D&D General Best way to classify modules

[Shades of Eternity]

I like the codes of older modules.

However, they range from well-organized to "let's throw a letter from the alphabet."

so I'masking
How would you do it if you had a chance to change the module numbering?

How would you do it in your own game?

 

[Stormonu]

The letters weren't random, though they may not have been obvious. The ones I remember were

B - "Basic"
C - "Competition/Tournament"
CM - "Companion"
D - "Drow/Depths"
DA - "Dave Arneson"
EX - "Extension"
G - "Giant"
GA - "General Adventure"
HHQ - "Head to Head Quest (i.e., 1 player, 1 DM)"
I - "Intermediate"
IM - "Immortal"
L - "Lendore Isles"
M - "Master"
N - "Novice"
Q - "Queen of the Demonweb"
S - "Special"
T - "Temple of Elemental Evil"
U/UK - United Kingdom
WG - "World of Greyhawk"
X - "Expert"

I've always wondered though what the "A" in the slavelord series stood for (maybe "Aerie", after the 3rd module in the series?)

As for my own, they'd either be AM for Amberos of W/WoA for Worlds of Adventure, for my so-called game company.

 

[payn]

No numbering I’d classify in type. Adventure path line and module line. Then, by name of the adventure.

 

[Stormonu]

No numbering I’d classify in type. Adventure path line and module line. Then, by name of the adventure.

I kinda like the BEMCI "tier" code best, though I agree those in a series should have some prefix that groups them"

Does Piazo's AP line use these sort of classifations? I seem to recall that like Rise of the Runelords might have.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Hmm.

I think if I was going to do a revised system, I'd go:
(Tier #)(Type Letter)\((Abbrev)\)[.Part #][Setting Letter)[- Index #]

Where:
Tier # == The rough level tier for the entry; 0 = 0-3; 1 = 4-8; 2 = 9 - 12; 3 = 13-16; 4 = 17-20; 5 = 20+/Epic
Type Letter == A for Adventure Path/Series, C for City (or Crime), D for Dungeon(crawl), E for Exploration/Hexcrawl. M for Mystery, P for Political/Intrigue, X for multiple/crosstypes.
(Abbrev.) == a short abbreviation for the adventure path, which should be easily deciphered from the adventure's title.
Part # (optional) == Just this; which part of a related series is this.
Setting Letter (optional) == using WotC's settings, something like E for Eberron, G for Greyhawk, F for Faerun/Forgotten Realms, S for Spelljammer, R for Ravenloft, etc. Paizo might want to use this to indicate Region instead of setting.
Index # (optional) == Just something so that if you have multiple adventures with the same coding otherwise you can distinguish them.
Oh, and all of this is distinct from the actual catalog number.

So using the classic D&D modules:
G1-2/D1-3/Q1 would be 1A(GDQ).{1-3}G
S3 would be 2D(ExBP)G

The 3e intro adventures would be
{0-4}A(Core).{1-8}

 

[aco175]

I would skip to the current edition and just list them by level and world, so if you are looking for a level 5 spelljammer or level 12 realms adventure you can find it. Maybe add starter to those aimed at new DMs and players.

 

[Voadam]

Unlike late 2e TSR I would always keep connected modules going in the same line with ascending numbers instead of restarting lines arbitrarily, like in the third module of a connected trilogy, to get the module code lower to try to boost sales.

Starting off with a signifier for the setting I found useful (D for Dragonlance, R for Ravenloft, SJ for spelljammer, etc.)

 

[Lanefan]

I think an extra number needs to be added for "intended edition" if you're looking at an all-time reclassification, with '0' covering original, BX, BECMI, etc. combined. Thus, 1e's S1 would become 1-S1 while Expert's X1 would become 0-X1; 4e's H1 becomes 4-H1, etc.

 

[cranberry]

1. Tier T1-T4
2. World - A two digit code such as "FR" for Forgotten Realms
3. Location - A two digit code for location within world such as BG for Baldur's Gate
4. Sequential 3 digit number

Not part of the code, but important IMO -

In addition to the code, I would make the sequence of the adventure clear in the title.

- Adventure into Darkness Part 1
- Adventure into Darkness Part 2

If I needed to make the titles different, I would clearly indicate which adventures belong together

Befriending Bahamut at Baldur's Gate, A Dragontooth adventure, part 1
Teasing Tiamat in Toril, A Dragontooth adventure, part 2

Also, I would specify exactly which levels I believed were a good fit for the adventure (There is a big difference between an adventure meant for 1st level character and 4th level characters despite being part of the same tier.)