rex
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 13 
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Post by rex on Dec 24, 2015 9:52:11 GMT -6
... I want your opinions.
Notice it says "Coolest," not "Best-Selling" and notice it says "D&D"--it doesn't matter if it's AD&D, D&D BECM or AD&D 2nd, 3rd, 3.5, 4th, or 5th edition.
So, which is it? What do you think?
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mindcontrolsquid
Level 4 Theurgist
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man..."
Posts: 118
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Post by mindcontrolsquid on Dec 24, 2015 10:02:24 GMT -6
Hard to beat Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, I think. Probably the reason why this is my background on my work computer (and the reason I included a behir as the centerpiece of an adventure I ran one time). |
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Post by Vile Traveller on Dec 24, 2015 11:02:23 GMT -6
I keep coming back to X1 Isle of Dread. Classic pulp adventure, thinly disguised as fantasy - I'm sure Holmes would have loved it.  |
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Post by makofan on Dec 24, 2015 11:03:25 GMT -6
Of all teh ones I've played (not DM'ed), B1 In Search of the Unknown. I will never forget those pools.
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mindcontrolsquid
Level 4 Theurgist
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man..."
Posts: 118
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Post by mindcontrolsquid on Dec 24, 2015 12:00:45 GMT -6
Of all teh ones I've played (not DM'ed), B1 In Search of the Unknown. I will never forget those pools. I ran it one time. My players somehow missed all of my placed encounters (including the pools). They did end up torching the entire fungus room, mostly out of paranoia or something. |
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Post by scottenkainen on Dec 24, 2015 12:53:59 GMT -6
All good choices. I've got to throw A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords in here, though. It had it all!
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Post by battlebrotherbob on Dec 24, 2015 13:52:35 GMT -6
I always felt the coolest was Expedition to Barrier Peaks.
I feel it's challenging and iconic. The last picture in the playbook is great, I always assumed that's how Bulettes got on Greyhawk.
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Post by ritt on Dec 24, 2015 17:05:58 GMT -6
Castle Amber was ahead of it's time.
All the picks in this thread so far are good, though.
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Post by mgtremaine on Dec 24, 2015 19:23:18 GMT -6
I've used B1 In search of the Unknown and JG Theives of the Fortress Badabaskar more times then any other dungeons. Both are versatile and pure cool.
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Post by Vile Traveller on Dec 24, 2015 20:56:53 GMT -6
A3 always has a spot close to my heart from the long time one of my thieves spent in the town, joining the thieves' guild and totally forgetting about the mission.
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rex
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 13
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Post by rex on Dec 24, 2015 22:17:25 GMT -6
Thanks for the input, everyone. For me, D&D began with the Basic Set, edited by Tom Moldvay, then later on the Expert Set. I own few modules, but one I did own was Chateau d'Ambervile (Castle Amber) and thought it to be excellent. I'll have to try to get my hands on some of the ones mentioned here.
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oldkat
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 431
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Post by oldkat on Dec 24, 2015 23:28:39 GMT -6
argh! this is tough.
Going outside of TSR, I'm gonna have to say I think Caverns of Thracia and Dark Tower are pretty d**ned cool.
In the TSR stable, I got a soft spot for the (orange cover) B3(Palace of the Silver Princess); its got Ubues! come on--Ubues!
S3 Beyond the Barrier Peaks is always on my top 10 list of "coolest".
And I've always dug the L1 The Secret of Bone Hill.
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Post by howandwhy99 on Dec 25, 2015 0:13:44 GMT -6
T1 Village of Hommlett was the first module I ever played and holds a special place for me.
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Post by Gynsburghe on Dec 25, 2015 14:30:39 GMT -6
There are a lot of modules I love, for many different reasons. But, for some reason, whenever I think about this...
Tegel Manor
It's a very weird gem, completely unbalanced gonzo fun house of horror. It doesn't push an agenda on you, and it adapts well to differing approaches.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2015 1:38:47 GMT -6
The one you write yourself.
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Post by DungeonDevil on Dec 26, 2015 10:09:16 GMT -6
My kneejerk reaction would be S4, hands down (both the original rough-around-the-edges module and the later expanded 2-booklet product). Every time I see the cover and read through it, I have an intoxicating wave of nostalgia. Upon further rumination: B1, B2, G123.
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Post by Scott Anderson on Dec 26, 2015 11:18:22 GMT -6
Nobody's mentioned B10. Is that passe'? Is it a hipster thing? I'll put my marker down next to B10 because nobody ever accused me of being hip. Let me also direct your attention to N3. It is an excellent, clean hexcrawl with a few compelling events and with some good direction for new players and DMs but also an open-ended resolution. Here's a link to the N3 Wiki |
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rex
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 13
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Post by rex on Dec 26, 2015 12:05:19 GMT -6
Thanks for the continued responses, everyone. I don't own many of these, so if I may, can you give me the title of the module, rather than the serial number, or whatever those letters, numbers are? I'd like to think of a module as "Tomb of Horrors" rather than "D7", or whatever it may be. Thanks!
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Post by cadriel on Dec 26, 2015 12:57:58 GMT -6
The coolest? Definitely Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl.Seriously, though, my favorite modules are B2 Keep on the Borderlands* and S1 Tomb of Horrors. The Keep because, despite the dungeon levels being too close-packed, it presents a thoroughly detailed home base, a wilderness sandbox that's easy to expand, and a dungeon full of factions and options. It's instructional and should be read (and run) as a how-to for creating a Gygax style situation. (Also I think it would be awesome to run it as a Diplomacy or wargame scenario with players taking the part of the faction leaders.) If KotB is instructional, Tomb of Horrors is a master class. It's Gygax showing how to make one of the deadliest dungeons in history without shoving monsters at the players. Just walking down the (fake) stairs kills you, much less looking into the legendary green devil face. The D-series (Descent into the Depths of the Earth) is also cool, it introduced the idea of an "underground wilderness." And the modules by Jennell Jaquays, particularly Caverns of Thracia and Dark Tower, should be studied for map design - Jaquays is one of the greats in terms of thinking in a 3-dimensional space. I'd probably say overall that I'd be comfortable with a top 5 of B2 Keep on the Borderlands, S1 Tomb of Horrors, D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Caverns of Thracia and Dark Tower. * Module codes are a common shorthand although I guess it's preferable to always give the full name the first time you reference them. |
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Post by scottenkainen on Dec 26, 2015 14:38:23 GMT -6
I would have accepted that as a serious contender. |
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Post by geoffrey on Dec 26, 2015 19:12:27 GMT -6
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Post by archersix on Dec 26, 2015 20:48:45 GMT -6
While I tend to agree with Mike Mornard, and come up with my own stuff nowadays, as far as published modules, I really love the whole Against the Giants G1-3 combined dungeon
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oldkat
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 431
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Post by oldkat on Dec 27, 2015 15:07:41 GMT -6
The OP specifies us not to include the "best selling" d&d module (from whatever, edition)...but what we think is the coolest. I don't think personal homegrown material qualifies as "best selling". The connotation here is, a manufactured, mass produced/marketed-- published--module. Unless I'm totally misunderstanding the point of the thread.  |
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Post by Otto Harkaman on Dec 27, 2015 15:09:57 GMT -6
Yes I have a lot of nostalgia for the Giant modules, especially the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. I think a lot of this stems from enjoying "The Roaring Trumpet" The first of the Harold Shea stories by L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt. The Roaring Trumpet (wiki) |
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Post by Maximus on Dec 27, 2015 15:30:55 GMT -6
I'd have to say G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl. Great to DM, even better to play!
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Post by kpeterson on Dec 27, 2015 21:11:00 GMT -6
B4 The Lost City is still one of my favorites.
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Post by sepulchre on Dec 28, 2015 0:41:42 GMT -6
Echoing Scottenkainen and Vile, A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords, - just a brilliant S&S city adventure, complete in itself, but offers plenty of room to elaborate and expand. One party attempted to cut off the capital (funding)of the slave lords by making an assault on the treasury; they went out in a blaze of glory, an epic TPK. Second to that would be A2 Secret of the Slaver's Stockade; one has the choice to infiltrate the garrison by stealth or besiege it - both quite fun though the latter may bring on a tpk, not to mention an overland wilderness prologue that can prove perilous. I love D1-3 (Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Shrine of the Kua Toa, The Vault of the Drow)just for the sheer challenge of attrition and the alien wilderness of the underdark, wandering monster encounters which can crush your party, battling the Kua-tua in the hundreds if one is rash or brazen, the harrowing engagements with the drow (who are completely badass), and the edgy and sinister feel of the city, Erelhei-Cinlu. Lastly, though very low-magic campaigns tend to be my forcus, S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, I find to be the height of FRPG material both in presentation and elegance.
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Keps
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 118
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Post by Keps on Dec 28, 2015 16:59:28 GMT -6
Recently I've been wanting to play X8 Drums on Fire Mountain again. Flipping back through it I remember the great maps/villains/new monsters/island/puzzles/traps/story arc and I think it's needs more attention.
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Post by sepulchre on Dec 28, 2015 19:16:58 GMT -6
Rex wrote:
Sorry, Rex; totally missed this, noted and amended above.
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rex
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 13
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Post by rex on Dec 28, 2015 21:52:04 GMT -6
Sorry, Rex; totally missed this, noted and amended above. Thanks Sepulchre and Dirtskull. You're gentlemen and scholars. |
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