What adventure module defines D&D to you?

[Wombat]

None.

D&D for me and mine is defined by the adventures we have created over the years, rather than anything published by someone else.

 

[jdrakeh]

I dunno. I've never really used a lot of modules, but the first one that I ever read and enjoyed was B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. The first one that ever made me really want to play it was I6: Ravenloft.

 

[Treebore]

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands.

4thed

 

[Raven Crowking]

Could someone please spoil Keep on the Borderlands for me? What makes it iconic? I didn't get into D&D until late 2e - Skills & Powers era. My first module was the frikkin' Night Below.

To elaborate, Gygax provided a setting that had real flavour but required the DM to bring to life. It was essentially a mini-sandbox, with the intention that the DM add additional adventuring areas to it as well as expand the map. The Caves of the Unknown were shown on the wilderness map, and linked to the Caves of Chaos, but it was up to the DM to decide exactly what was there, using the CoC as a guideline.

The Caves of Chaos were just cool. In fact, I would say that the CoC map is easily one of the best TSR ever produced, if not the best. The areas were interconnected, allowing PCs to range freely over a wide range of encounters.

The Caves essentially were humanoid tribes, but the tribes were given character enough (Bree-Yark! for the kobolds; the bugbears' invitation to dinner [which took in my 3e players!]) to allow the DM to really bring them to life. Some of the encounters were iconic.....anything with an owlbear in it is good, IMHO. The evil clerics are fun, too, depending upon how much personality the DM wishes to give them. Certainly, they are the "Chaos" that the Caves are named for, and probably drew all those monsters to the caves in the first place.

As written, KotB can easily provide 6-8 sessions worth of adventuring, and, should the GM expand the region, it can easily be the focus for an entire campaign.

Plus, in addition to Gygaxian prose, there are Gygaxian staging tips, and a glossary!

There is a reason that 4e opened with "Keep on the Shadowfell".......and that was a hope to harken back to "The Keep on the Borderlands". Unfortunately, KotS fails in comparison. IMHO, of course. YMMV.


RC

 

[Jeff Wilder]

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands.

Me too.

You have a frontier lkeep filled with NPCs with agendas, you have a nearby group of discrete (but interconnected) dungeons, and you have wilderness to explore. (Plus you have that picture of the Caves of Chaos, from PH2, to show the players. Best picture ever.)

 

[Grimstaff]

T1 - Village of Hommlett

-great home base w/NPCs
-ruined keep
-giant frogs
-bandits
-Evil High Priest (EHP)
-giant crayfish
-loads of treasure & nice Easter Egg
-cool backstory

 

[diaglo]

Could someone please spoil Keep on the Borderlands for me? What makes it iconic? I didn't get into D&D until late 2e - Skills & Powers era. My first module was the frikkin' Night Below.

small adventure with potential for using as a base for more. so it can be finished in very few sessions or one nice long weekend.

variety of potential enemies and allies. this gives the PCs and the referee a chance to flesh out politics if you want.

variety of directions to go. each class getting a chance to shine.

big and little trouble. the structure was built so the party could tackle each area and gain exp or magic before tackling something harder. plus a base to fall back and spend loot, train, and rest.

split adventure. you have the keep/civilization. the wilds/getting lost. and the dungeon/caves.

and all of it written in just a few pages.

starting price was $5 stand alone. or $10 if you bought the boxed set.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Ruins of Greyhawk comes closest to capturing the essence of the adventures that Gary Gygax ran the iconic player characters through.

Keep on the Borderlands pulled town, wilderness, and dungeon together to show that there was more to the game than the name implied.

Dungeonland and Land Beyond the Magic Mirror captured the spirit of imagination in the game and proved that inspiration can come from unexpected places.

I6 Ravenloft brought new life into the dungeon and a new feel from cross-genre sources. It also raised the bar for graphic design and innovative use of props that influenced game play.

 

[ferratus]

I couldn't say that one modules defines D&D for me, but I could name few that gives me all the elements of what I want in D&D.

B4 - The Lost City - Dungeon crawling, a lost and decadent civilization and a big demon on the lowest level.

DL 1 - The original points of light world, and a wide sprawling list of encounters that encourages exploration.

The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb - Sure, it is a rip-off of Tomb of Horrors, but it is the trap filled lair of an ancient evil, filled with riddles and puzzles that you can actually survive. So it is everything great about the Tomb of Horrors in which you can actually keep your friends if you run it at home. Plus, it is all bound together with a single distinct theme, rather than random traps by a generic lich.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Douglas Niles' N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God.

It was the very first real adventure I ran for my group back then. I've never played before but started AD&D with this. It was a fantastic experience which made me a roleplayer forever.

Even today I rate it as a fantastic adventure, with village, wilderness, and dungeon, roleplaying opportunities, exploration and fights all standing side by side.

I'd read B2 before N1, but it didn't grab or inspire me, nor did it give me the impetus to start a group.