So, what makes 1e adventures so great?

[diaglo]

Okay, B2 is the ultimate. I was given a copy of that last summer.

i sent copies to a few gamers last year. http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=303122

 

[Ranes]

Great thread! Thanks for the link.

 

[Warrior Poet]

Related to everything that's been said here, I think the art is a large part of what made the early adventures great. There's plenty of terrific art today, no question, and not all of the art for the old adventures was technically awesome, but related to the nostaliga and the not-yet-been-done feel, the art felt new, fresh, interesting. The art itself was frequently inspirational, not just for the adventure itself, but as a spur to create other things. It also led me to seek out artists that I didn't know about at the time: Frazetta and Wrightson, to name just two.

There was lots of variety: the otherworldy feel of Erol Otus, the angular action of Bill Willingham. Trampier, LaForce, Sutherland. Great stuff. Flip through some of the old ones sometime, and get a feel for the art.

Warrior Poet

 

[Telas]

And the art had a certain cheesecake aspect to it that definitely appealed to this (at the time) teenage boy.

Anyone else remember Morgan Ironwolf? Hubba-hubba....

Telas

 

[Celebrim]

B2 is the ultimate, B1 is the penultimate...The players have yet to finish exploring the Isle of Dread - they've been there three time and they still want to stage another mission (and they're 12th level characters)

B2, X1, and I6 are the only modules that I've now run twice. They've always been a great success.

I've got my own map for B2 now. I think that the B2 map is the one great weakness in the module. The new map incorporates more of a classic 'level' structure as the player's go deeper and deeper into the stronghold of chaos, and changes the feel of the game to something more like ToEE. I think if I were to run it a third time, I'd draw yet a new map and add sub-temples to it and make the conflict between the various tribes more apparant to the casual PC.

X1 is a great module, but it takes alot of work and imagination to run right. To me, it has a feel like a classic exploration action adventure - almost an 'Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Black Pearl'. If the module has any weakness, its in the lack of detail given to the various native tribes. I'd advise DM's that want to run it for the first time to spend most of their preparation time detailing the tribes in greater detail, detailing the NPC's on the ship that the PC's are going to use to get there, and so forth. The safe haven on the southern part of the island can definately benifit by the presence of a Cthullian cult, evil voodoo men, and zombies. I try to introduce this cult with a short set of encounters before the characters pass through the gates, and make a longer mini-adventure out of it once they return with knowledge of the islands interior.

I6 is a classic. It's on the short list of modules that everyone that plays D&D should have played. I went through as a character first, and then I've ran it twice as one offs, and every time its been a tremendous success. Like X1, it benefits from a bit of NPC detailing and DM judgement, but its really hard I think to go wrong with the module. The module has alot of great tips on how it should be run, and it makes an excellent adventure for even DM's of moderate skill. The main advice I would give is that Strahd is way to powerful of a villian under 1st edition rules for 1st edition 6th and 7th level characters, and if you run him as a lethal killing machine and use all of his abiities to thier full extent the module is harsher than Tomb of Horrors. If you expect the PC's to triumph, especially if they are new players, go soft with Strahd.

I3-I5 are great too. Tracy Hickman at the peak of his power as a dungeon designer and storyteller.

The other 1st edition module that I have real found memories of is CM3: Sabre River. First, the cover is one of the most famous images in the game. Second, it's a module that's something like 'The Sixth Sense', in that you the player ought to have seen the twist coming, but if the DM is good (and mine was) you probably won't and it can knock your socks off played by the DM correctly. I don't own the module, but I would love to have it.

I played the S series as a player, and watched them chew up a whole roster of characters. Interestingly, I didn't find S1 to be near as lethal as its successors. S1 is on the short list of modules ever player should have played. S2 is pretty good too although its a meat grinder its worth it for some of the elaborate rooms, but I didn't enjoy the other two and in fact I found S4 to be flat out bad - a mere meat grinder of a marketing showcase for the Monster Manual II. It reminded me of some of my first dungeons as a would be 6th grade DM.

I enjoyed the C series (C1-C5), but I don't remember being really awed by them (and I've only been a player, not a DM). I have UK1 but though I have never run it, I very much respect its writing and I would love to have the other UK modules just to see if they are as original as #1 is. Other 1st edition modules I'd like to own include B7, I1, I2, I9, WG4, and WGR1. Any other recommendations would be welcome.

 

[Dextolen]

Why were they so great? Because I was 12, mainly.

I think the position of DM had much more mystery and prestige then. There weren't formulas for determining threat level or the cost for creating magic items. I think the 3rd edition DM's guide is a million times more valuable than the 1st ed one, but the postition seems to have been neutered somewhat to that of 'provider of xp and loot'

 

[jrients]

Hehe. Does anyone have a scan of the Outdoor Survival board online anywhere?

I don't have a scan but I redid the map using Bruce Gulke's Wilderness Mapper program. I'll try to dig up the file and post it.

EDIT: You can go here to get my redraw of the Outdoor Survival map.

 

[MerricB]

I3-I5 are great too. Tracy Hickman at the peak of his power as a dungeon designer and storyteller.

They're actually my favourite modules of all time.

in fact I found S4 to be flat out bad - a mere meat grinder of a marketing showcase for the Monster Manual II. It reminded me of some of my first dungeons as a would be 6th grade DM.

It's a very strange adventure. I've never been too impressed with it. It's companion adventure, the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, is likewise not that great - but has a fantastic final act.

I have UK1 but though I have never run it, I very much respect its writing and I would love to have the other UK modules just to see if they are as original as #1 is.

They're not as great. UK2 and UK3 are The Sentinel and The Gauntlet. In the first part you find a magic intelligent glove (artifact), in part 2 you protect the keep it was made to protect against an invading fire giant. Some good ideas, let down by terrible artwork.

Other 1st edition modules I'd like to own include B7, I1, I2, I9, WG4, and WGR1. Any other recommendations would be welcome.

DL1 (Dragons of Despair) and DL10 (Dragons of Dreams) are classic Tracy Hickman modules, very inventive, despite being part of the greater Dragonlance series.

Cheers!

 

[Quasqueton]

Here is a catalog of classic adventure discussions we've had here on ENWorld over the past year:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=1669988#post1669988

Quasqueton

 

[Soel]

I've got my own map for B2 now. I think that the B2 map is the one great weakness in the module. The new map incorporates more of a classic 'level' structure as the player's go deeper and deeper into the stronghold of chaos, and changes the feel of the game to something more like ToEE. I think if I were to run it a third time, I'd draw yet a new map and add sub-temples to it and make the conflict between the various tribes more apparant to the casual PC.

Don't suppose you'd like to share this map?