Pramas said:
And for the record, I did not vote for Forge of Fury. Or Tomb of Horrors for that matter.
Nor did I.
Since Erik said he didn't mind:
(glad to see my #1 was the list #1!)
1&2) D1-2 (Descent into the Depths of the Earth) and D3 (Vault of the Drow): The underdark has become a classic place to set adventures. This is where it all started. Vault of the Drow additionally was one of the first adventures that presented the opposition as a large, dynamic site with a significant potential for NPC interplay and reaction to PCs.
3) Dead Gods: All too often, D&D adventures miss out on the sort of teeth-gritting edge of your seat action that define the word. This Planescape adventure by Monte Cook brings that spirit of adventure back in a race against time to prevent the ressurection of a demon lord.
4) Rod of Seven Parts: This was one of the various boxed set adventures in which the players go on the classic “collect the pieces of the artifact” grand adventure. What sticks out in my memory in this one was the players’ reaction to the giants that actually had lives as they watched the jovian soap opera unfold in front of them. The variety of subquests that the PCs must complete lends a great degree of freshness to the adventure.
5) Ruins of Undermountain: Dungeon crawls are an immortal edifice of D&D gaming, and the Ruins of Undermountain is possibly the most successful attempt to make a mega-dungeon, one that was almost more a setting than an adventure.
6) The Ghost Machine: This is one half of the double adventure “To Stand on Hallowed Ground” by Fiery Dragon, one of the first d20 publishers to try their hand at adventures. The Ghost Machine presented a manor plagued by eternally regerating undead, which put the stress on the PCs while they tried to unravel the mystery behind this place.
7) If Thoughts Could Kill: This was an Ennie favorite, and with good reason. What made this adventure special was not so much the flow of events itself, but the setup, auspicious goals, and resolution. ITCK is a model for high level adventures, allowing players to use their characters’ capabilities without letting them be a one-spell or feat resolution to the adventure, and the outcome of the adventure allows the characters to alter the universe, but gives the DM total control over how significant the changes are.
8) Tales from the Infinite Staircase: Though many Planescape fans cite Dead Gods as a favorite, this one gets passed up a lot. It’s something of a hidden treasure, in which (again) Monte Cook weaves together a menagerie of adventures (which can be played in any order) in a fascinating ballet, in which the overall goal of the adventure (stopping a hell-spawned plague) can be met in many ways.
9) Return to the Tomb of Horrors: The original was memorable, but pretty much a meatgrinder. The “Return to” boxed set took the original and expanded around it, creating an epic, challenging adventure, featuring the moody city of Moil.
10) Lich Lords: This “Role Aids” was sort of a third party adventure before there was any sort of d20 or open game license. The adventure was epic in scope, pitting the characters against 5 powerful lich lords. Though a great challenge as a straightforward adventure, the adventure had a few twists, such as backdoor politicking and betrayal between the liches that the players could take advantage of.
Honorable Mention Non-D&D Adventure:
Murder on Arcturus Station, for Traveller (the original, “classic” system.) This adventure was a classic murder mystery, but one that takes advantage of the RPG adventure format. To wit, the players can’t just read the ending: the adventure lets the GM choose “whodunnit” and how they did it, and the adventure provides the appropriate details to run the adventure given the GM’s chosen murderer.
