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lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
POLL: Greatest "Golden Era" Module for D&D.
atanakar
Hero
I have no nostalgia (or love) for B2, even if it's the module that came with my Moldvay Basic box. Didn't work for me, at the time, despite being the archetype of the sandbox module. I didn't vote for it. I don't see myself running it today. L1 The Secret of Bone Hill was my sandbox module.
3e came out in 2000. It's been 20 years already. I would say that the generation who started with 3e would not have any knowledge of B2 unless they are well read or know someone who has a basic box at home. I wonder how old the active participants of the EnWorld forum are...
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lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
B2 Keep on the Borderlands. Say what you will about the contrived setting, this module got a lot of people wanting to play more D&D. It was a simple template anyone could follow to create their own adventures - a settlement with a nearby dungeon, law vs chaos.
G3 - Hall of the Fire Giant King - At least one of the G series has to be top 5. G3 edged out G1 because it is both an end and a beginning, and introduces the drow.
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King. Innovative in many ways. Perhaps the first module to begin with a planned encounter - a prologue to set the stage for the adventure. Dragons are surprisingly rare for a game that has them in its name, but this one has an epic named dragon, with an encounter element recognizable as a prototype "lair action." Hard as hell and loaded with magic and loot that will probably never see the light of day since a TPK is the most likely outcome.
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God. Despite the N, it's not for novices, at least not novice DM's. If the Keep in B2 is too bland for you, Orlane is a great place to begin a campaign. It has a compelling story hook to drive players through all three pillars of a good game - RP, wilderness exploration, and dungeon delving. Yes, the final boss encounter is a problem as written.
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Don't let the McGuffin fall into the wrong hands! Everything else you find is yours! That's all the story I need. And we get to wander around in the wilderness until we find a cave, and then wander around in the cave dealing with assorted perils until we find the McGuffin? Sign me up. Some players would not enjoy this module, but for me it's the archetype of "Golden Era" adventures: written by Gary Gygax, new monsters, with background and location specific to Greyhawk.
G3 - Hall of the Fire Giant King - At least one of the G series has to be top 5. G3 edged out G1 because it is both an end and a beginning, and introduces the drow.
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King. Innovative in many ways. Perhaps the first module to begin with a planned encounter - a prologue to set the stage for the adventure. Dragons are surprisingly rare for a game that has them in its name, but this one has an epic named dragon, with an encounter element recognizable as a prototype "lair action." Hard as hell and loaded with magic and loot that will probably never see the light of day since a TPK is the most likely outcome.
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God. Despite the N, it's not for novices, at least not novice DM's. If the Keep in B2 is too bland for you, Orlane is a great place to begin a campaign. It has a compelling story hook to drive players through all three pillars of a good game - RP, wilderness exploration, and dungeon delving. Yes, the final boss encounter is a problem as written.
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Don't let the McGuffin fall into the wrong hands! Everything else you find is yours! That's all the story I need. And we get to wander around in the wilderness until we find a cave, and then wander around in the cave dealing with assorted perils until we find the McGuffin? Sign me up. Some players would not enjoy this module, but for me it's the archetype of "Golden Era" adventures: written by Gary Gygax, new monsters, with background and location specific to Greyhawk.
Mark Hope
Adventurer
D3 Vault of the Drow: An amazing underground sandbox with so much depth and colour packed into so few pages. As the culmination of all that came before it really delivered, and as the template for so much that came after, its place in history is assured.
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King: An ancient prophecy, a compelling plot, fascinating adversaries, evocative locations - this adventure has it all. It manages to deliver the authentic heroic fantasy experience from the start. The set pieces are incredible - the opening assassination attempt, the fight with the dragon Aulicus, the entry into the tomb, the tomb itself, the final show-down. Challenging and engrossing. A stunning achievement.
I3 Pharaoh: For pure dungeoneering, this adventure is hard to beat. A collection of highly imaginative locations with some wonderful tricks and traps, against a colourful backdrop. As the opening act of the Desert of Desolation trilogy, it shows great promise, but as a standalone, it's very satisfying in its own right. This is location-based, theme-appropriate dungeon crawling at its best.
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh: There's so much going on in this simple adventure that it's hard to know where to start. The setup is wonderfully simple but the way that the implied story unfolds is fantastic. It's a plot-heavy adventure that disguises itself as a simple exploration of an abandoned house yet somehow never deprives the PCs of their agency. Plenty is left open for the DM to decide (the identity of the assassin or the dead body in the cellar, the secret of the alchemist, the relationship between the two magic-users, the characters of the smugglers, the town of Saltmarsh itself) while still remaining completely coherent as-is. The moral dilemmas are written into the structure without being thrust in players' faces (should we really just be murdering these people?) and set the scene for the follow up very well. This is the true classic of the era.
X1 The Isle of Dread: The definitive wilderness exploration. This adventure has more potential than can be unlocked in a single campaign. As the site for the existing material, it is already head and shoulders above most other location-based wilderness adventures. Tribesmen, zombies, dinosaurs, ancient horrors, pirates, jungles, cults - it has it all. As a site for further development, it's astounding. This is a place that, once you use it properly in a campaign, you'll be coming back to it over and over.
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King: An ancient prophecy, a compelling plot, fascinating adversaries, evocative locations - this adventure has it all. It manages to deliver the authentic heroic fantasy experience from the start. The set pieces are incredible - the opening assassination attempt, the fight with the dragon Aulicus, the entry into the tomb, the tomb itself, the final show-down. Challenging and engrossing. A stunning achievement.
I3 Pharaoh: For pure dungeoneering, this adventure is hard to beat. A collection of highly imaginative locations with some wonderful tricks and traps, against a colourful backdrop. As the opening act of the Desert of Desolation trilogy, it shows great promise, but as a standalone, it's very satisfying in its own right. This is location-based, theme-appropriate dungeon crawling at its best.
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh: There's so much going on in this simple adventure that it's hard to know where to start. The setup is wonderfully simple but the way that the implied story unfolds is fantastic. It's a plot-heavy adventure that disguises itself as a simple exploration of an abandoned house yet somehow never deprives the PCs of their agency. Plenty is left open for the DM to decide (the identity of the assassin or the dead body in the cellar, the secret of the alchemist, the relationship between the two magic-users, the characters of the smugglers, the town of Saltmarsh itself) while still remaining completely coherent as-is. The moral dilemmas are written into the structure without being thrust in players' faces (should we really just be murdering these people?) and set the scene for the follow up very well. This is the true classic of the era.
X1 The Isle of Dread: The definitive wilderness exploration. This adventure has more potential than can be unlocked in a single campaign. As the site for the existing material, it is already head and shoulders above most other location-based wilderness adventures. Tribesmen, zombies, dinosaurs, ancient horrors, pirates, jungles, cults - it has it all. As a site for further development, it's astounding. This is a place that, once you use it properly in a campaign, you'll be coming back to it over and over.
Mark Hope
Adventurer
Agreed - the lower levels of the final dungeon area in particular are quite straightforward. I found that the sheer scope of what was happening made up for that, but it's definitely something to consider reworking. Although, my PCs just burrowed their way into the side of the dungeon instead of using the main doors (which they were very interested in stealing, but couldn't figure out a way to get them out of the dungeon
)B1 In Search of the Unknown - Yes, I think this is a better starter dungeon than Keep on the Borderlands. Where B2 is basically a bunch of monster barracks carved into a ravine, B1 is a classic dungeon. That is, an elaborate and weird labyrinth that reward exploration. There are all sorts of tricks and traps to play around with, from wizard laboratories to magic pools, and the history of the location comes through. I've always felt that the test of a good dungeon is how entertaining it is to explore even without combat encounters. And B1 wins hands-down in that criteria.
C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - Is there a more evocative and thematic location in this list? Atmospheric dioramas, sculptures, bas reliefs, mosaics, sculptures, and wardrobes. Exotic and weird monsters. Cunning and deadly traps. All held together by a richly developed theme of an ancient civilization. And there's no filler here. Every room offers atmosphere, and rewards interaction and clever play.
G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief - Gygax showed with G1 that monster barracks can be a hell of a lot of fun. The sleeping guards at the front gate train the PCs how to approach a lair intelligently. From there they can sneak around the steading like commandos, or engage with the over-the-top melee of the great hall. But it's the dungeons below, with their orcs ready to rebel, the actual dungeon, and the creepy temple of elemental evil that make this a rounded adventure location.
S2 White Plume Mountain - The quintessential fun-house dungeon. No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, the PCs are going to walk way with the artifact weapons instead of returning them to their clients. But the sequences of traps and set-piece encounters are pure mainlined RPG fun. Pro-tip: Before running this, make sure the PCs do not have a floating carpet at hand.
T1 The Village of Hommlet - Still the model for the evergreen 'village and mini-dungeon' campaign starter. The village is just detailed enough, and captures that marriage of the American West + Medieval Europe that characterizes default D&D to this day. The enemy is sinister. And the moathouse dungeon itself is a mini-classic, the bandits in the ruins giving away to darker and stranger enemies below.
C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - Is there a more evocative and thematic location in this list? Atmospheric dioramas, sculptures, bas reliefs, mosaics, sculptures, and wardrobes. Exotic and weird monsters. Cunning and deadly traps. All held together by a richly developed theme of an ancient civilization. And there's no filler here. Every room offers atmosphere, and rewards interaction and clever play.
G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief - Gygax showed with G1 that monster barracks can be a hell of a lot of fun. The sleeping guards at the front gate train the PCs how to approach a lair intelligently. From there they can sneak around the steading like commandos, or engage with the over-the-top melee of the great hall. But it's the dungeons below, with their orcs ready to rebel, the actual dungeon, and the creepy temple of elemental evil that make this a rounded adventure location.
S2 White Plume Mountain - The quintessential fun-house dungeon. No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, the PCs are going to walk way with the artifact weapons instead of returning them to their clients. But the sequences of traps and set-piece encounters are pure mainlined RPG fun. Pro-tip: Before running this, make sure the PCs do not have a floating carpet at hand.
T1 The Village of Hommlet - Still the model for the evergreen 'village and mini-dungeon' campaign starter. The village is just detailed enough, and captures that marriage of the American West + Medieval Europe that characterizes default D&D to this day. The enemy is sinister. And the moathouse dungeon itself is a mini-classic, the bandits in the ruins giving away to darker and stranger enemies below.
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