The Classic 1E modules - an exclusive list

[diaglo]

Incidentally, do you notice how many of the classics or near-classics are tournament modules? D1-3, A1-4, S1,2,4, C1+...

i'd say that is b/c they fit a nice time frame. roughly 4 hours in tournament and you are on to the next one.

they have a definite start, an adventure in the middle, and a conclusion in the end.

short, sweet, and easily adapted to any campaign.

 

[MerricB]

Very well, in light of the discussion we've been having, here are the revised lists, separated in to "Major Classics" and "Minor Classics"

Major Classics
G1-3: Against the Giants
D1-2: Descent into the Depths of the Earth
D3: Vault of the Drow
Q1: Queen of the Spiderweb Pits
S1: Tomb of Horrors
S2: White Plume Mountain
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
I3: Pharoah
I6: Ravenloft
T1: The Village of Hommlet
A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity
A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade
A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords
A4: In the Dungeons of the Slavelords
B2: Keep on the Borderlands
X1: The Isle of Dread

Minor Classics
B1: In Search of the Unknown
I4: Oasis of the Lost Palm
I5: Lost Tomb of Martek
T1-4: Temple of Elemental Evil
DL1: Dragons of Despair
L1: The Secret of Bone Hill
U1: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
C1: Hidden Shrine of Tamochan
C2: The Ghost Tower of Inverness
EX1: Dungeonland
EX2: The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror
N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
WG4: Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
WG5: Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure

There are other worthy modules!

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

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

Not a chance. The original publication of those modules (R1, R2, R3, R4) are extremely rare, and I12 Egg of the Phoenix is rather uncommon as well. I also find I12 very unsatisfying (I do own that one!)

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

i'd say that is b/c they fit a nice time frame. roughly 4 hours in tournament and you are on to the next one.

they have a definite start, an adventure in the middle, and a conclusion in the end.

short, sweet, and easily adapted to any campaign.

Also, at that time, when the number of modules was quite small and the shared experience was greater, most modules were conversions of tournament modules!

Cheers!

 

[Kalendraf]

Though it may not qualify as a major classic, my favorite 1e adventure of all time is N3 - Destiny of Kings. It features a nice mix of investigation, political intrigue and combat. The adventure was originally produced for 1e (which is the copy I own), and it was later re-released with updates for 2e.

According to this website, they even call it a classic: http://www.svgames.com/tsr11377esd.html

If you've never seen it or played it, I highly recommend getting a copy or talking your DM into getting it and running it. I don't think it would be terribly difficult to update to 3e/3.5 either.

 

[MerricB]

I'm not familiar with N3 at all, I admit.

There are many worthy modules, but the true "classic" status comes as a function of popularity and time. Will we look back in 30 years at The Sunless Citadel and call it a classic? I think we're still too close to it, but later generations of role-players will have their own judgments to make.

One aspect of defining the "real" classics is to determine which modules you really should have in your collection. Obviously, we'd all like *everything*, but given that may not be possible, which ones should we hunt down?

Another aspect is simply to identify elements of adventures that make them popular, and may be used in the future!

Cheers!

 

[Wolf72]

...

X2 Castle Amber, although for Expert D&D, should be included, as it was great, and most people who didn't have Expert D&D, just AD&D, still had this module. (Along with X1 and B1-B2)

...

seconded! X2 was great fun, especially when, as a PC, you have no idea what's really gonig on (my bro is a great DM)

 

[Prince of Happiness]

seconded! X2 was great fun, especially when, as a PC, you have no idea what's really gonig on (my bro is a great DM)

I can't believe I've only seen X2 mentioned three times on this thread!

 

[MerricB]

I can't believe I've only seen X2 mentioned three times on this thread!

I can easily believe it - I believe you'll have local pockets of players where the X modules were common, and then other groups where the X modules are ignored because they're part of the Expert series, not AD&D.

I also have seen several people who loathe X2. Oh well!

Cheers!

 

[Kalendraf]

I'm not familiar with N3 at all, I admit.

Sadly, that's a common story. Seems like this one drifted under the radar for whatever reason. I've run it twice, and the gamers that have run thru it have all given positive reviews of it. It easily beats out a few of those listed that I'm familiar with.

One aspect of defining the "real" classics is to determine which modules you really should have in your collection. Obviously, we'd all like *everything*, but given that may not be possible, which ones should we hunt down?

If you're going to use that as a criteria, then I would heavily suggest N3 earns a vote, at least as a minor classic. I'd much rather have it than either U1 or C2, both of which I've played and own copies of. However, I'd take L1 over N3, but that's purely because L1 is almost like a mini-campaign with so much info included and very memorable scenes. I fully agree with the true classics being ones like T1, A1-A4 or GDQ series since thats a huge arc of modules that are great for a variety of reasons. I don't have experience with any the other classics you've listed, so I can't really give any feedback on those.