POLL: Greatest "Golden Era" Module for D&D.

[Mistwell]

A4 In the Dungeon of the Slave Lord is a classic which established the trope of being thrown in a dungeon with literally nothing and having to use just the environment to survive. I am surprised it's not getting more love.

 

[Lanefan]

A4 In the Dungeon of the Slave Lord is a classic which established the trope of being thrown in a dungeon with literally nothing and having to use just the environment to survive. I am surprised it's not getting more love.

I suspect in part this might be due to the rather heavy-handed DMing required at the end of A-3 to set the scenario, particularly if the party are adroit enough or lucky enough to otherwise escape or avoid being captured.

 

[Gradine]

Missing some real classics here, man.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

1. Time Period. I know we are having another thread and people are discussing whether this is the golden era of D&D or not, but for purposes of this poll, I will be using 1978 (G1) through 1982. The loss of 1983 makes it hard (losing the EX series, the end of Desert of Desolation, etc.) but avoids the "Ravenloft" issue. So, 1978-1982.

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Adding 1993 would both add a HUGE number of modules to an already long list (15!) and would create a slight problem by including, arguably, a new era in TSR (the Ravenloft era).

The '83 - '86 is arguably it's own period for modules, IMO.

Which raises it's own issues, since stylistically Pharaoh is the first of the "83 - 86" (Silver Age?) period.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I still cannot for the life of me fathom the appeal of B2 - it just seemed boring and unimaginative to me. I was creating better stuff myself (aged 12) at the time.

 

[Helldritch]

I still cannot for the life of me fathom the appeal of B2 - it just seemed boring and unimaginative to me. I was creating better stuff myself (aged 12) at the time.

Heretic! I really liked you before that awful comment!

Jokes apart, I voted
B2 (Still some are heretic enough not to vote for it...)
D3 (because of vote for it is a vote for the other two)
G3 (because a vote for it is a vote for the other two)
I1 (Really loved that one. Still one of my favorite.)
S4 (These caverns have seen a lot of adventurers. The lore, the new monsters, the new magic everything we needed before the MM2 and a great adventure to boot!)

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah, no. I will disagree strenuously on this for two reasons.

First, any time you have an arbitrary period of time, you have to make a cutoff somewhere. I mean, I'm using 1982. That means that, for example, EX1 and EX2 are excluded- two quintessential examples of ur-Gygaxian 70s D&D madness. Which is unfortunate. But goes to show that the dividing line is 1983; more specifically, Ravenloft (and later Dragonlance) when multiple influences (the changeover and increased "professionalism" at TSR, the change in emphasis in module design) began to take hold. And, of course, the awesomeness of Forest Oracle!

Second, Pharaoh feels and reads like a really good and atmospheric 70s module (you go through the wilderness to an indoor location, then do the indoor location) .... because it is a 70s module. It was famously written in the 70s, and originally published in the 70s, published again in 1980, and finally picked up and published by TSR in 1982. But everything- from the gorgeous, yet simple cover art (Holloway) to the design of the module is very much late 70s, early 80s, pre-Ravenloft.

I think many people (I don't know about you, but this is something I run into a fair amount) confuse the single module with the later-published Desert of Desolation, which by wrapping all three (I3-I6) together, gives it a different feel.

I would say that what characterises those later modules (Ravenloft, Dragonlance) is a much stronger emphasis on plot. Arguably U1 foreshadows this shift, but it's really the Hickmans coming on board that changed things. If you compare Pharaoh to something like Hidden Shrine, it's still a dungeon in a pyramid, but everything in there makes sense in terms of the story.

I'm inclined to disregard the rest of Desert of Desolation - the third part in particular is really a throwback to nonsensical puzzle dungeons like White Plume Mountain.

 

[Shiroiken]

Sooo hard to pick just 5! I love a lot of these adventures, so I had to limit myself to ones I've run multiple times.

• Keep on the Borderlands has been the opening adventure of many, many campaigns of mine.
• Ghost Tower of Inverness is just a personal favorite. I like the concept and layout, and the "trick" of the soul gem's random area.
• Pharaoh is probably the best adventure on the list. I wish the sequels were just as good, but the trilogy is still worth running. I'm considering reworking it as an AP for my group.
• Tomb of Horrors is a classic, and I've yet to have a party succeed (one fell for the false ending, the other three died horribly).
• Castle Amber is so wacky and weird that I've got to love it. It's ruined many PCs by permanently changing their appearance/abilities/etc, but the look on players faces is priceless! I'm considering reworking it as an AP for my group.

 

[JeffB]

I think here you have a list of groundbreaking game defining adventures intermingled with some "just good" adventures. For example, S1 vs N1

I picked my faves. There are too many greats when limited to 5 choices.