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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6207109" data-attributes="member: 4937">I6: Ravenloft - I6 is very nearly the perfect module.  Considering the space constraints of the format, I think it's probably the best that could have been done.  Tracy Hickman I sincerely believe to be the best module writer who has ever lived.  The set up is very evocative.  The villain is memorable.  The set pieces are amazing.  The module features literally the greatest dungeon map for the greatest dungeon ever created.  However, the real awesomeness of the module is what happens when the DM adds his own craftsmanship to it.  Expanding the depth of the Barovia by filling out the NPCs in the town, increasing the scale of the barony, and increasing the lead in to the set up so that the PC's feel like they are journeying into some dark corner of the world even before they get into Barovia.  Moving the encounter with the Gypsy seer to before the entry into Barovia. Introducing Strahd even before the castle of Ravenloft, and setting up the competition between him and the PC's.   All these things serve to increase the depth of the module and the possibilities for story telling.  The main other change I'd recommend is increasing the parties level to the high end of the recommended levels.  Played straight, Ravenloft is the most lethal module in TSR history.  It makes S1: Tomb of Horrors look like a cake walk.  It's as brutal or more so than even C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan played by the tournament rules.  Played smart, Strahd is insanely powerful, and more than capable of using energy drain to put the party into a death spiral it can't recover from.  The castle of Ravenloft is designed to separate the party, making them easy pickings for Strahd when he's in his active phases.  I generally play Strahd without energy drain and even so, I generally TPK parties at the recommended level.I3: Pyramid:  Again, Tracy Hickman.  Again, one of the most awesome dungeon maps ever created.  And again, the main problem with this module is that it was condensed to fit into space constraints.  There is supposed to be this interesting desert journey, but in all likelihood at the tiny scale of the map the PC's will traverse it in a single day without any encounters of note - much less thirst and hunger and hardship.  There really isn't enough time in the set up to evoke the appropriate atmosphere or for the PC's to come to see the factions in the story as anything other than orcs/bandits/beserkers in different dress.  Also, if any story cried out for the use of Schrodinger's Map techniques, this one does.  The encounter with the lost city and the genii bottle really shouldn't be optional.  Even if the party averts opening it, they should at least know of it.  CM3: Saber River: This one is mostly nostalgia for me, but it was the first time I encountered a module with real plot twists.  Granted, I would probably see them coming a mile a way now, but as a 13 year old kid playing this module under a fantastic DM, the plot twists and the realization of what was really going on were perfectly timed and pushed my understanding of what was possible in an adventure from a story sense to a whole new level.   I've been trying to recreate that experience, of, "My name is Kut'ter"..."Come here, Cutter", for my players ever since.</blockquote>

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