30 greatest adventures of all time?

[jdrakeh]

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that Isle of Dread and Castle Amber aren't down in the Top 10. For me, personally, they rank much better than Keep on the Borderlands, White Plume Mountain, and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. In fact, I wonder if the tourney modules are rated that high due to level of exposure rather than actual design.

 

[Lanefan]

Is Forge of Fury actually good? There's no way it's better than Dead Gods

Having played through it, I can say that Forge of Fury really *is* quite good...some excellent set-piece encounters including a few situations where an unlucky or disfunctional party can easily get wiped out (we almost did). It's one of those adventures where you don't realize how good it is until you're finished because while in it you're too busy worrying about simple survival...then afterwards you think hey, that was a lot of fun.

No idea if it's better than Dead Gods or not as I've never seen-read-played that one.

Lanefan

 

[Lord Zardoz]

I have to say, some of those really surprise me. We just played through Cult of the Reptile God and while it was OK as an adventure, I didn't think it was *that* good. And what is Expedition to the Barrier Peaks doing there? Where is Tomb of the Lizard King? Pharoah's Tomb? Sunless Citadel?

OK, I'm done grumbling now...

Lanefan

While I assume Sunless Citadel is a joke response, lets just go ahead and take you seriously for a moment.

Sunless Citidel's first half is actually a pretty good idea. Two warring factions (Goblins and Kobolds) in the same dungeon. The second half of the dungeon falls flat. I would have preferred to see that adventure stick with the Kobolds vs Goblins approach.

Also, I do not care if it is CR appropriate, but encounters with single normal Dire Rats (as happens in a few places) is just lame, even at 1st level.

END COMMUNCIATION

 

[Erekose]

I'm surprised at how much I agree with the list

Particularly as I didn't really play 2E and so should have missed out on most classic 2E adventures . . .

 

[Psion]

Was it you that put that list together?

I was on the panel, along with several longtime industry pros.

Each of us contributed a list of 10 favorites, and some commentary on each which got used in the article.

So, to be fair, there are many entries on the list I don't agree with (City of the Spider Queen is a headscratcher for me... though the details are thorough and in places even engaging, I consider the scenario outright poor), this is a compilation of the views of a number of pundits who don't necessarily agree with each other and whose experience may separate them from DMs "in the trenches."

Is Forge of Fury actually good? There's no way it's better than Dead Gods

I don't own Forge of Fury, but as one who ranked Dead Gods highly, I suspect I would agree with you.

 

[funkysnunkulator]

folks, take a moment here.

reflect.....

what a game huh? the list couldn't just be the top ten could it.

NO WAY!!!! HUZZAH!!!

there are so many really good adventures that the best anyone could do is pare it down to thirty.

personally, very glad of that.

whoever the writers of all those adventures are...

THANKS. really.

 

[Hand of Evil]

My problem with that list is that it looks all internal to WOTC, where is the 3rd party adventures, where is Orc and Pie and so many others?

 

[Melan]

Well, Dark Tower is a 3rd party adventure... granted, from 1979, but still.

 

[billd91]

In fact, I wonder if the tourney modules are rated that high due to level of exposure rather than actual design.

I'm sure there's an element of that going on. But their very ubiquity makes them a common gaming experience that huge numbers of people share and enjoyed. My friends and I have generally been playing since the late 1970s/early 1980s and we remember many of those modules in the top 10 quite fondly. In fact, 5 of the top 10 have been revisited by us within the last 8 years, mostly within a Classic Modules campaign using 3.5 rules.

In some ways, their general lack of design is one of their strengths as well. It meant each group could have had their own distinct stamp on them, making the enjoyment and engagement in the modules more personal.

 

[TerraDave]

This is what enworlder choose, from this poll (which was based on many other polls).

I like the results better.

G1-2-3 Against the Giants 115 52.27%
B2 Keep on the Borderlands 107 48.64%
T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil 99 45.00%
I6 Ravenloft 94 42.73%
D3 Vault of the Drow 88 40.00%
T1 Village of Hommlet 86 39.09%
S1 Tomb of Horrors 81 36.82%
D1-2 Descent Into the Depths 78 35.45%
X1 Isle of Dread 74 33.64%
S2 White Plume Mountain 70 31.82%
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks 67 30.45%
U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh 66 30.00%
I3 Pharaoh 65 29.55%
Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits 65 29.55%
X2 Castle Amber 62 28.18%
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth 61 27.73%
WotC: Sunless Citadel 59 26.82%
WotC: Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil 55 25.00%
I4 Oasis of the White Palm 54 24.55%
WotC:Forge of Fury 53 24.09%
Return to the Tomb of Horrors 45 20.45%
GR: Death in Freeport 45 20.45%
Ruins of Undermountain (Forgotten Realms) 40 18.18%
NG: Rapan Athuk (all) 40 18.18%
GR: Madness in Freeport 37 16.82%
PZ: The Shackled City Adventure Path 37 16.82%
Dead Gods (Planescape) 36 16.36%
Night Below 36 16.36%
GR: Terror in Freeport 36 16.36%
MP:The Banewarrens 35 15.91%