Worst D&D adventure of all time?

[Melan]

Terrible Trouble at Tragidore, the adventure that came with the 2nd edition DM screen. It was a railroady convention module with absolutely lame encounters (like bandits pretending to be vampires by keeping sharpened wooden stakes in their mouth) and a background that made no sense. Worse, it looks like it would run awfully. The author, Jean Rabe, also authored Swamplight, which is slightly better.

 

[mearls]

Any of the adventures from TSR's "repeatedly stab Greyhawk in the face and hope it dies" phase, from the late 80s, early 90s:

Castle Greyhawk
Puppets
Gargoyles
Child's Play

Terrible Trouble at Tragidor was another module that made me question whether I wanted to keep playing AD&D.

I have weird feelings toward Azure Bonds and Pool of Radiance. I played through them in high school, but after reading them it's obvious that the DM was using the maps, a few NPCs, and not much else from them.

 

[A'koss]

Any of the adventures from TSR's "repeatedly stab Greyhawk in the face and hope it dies" phase, from the late 80s, early 90s:

Castle Greyhawk

Sometimes I think I had a really strange group in the late 80s - they loved this module. The still talk of the time they used the Decanter of Endless Lemonade to save themselves from cooking in the giant oven...

Puppets
Gargoyles
Child's Play

Okay, yeah, these are definitely the worst of the worst.

 

[Silver Moon]

I'll nominate TSR's first Ravenloft module. It was actually a very well written module, but the whole adventure was centered around the players slowly discovering the villain's big secret - which was given away from the very beginning by prominantely featuring the secret as the art on the module's cover. That Spoiler ruined what should have been an excellent story.

 

[devilbat]

I'll nominate TSR's first Ravenloft module

WHAT? Ouch, that's my all time favorite.

The Dragonlance novels were my least favorite. I actually had a fellow player say to me, "According to the novels, a dragon should be showing up about now". Low and behold, the DM introduces a black dragon. I didn't feel the need to read the books, as it was obvious that I was playing them.

 

[A'koss]

I was just going through my box of useless modules and I think there are a few that should get nominated through sheer obscurity...

Mystery of the Snow Pearls?
Bane of Llywelyn?
War Rafts of Kron?
The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur?
A Howl from the North?
The Lost Island of Castanamir?

 

[replicant2]

Quest for the Heartstone was/is a real stinker. I bought it as a kid because I liked the line of D&D posable action figures, but writing an adventure around a line of toys is a real bad idea. Lots of random, senseless encounters that exist for no other reason than to get you to buy the line of plastic monster toys. Ugh.

 

[loki44]

Under the Storm Giant's Castle

I hate to throw Judges Guild under the bus like that, but I had to. It's a god-awful module.
And yes, JG had permission to produce "official" D&D products back then.

 

[MarauderX]

Terrible Trouble at Tragidor

and

Mystery of the Snow Pearls

 

[Dragonhelm]

Sometimes I think I had a really strange group in the late 80s - they loved this module. The still talk of the time they used the Decanter of Endless Lemonade to save themselves from cooking in the giant oven...

I played in a group that went through Castle Greyhawk myself, and we had a blast. Lots of laughs. Greyhawk purists may feel differently, but for me, it was a ton of fun.