The Classic 1E modules - an exclusive list

[MerricB]

I've decided that I'm going to make a somewhat exclusive list about the "Classic" 1E modules. I'm not going to include modules that I don't think are widely enough known or appreciated... (That is to say, modules I don't think are classic enough. )

Heh.

G1-3: Against the Giants - the very first official AD&D modules, with an archetypal plot
D1-2: Descent into the Depths of the Earth - New cultures! New experiences. Shades of Jules Verne!
D3: Vault of the Drow - Absolutely incredible. The world expands once more.
Q1: Queen of the Spiderweb Pits - This one is marginal. We now know that it wasn't what Gary had envisioned, and that there are problems with it... but I still think it's a classic. It takes adventuring to a new plane!
S1: Tomb of Horrors - Exceedingly deadly, but iconic.
S2: White Plume Mountain - A good example of early D&D: Monsters, Traps, Tricks and Treasure
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks - A borderline classic, but on the list for various reasons.
S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - Another borderline module. It's really Monsters, Tricks, Traps and Treasure, but it gets classic status by the sheer number of new Monsters and Magic in it.
I3: Pharoah - My favourite module. I4 and I5 don't quite make the list - I don't think they're as well known.
I6: Ravenloft - Very iconic. Moving into new areas for D&D
T1-4: Temple of Elemental Evil - Greatly flawed, but still deserving classic status
A1, A2, A3, A4: original slaver modules - I view these as more classic tournament modules than great campaign modules. GDQ and T1-4 are great campaign modules, but A1-4 don't integrate as much as I would wish.
B2: Keep on the Borderlands - Honorary 1E status. The classic beginning module, possibly played by more players than anything else.

There you go. That's my list.

Some modules that didn't make it, though they're good modules:

U1-3: The Saltmarsh series. - Overall, I feel the material is too slight to warrant inclusion. U1 is over in a couple of sessions, U2 can be avoided, and U3 is way too difficult for the normal group of adventurers.
C1: Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan - An oddity. I really don't know it that well, so it doesn't make the list.
C2: The Ghost Tower of Inverness - Another tournament oddity. I know it better than C1, but it's a little too arbitrary for my liking
X1: The Isle of Dread - Very close to classic status, but there are enough people who don't like dinosaurs to keep it off the list.
WG4: Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun - I think the reputation of this module rests entirely on the backstory and the final few encounters. Don't get me wrong - I love the backstory and the end of this module, but there are other parts that I find rather dull.
WG5: Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure - The Terrible Iron Golem is great, but I can never quite get so enthused over the next two levels.
H1-4: Bloodstone Pass series - Very High Level, but not quite great enough
EX1, EX2: Dungeonland, The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror - Weird and amazing... but too far from regular D&D to make the classic list. I don't think they're that well known, either.

I invite you to create your own exclusive lists.

Cheers!

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

!?

Neither Secret of Bone Hill nor Palace of the Silver Princess make the list?


<scratches head>

 

[Piratecat]

Palace of the Silver Princess was stinky-winky.

Secret of Bone Hill was great, though, and I have a deep and abiding love for In Search of the Unknown.

 

[jgbrowning]

PotSP is a basic module, i think.

joe b.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

PotSP is a basic module, i think.

joe b.

Well, I dunno, he did drop X1 and B2 in the list. But, totally agreed. However, no "Against the Cult of the Reptile God?" I doth protest!

 

[Derulbaskul]

I would also add in Caverns of Thracia, although it's not TSR, and give Isle of Dread (the first module where I allowed AD&D druids) a promotion. Cult of the Reptile god is also probably worthy of a bump, IMO.

I'm not so sure about Q1, either. It has the unfortunate distinction of being the module that launched the whole "... and then we went to the Abyss and slew Lolth and later..."-mentality. Then again, the awesome ability score arrays for the pregenerated characters in D1-2 also contributed to the whole munchkin vibe....

 

[Xythlord]

And let us not forget R1-4 collectivley known as "The Egg of the Phoenix"

R1 To the Aid of Falx
R2 The Investigation of Hydell
R3 The Egg of the Phoenix
R4 Doc's Island

These modules cover moderately high level (for 2nd edition) and do so in a really great plot (you can only hear the plot wagon rumbling along a couple of times).

I would also like to add that the Slaver's series may have been tournament modules, but they weren't all that hard to bring into a campaign with some creative DMing between modules (giants were another story...)

 

[MerricB]

I think X1 probably deserves the promotion to my classic list.

L1 (The Secret of Bone Hill) is an oddity. It is really the first campaign module, rather than an adventure module in my estimation. I get frustrated by its organisation and lack of solid adventure hooks, so it doesn't make the classic list.

I had never heard of "Caverns of Thracia", which automatically disqualifies it - quite frankly, most non-TSR modules didn't quite have the distribution to build a classic status. (This is a major drawback to me being in Australia).

Q1 may have started off a few nasty trends, but so did D3 (after a few years, the Drow were everywhere!) Like S1, it has its flaws, but it is a seminal module.

B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (revised edition) is another module I'm not so familiar with - I think that its basic status precludes it to a certain extent. B2 and X1 were distributed widely due to their inclusion in the Basic and Expert sets, but B3 was much less widely distributed.

N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God is another module I'm not so familiar with, though I've recently acquired a copy. It may well deserve the classic status, or at least "noble contender".

Cheers!

 

[francisca]

G1-3: Against the Giants - the very first official AD&D modules, with an archetypal plot
D1-2: Descent into the Depths of the Earth - New cultures! New experiences. Shades of Jules Verne!
D3: Vault of the Drow - Absolutely incredible. The world expands once more.
Q1: Queen of the Spiderweb Pits - This one is marginal. We now know that it wasn't what Gary had envisioned, and that there are problems with it... but I still think it's a classic. It takes adventuring to a new plane!
S1: Tomb of Horrors - Exceedingly deadly, but iconic.
S2: White Plume Mountain - A good example of early D&D: Monsters, Traps, Tricks and Treasure
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks - A borderline classic, but on the list for various reasons.
S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - Another borderline module. It's really Monsters, Tricks, Traps and Treasure, but it gets classic status by the sheer number of new Monsters and Magic in it.
I3: Pharoah - My favourite module. I4 and I5 don't quite make the list - I don't think they're as well known.
I6: Ravenloft - Very iconic. Moving into new areas for D&D
T1-4: Temple of Elemental Evil - Greatly flawed, but still deserving classic status
A1, A2, A3, A4: original slaver modules - I view these as more classic tournament modules than great campaign modules. GDQ and T1-4 are great campaign modules, but A1-4 don't integrate as much as I would wish.
B2: Keep on the Borderlands - Honorary 1E status. The classic beginning module, possibly played by more players than anything else.

There you go. That's my list.

My list would drop the I modules, S3 and S4, T1-4, but add C1, C2, and T1.

Other modules I think highly of:
X2, X4/5, and B10.

And PC is correct, Palace of the Silver Princess is way over rated. In my mind, the only reason it has a rep is becuase of the controversy surrounding it.

B4 is nice module, but one thing about it always ticked me off. The lower levels are sketched out roughly, and suggestions for designing encounters are given. Here is a quote: "There are many other ways to set up this encounter, but the basic idea is to give the monster a reason to be in the area." The bold was placed there by the author. So you get this advice, and then you find a Blue Dragon in a 30x30 room. Now I love dungeon crawls. I love those 13 trolls with a jug of alchemy. But to give advice, and then do something like that, stuck in my craw for some reason. But I'd still recommend B4.

 

[MerricB]

My list would drop the I modules, S3 and S4, T1-4, but add C1, C2, and T1.

I wouldn't disagree that much.

The I modules (to some extent) come a little late in the piece, when the explosion in modules (as to what was before) made them less universal.

S3 and S4, as I mention above, are somewhat marginal in my estimation.

T1 or T1-4? It's an interesting dilemma. I don't think T1 holds up that well without the Temple being designed as well, and I have problems with the danger level of the moathouse... but T1 is well known and probably deserves classic status over T1-4 for various reasons.

C1 and C2: I find them marginal between "almost classic" or "true classic", so...

Cheers!