Edition Defining Adventures

[Klaus]

You know, when I think of adventures that "defined" 2E, I think of a couple of 1E adventures. Ravenloft is one, the Dragonlance adventures are another.

For 3E, I'd say Sunless Citadel, RttToEE and RHoD. I think "Age of Worms" has a case.

I6: Ravenloft and the original Dragonlance modules were all 1e.

 

[Glyfair]

I6: Ravenloft and the original Dragonlance modules were all 1e.

That was the point I was attempting to make. Two of the adventures (or adventure series) I consider iconic for 2nd edition were 1st edition. They "feel" 2nd edition.

IMO, those two adventures paved the way for what would be 2nd edition. No adventure during 2nd edition (or at least early 2nd edition) really touched the iconic status they had.

 

[Melan]

OD&D: Temple of the Frog, Tegel Manor (Judges Guild)
Classic D&D (i.e. B/X D&D, OD&D 2+E): Keep on the Borderlands, Isle of Dread
1E AD&D: Tomb of Horrors, Village of Hommlet, Against the Giants, Ravenloft
2E AD&D: The Terrible Trouble at Tragidore

More or less my picks. Not the best of the best (especially not Tragidore), but they are sure definitive. Although I'm positive White Plume Mountain is another one - although I'm sure many consider it a prime example of how AD&D is a horrible, horrible game.

For 3e, Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury are well-known early adventures with a strong shared experience resulting from that, as is Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (although this seems to have faded a bit). Rappan Athuk is a strong cult hit and maybe the most recognisable 3rd party adventure outside prestige products like the World's Largest Dungeon and maybe the first of the Freeport line... Lately, Age of Worms has been the star of the fans, but we will see if this appeal is enduring. I predict it will be, but I have been wrong before.

 

[Klaus]

Pkay, fair enough.

How's this for 2e: Vecna Lives! and Die, Vecna, Die!

 

[Garnfellow]

I think that if Wolfgang Baur's "Kingdom of the Ghouls" (Dungeon 60) had not come out in the twilight days of TSR, it would have had a good shot at being the definitive 2e adventure. Not enough people had a chance to marvel at its ghoulish goodness.

 

[Quartz]

No love for the Slavers series A1-A4?

2nd Ed would be Dragonlance.

3rd Ed, I'd have to pick a few of the adventures from Dungeon. Belt of Champions, for one.

 

[delericho]

1e: GDQ, Tomb of Horrors, Ravenloft
2e: Night Below (I also really liked "The Shattered Circle", but that seems to be fairly obscure)
3e: Sunless Citadel, Shackled City, Red Hand of Doom

 

[Klaus]

No love for the Slavers series A1-A4?

2nd Ed would be Dragonlance.

3rd Ed, I'd have to pick a few of the adventures from Dungeon. Belt of Champions, for one.

The Dragonlance adventures were 1e. They did release collected volumes of the adventures in 2e, though, so maybe they qualify.

 

[WizarDru]

My favorite modules are different from what I consider the defining modules to be:

Basic D&D: Keep on the Borderlands, Isle of Dread
1st Edition (and earlier): Against the Giants, Village of Hommlet, Tomb of Horrors
2nd Edition: Ruins of Undermountain, Night Below
3rd Edition: Sunless Citidel, Forge of Fury, Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

To me, 'Edition Defining' adventures are the ones that everyone knew and probably played and/or represented the iconic experience of that edition. When 3e came out, Sunless Citadel was THE module to play...being the only one available helped.

When 1e hit the stores, Against the Giants and Hommlet were the modules you saw sitting next to the books. When you bought the Red Box, Keep on the Borderlands is what you got. These were the modules that defined the editions.

Much as I like modules like Shackled City or Ravenloft, they were came later and redefined what the edition would be or reinforced it. But they came along well after the game was laid down. Ravenloft and the Desert of Desolation series, for example, changed what people expected from D&D. They may have been the fondest memories for that edition to some, but they didn't define it, IMHO.

 

[Sunderstone]

To me "edition-defining" were pretty much our favorites of the time not what were the most popular. The campaigns with the fondest memories, etc. These were the greats of each edition to us.

Thats pretty much all that counts to us, not what everyone else was playing. For that matter why not change the topic to what ws "The Most Popular Adventures of Each edition".