Shared Experiences: Worlds Largest Dungeon, Shackled City or Other?

[JoeGKushner]

Now that the Shackled City has been out for a while, are you playing it, or still moving through the WLD?

I've had friends in three seperate groups that have tried takaling the WLD and all have fallen apart due to real life issues.

One of the things I'm curious about, is do you feel that these campaigns in a box will help players connect at conventions and other avenues through the old 'shared experience' that many older players had with classics like White Plume Moutain, Ravenloft, or Barrier Peaks?

I think to a point yes, but I think that Shackled City, becuase it's "official", has a better chance than WLD or the Drow Wars.

What about others?

 

[Crothian]

I'm sticking with WLD. I do think shared experinces are important and I tried to promote that in August but it didn't take.

How is Shackled City official??

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm sticking with WLD. I do think shared experinces are important and I tried to promote that in August but it didn't take.

How is Shackled City official??

For one, it uses official monsters. Unless they have special permission, no other company would be so free to dip their toe in the IP of WoTC like Beholders, Dark Stalkers, Dark Creepers and other elements of the D&D brand like Greyhawk deities.

For two, it's a compiliation from Dungeon, an official D&D magazine.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Gien the choice only of those two to run campaigns, I'd go with Shackled City. There's significantly more variety in the types of adventures, as well as fewer "built-in" restrictions, like the significant modifications WLD suggests to spells, eliminating druids, etc.

I own both, but am running neither at the moment. I do think the "campaign in a box" offers a great shared experience for generations of gamers, but only for truly committed gamers. Because casual gamers don't run campaigns of that magnitude that last, I think its the smaller adventures that have the real chance to become true shared experience classics -- like the modules you listed were for the 1E era, and a couple of Adventure Path modules and 3rd party modules are becoming for 3E.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Feel free to chime in with what you think may be shared experiences.

You mentioned the adventure path, and to be honest, I think it had potential. I've run the Sunless Citadel a few times, been in Forge of Fury, and messed with the one with those stupid bat things, but overall, I don't know if they were as classic, and the fact that they haven't been updated or compiled for 3.5, does not speak well of their chances of being the new shared experiences.

Heck, I might think Rappan Athuk, Necropolis or even Lost City of Barakus might be up there.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I suspect more casual groups run lower level adventures than mid- or higher, so those adventures generally have a better chance of becoming "shared experience" adventures.

I'd guess Forge of Fury and Sunless Citadel from the original adventrue path, as well as Of Sound Mind and Nemoren's Vault from the early 3E era.

Lost City of Barakus definitely has potential as one of those adventures -- small enough for a casual campaign, but big enough for a fairly meaty, long-running adventure. Don't know how many were sold, or if it will remain in print.

The first three Eberron adventures might become such for the Eberron campaign setting, but I think the true classic shared experience adventures are more setting generic.

 

[Crothian]

For one, it uses official monsters. Unless they have special permission, no other company would be so free to dip their toe in the IP of WoTC like Beholders, Dark Stalkers, Dark Creepers and other elements of the D&D brand like Greyhawk deities.

For two, it's a compiliation from Dungeon, an official D&D magazine.

Wow, Shackled City is a great product but seriously, if people are choosing it for these reasons.. :\

 

[delericho]

I would be surprised if any 3.X module becomes part of the tapestry of classic shared experiences, with the possible exceptions of the Sunless Citadel and Death in Freeport.

There are just too many groups doing too many things, and too many published adventures for that sort of shared experience to really occur now, IMO. (And, although I think it's a shame we don't have that sort of shared experience, the reasons for this are all good things, again IMO.)

 

[DaveMage]

An interesting question.

The "classics" of 3rd edition, to me, are Rappan Athuk, the WLD, and Shackled City.

I haven't had a chance to really look at Ruins of the Dragon Lord, but I've heard extremely little buzz about it on these boards.

Judging from "buzz" on these boards, I think the WLD is by far and away the most popular.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Wow, Shackled City is a great product but seriously, if people are choosing it for these reasons.. :\

How about: it's cheaper.