[Dungeon] Top 30 Greatest Adventures Discussion (Spoilers)

[Terath Ninir]

I disagree pretty heavily with the full list and with Orcus's list. I agree in spirit with Sangrolu/Psion, Pramas, and Mearls, though I'd quibble on their actual choices. I like *why* they voted for what they did. Nostalgia should be a consideration only when it is an extreme factor, like the GDQ and Keep on the Borderlands. (Frankly, though, Return to the Keep on the Borderlands blew the original completely out of the water on every level.) But GDQ, particularly the underdark D section, had far more than nostalgia going for it: it has forever shaped what the underdark is, and how underdark adventures are run.

One thing that I think was a sad omission was "The Circle of Eight". I imagine it got overlooked since it came during the dark days at the end of 2e, but that adventure rocked the house. One of my player's characters (Darlena Flamedancer, with her character of the same name) became a replacement member of the Circle of Eight through that adventure. The only complaint I ever had about the adventure is that it wasn't longer.

 

[Leopold]

I would like to aplogize to everyone on here with my rant on GDQ. Aparently I forgot that Queen of the Spiders==GDQ 2.0. I still got a hard-on for the original 1E version but that will sate my desire not to violenty stab someone with a trident for not putting G1-3 on the list.

 

[Olive]

I really think that this thread, one it's run its course, needs to be archived.

 

[rounser]

In my opinion, "best" does not mean "most historically significant." It means "the most fun to run/play." But then again, you got selected as a jury member, and I didn't, so...

Well, hindsight is 20:20.

I think most of us would have done much the same thing before reading over this thread, at which point it becomes "obvious" that whether -

It was a first, or...
What it added to the game, or...
How well it played back in the day, or...
How novel it was back in the day, or
How it launched a million campaigns, or...
How it launched an entire campaign setting, or...
Whether it had really cool artwork, or...
Whether it's a fun read that tickles the DM's fancy...

...are perhaps quite different things to how well it would actually play, on the game table, now, from the player's perspective. I think, perhaps, that this top 30 is more about paying respect where the judges think respect is due rather than a list of the best modules you could run.

 

[Orcus]

Rounser

I agree with you. All the things you list arent good enough by themselves in general unless the module also plays well. The only two that some might say dont play well are Tomb (because the surpise value is gone and frankly people dont run it right) and Palace of the Vampire Queen (because it just isnt a modern module in any sense of the word and doesnt fit the game; it is totally "boxed set" designed) but for me they get the nod for the reasons explained.

But I admit my bias to the classics. Its the same with music. No matter how good Greenday is or Linkin Park or [name current band], the Stones are better because they impacted it all and they have stood the test of time. But that is just me stating my bias. You are free to have your own.

And obviously I am only one judge. Clearly, more people voted and gave input. You didnt see Forge of Fury or many others that made the final list on my list. I am just one voice.

Clark

 

[DaveStebbins]

I really enjoyed reading the list in Dungeon and the reactions in this thread. Sure, I have a few quibbles and would make some different recommendations; but, overall, this has been one of the most enjoyable threads I've read in a long time.

For the record, I would list both Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia in the top five (can't wait to read more of the new Caverns and then run it), but that is just from the personal experiences I've had and the reactions of the people I've run through those adventures. Dark Tower was actually voted my group's favorite adventure in 1985, but that was at 9 AM, after they spent all night playing through it and no one even came close to nodding off. Now, almost 20 years later (with a different group), some of us are lucky to make it to 11 PM without nodding.

Based upon the wealth of wonderful 3E adventures out there, I'd definitely like to see this subject revisited every few years.

-Dave

 

[rounser]

But that is just me stating my bias. You are free to have your own.

Yup, I harbor plenty of my own.

Psychological research suggests we do add a silver lining to old memories, so that they appear better than they were...add that to the luxury of time spent sorting out the good ones from the bad (and conveniently forgetting the bad ones), and all the social proof hype that can accumulate around classics, and it's no wonder that we (as humans) can't make objective judgements on art, new versus old...

Other research suggests that even if something is detected as being good quality by a lower part of the brain, it can be over-ruled by higher brain functions which say it's not a genre the person feels loyal to, and therefore it must be bad, without the person even noticing.

On the topic of music I read recently that the pop format used by the Black Eyed Peas is almost exactly the same one used by the Beatles, in terms of arrangement and structure...even so, there's no way I could assess them on the same plane, knowing the Beatles' place in the pop music pantheon.

I think Mearls pointed out earlier in this thread that modules are even more ethereal a thing to assess than a piece of music or a novel, as it's caught up in setting romance, player quality, "what the DM makes of it", dungeon-crawl affinity, art preference, etc....so on this one I don't think there's even a way to please half the people, half of the time.

 

[Teflon Billy]

I'm always kind of shocked how little love The Secret of Bone Hill gets on these lists.

Maybe it is just me that loved it :\

 

[rounser]

Maybe it is just me that loved it :\

You're not alone; I'm a fan of that one too. I think that it and Ruins of Adventure are excellent "explore the map" modules, and you really don't see much of that - most modules are railroads when they're outside the dungeon - which is a pity, because exploring is fun, and a good deal of what adventure is all about. The only other one I can think of off the top of my head is a Dungeon magazine adventure called "Alicorn"....surely there are more...

 

[Melan]

Maybe it is just me that loved it :\

Nope. L1 is most definitely in my top5 - not just because what it is, but for its influence on my DMing style.