D&D 4E What are the best 4e Modules?

[OnlineDM]

Well, I haven't run a ton of different published adventures so far, so I can't opine on too many.

War of the Burning Sky has been fun, but I wouldn't recommend it to a new DM. The math needs to be updated to post-MM3 levels, and it's a massive 1-30 campaign.

I'm going to be running Madness at Gardmore Abbey soon, and it looks very promising.

I'm starting a ZEITGEIST campaign, and I think it's a great one for DMs who want more story than butt-kicking (not that it's free of butt-kicking, mind you). The world is well-developed and the PCs get to have a lot of influence on that world.

I felt lukewarm about Cairn of the Winter King. It was just okay.

 

[Ferghis]

War of the Burning Sky has been fun, but I wouldn't recommend it to a new DM. The math needs to be updated to post-MM3 levels, and it's a massive 1-30 campaign.

I had no idea the math had not been updated. Is there no thread where DMs discuss the necessary changes? I'd look for it myself, but I'm playing in that game, and I don't want to stumble across some DM-only info.

 

[OnlineDM]

I had no idea the math had not been updated. Is there no thread where DMs discuss the necessary changes? I'd look for it myself, but I'm playing in that game, and I don't want to stumble across some DM-only info.

Well, the earlier adventures in the campaign were written well before Monster Manual 3 came out. Basically, you just need to update the monster damage expressions to post-MM3 values as you would with any pre-MM3 monsters.

I've personally also tweaked a lot of monsters along the way. Certain sections of the campaign get a little repetitive, fighting the same monsters in every combat for stretches at a time.

 

[the Jester]

I'm a big fan of both P2: Demon Queen's Enclave and the 4e version of Tomb of Horrors.

 

[mudbunny]

The 0-level rules/adventure combo that were put out by Philippe-Antoine Menard (aka [MENTION=71575]chat[/MENTION]tyDM) last month have gotten pretty much universal praise.

 

[Klaus]

Reavers of Harkenwold (DM's Kit)
Cairn of the Winter King (Monster Vault)
The Slaying Stone
Dead By Dawn (Dungeon 176)
Lord of the White Field (Dungeon 184)
Bark At The Moon (Dungeon 185)

 

[Pour]

I have a feeling Chris Perkin's adaptation of the G series is going to rank in the long run.

 

[Shroomy]

Here's my list from Dungeon (I haven't had a chance to read alot of the more recent adventures):

"Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut" (196)
"The Five Deadly Shadows" (195)
"Going Ape" (192)
"Reign of Despair" (191)
"Force of Nature" (190)
"Baelard's Legacy" (188)
"Devil's Due" (188)
"Beneath the Dust" (187)
"Bark at the Moon" (185)
"Lord of the White Field" (184)
"The Vault of Darom Madar" (181)
"The Spiral Gate" (180)
"Tyrant's Oath" (178)
"The Maze of Shattered Souls" (177)
"Cross City Race" (176)
"Dead by Dawn" (176)
"Monument of the Ancients" (170)
"Oasis of the Golden Peacock" (169)
"Storm Tower" (166)
"Remains of the Empire" (165)
"Worse than Death" (164)
"Haven of the Bitter Glass" (164)
The Tears of Ioun series (161-163)
"The Temple Between" (161)
"Den of the Destroyer" (160)
"Siege of Bordrin's Watch" (157)
"The Last Breaths of Ashenport" (156)

 

[Klaus]

I had forgotten about a few of these! Thanks, Shroomy!

"Remains of the Empire" (165)
"Siege of Bordrin's Watch" (157)
"The Last Breaths of Ashenport" (156)

I've read very few Dungeon adventures, plus I hate reading on the screen, so my list is more restricted. I have to go back and read a few more, specially the ones by Shroomy, Matt James and Blackdirge.

 

[Alphastream]

Shroomy's list is an excellent capture for DDI (and thanks for including Five Deadly Shadows! It is now available as an adaptable Living Forgotten Realms Adventure as well).

Of the store adventures Gardmore may be my favorite (especially when coupled with the con-only preview adventure).

Beyond DDI and in-store adventures I have several LFR adventures that I really like. Some of them I think are near the pinnacle of what has been written for 4E (such as Sign of Four or the LFR Epic adventures).

I wanted to add my take on the Dark Sun adventures for 4E.

Here is the list:

• D&DXP 2010 Preview Adventure (lev 1, not distributed)
• Fury of The Wastewalker (D&D Encounters season 2, 2010. Lev 1-3)
• Dark Sun Arenas (Gen Con and PAX 2010, lev 1 but brutal)
• Sand Raiders (Dark Sun Campaign Setting, brief adventure included for lev 1)
• The Vault of Darom Madar (DDI – Dungeon 181. Lev 1-3)
• Bloodsand Arena (Free RPG Day. Lev 1)
• Marauders of the Dune Sea (Sold in stores, lev 2)
• Lost Cistern of Aravek (D&D Gameday adventure for Dark Sun release. Lev 4)
• Revenge of the Marauders (DDI – Dungeon 183. Lev 5-7)
• Beneath the Dust (DDI – Dungeon 187. Lev 7-9)
• Carried Away (Adventure included in special version of issue 1 of Ianto’s Tomb, the 4E Dark Sun comic series and in the hardcover Ianto’s Tomb. Three encounters for lev 12 PCs).
• Ashes of Athas (Organized Play campaign, premiering at cons and then briefly for home play. Chapters of three adventures, level after every chapter. Started Lev 3, currently about to have lev 6 for Chapter 4).

Of those, my favorites are Beneath the Dust, Vault of Darom Madar, Dark Sun Arenas, and Fury... in that order. The first two are especially good. Arenas has some great challenges. But, just about all of them have something to offer. Bloodsand is a solid foundation and has a fantastic arena map, several have new monsters or great encounters, etc. I didn't include Ashes of Athas, since I'm an admin, but it does make us happy to see them well received by fans.