In Search of the Best Module Ever

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I have to vote for the modules that I ran over and over and over...

Keep on the Boarderlands
Against the Giants
Village of Homlet
Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan

 

[johnsemlak]

I already said G1-2-3 is my favorite, but since most people are posting multiple favorites...

I can't believe nobody as mentioned The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. This module sets the standard for exploring a creepy temple holding an forgotten, evil secret. Absolutely Lovecraftian.

As for others, many fine modules have been mentioned above. Certainly, I agree with the Desert of Desolation series, X4-5: Desert Nomads series, B10: Night's Dark Terror, and T1-4.

Finally, I would add B3: Palace of the Silver Princess

 

[Tormalicus]

WOW! Talk about great responses. Thanks everybody. With all this info, I think I can set up a ranking list of the all time best modules in Dungeons & Dragons history.

My vote......uh........I don't know!

There all the best. Dungeons & Dragons is one of the funnest past times!

Thanks again.

 

[howandwhy99]

If you plan on polling for the best module, maybe you could do three different threads divided up by each edition? Most of the modules offered here are 1st edition and I'd hate to see so many of the good 3rd edition adventures get overlooked.

 

[DaveStebbins]

If we're keeping to the TSR requirement, the one my players seemed to enjoy most was the original Ravenloft, I6. It seemd to make them very uncomfortable in many places and elicited many "that's cool" remarks.

The D&D module that had an entire party of players saying it was their all-time favorite was Dark Tower by Judges Guild. That one came up in conversations many times after we were done with it, and even spawned a "return to" treatment by a different group of PCs from the same players.

My all-time favorite as a DM has to be Caverns of Thracia, also by Judges Guild. I used to keep track of characters and, at one time, I compiled a list of the names of all the PCs which had been into the module for at least one session (over the many times I've DMed it). The total was just under 150. That module rocked in many ways. I hope Necromancer does a great job expanding and updating it for 3E.

-Dave

 

[Tormalicus]

I'd hate to see so many of the good 3rd edition adventures get overlooked.

Well, this steps out of the scope of this thread, but oh well. These things kind of live and breath on their own.

So, do tell, howandwhy99 . What are some of the best 3ed modules you've played(any publisher)?

 

[diaglo]

If you plan on polling for the best module, maybe you could do three different threads divided up by each edition? Most of the modules offered here are 1st edition and I'd hate to see so many of the good 3rd edition adventures get overlooked.

time is the only real judge if something is memorable or a passing fad.

give it time. after 5ed you will start to see some other editions mentioned as being worthwhile.

right now i think this thread speaks volumes.

 

[howandwhy99]

What are some of the best 3ed modules you've played(any publisher)?

I really like the Necropolis adventure, but I originally played it under EGG's old imprint: Dangerous Journey's.

In my old group we played the Witchblade saga from Privateer Press. I was really impressed by it, but as a group we felt really constrained. It reminded me of the old DL adventures (of which, I only played the first before dropping).

In a new group I'm joining, we are going to start with the Freeport series. I've heard really good things about the adventure, so have purposefully put off reading anything about it.

In Planesailing's storyhour I read Pcat's "Of Sound Mind" and now have a copy of the module to hopefully run someday. I certainly rate it highly.

Unfortunately, most of my personal gaming experience has been in homebrew campaigns or other systems. I began back in '87 right after 2nd edition arrived. So, most 1E adventures I've played were run under 2nd edition rules.

But I don't think that just because an adventure is old makes it good. Playing through ToEE and Dragon Mountain was tedious for us when we ran through them back in college. So many rooms and so little reason behind them is part of the reason we insisted personally created adventures from then on.

 

[Silver Moon]

My List, in order:

#1 Keep on the Borderlands (TSR B2)
#2 Isle of Dread (TSR X1)
#3 Bullets and Ballots (Boot Hill)
#4 The Ghost of Mistmoor (Dungeon Magazine #35)
#5 Verbosh (Judge's Guild)
#6 The Assassins Run (Dragon Magazine #64)
#7 Slaver Series (TSR A1-A4)
#8 X-Terminate (Marvel Superheroes)
#9 Dwellers of the Forbidden City (TSR I1)
#10 Chagmat (Dragon Magazine #63)

The above list is based on modules that I have actually DM'ed or played in. I would add PirateCat's "Of Sound Mind" to the list, as I was planning to run that one next. That was before I made to mistake of mentioning that fact at a recent social function, where somebody who played it blurted out "Oh, thats the one where...." followed by three major spoilers, in front of three of my players.

 

[rounser]

Yeah, too bad they didn't give you 500 pages of room descriptions instead of 128. We all know that 128 pages is positively anorexic when in comes to room descriptions. And lord forbid you provide room to expand a module...

I'm uncomfortable with excessive whitespace on module maps, and RoU is the poster boy for that (pun intended).

Better off throwing out the maps and making your own of a much smaller dungeon fully equipped with room descriptions, as opposed to ten empty ones full of dust for every described one, as is the status quo in that product. Like, say, lifting the map of Quasqueton that's incorporated into level 1 and using that as the entirety of Undermountain Level 1, and you'd have a stocked dungeon out of the book.

rounser, you wouldn't happen to be one "mike" who thinks Greyhawk Ruins is everything that RoU isn't, would you? This argument sounds vaguely familiar to me.

Nope. My group and I found Greyhawk Ruins kind of dull in play, and what there is of RoU is of higher quality than it. I'm not familiar with "mike".

I had a feeling you'd comment Psion - weren't you involved in a large RoU project at one stage, before you started reviewing? You're also familiar with Night Below, if memory serves, and found it lacking when it got to the megadungeon part. I've found that megadungeons in general seem to suffer from quantity or quality problems, and RoU seems to suffer from the former (rather than the latter, which seems to be the standard problem with them IME).