publications like Dungeon to get ideas encounters, adventures, etc. There's some crappy ones out there, but a lot of adventures are surprisingly good. Entertaining and chock full of information to inspire a wannabe DM. I kind of want a greatest hits list of RPG modules to pore over, to add some more direction to my search.

So, I thought I'd enlist the aid of Enworlds readers. What is your favourite published adventure (in any setting or system) and why?

I really like this guys list for classic stuff:

http://lorenrosson.blogspot.com/2013/02/classic-d-modules-ranked.html

I personally love the Dark Sun modules 'Freedom' and 2E 'Castle Ravenloft'.

Here are some of my favourites by edition:

OE: Caverns of Thracia.
1E: Dwellers of the Forbidden City.
2E: The Shattered Circles and Gates of Firestorm Peak.
3.xE: Raiders of Galath's Roost (Dungeon).
4E: Reavers of Harkenwold.

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Duganson said:

I personally love the Dark Sun modules 'Freedom' and 2E 'Castle Ravenloft'.

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The follow-up to "Freedom" is also pretty good - "the Road to Urik". In fact I'd rate it slightly higher in terms of giving the players meaningful decisions to make. It's also in that cool dual-book format. Two spiral-bound note books - one for the players and one for the DM.

We had a lot of fun with I6 RAVENLOFT last Halloween; not my fault that the group stumbled into Strahd while still hasted from fighting his vampire maid, and that the holy symbol was in the same room.

The Halloween before that, we played (some of) Tegel Manor, and that was also a lot of fun.

I'd avoid N1 AGAINST THE CULT OF THE REPTILE GOD because it expects the group to escort a frail, 7th-level magic-user all the way through because the "reptile god," while not actually a god, is way too powerful for starting characters.

I enjoy reading, although I haven't played it, "Tears for Twilight Hollow," a 3E adventure in Dungeon 90.

Five great modules you should play:

1. The Isle of Dread. It's a giant island that your players can explore as they see fit. There are a few quests, but really, they will make their own goals. I've run this a few times, and I don't ever recall anyone ever actually trying to finish it. It's a jungle island with dinosaurs, pirates, and zombies. So much fun!

2. Dwellers of the Forbidden City. Sneak into a ruined city and deal with the numerous groups in conflict with one another. Lots of adventuring sites. It's a free-wheeling game with a lot of fun stuff to encourage play. It has bullywugs, yuan-ti, bugbears, and mongrelmen, all of which are great fun.

3. The Lost City. A dungeon adventure in a desert. There's a pyramid. Break your way in, and then deal with the descendants of a lost people. It's got a lot of room to expand upon. Always good.

4. The Hidden Shrine of Tamoanchan. My favourite D&D module. Aztec ruin filled with poisonous gas. It's neat, because it punishes greed. If the players stop and explore every room, they die of poison gas inhalation. So, they have to figure the correct way out, all the while bypassing great treasures. Fun!

5. The Keep on the Borderlands. A classic adventure that so many players are familiar with. Probably the most famous adventure ever. It's vanilla, bland, and none of the NPCs have names. What makes it great, though, is that there's enough for you to run it comfortably, but plenty of room to come up with your own stuff. Also, it's a dungeon module where there are many ways in, and you can wander around and actually EXPLORE. Which is one of the big perks of RPGs, in my opinion.

I6 Ravenloft was lots of fun.

For a slightly more obscure recommendation, I'd suggest "The Shattered Circle" by Bruce Cordell. A late-2nd Ed adventure, I found that to be a good one.

WotC don't have too many great adventures to their name, but I can recommend "The Sunless Citadel" and "The Forge of Fury", "Red Hand of Doom", "The Sinister Spire", and of course "Lost Mine of Phandelver". I've heard good things about "Madness at Gardmore Abbey", but my actual experience of 4e adventures is almost nil (and the ones I have read and/or played have been dire - indeed, "The Sceptre Tower of Spellgard" single-handedly killed the last 4e campaign I played in ).

delericho said:

(snip) For a slightly more obscure recommendation, I'd suggest "The Shattered Circle" by Bruce Cordell. A late-2nd Ed adventure, I found that to be a good one. (snip)

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I have never understood why this is still considered obscure (I mentioned it too in my post above). This was/is a genuinely good adventure that has so much potential for adaptation.

And that web city of the chitine is simply an amazing visual.