Did the Brits do it better?

[Bullgrit]

The U Saltmarsh series:
Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
Danger at Dunwater
The Final Enemy

The UK series:
Beyond the Crystal Cave
Sentinel
Gauntlet
When a Star Falls
Eye of the Serpent
All That Glitters...
Dark Clouds Gather

The above modules, for AD&D1 in the early 1980s, were all from TSR UK.

I, personally, own all three of the Saltmarsh modules, Beyond the Crystal Cave, Sentinal, and All That Glitters.... If the other UK products are as good as the ones I've read, I must say that the Brits were/are excellent adventure designers.

Though the adventure did include various dungeons, they probably wouldn't be considered "dungeon crawls" like what TSR US was producing. They weren't tournament products, either. They had plots and plot twists, they had logical dungeons and encounters.

Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh goes from mystery investigation, to dungeon delve, to ship attack in one adventure at one location.

All That Glitters... has possibly the absolute best end treasure, considering the setting, of any module.

What was it about the UK D&D scene that produced designers making these kinds of story-supporting adventures at the time when the US was producing illogical, senseless dungeon hacks?

And is it natural or ironic that the AD&D1 Fiend Folio was also produced by TSR UK?

Bullgrit

 

[His Dudeness]

Depends on what you like. If you like plot driven adventures, I guess they did it better.

If you like exploring a world with little to no plot, then I would assume that they are not very good.

I have the aniversary edition of against the giants and I do not find it "random". The strongholds are actually quite well thought out.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Yep, back in the day our group was of that opinion. (That the Brits did it better.)

 

[Agamon]

A lot of nostalgia for the Alderweg series (Sentinal/Gauntlet), and a fair amount for the Saltmarsh series, too. The others weren't all that memorable. Fiend Folio gave us a lot of iconic (and a lot more truly odd) monsters.

I wouldn't say they did it better, but it was a great contribution.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

No, they didn't, but their accents make it sounds like they did it better.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

They broke away from the then standard sandbox- and tournament-styles. For some of us (me amongst them) it was a clarion call for others it heralded the end of the world.

 

[kmdietri]

For sure!!

They rioted way better then those people in Vancouver did.

 

[Jack7]

I don't know about better but they do it with a funny accent.

 

[wrecan]

The Saltmarsh series was really good. I thought Crystal Cave was whimsically fun, but badly designed. (You couldn't get into the adventure unless your cleric or wizard had memorized the right spell, which he had no reason to think to memorize.) Sentinel and Gauntlet were okay, but I think they are sort of in the middle of the pack compared to other modules released at the same time. The rest of those modules were below average, and probably would not have been published if submitted to TSR's American branch.

Fiend Folio was hit and miss. Most of the iconic creatures were actually compilations from American modules or magazines (drow, githyanki, githzerai, etc.) The British contributions were less iconic... flumph, bunyip, carbuncle, flail snail, enveloper, etc. I think the only British original that had any staying power were the Elemental Princes of Evil.

 

[mandragora]

I don't know about better but they do it with a funny accent.

Actually, you guys do it with a funny accent. We're better villains.