D&D 5E Which was the most recent Wizards adventure you consider a classic?

[Shardstone]

I am particularly fond of Curse of Strahd, and have commented on this a lot over the years. It's still probably my favorite adventure, and I've run it 3 times: once as a 3.5 game, once as a reskinned Vampire the Masquerade game, and once as a 5.0 game. I think it got better each time. Eventually as I got older, the thinly-veiled domestic abuse allegory of a controlling, arrogant tyrant subjugating a woman to eternal torment based on his own envy wore a little thin, what with real life and all.

Witchlight was also a delight. It's also more of a mindset than a campaign.

To be fair: I have consistently modded games - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot - so YMMV on everything. But these two probably had the least amount of heavy lifting that was required, even if I did some anyway.

What made Strahd do great for you? What were your personal highlights?

 

[Hriston]

For me, it would be The Lost City (1982).

 

[Endie]

For me, it would be The Lost City (1982).

Didn’t realise Wizards were quite so involved with TSR in 1982.

For me it would be Lost Mine of Phandelver. One of the best D&D adventures ever released - I’d say even better than T1 - and the only classic of the 5e period.

 

[Hriston]

Didn’t realise Wizards were quite so involved with TSR in 1982.

I was responding to this question asked by the OP:

So, here's my question to you: What's the most recent official D&D adventure that really speaks to you, that you'd be prepared to put on the "Classic" roster?

Last time I checked, The Lost City is an official D&D adventure. 1982 is the most recent for me. As runners up, I'd pick Tomb of the Lizard King and Against the Cult of the Reptile God, both 1982. The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth probably belongs here too, but it was basically a rerelease, and I've never played or read it.

 

[Clint_L]

Didn’t realise Wizards were quite so involved with TSR in 1982.

For me it would be Lost Mine of Phandelver. One of the best D&D adventures ever released - I’d say even better than T1 - and the only classic of the 5e period.

I tend to agree, but only for the original starter kit version. The four mini-campaigns in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount are the only other adventures I like as much, but they are only kinda sorta WotC adventures.

 

[Nightfly]

For me, it would be The Lost City (1982).

Nothing since 1982? Off the top of my head, you're cutting out Ravenloft, The Sunless Citadel, and Red Hand of Doom. Those all came after my impressionable youth and therefore don't have the place in my heart that Tomb of Horrors does, but they're classics nonetheless. Ravenloft in particular is not just arguably the best adventure in the history of D&D, but arguably the most important.

 

[Zardnaar]

Completed Tomb of Annihilation last night. January 14th, 2021 to April 16th, 2025. Epic!

What took so long

 

[Hriston]

Nothing since 1982? Off the top of my head, you're cutting out Ravenloft, The Sunless Citadel, and Red Hand of Doom. Those all came after my impressionable youth and therefore don't have the place in my heart that Tomb of Horrors does, but they're classics nonetheless. Ravenloft in particular is not just arguably the best adventure in the history of D&D, but arguably the most important.

I've never read Ravenloft. I read part of the 5E version, and it seemed like it could be fun, but I wouldn't say it speaks to me. Also, I never played 3rd edition or 3.5, so the other adventures you mentioned aren't on my radar.

 

[evilbob]

What made Strahd do great for you? What were your personal highlights?

This is a good question. I apologize in advance for the book-length response you probably didn't ask for.

The overall vibe was a major part, of course. Just a great, classic story, dripping with gothic horror. It's the only game where we put together a playlist, and it was so easy to do. I borrowed from the Vampire the Masquerade TTRPG and video games as well. And Strahd is a great villan. He's not stupid, he has believable motivations, and he's wrong. And he'll never accept that.

But the D&D elements also came together well: most of the writing was cohesive and contributed to the theme (I cut some incongruent bits, like the lich temple). The "dungeon" was this impossible labyrinth of a castle but thanks to the excellent maps I could still follow it. And it could be attacked from any angle! I don't think there's a more open-ended way to approach a dungeon. And however you came at it: it was a challenge.

It also had a massive sandbox outside the castle that was perfect for setting up the villain and expanding the lore. I love the overall theme of trying to do quests and level up all while in the shadow of the primary threat, visibly foreboding at all times, which you know you cannot possibly handle without something - anything - that can help.

I think it's a good example of freedom within constraints. You have a small area that you can do a lot with, but you can't go far - and you know you're never truly safe. This forces you to deal with what you've got.

I'd say the biggest difference between CoS and something like Vecna or Tiamat is that CoS set up a world with points of interest, but then you had complete freedom to do whatever you wanted inside those walls, and then see how that affected everything else. Your could be creative. There was no clear path. Your actions had reactions. Tiamat and Vecna are just effing railroads. You're being shuffled around from point to point like a theme park ride. And you can't leave the plot because guess what: it's all a veneer. There's no world reacting to you. There's only 1 path, and your "choice" is to follow it or stop.

So I guess the tldr is: well-supported player agency within a cool setting. A solid sandbox and dungeon that encourage creatively exploiting that agency. And a realistic, memorable villan who made it all personal.

 

[Shardstone]

This is a good question. I apologize in advance for the book-length response you probably didn't ask for.

The overall vibe was a major part, of course. Just a great, classic story, dripping with gothic horror. It's the only game where we put together a playlist, and it was so easy to do. I borrowed from the Vampire the Masquerade TTRPG and video games as well. And Strahd is a great villan. He's not stupid, he has believable motivations, and he's wrong. And he'll never accept that.

But the D&D elements also came together well: most of the writing was cohesive and contributed to the theme (I cut some incongruent bits, like the lich temple). The "dungeon" was this impossible labyrinth of a castle but thanks to the excellent maps I could still follow it. And it could be attacked from any angle! I don't think there's a more open-ended way to approach a dungeon. And however you came at it: it was a challenge.

It also had a massive sandbox outside the castle that was perfect for setting up the villain and expanding the lore. I love the overall theme of trying to do quests and level up all while in the shadow of the primary threat, visibly foreboding at all times, which you know you cannot possibly handle without something - anything - that can help.

I think it's a good example of freedom within constraints. You have a small area that you can do a lot with, but you can't go far - and you know you're never truly safe. This forces you to deal with what you've got.

I'd say the biggest difference between CoS and something like Vecna or Tiamat is that CoS set up a world with points of interest, but then you had complete freedom to do whatever you wanted inside those walls, and then see how that affected everything else. Your could be creative. There was no clear path. Your actions had reactions. Tiamat and Vecna are just effing railroads. You're being shuffled around from point to point like a theme park ride. And you can't leave the plot because guess what: it's all a veneer. There's no world reacting to you. There's only 1 path, and your "choice" is to follow it or stop.

So I guess the tldr is: well-supported player agency within a cool setting. A solid sandbox and dungeon that encourage creatively exploiting that agency. And a realistic, memorable villan who made it all personal.

This was a fantastic post, thank you.