Dungeon Adventure Discussion

[el-remmen]

So, anyone else here love DUNGEON as much as I do? While I do not think it has been as great recently as it once was, I still think it is an indispensible tool to any DM running a D&D game.

For the price you can't beat it and even if the adventures are not used as written you can mix and match pieces of them - and figuring out ways to link Dungeon adventures is always fun too.

I have a huge number of them - I'd say close to 70 issues, and I am always looking through them.


So this is what I was hoping we'd do. . . I have an index of Dungeon issues here. It is a little out of date, but the names of all of them thru #77 are up there and I have them marked to show which ones I own and which ones I've used.

Those of us who love Dungeon could post a little synopsis of our favorite adventures and what issue they can be found in.

I'll start:

The Wounded Worm (issue #8) - A crippled dragon rules an island the party must seek something on.

Chadranther's Bane (issue #18) - The party finds themselves in a world of miniturized creatures after visiting an old inn. Will they discover the secret and how to return to normal size?

Tallow's Deep (issue #18) - The party must navigate a maze of devious goblin traps and tricks with narrow and low tunnels and murder holes aplenty in order to save some miners.

Asflag's Unintentional Emporium (issue #36) - What happens when a wizard who was keeping over a dozen specimens from the Fiend Folio in his home dies? FUN! FUN! FUN!

Song of the Fens (issue #40) - The party acts as intermediaries between an innkeeper's daughter betrothed to a young man she does not love and the mysterious singer in the fens.

Well, I could go on and on. . what let's see what others think.

Also, I was thijking that if we find one or more adventures a group of us have used we can discuss how we adapted it to fit our needs or linked them to other adventures.

 

[Psion]

So, anyone else here love DUNGEON as much as I do? While I do not think it has been as great recently as it once was, I still think it is an indispensible tool to any DM running a D&D game.

I think it is better than it used to be... especially with the addition of polyhedron. Heck, it used to be to me that the Dragon was the primary mag and Dungeon was the also-ran. In the last few issues of ech, the istuation is reversed...

That said, so long as you are in the mood, can you tell me what these adventures are about? I have downloaded lots of Dungeon maps and these got me curious as to what the intent was:

Issue 77 - Something about "Keraptis"

Issue 81 - Something about "Mind" and had a map entitled "Chasm & Citadel"

 

[MerricB]

I think the new format & print quality has helped a lot (since 3E). It looked like a shoddy little magazine before now, but Wizards' superior publishing qualities really came through for it.

I think the 3E rules with CRs and ELs have also helped the editors look at adventures and see what works and what doesn't a lot more.

Dungeon is really a top class magazine now; Polyhedron makes it even better.

One advantage is that you always know what's going to be in Dungeon: adventures. You're at the mercy of "themes" for Dragon, and some themes are definitely less desirable for you than others.

Cheers!

 

[Harlequin]

Dungeon is cool...

I dont get the magazine but have seen a few through the game store...

I dont play (dont have a game ) but if i did i think that you wouldnt need to go anywhere else to get cool quality adventures...

There was talk of wizards starting to convert alot of the older
cool adventures to 3E and put them on thier site (for free...i hope)

Anyone have any news about this?


Harlequin

 

[Melan]

Asflag's Unintentional Emporium : What nemmerle said. I ran it for two rival groups, who ended up killing each other while they were simultaneously evading the Guardian Familiar. Tons of fun!

Lady of the Mists : Very moody haunted castle and a story about immortality and its misuse. I cut out some of the drama and it became a very nice little adventure.

Deadly Treasure : An old archmage builds a tomb for himself and even invites adventurers to loot it if they dare (after all, that is how he got the most of his treasure). The catch: the magic items are used for fiendish traps that defend the tomb on their own! I ran this module thrice (once for 3e, two times for 2e) and no party completed it!

Citadel By The Sea : All right, this is from the dragon archives, but... You have to explore the dungeons beneath an orcish citadel, which is also a shrine to Gruumsh.

Unfortunately, I don't really like the new dungeon. The maps are treated as "works of art" vs real, honest maps, there is all this (IMHO, superfluous) glossy paper and the adventures leave a lot to be desired. The "Greyhawk 2000" one wasn't even funny, the "Harrowing" by Monte himself was pretty mediocre (great illos, tho - I would like to see something like this in regular modules), and so on... Or maybe they just don't fit my playing style?

 

[el-remmen]

Yeah, I hate the new look of Dungeon. . .

The maps are harder to read and reproduce (I prefer black and white line maps), and the adventures seem to have lost a lot of their creativity.


But even from recent Dungeons there has been a lot of helpful stuff - like I ported out the druid "Circle of the Thorn" from a recent adventure to one of my own.

Psion, as for your questions:

I think you mean, Keraptis Ex Cum Amore - which is perhaps one of the crappiest adventures I have ever seen in Dungeon. It is a sequel to the sequel to White Plume Mountain - and is senseless dungeon leading to a huge hackfest on a demi-plane - to find out the uber-poweful wizard is only pretending to be Keraptis the Uber-powerful wizard. . . . or he is so crazy he has convinced himself of the fact that he is that person - funny thing that is in the adventure this is a sequel to, the bad guy in that one is ALSO pretending to be Keraptis.

I don't know of the other one.

 

[EricNoah]

Nine-tenths of the Law -- Willie Walsh -- Great for confusing PCs due to the unique nature of the bad guy. And really anything by Willie Walsh.

The Assassin Within -- made a great city adventure for Al-Qadim.

Dungeon is a great magazine. I could live without Dragon but I can't go without me Dungeon! I like the current layout and I love the new maps, especially the ones by Christopher West (?).

 

[Pyske]

I'm not at home, so I can't answer Psion's questions, but I'll mention a few of my favorites (in addition to those already mentioned):

+ Mud Sorcerer's Tomb (#37) -- A standard dungeon crawl, for some reason this always inspires me. I've run this in D&D, Earthdawn, and Ars Magica (always heavily modified).
+ Sleepless (#28) -- An evil wizard sold his soul. Nothing new about that. Of course, this wizard sould his soul 3 or 4 times, and the PCs happen to be there when the collection agents arrive. Will the party be tricked into saving the sneaky little bugger?
+ Out of the Ashes (#17) -- Dragon's revenge, magical floating crystal. BADD would definitely have to beef up this dragon's tactics (and I generally do so), but the site was very evocative.
+ Siege of Kratys Freehold (#33) -- Resouce management adventure, with the PCs helping to defend a fort under siege.
+ Wererats of Relfren (#14) -- Why, whoever could have taken over the famed cheese factory in this small town?
+ A Rose for Talakara (#25) -- A villainess's comeuppance, great for ideas for a long-term campaign.
+ The Curse and the Quest (#26) -- Heavy handed, but fun for the epic feel and the time pressure, plus decent NPCs (IIRC).
+ Ex Libris (#29) -- Another fun location to put into a campaign, a puzzle-based adventure with shifting, extradimensional rooms.
+ Green Lady's Sorrow (#35) -- A green dragon asks you to retrieve her eggs for her. Pretty please?

Bah, there are too many I like. I could clearly run 3 or 4 entire campaigns from my Dungeon mags (issues 12+).

. . . . . . . -- Eric

 

[el-remmen]

Issue numbers?

I loved the Curse & The Quest - I heavily modified it - but the basic idea was there. . .

Mr. Noah is right - Willie Walsh wrtoe some the best and most creative adventures for Dungeon and had some of the best NPCs.

I don't like the glossy pages because I like to write all over my Dungeons, making changes right in teh margins . . .

I also dislike the truncated stat blocks - I'd rather have one less adventure per issue and full stat blocks for each monster.

 

[EricNoah]

Oh, yeah, that is one drawback -- I want full stat blocks, too. I hate cracking open the MM during a game!