Which "new" adventures are classics?

[Mark Hope]

I couldn't decide on this one or Tomb of Abysthor. On reflection, this might actually be a better choice due to its accessibility, broader scope, surrounding sandbox area and all the cool prequel freebies. Good call.

 

[MortonStromgal]

I think when you talk about 3e classics your really only going to get a majority of players who say the Sunless Citadel and The Red Hand of Doom. There are some other great ones from 3rd parties but I think rarely did you have enough people playing the same ones to become as popular as Keep on the Borderlands.

 

[Mistwell]

Sunless Citadel and Keep on Shadowfell both are classics because they were the first introduction for a huge number of players to a new edition of the game.

I do not think classic necessarily means "great" in the sense of gameplay relative to what comes later. I think it just means "important" in the minds of people, and perhaps a marker for shared experiences. And in that sense, both of those are classics.

Both also have classic NPCs. Sunless Citadel has Meepo, and Keep on Shadowfell has Irontooth. The sheer number of TPKs caused by Irontooth has scorched that adventure into the minds of probably thousands of players.

 

[Stormonu]

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is a horrible reinterpretation of I6 Ravenloft, and I do not believe it will deserve classic status. It's too packed to the gills - trying to cram in too much - and loses much of the original's feel, going from slow-building gothic horror to break-down-the-door cthuhlu schlock.

 

[GlassJaw]

I couldn't decide on this one or Tomb of Abysthor. On reflection, this might actually be a better choice due to its accessibility, broader scope, surrounding sandbox area and all the cool prequel freebies. Good call.

Crucible of Freya is definitely a good choice, but I tend to look at it as a prelude of things to come from Necromancer.

Lost City of Barakus, Tomb of Abysthor, Vault of Larin Karr, and Rappan Athuk all tend to get mentioned (and recommended) more than Crucible.

 

[Rechan]

I'll second the recommendation of the Freeport Trilogy, or at least Death in Freeport. It was the first 3rd party adventure out (released the day of the 3.0 PHB, IIRC?).

Also the Whispering Cairn. I only read it and found it good stuff.

The real question is if enough people played it.

 

[Mistwell]

I've never even heard of about 1/3rd of the adventures mentioned here. Now, I am not necessarily representative of the average of the community as a whole. But, if my experience is common, then it would be hard to call something "classic" if your average D&D player hasn't even heard of it.

I seem to recall Dungeon magazine was only read by around 20% of the community at most. If that is the case, I seriously doubt anything in Dungeon (and not subsequently published or re-purposed as its own module) would reach the level of being a "classic". Same goes for a bunch of third party products which, while they may have been great, probably were not seen by most players. Perhaps some of the key names associated with a version of D&D (like maybe Monte Cook) got enough exposure to possibly reach "classic" status with their third party produced products.

 

[Wicht]

I've never even heard of about 1/3rd of the adventures mentioned here.

I'm really curious which of these you haven't heard of.

Edit: It just struck me though that since only about 20% of the roleplaying community is DMs, then a 20% reader rate of a DM only mag is not that bad. Unless you mean 20% of the ENWorld community.

 

[Allenchan]

All mine have been said before, but here they are:

The Red Hand of Doom
Lost City of Barakus
Vault of Larin Karr
Age of Worms/Whispering Cairn

I'm really curious about some of the others that are being mentioned which Ive never had the honor of seeing... Crucible of Freya, Rappan Athuk, Freeport ones. Will have to check them out.

 

[Wicht]

I'm really curious about some of the others that are being mentioned which Ive never had the honor of seeing... Crucible of Freya, Rappan Athuk, Freeport ones. Will have to check them out.

I may be misremembering but I seem to recall that Crucible of Freya was the first d20 module released under the OGL. It may have even been out before Sunless Citadel. I am very sure it was the first 3e module I bought.