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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bullgrit" data-source="post: 4887458" data-attributes="member: 31216">With 53 votes counted, here are the modules that scored 80% or better on the “old school” chart:White Plume MountainTomb of Horrors (100%)Slave Pits of the UndercityHidden Shrine of TamoachanGhost Tower of InvernessSteading of the Hill Giant ChiefExpedition to Barrier PeaksLost Caverns of TsojcanthVillage of HommletQueen of the Demonweb PitsCan we all agree that 80% (8 in 10 gamers here) agreement is enough? Looking over the choices (for and not for), I see some interesting things. But first, I’m going to play sort of devil’s advocate, here, because I think it’ll be funny. (You may not agree with my humor.)***Devil’s Advocate / Snark Mode On***Steading of the Hill Giant Chief is old school? It’s full of unnecessary fluff about this giant being an emissary, that giant married to the other giant, this monster is a pet, and so on. I don’t care about the giants’ politics or family relationships, the PCs are just gonna kill ‘em all anyway. What a bunch of wasted info. And there’s a rebellion going on in the steading dungeon? So, what, are the PCs supposed to take sides and maybe negotiate a peace treaty? That ain’t old school dungeon crawlin’. Ridiculous waste of text explaining all of that. A good old school DM doesn’t need all that fluff. If for some strange reason the PCs need to know why there’s a particular monster in the room next to the chief’s, then a competent old school DM can make it up on the spot. This module is definitely new school with all its background fluff and motivational explanations for the monsters.Expedition to Barrier Peaks is sci-fi. Ray guns, grenades, powered armor -- this has nothing to do with D&D. This will ruin a normal, old school D&D campaign. This module was written by someone who wanted to play Star Trek but had to trick his Players into showing up for the game. This ain’t old school; it ain’t even D&D.Queen of the Demonweb Pits is freakin’ steam punk! STEAM PUNK! D&D has jumped the shark.***Devil’s Advocate / Snark Mode Off***Now, for serious analysis.The 80% choices and their publication dates:White Plume Mountain -- 1979Tomb of Horrors -- 1978Slave Pits of the Undercity -- 1980Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan -- 1980Ghost Tower of Inverness – 1980Steading of the Hill Giant Chief -- 1978Expedition to Barrier Peaks -- 1980Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth -- 1982Village of Hommlet – 1979Queen of the Demonweb Pits – 19801978 to 1980 with one outlier in 1982.No module published between 1978 and 1980 failed to get 80%. Only  1 of 10 after 1980 got 80%.In looking at aspects other than the publication dates of the 80% choices, I do see a pattern. But seeing the pattern makes me wonder:If Village of Hommlet (90%) is old school, why not Secret of Bone Hill (62%)? Both modules contain detailed descriptions of small towns with an outpost of evil nearby to explore. In my eyes, they are *very* similar. Am I wrong? How about Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (56%)?If White Plume Mountain (94%) is old school, why not Pharoah (28%)? Both dungeons are essentially a collection of mix and match monsters and traps with no ecological sense. The plots are both basically go in and retrieve the McGuffin. Pharoah is a bigger module – WPM is only 16 pages – with more than just a single dungeon crawl, so does this have an effect on the choice?What do you see as the common bonds between the modules that got 80% “old school”? What happened around 1981 that changed module design to apparently abandon “old school” style?And to go back to my devil’s advocate/snark comments for a serious thought: I remember back in the day how some people considered Barrier Peaks and Demonweb as abominations in D&D. Some said space ships and steam technology had no place in D&D; some people hated those modules with a passion. But here they score 90% and 83% “old school”.Bullgrit</blockquote>

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