JediSoth
Voice Over Artist & Author
I own
4 D3 Vault of the Drow Gary Gygax 1978
Never ran it, but I got it signed by Gary Gygax AND cover artist Erol Otus! If I recall, it is a sort of sandbox adventure taking place in a Drow city in which the PCs get involved in all the politicking while trying to find the final clues that have been building up since G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. Gary Gygax spoke fondly of how unique this adventure was (at the time) when I spoke to him about it at Gen Con.
5 G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief Gary Gygax 1978
Basically, an assault on a Hill Giant fort. As I recall, it lays the groundwork that leads the PCs to G2, then G3, the D-series, and eventually into the Abyss to face off against Lloth herself in Q1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits.
8 S1 Tomb of Horrors Gary Gygax 1978
I've seen this listed as both the best of the classic modules and the worst. There's only 2 real monsters to fight, I think; everything else is a deathtrap. I ran this at my bachelor party. One player died 4 times in the first hallway.
9 B2 The Keep on the Borderlands Gary Gygax 1979
The very first module I played. I also ran an updated version of this for the only 4E game I DMed.
11 S2 White Plume Mountain Lawrence Schick 1979
This is one of my favorite dungeon-crawls ever! I really love how the map has little things on there that aren't referenced in the adventure. I steal bits from it whenever I need a quick dungeon crawl.
13 A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity David Cook 1980
I played through this in the 1st ed. days and ran an updated version for one of my first 3rd ed. campaigns. You have to modify it a bit since it was written for tournament use, but it's a good start for an anti-slavery campaign.
14 C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan Harold Johnson, Jeff R. Leason 1980
Nice Aztec/Mayan feel. There are a few timed elements, as this was originally a tournament adventure (as were many from this era).
16 Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits David C. Sutherland III Gary Gygax 1980
I've run this several times (only in 1st & 2nd edition), but I have yet to have a party make it past the drow with the Deathlances. I played through it once; I think we got to the alternate plane part before the game fizzled.
17 S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Gary Gygax1980
AD&D Meets Sci-Fi! I bought this on eBay, but haven't done much more than skim through it. I hear that the laser guns and such the PCs can find and use can very quickly wreck a campaign.
18 X1 Isle of Dread David Cook Tom Moldvay 1980
19 A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade Harold Johnson Tom Moldvay 1981
20 A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords Allen Hammack 1981
21 A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords Lawrence Schic 1981
See comment for A1. A4 is one of my favorite scenarios. Though a bit railroad-y in how the PCs begin the module, it does really go further than many others I've read in rewarding clever play and out-of-the-box thinking. It's a fitting climax to the series.
22 B3 Palace of the Silver Princess Tom Moldvay, Jean Wells 1981
For DMs, this is actually a better starter module than B2 - Keep on the Borderlands because it holds your hand and instructs you how to run the game. The adventure itself is pretty forgettable, though.
23 D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth Gary Gygax 1981
24 G1-2-3 Against the Giants Gary Gygax 1981
26 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill Lenard Lakofka 1981
27 U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Dave Browne Don Turnbull
31 I3 Pharaoh Tracy & Laura Hickman 1982
34 U2 Danger at Dunwater Dave Browne Don Turnbull1982
38 EX1 Dungeonland Gary Gygax 1983
39 EX2 Land Beyond the Magic Mirror Gary Gygax1983
For some reason, I love these adventures and their irreverent embrace of the ultra-wacky. Basically, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass meet AD&D. Everytime I run a group through these, the talking flowers that hurl insults at the PCs ALWAYS elicit rage. Either I'm good with insults, or players really hate cheeky sunflowers.
40 I4 Oasis of the White Palm Philip Meyers Tracy Hickman1983
Another one of my very favorite adventures. I stole one of the tombs with the Pits of Everfall and have re-used that bit several times.
41 I5 Lost Tomb of Martek Tracy Hickman 1983
113 I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill Tracy & Laura Hickman 1986
118 N4 Treasure Hunt Aaron Allston 1986
I like this one because it starts the PCs at 0-level and they develop into 1st-level characters based on the choices they make during the adventure. It's a pretty good way to start a rags-to-riches (or zero-to-hero) campaign.
120 OA2 Night of Seven Swords Various 1986
136 I11 Needle Frank Mentzer 1987
154 FRC1 Ruins of Adventure Mike Breault David Cook Jim Ward Steve Winter 1988
Based on the Pools of Radiance computer game, it pretty much follows the plot of the classic SSI Gold Box game, though it's a bit more sandbox-y in nature than the computer game was.
(+ a few others not on the list, like FRC2 Azure Bonds)
Additionally, of those listed, I played in:
42 I6 Ravenloft Tracy & Laura Hickman 1983
48 UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave Dave Brown Tom Kirby Graeme Morris 1983
50 X4 Master of the Desert Nomads David Cook 1983
I don't really remember the details of them, but I do remember thinking they were awesome at the time and I would like to find copies of them. I'm always keeping an eye out when I go to 1/2 Price Books. Speaking of which, I may have picked up I6 Ravenloft during a recent excursion, but I can't remember and am not at home to check my shelves.
4 D3 Vault of the Drow Gary Gygax 1978
Never ran it, but I got it signed by Gary Gygax AND cover artist Erol Otus! If I recall, it is a sort of sandbox adventure taking place in a Drow city in which the PCs get involved in all the politicking while trying to find the final clues that have been building up since G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. Gary Gygax spoke fondly of how unique this adventure was (at the time) when I spoke to him about it at Gen Con.
5 G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief Gary Gygax 1978
Basically, an assault on a Hill Giant fort. As I recall, it lays the groundwork that leads the PCs to G2, then G3, the D-series, and eventually into the Abyss to face off against Lloth herself in Q1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits.
8 S1 Tomb of Horrors Gary Gygax 1978
I've seen this listed as both the best of the classic modules and the worst. There's only 2 real monsters to fight, I think; everything else is a deathtrap. I ran this at my bachelor party. One player died 4 times in the first hallway.
9 B2 The Keep on the Borderlands Gary Gygax 1979
The very first module I played. I also ran an updated version of this for the only 4E game I DMed.
11 S2 White Plume Mountain Lawrence Schick 1979
This is one of my favorite dungeon-crawls ever! I really love how the map has little things on there that aren't referenced in the adventure. I steal bits from it whenever I need a quick dungeon crawl.
13 A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity David Cook 1980
I played through this in the 1st ed. days and ran an updated version for one of my first 3rd ed. campaigns. You have to modify it a bit since it was written for tournament use, but it's a good start for an anti-slavery campaign.
14 C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan Harold Johnson, Jeff R. Leason 1980
Nice Aztec/Mayan feel. There are a few timed elements, as this was originally a tournament adventure (as were many from this era).
16 Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits David C. Sutherland III Gary Gygax 1980
I've run this several times (only in 1st & 2nd edition), but I have yet to have a party make it past the drow with the Deathlances. I played through it once; I think we got to the alternate plane part before the game fizzled.
17 S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks Gary Gygax1980
AD&D Meets Sci-Fi! I bought this on eBay, but haven't done much more than skim through it. I hear that the laser guns and such the PCs can find and use can very quickly wreck a campaign.
18 X1 Isle of Dread David Cook Tom Moldvay 1980
19 A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade Harold Johnson Tom Moldvay 1981
20 A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords Allen Hammack 1981
21 A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords Lawrence Schic 1981
See comment for A1. A4 is one of my favorite scenarios. Though a bit railroad-y in how the PCs begin the module, it does really go further than many others I've read in rewarding clever play and out-of-the-box thinking. It's a fitting climax to the series.
22 B3 Palace of the Silver Princess Tom Moldvay, Jean Wells 1981
For DMs, this is actually a better starter module than B2 - Keep on the Borderlands because it holds your hand and instructs you how to run the game. The adventure itself is pretty forgettable, though.
23 D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth Gary Gygax 1981
24 G1-2-3 Against the Giants Gary Gygax 1981
26 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill Lenard Lakofka 1981
27 U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Dave Browne Don Turnbull
31 I3 Pharaoh Tracy & Laura Hickman 1982
34 U2 Danger at Dunwater Dave Browne Don Turnbull1982
38 EX1 Dungeonland Gary Gygax 1983
39 EX2 Land Beyond the Magic Mirror Gary Gygax1983
For some reason, I love these adventures and their irreverent embrace of the ultra-wacky. Basically, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass meet AD&D. Everytime I run a group through these, the talking flowers that hurl insults at the PCs ALWAYS elicit rage. Either I'm good with insults, or players really hate cheeky sunflowers.
40 I4 Oasis of the White Palm Philip Meyers Tracy Hickman1983
Another one of my very favorite adventures. I stole one of the tombs with the Pits of Everfall and have re-used that bit several times.
41 I5 Lost Tomb of Martek Tracy Hickman 1983
113 I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill Tracy & Laura Hickman 1986
118 N4 Treasure Hunt Aaron Allston 1986
I like this one because it starts the PCs at 0-level and they develop into 1st-level characters based on the choices they make during the adventure. It's a pretty good way to start a rags-to-riches (or zero-to-hero) campaign.
120 OA2 Night of Seven Swords Various 1986
136 I11 Needle Frank Mentzer 1987
154 FRC1 Ruins of Adventure Mike Breault David Cook Jim Ward Steve Winter 1988
Based on the Pools of Radiance computer game, it pretty much follows the plot of the classic SSI Gold Box game, though it's a bit more sandbox-y in nature than the computer game was.
(+ a few others not on the list, like FRC2 Azure Bonds)
Additionally, of those listed, I played in:
42 I6 Ravenloft Tracy & Laura Hickman 1983
48 UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave Dave Brown Tom Kirby Graeme Morris 1983
50 X4 Master of the Desert Nomads David Cook 1983
I don't really remember the details of them, but I do remember thinking they were awesome at the time and I would like to find copies of them. I'm always keeping an eye out when I go to 1/2 Price Books. Speaking of which, I may have picked up I6 Ravenloft during a recent excursion, but I can't remember and am not at home to check my shelves.
Last edited:
