Best 1st Edition adventure?

[Davelozzi]

Re: Giants and Drow

So was the revamped 2nd edition module Against the Giants (i think is the name) that came out for Greyhawk three years ago up to par? I'm thinking of ordering it from Wotc.

It was pretty good. I reprints the original giant modules verbatim (except stats are updated to 2e). The new material is basically a loose extended campaign that would allow you to work your way up through low levels with a fair bit of work on the DM's part. It briefly describes several locations throught Geoff and summarizes the occupying humanoid/giant forces. There are three major encounter areas billed as G4,G5,and G6. The first two are fairly well done but the third one, which is supposed to be the climax of the campaign, is underdeveloped, although it would be an interesting adventure setting with some additional work. There's also a section that gives some ideas on how the various parts of the adventure (old & new) can be linked together. Finally, there's some appendixes that discuss running giants and provide lists of appropriate giant names.

Similar question:
I have all of the original GDQ modules one by one but I've never owned the GDQ Queen of Spides supermodule. I've been thinking of buying the download. Is anyone familiar with this version as well as the originals that could give me some pros and cons? Are the originals changed at all, or is there just additional material added to fill the gaps? And more importantly, is the extra material any good?

 

[Davelozzi]

Re: N5 Under Illefarn

I'm not sure why, but N5: Under Illefarn (which no one has mentioned thus far) has always held a special place in my heart, perhaps it's the detail of Daggerford and the surrounding area, maybe it's the way it has of getting the party together at level 1, or possibly it's the intricate open-ended dungeon crawl at the end. I've started several campaigns in good-old Daggerford. Maybe it's just a soft spot for modules using the Unearthed Arcana rules...

I'm with you here. I used the mini adventures as solo adventures to bring a new PC up to speed with the rest of the party. Then I ran the whole party through the main dungeon. I loved it. The three different factions vying for control in the dungeon make it come alive without leading the party by the nose at all. Plus the maps are great, the way all the different levels link together. IMO, one of the best dwarven mine complexes ever published. The Daggerford info and NPCs are well done too.

 

[ThenHeCame]

The Bloodstone Pass Trilogy (as it is, since one of the 4 is not an adventure, but a mass-combat supplement) is by far, hands down, the most epic, bad-ass unstoppable module ever. No shahit.

Actually, H3 is the mass combat rules, when the players finally reunit the Old Damara kingdom under their banner and their army sits at the ford, stale mated against the witch king's undead/giant army.

That series is a campaign by itself. I still refuse to belive that the party given at the end of H-4 actually beat the modual. I think if H4 run by a DM who never ever gave players a chance, who never ever fudged a roll so the whole party would be wiped out, no one could complete it. It's just too long and massive.

 

[MythandLore]

Actually, H3 is the mass combat rules, when the players finally reunit the Old Damara kingdom under their banner and their army sits at the ford, stale mated against the witch king's undead/giant army.

That series is a campaign by itself. I still refuse to belive that the party given at the end of H-4 actually beat the modual. I think if H4 run by a DM who never ever gave players a chance, who never ever fudged a roll so the whole party would be wiped out, no one could complete it. It's just too long and massive.

I ran 3 groups thru it as DM, massive deaths but they make it to H4.
I hadn't had a single group even get close enuff to grab the object we all know they needed.
TPAs every time, Big O's Dragon was death, so was the fact that the party could run into a DL or DP on a random encounter.
I told the guys what they were sapposed to do after they got what they were saposed to get.
Pretty much no one thought it was really possible to pull off.
BTW for anyone that is reading this that hasn't played H1-H4 but is planing too, when you think you've won, you haven't, the "impossible" battle is after that.

 

[Castaigne]

Of the adventures on the list, I'd vote for the Giants-Drow series.

I voted other though, since I'd rank Paul Jaquays' Dark Tower from Judges Guild as the best

 

[Plane Sailing]

I vote "other" for the excellent modules in the UK series "The Sentinel" and "The Gauntlet", with plaudits for another one whose name escapes me, but included a finale in the cloud castle of a possessed cloud giant.

Second place goes to Desert of Desolation. I loved the setting and aspects of the finale - the first one was weakest, the second one the best of that trilogy.

Cheers

 

[CrusaderX]

White Plume Mountain is my fav. I DMed that years ago, and we all had a blast.

I also loved Paul Kidd's novelization of the module. Our original party would have had even more fun if a sexy, sassy pixie was in the group!

 

[Davelozzi]

I vote "other" for the excellent modules in the UK series "The Sentinel" and "The Gauntlet", with plaudits for another one whose name escapes me, but included a finale in the cloud castle of a possessed cloud giant.

I'm not sure if it's the one that you're talking about whith the cloud giant, but one of the modules in that series is called "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh"

Second place goes to Desert of Desolation. I loved the setting and aspects of the finale - the first one was weakest, the second one the best of that trilogy.

I also love this series but I have to disgree on how it breaks down. I agree that Oasis of the White Palm (#2) is excellent, I think that Pharoah (#1) is far better than the Lost Tomb of Martek (#3) which I thought had some unnecessarily silly parts.

 

[Storm Raven]

I'm not sure if it's the one that you're talking about whith the cloud giant, but one of the modules in that series is called "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh"

No, now you are slightly confused.

The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh was from TSR UK, but it was designated U1. It was followed up by Danger at Dunwater (U2), and The Final Enemy (U3). They were a self contained set of adventures, and a fairly good way to kick off a campaign (even if the final part of the set was probably too tough for PCs who had only participated in the first two modules).

The UK series of adventures was separate. They included UK2 The Sentinel and UK3 The Gauntlet. This was a well done set of adventures that could easily form the basis of a nice campaign interlude (and could very well form the basis of an interesting set of later adventures if the DM wanted to build on the story).

My opinion is that some of the best adventures pubished for 1e AD&D came out of TSR UK, and these particular adventures are examples of some of the best stuff that was out there at the time.

 

[Marius Delphus]

Bloodstone Memories!

Actually, H3 is the mass combat rules, when the players finally reunit the Old Damara kingdom under their banner and their army sits at the ford, stale mated against the witch king's undead/giant army.

Whereas H1 was solely a series of Battlesystem scenarios, H3 included, in addition to Battlesystem scenarios, the Assassin's Run, a maze designed by the Grandfather of Assassins (who observes the PCs as they venture through it). Because my players weren't at all interested in the Battlesystem stuff, the Assassin's Run is what I remember H3 for. Mind you, I forget why they went in the first place... I'm certain there was a perfectly legitimate story-based reason... wasn't there?

That series is a campaign by itself. I still refuse to belive that the party given at the end of H-4 actually beat the modual. I think if H4 run by a DM who never ever gave players a chance, who never ever fudged a roll so the whole party would be wiped out, no one could complete it. It's just too long and massive.

There were several PC deaths along the way, but when I ran H2, H3, and H4 oh-so-long ago (I'm not counting the years), the characters (well, the half that survived) came through victorious. Although I pulled a few punches in the two "big" combat encounters, the characters were put through the wringer and the players felt as though their triumph was a worthy one, and not at all certain at the time.

Which is what epic modules are all about, right?