Older adventure modules with good story/plot.

[jdrakeh]

For me, modules like the Adlerweg series and Saltmarsh series were the golden standard because things were happening for a reason -- these modules contained distinct personalities and plots, timelines and backstory, and reasons why things were as they were. Internal consistency was just creeping into adventure adveture design; I can recall playing these modules for the first time and being blown away.

Sure, there were some artefacts of early adventure design present (the completely nonsensical appearance of giant weasels in the encounter chart for the haunted house in Saltmarsh comes to mind) but, by and large, these modules were internally consistent and made some kind of sense. They didn't have that artifical "Here, I've lined up these waliking sacks of XP for you to fight. . . just because!" feel. Stuff was happening in the world around the PCs, plots were unfolding, and gone were the random gauntlet runs.

So. . . what other old-ish modules can you think of that were light on the random encounters, heavy on the story (or story seeds, anyhow), and presented in a way that moved them away from a very transparent 'bank run' scenario (i.e., a scenario that existed primarily to provide PCs with a source of XP, setting/world be damned) and toward a more story-like structure that gave PCs thing to care about other than racking up levels?

 

[roguerouge]

N1: Against the Cult of the Lizard God, I think it was, made for a nice, creepy mystery adventure. Get rid of the DMPC and have the party be an appropriate level and bam!

 

[Castellan]

I have always and ever been a fan of B10 - Night's Dark Terror. It was a great module for slowly removing a DM's training wheels and there was an entertaining plot that led to the possibility of recurring villains (or at least a recurring villainous organization) plus a nice travelogue of the Karameikos region.

It was definitely a huge change from Keep on the Borderlands, which really was just "treasure waiting to be found." I've run parts of B10 for my group under the Castles & Crusades system, and it made for a refreshing jaunt down memory lane.

 

[Akrasia]

B10 Night's Dark Terror. Best D&D (any edition) module of all time.

UK4 When A Star Falls. Best AD&D module of all time.

 

[Akrasia]

I have always and ever been a fan of B10 - Night's Dark Terror...

You are a wise person!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I was always a fan of S3- both as a player and a DM.

THe classic Slavers/Giants/Demonweb arc was cool, as was anything involving the Temple of Elemental Evil.

I had a good time running Vecna Lives and Desert of Desolation.

The Judges Guild adventures were generally well done.

I have to say, though, that I'm relatively impressed by some of the big story arc adventures that have been published in the past few years, like Savage Tides, Age of Worms, and Shackled City.

 

[the Jester]

L2: The Assassin's Knot.

A wonderful mystery, with a plot only hinted at in L1. Hell, there were clues in the back cover text of L2, but odds are you wouldn't pick up on them until after you solved the mystery!

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Everything writen by The Companions. They all had a plot and a timeline. Things happened unless the PCs intervened.

 

[Celebrim]

I think UK1 'Beyond the Crystal Cave' is one of the most startlingly ahead of its times modules ever. The plot - more or less a typical rescue the innocents adventure - is fairly thin despite the few twists, but on the other hand virtually the entire module is one long RP encounter interspersed with some problem solving. Almost every encounter is more easily handled with diplomacy (or evasion!) than combat and you'd be hard pressed to identify a villain or after the first few rooms anything like a traditional dungeon. There is some treasure, but the bulk of the treasure that the player's are likely to end up with in a good aligned party is in the form of a story awards.

One of the things I really like about the module is an attribute it shares with another classic module - Tomb of Horrors. The module is virtually level independent in as much as a party of 1st level characters acting with intelligence could concievably overcome the challenges of the module, whereas a very high level party trying to bash thier way through will certainly come to grief.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Saltmarsh has a great plot, no doubt. What it needs to push it over the top is a timeline.

If the PCs don't disrupt the smuggling operation, they offload their goods in Saltmarsh on Day X.

If the PCs still haven't acted, the smugglers deliver weapons to the lizard men on Day X+3 (or whatever).

... the lizard men conclude their negotiations with the locathah, mermen, and tritons on Day X+7.

... etc.

This would really give the module a sense of dynamism. The only other part that needs fixing is the "what if the PCs parlay with the lizard men right off the bat", but the module does provide the giant crocodile (and dragon!) encounter as partial compensation.

= = =

Other modules with potentially cool plots:

B4 (The Lost City) -- as-is it's rather static, with the Cynadecians just waiting around for the PCs to show up. But it doesn't have to be. Make the Zargon cult more active and villainous in kidnapping people for sacrifice. Make the three Cynadecian religions more hostile to each other, with the occassional battle in the streets (so to speak). The PCs should feel like they've walked into a gang war, with all the attendant opportunities to play all three sides against each other.

I2 (Tomb of the Lizard King) - one of my favorite modules of all time, after Saltmarsh. Sakatha is a freaking awesome villain, even moreso if you play him actively; i.e., he should come after the PCs as soon as they reveal themselves as a significant threat (which in my game was right around the time they killed the green dragon). Sakatha is also deeply insane, and that just adds to his greatness.

I like the way this module starts: with the PCs as bystanders during an attempted assassination of the duke! They then get the follow the trail of destruction that leads to the Tomb. Lots of opportunity here to add a timeline: additional attacks on the duchy, peasants getting kidnapped or murdered, etc.

Once inside the tomb, the module as written turns into more of a dungeon crawl, but it doesn't have to be. There's a huge hoard of ghouls that ought to be intelligently combing the place for the PCs, not to mention Sakatha can scry on them. If I were doing this today, I'd have a timeline set up so that on some particular day Sakatha will have enough sacrifices ready for a mass ritual that will (do something really bad that the PCs must prevent). If the PCs dawdle... oh well.

I12 (Egg of the Phoenix) - A deeply flawed module, but the plot basically revolves around the titular artifact. The beginning parts of this module do feature an implied timeline of sorts. The foray into the vampire's lair (to get the potions of dragon control so that they can't be used against the friendly, allied dragons -- which is a nice twist on the traditional dungeon crawl in and of itself) has a VERY DETAILED timeline.

I like that this module gives ample opportunity for recurring villains, some of whom are even called out within the module itself.

Towards the end, with the

Spoiler

cheesy betrayal by Doc/One

, it just gets silly, but you could rework it so it makes more sense. You've got to love any module whose climax features a massive battle in a "pocket plane" that will cataclysmically explode if too many high level spells are cast. Talk about forcing the PCs into a dilemma: cast spells and risk destruction? Or don't cast them and risk getting their asses handed to them?

WG5 (Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure) - another static-as-written module that just begs for a plot and a timeline. Eli ought to be actively working up to some kind of grisly ritual involving Kerzit and the Tome, not just sitting around.

The Dungeon magazine conversions/continuations of Maure Castle are very nice as well. There is a much stronger implied plot, and while we may never get the "official" answers, we can make them up ourselves. It seems pretty obvious that Yeenoghu is involved, and where he is, Orcus is sure to follow. Not to mention that statue of Malcanthet... jeez, that many demon lords in one place, you're bound to have sparks. The PCs could quickly get in over their heads.

Add in what's left of the Maures themselves, and this module has lots of potential for tons and tons of adventuring.