best non TSR/WotC/d20/OGL published fantasy adventures

[ShadowDenizen]

There's ALOT of great non-D+D/D20 modules out there.
I really enjoy the old ICE "MERP" stuff, the old "World of Darkness" lines, as well as the "Buffy" line.

But, IMO, Chaosium tops the list for non-D+D/D20 adventures. (Though Pinnacle put some really cool "Deadlands" modules that run a very close second.)

Three adventures that are unaparalled by anything else out there are "Beyond the Mountains of Madness", "MAsks of Nyarlathotep", and "Horror on the ORient Express."

 

[jester47]

Three adventures that are unaparalled by anything else out there are "Beyond the Mountains of Madness", "MAsks of Nyarlathotep", and "Horror on the ORient Express."

Too bad none of them are fantasy!

Aaron.

 

[jester47]

Psion,

Did the WW anthology of adventures have a name? Was it in a collection or was it only dispersed throughout the issues of the mag?

Aaron.

 

[Staffan]

Here in Sweden, the adventure series Den femte konfluxen (The fifth conflux) is usually the one mentioned whenever "best adventure" discussions come up. It's a series of four pretty big adventures (plus there's a regional sourcebook that really helps things) about the events happening in connection with a major astrological event that will decide the world's destiny for the next couple of centuries. The best part is the second one, Oraklets fyra ögon (The four eyes of the oracle), where the PCs have to find and save four NPCs (well, three - one of them doesn't really need saving, she's more of "this is where you bring the other three") by correctly interpreting the clues of a prophecy. Meanwhile, things are happening all around the PCs independent of their action.

 

[Tinner]

Whfrp

The Enemy Within is a classic. It takes forever to complete everything, but it's so worth it.
Castle Drachenfels is great, and a serious meatgrinder too. You really need to read the novel "Drachenfels" to be able to run that adventure to the fullest IMO.
The Dying of the Light was published by Hogshead for WHFRP and is a solid adventure too. Even if you don't want to use the whole Chaos God egg/End of the world eclipse plotline, there are plenty of great set pieces that could be dropped into nearly any game. The mutant eclave, the drowned ciy of undead, the travelling performers - good stuff all around.

 

[sword-dancer]

Die Toten des Winters/The dead of the Winter Harnmaster

Power behind the Throne WFRP

Krone der Drachen Midgard

Weisser Wolf und Seelenfresser Midgard

Die Haut des Bruders Midgard

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I have the original Masks of Nyarlathotep, the boxed set. Tons of handouts, including the famous matchbox, plus a world-spanning adventure. Very cool stuff, with some really creepy moments. Not fantasy in the heroic or swords & sorcery mode, though.

The Broken Covenant of Calebais, for Ars Magica, is very good. They touted it as a dungeon crawl that made sense, and it was exactly that. A new version of it was just released. I haven't read it, but if it's anywhere near as good as the original, it's a very good adventure.

I always liked Pendragon's modules. Most of them are actually compilations of shorter adventures. The ones I like best are the Spectre King and Blood and Lust. Each has several Arthurian-themed knightly adventures, but the one that stands out above them all is The Heart Blade, in Blood and Lust. The PC knight tries to woo a very worthy lady. Sounds lame, but Pendragon adventures often presented very tough scenarios that necessitated a lot of roleplaying and tough moral choices. This was the best of them, I feel. The Heart Blade itself is a potent weapon the knight can be bestowed with if he wins the lady, and its powers are based on love; in Pendragon, emotions carry definite game effects. There was another module, The Grey Knight, which I liked for Pendragon, which was a stand-alone. The knight PCs must help Sir Gawaine defend Arthur's honor in battle with an unkillable knight. Atmospheric and tense.

I also like many of the old MERP adventures and sourcebooks. Gorgoroth is my favorite, and details a part of Mordor that only really, really tough PCs will be able to brave. Dunland and the Southern Misty Mountains is a sourcebook I enjoyed, but which had some really un-Tolkien-like elements, like a flying elven castle and an elf doing bizarre Frankenstein-like experiments. The Fortresses and Cities of Middle Earth books are all very good, and, as mentioned, the maps (and the interior descriptions) can be used for just about any fantasy game with little alteration.