TSR Example from the worst TSR adventure module(s) ever published

[Alzrius]

For me, the worst one ever was Labyrinth of Madness. Even great writers like Monte have an off-product.

 

[Pants]

Wow. This thread wins.

I must be a horrible bastard because I now want to run this module for my players...


Roll a 1d6:
On a Roll of 1-2, the players are surprised.
On a Roll of 3-4, the players are angry and attack.
On a Roll of 4-5, the players attack the ogres.
On a Roll of 6-7, the DM is surprised becuz he is laughing so hard, but he is not singing or laughing, nor does he have a taco in his right hand.

 

[viscounteric]

I like this module, warts and all. I learned very early on in my DMing that reading even the best modules make your brain hurt, particularly when the players insert their own twisted logic in it.

The last time I ran N2, it was a near-TPK (the dire wolves slaughtered the party on the rope bridge, but one character had taken the animals downriver to a ford, but not a chevy )

The whole N-series is wonky in some way or another.

 

[Simplicity]

Encounter #16: The Tormented Knight

Nice! Okay, okay, lemme try another one.

21. The Fancy Giant

In the clearing ahead, a giant sits on a log. It wears a cloak that is covered in feathers. The giant has no pig and no gold. The giant dances around the log while chanting something mysterious that you can't make out. A holy light shines down from the heavens upon the ground around the giant.
[\QUOTE]

The giant lost it's pet pig while it was out on a walk with it. It won the pig in a contest with it's friends but then it lost the pig because goblins ate it. It's chanting to the god of giants to return the pig, but so far the gods have no answered. The giant will attack any players it sees, which is likely to kill them. Discourage the players from interacting with the giant. If the players find the pig (in area 22) or the goblins (in area 23), the giant gives them 100 gp.

 

[BluSponge]

I e-mailed Carl Smith about this module, as to whether he felt it came out exactly as he envisioned it or not.
Here is his reply

You are kidding right? Please say you are.

Tom

 

[BWP]

The "boxed text" is for the DM to read to the Players.

So, the DM has to read things like "see map 3A" to the players, right?

It seems that there was no actual independent playtesting of the module done, to catch all of these obvious "what the ...?" questions.

The one I hated for its stupidity was B3, Palace of the Silver Princess (I mean the green, revised version). It was a shame, for instance, if the Princess (in happier times) ever wanted to go for a stroll outside; to get there she'd have to descend a wooden ladder and traverse several long underground passages. I also seem to recall the horrific fire trap being adjacent to the classroom where the children were taught. The penalties for cheating in exams were extreme in that country!

 

[The Shaman]

I also seem to recall the horrific fire trap being adjacent to the classroom where the children were taught.

Reading is FUN-damental! And a better alternative than burning to death!

 

[Imruphel]

(snip) apples (snip) winter wolf (snip)

Lukelightning,

I was thinking of using your encounter in an adventure I will be running however I don't think your encounter is complete without you stating the percentage in lair chance for both the apples and the winter wolf....

 

[Nomad4life]

Man, these do-it-yourself Carl Smithian encounters made me laugh so hard that apple juice shot out of my nose… Which is disturbing, since I haven’t had apple juice in years.

 

[lukelightning]

Darn it to heck, I left out the % in lair! I guess I've tarnished the integrity of this adventure! Thanks for pointing out the error so I can do an errata. The apples have a % in lair of 15 (the apples' lair is a pavilion with a secret door, but since they can't talk will not give the party any information regarding the whereabouts of the pavilion). The winter wolf's % in lair is the square root of -1, which pretty sums up the whole module.

Lukelightning,

I was thinking of using your encounter in an adventure I will be running however I don't think your encounter is complete without you stating the percentage in lair chance for both the apples and the winter wolf....