What's the best pre-written adventure?


Gamer Life General Discussion


There are tons of adventure paths out there, by Paizo, WoTC, and countless 3pp one-shots and full adventures. 3.x and PF are close enough to each other that I count them as the same. I don't care the type, be it high fantasy, horror, noir, sci-fi, etc.

Out of ALL of them, which ones do you think are in the top 5, and why?


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Tomb of Horrors, because DEAR GOD THE BODIES!!!


Personal favorites I have gmed: Pathfinder-Lost City of Barakus followed by Slumbering Tsar because it hit 20th level+ and had epic encounters especially no magical killer art that kept killing the party magus, AD&D-Lost Caverns of Tjoscanth because of Igglwilv and the awesome treasure trove at the end, and AD&D 2E - Dragon Mountain and Undermountain because once you were inside, good luck ;)


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AD&d Scourge of the slave lords. Levels 7 to 11. Striped characters right down had to play their character not the gear. Encomapassed role play, stealth, Intelligence gathering and lots of combat

Silver Crusade

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Die, Vecna, Die! Great adventure that gave a reason for converting from 2nd to 3rd edition D&D. Author really tied in multiple previous adventures and settings including Ravenloft, Planescape, and Greyhawk. Characters truly felt like epic heroes.


1. Souls for Smugglers Shiv - a really strong AP opener. Sets the mood well, allows a sandbox approach (which I like) without being too open-ended (since the PCs are stuck on an island). There's a mystery to solve, people to interact with, monsters to fight and a plan to enact. I didnt realise how great this was until I ran it - one of the best buy-ins from my players ever.

2. The Whispering Cairn - one of the best first level dungeons I've ever read. Again, this played really, really well - the players had a great time puzzling things out and learning the backstory, rather than just ploughing through killing things as quickly as possible.

3. Rappan Athuk - I've only played the Swords and Wizardry version and I'm skeptical that it would work so well in 3.5/PF - nonetheless I've listed it here because I love megadungeons.

4. Splinters of Faith AP - again, I suspect this works best with OSRIC-y games (which is how I've run it) but I've linked the PF version. This series had a good mix of interesting locales a variety of stories and a decent balance between railroad and sandbox. I dont think it would suit a group who were always expecting level-appropriate encounters. There's a few spots where the smart thing to do is to run away and come back with a better plan and/or to bypass the thing completely. It works well as a "meet the gods of the new setting we're playing in" campaign. I set this in Golarion, switching around the deities as appropriate and it provided decent motivation to the players to read the deity information I gave them out-of-game.

5. Seven Days to the Grave - one of the strongest atmospheric modules I've run. It did an excellent job of conveying the terror of disease, plus the creepiness of the villains. It's an excellent escalation of the mood within the AP it was written for, but I suspect it would work well in other campaigns too.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

"Hollow's Last Hope" and "Crypt of the Everflame" are among my favorite Paizo adventures.

For old school, I really enjoyed "Horror on The Hill." (I think it was either 1st Edition or Basic D&D).


I liked the BASIC Paths series from 0One Games. I've only played a few published adventures though.

Sovereign Court

1. The Keep on the Borderlands (D&D, TSR)
I'm not ashamed to admit it; this is on the list primarily due to nostalgia. But, it's still a great basic adventure. It has everything you want, including a springboard for an entire campaign. A list of greatest adventures that doesn't include The Keep on the Borderlands is like a list of the greatest meals ever that doesn't include "Meat and Potatoes".

2. Me and My Shadow, Mark IV (Paranoia, WEG)
Pretty much every Paranoia game product written was a home run. My own favorite of the very tough field was the "Code 7" classic. I've run that adventure more times than any other adventure for any game. For the record, the Wile E. Coyote ending is far better than the "recommended" ending.

3. Ravenloft (AD&D, TSR)
The legacy of this module isn't overblown; it was that good. This classic should probably should be higher on the list, but it suffers from 20 years of Vampire fandom. The module has everything that makes Vampire Horror popular, but brought it before the whole scene was mainstream. It also had the epic Clue-style mechanic of using chance to program the identity and location of the macguffins.

4. Harlequin (Shadowrun, FASA)
Not only is the mini-campaign a blast to play through, its story reveals a seminal bedrock of the Shadowrun universe.

5. The Tomb of Iuchiban (Legend of the Five Rings, AEG)
What's the deadliest dungeon delve in RPG-dom? Did you say the Tomb of Horrors? That's because you've never been through a dungeon where the traps are designed by the most malicious minds available from the Crab, Scorpion, and Phoenix Clans.


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Greatest published adventure of all time?

Hmmm....

1. Ravenloft (AD&D, TSR, 1983) What Deusvult said, above.

2. Masks of Nyarlathotep (Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium, 1984) A world-spanning Call of Cthulhu adventure path. Some have called this the greatest module of all time for any game system.

3. Burnt Offerings (D&D 3.5, Paizo, 2007) The first adventure set in Golarion, the adventure that kicks off "Rise of the Runelords" really knocks it out of the park.

4. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (AD&D, TSR, 1980) The classic "swords and lasers" adventure, written by Gary Gygax himself.

5. The Sunless Citadel (D&D 3.0, Wizards of the Coast, 2000) Fantastic introductory adventure for the new Third Edition of D&D. Meepo lives!


My first answer was 3.5/PF. Since I like answering these kinds of things, my "all time" list would be:

1. G1-3/D1-3/Q1 - the first stab at an AP, imo.

2. Return to the Tomb of Horrors. A rare success in taking an old classic and improving it.

3. Ruins of Undermountain - megadungeons again.

4. Red Hand of Doom - great sandbox/railroad mix.

5. Universal Brotherhood (shadowrun) - the first adventure that ever really provoked an emotional response in me. Really creeped me out. :)

Sovereign Court

Steve Geddes wrote:
5. Universal Brotherhood (shadowrun) - the first adventure that ever really provoked an emotional response in me. Really creeped me out. :)

Yeah, that was a good one.

I remember the players thought Mr. Tung's name was "Mr Tongue". Since it was such an improvement I never corrected them.


I love how there isn't a repeat. But isn't Tome of Horrors bestiary?

Shadow Lodge

Blodox wrote:
I love how there isn't a repeat. But isn't Tome of Horrors bestiary?

Tome is a book yes.

Tomb is a burial chamber.

Shadow Lodge

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Return to the Tomb of Horrors - This is for character levels 13-16, but in every other sense of the word, this is an epic adventure, in a way that very few other D&D adventures have ever managed before.

It's good enough that I have doubts that another adventure in the genre will every really compare.

Shadow Lodge

Blodox wrote:
I love how there isn't a repeat. But isn't Tome of Horrors bestiary?

Wow, a gamer who hasn't heard of the Tomb of Horrors? Rare.


The Whispering Cairn (Age of Worms)

Haunting of Harrowstone (Carrion Crown)

Burnt Offerings (Rise of the Runelords)

Seven Days to the Grave (Curse of the Crimson Throne)*
*Normally the first book in an AP is better, but I came in at the end of book 1.

The Champion's Belt (Age of Worms)

Honorable Mention:
Stolen Land (Kingmaker)
The Three Faces of Evil (Age of Worms)--


Haladir wrote:

2. Masks of Nyarlathotep (Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium, 1984) A world-spanning Call of Cthulhu adventure path. Some ave called this the greatest module of all time for any game system.

Mind you, they're wrong. That's the Enemy Within campaign for WFRP. Masks is second.

Third goes to Shadows on the Borderlands for Runequest 3rd edition. Beating out the original Borderlands campaign as adventures, though the original has much more background material for the area both are set in.

Fourth to the terrific four part series of El-Ahraihah Adventures for Megatraveller published in the Travellers' Digest by DGP.

Fifth to Tales from Wilderland for The One Ring. Works best if you also have Heart of the Wild and Darkening of Mirkwood, which I think makes it less value for money purely in adventure terms. One or two of the seven adventures are difficult to run if you aren't experienced with the system and/or RPGs in general.


Anyone else ever play the Shadowrun (2nd ed...?) adventure 'Double Exposure'? I think that was my favourite RPG experience ever.


littlehewy wrote:
Anyone else ever play the Shadowrun (2nd ed...?) adventure 'Double Exposure'? I think that was my favourite RPG experience ever.

I liked that one also.

Shadowrun wise tho, Queen Euphoria is probably the most memorable one my group went through.

Dark Archive

1- GW1: The Legion of Gold (Gamma World - 1981, Gary Gygax w/Luke Gygax and Paul Reiche III)
Probably one of the best modules and campaign supplements for Gamma World and (to me) was the Gold Standard (pun intented) when it came to use and utility for a product. It had a campaign area, and open sandbox (done right) with a mini-scenario format with bigger site based encounters that lead up to a final BBEG base (a demented computer). has some great creatures - Buggems, Screamers and Katkins to name a few, two loot tables and some brilliant encounter areas (bomb shelters, mutant bug lair, underwater lab). Also had a few pages on modern era projectile weapons (original GW was either Ultra tech or low tech weapons) covering pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns.

All around great module and product.

2- B2: The Keep on the Borderlands (Basic D&D, Gary Gygax)
No, not nostalgia - this module is actually well written and is an asset for a new DM looking to start up a new campaign area. Classic points of light dungeon crawl with a supporting (and detailed) base area for the players to call home. A well done environs map, laid out with some great encounters that were paid tribute to in Paizo's Kingmaker series. Ahead of its time and groundbreaking in sheer value to a DM just trying to figure it out.

3- S1: Tomb of Horrors (AD&D Gary Gygax)
Not only is this the ultimate death trap - as a kid it creeped me out. Part of this was the incredibly evil nature of the place - the other part was the illustration book - with some Egyptian figures and occult (faux) symbolism. To me it held the appeal of music that was looked down upon at the time (satanic) and it was a hard book to defend if a parent were to say - pick it up and flip through it. Every once in a while I re-run this for my players, and they still die.

4- Rappan Athuk (Necromancer/Frog God Games). Aka - The Campaign of Horrors.
This module (original or expanded format) feels very much like a mesh between B2 (environs, some Caves of Chaos encounters) meets Tomb of Horrors in lethality. I often deride PF for being too soft on players, for gaming on easy mode - I have to shut my trapper when I look at Necro/FGG modules. These adventures don't care about your level or what splat you used. Sometimes the encounters are uneven in challenge - but in the end, you die. Or at least, you should have a few characters die. This series (hardcover and supplements) is an old-school/PF GM's dream. A good and example of writing that doesn't write to the players powers or abilities, but instead writes to what it wants to tell which is a horror story. Hopefully the players survive long enough to hear it.

5- G1-3/D1-3/Q1 (AD&D Gary Gygax for 1st 6, with David Sutherland III taking up most of the work for Q1)
As stated above - this was the first AP, and it worked in ways that have yet to be successfully repeated (imo, of course). The fact remains that it played out as a big reveal for those of us who were around when the Drow were first introduced as a yet unknown threat to Oerth. No clichés, no dual wielding scimitars - these creatures were vile - and you went to one of their cities.
With several themes repeated by Paizo and other companies - such as the better parts of Rise of the Rune Lords, Second Darkness. Even Necromancer Games got in on the action drawing inspiration from one of the Descent site encounters (R2-47) shows the level of impact this series had on modern adventure writers. Many people cite other adventures a high level done right, this one was the first to do it.

(Very) Honorable Mention:
- Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands (excellent low-level adventure)
- Slumbering Tsar - Epic and brutal. In some respects - if you can visualize the black gates - even beautiful (in a grotesque sort of way).
- Ravenloft (AD&D, 1983): A actual take on gothic horror, variable plot lines and BBEG motivation (as sourced by a deck of cards) and an incredible map of a huge castle. My players still get the creeps when I run it (in my special way).
- S3 Expedition to The Barrier Peaks (AD&D) - excellent GW crossover module, several unique creature encounters, fun way for players to interact with technology (picture book, artifact examination chart). Plus it had a Mind Flayer in a tech uniform armed with Gas Grenades and Blaster.
- I2 Tomb of the Lizard King (AD&D) - what can I say, Sakatha was a bit of a badass.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Shackled City, but I'm pretty biased.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I6 Ravenloft
Hands down the best.

Liberty's Edge

My favorite old school D&D module was (and still is) Castle Amber.

It's so good that I used it with my first 3rd edition group over a decade ago and they still rave about how cool it was; even with them losing 4 characters.

If I ever get up the gumption to run a PbP on the boards, Castle Amber will be on my short list of one-off adventures.


For me it was The Evils of Haranshire (Book I of the Night Below campaign for 2e). Well written and with enough adventure nuggets to really flesh out the setting. Book II was also good in most ways, except that the end of the book could become a slog.

Coming Full Circle (for CoC) is also pretty good - its a refreshing change from what people expect from a CoC game. Actually, on the subject of CoC, The Killer Out Of Space and The Evil Stars (from Cthulhu Now) are also very memorable. Ooh, last CoC one is Tatterdemalion.


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Castle Amber is outstanding.

I give a strong recommendation to UK1 -- The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Also N1 -- Cult of the Reptile God which I ran and completed on these boards.

Since I prefer the lower level adventures, I need to talk about a higher level one. A1-A4 the Slaver series is quite good. But, if you take everyone's stuff in Pathfinder and lock them up, you will have revolt on your hands. Thou shall not mess with WBL.

Liberty's Edge

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Personally, I like adventures that force players to think beyond their equipment lists.

In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords - lose your stuff, wake up underground in the dark with just a loin cloth.

Child's Play - your soul gets transferred into a wooden doll. Lose your stuff and your class abilities. Find and recover your body from the thieves.

The Wormwood Mutiny - wake up without your stuff on a pirate ship. Figure out how to get your stuff back, and take control of the ship.

These are all great adventures!


Some of my all-time favorites include:

  • 1e - White Plume Mountain (Lawrence Schick); Dwellers in the Forbidden City (Zeb Cook); and the "Slave Lords" tetralogy (Cook, Hammack, Johnson, Moldvay, Schick).
  • 2e - Return to the Tomb of Horrors (Bruce Cordell).
  • 3/3.5e - "Spire of Long Shadows" (Jesse Decker) and "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure" (James Jacobs) from the Age of Worms AP; "City of Broken Idols" (Tito Leati) from the Savage Tide AP; "The Thunder Below" from WotC's web site (Jacobs); "The Skinsaw Murders" (Richard Pett) from Rise of the Runelords; "Howl of the Carrion King" (Erik Mona) and "End of Eternity" (Jason Nelson) from the Legacy of Fire.


  • I haven't played any APs. I have played Hollows Last Hope and run a version of it, so I'd say that's a strong one. But my all time fave has to be the Keep on the Borderlands.

    This module had it all. This was a megadungeon, a sandbox, and could be made into a linear, plot-driven railroad with a bit of tweaking. There were no shortage of villains and monsters. More than that though there was space to explore.

    I have always run games that don't have just one path to victory. This is probably colored by my love for KotBL. Yes, there's a bit of nostalgia there, but it's very well designed for the times and system it was meant to serve.

    Many have updated it over the years. I myself have given it the Pathfinder treatment. I've used it many times in the past, or at least borrowed from it. I think that's a testament to the module's worth: the fact that it is still serving me as a game aid 35 years later.

    Scarab Sages

    Book One of Reign of Winter is wonderful.

    Also, The Harrowing is a fantastic module. Basically a world within a world, with a good DM you can just go off the rails entirely and spend four sessions in it.


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    Mark Hoover wrote:

    I haven't played any APs. I have played Hollows Last Hope and run a version of it, so I'd say that's a strong one. But my all time fave has to be the Keep on the Borderlands.

    This module had it all. This was a megadungeon, a sandbox, and could be made into a linear, plot-driven railroad with a bit of tweaking. There were no shortage of villains and monsters. More than that though there was space to explore.

    I have always run games that don't have just one path to victory. This is probably colored by my love for KotBL. Yes, there's a bit of nostalgia there, but it's very well designed for the times and system it was meant to serve.

    Many have updated it over the years. I myself have given it the Pathfinder treatment. I've used it many times in the past, or at least borrowed from it. I think that's a testament to the module's worth: the fact that it is still serving me as a game aid 35 years later.

    I've got to say, I know there's a lot of love for the Keep, but I've never understood why. Especially as an introductory module. There's almost no indication of how to approach it as a GM.

    It's basically the archetype of "Here's a bunch of humanoid tribes in implausible proximity. Go kill them for no particular reason." The monster villains have no personalities or motivations. There's no plot to foil. It's written as nothing but rooms full of monsters to fight. There are hints that you can set them against each other, but there aren't even suggestions about how to go about it or how the various groups react to attempts. Again, a good GM could do something with that, but it was billed as introductory.

    I lost several groups in there in my early days before we gave up on modules and started playing homebrew adventures that were far more story and character driven. I don't think we ever got past the goblins or the kobolds. And frankly, I don't really I'd do much better today. Either as player or GM. I still don't know how to deal with those types of scenarios without bringing the whole tribe down on the party's heads after the first fight.


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    Ah, the joy of nostalgia... and a slight sense of disbelief ("I've been playing this game for how many years now?!")

    thejeff wrote:

    ]I've got to say, I know there's a lot of love for the Keep, but I've never understood why. Especially as an introductory module. There's almost no indication of how to approach it as a GM.

    It's basically the archetype of "Here's a bunch of humanoid tribes in implausible proximity. Go kill them for no particular reason."

    Don't disagree with the above quote; my group had a great time with Keep when it came out - but we were 10(? Or thereabouts), and all we really wanted was a 'kill the monsters, take their stuff, maybe claim some land/keep the kingdom safe' type of dungeon crawl. For that purpose, Keep was absolutely the one that fit the bill. I don't know if I'd go back to it now; the 'ecosystem' is completely screwy, as the above poster points out. But we did have a great time playing it, and ultimately that was the important thing.

    For actual role-play/motivational villainry, I have to agree that Ravenloft is right up there with the best. First time my group played it, we didn't have a clue - "why is he ignoring us? We're the PCs, he should be fighting us!" (repeat: we were very young) - the idea that a villain had a plan of his own; that the PCs were not the absolute centre of his world - that in fact, the world existed without us - was an absolute revelation. It's shaped my roleplay (and especially my DM-ing) ever since. It really was that good.


    KotBl always represented for me the classic megadungeon. I also enjoyed that there was no plot presented in the module, but hints of several. This to me makes the adventure supremely re-playable.

    Keep on the Borderlands:

    First off, why did the PCs come here? That in itself lends plot and was a lesson I learned when I was 8. There are also some NPCs in the keep, notably the Castelan and the evil priest. Just fleshing these 2 out and giving them motivations creates more plot.

    Take the environment map. There's the caves, the Cave of the Unknown, the forest and the swamp/marsh area. Each of those represents a playable area. Imagine a Keep on the Borderlands that never sets foot in the Caves of Chaos. Now there's not much info on any of these other than some spiders, an old hermit with a jaguar, and the name "Cave of the Unknown" but this again is the suggestion of plot without making it for you.

    The main "plot" as it were comes from the Cult of Evil Chaos. This cult is generic enough for you to put any spin on it you'd like. Over time I've made it a cult of necromancers, a heretical mystery cult of Wee Jas and more recently a cult of Lamashtu. Now just imagine that: a cult of Lamashtu this close to an isolated settlement on the borderlands. The module merely puts them in place but you have full right to give them any motivation you'd like.

    Essentially the module in my opinion is a framework on which to build whatever campaign you'd like with embellishments of your own. Imagine just adding the following details:

    - the setting is somewhere in Golarion

    - the cult is a Cult of Lamashtu

    - the old hermit is a witch; he hates the cult but is also evil - he's the protector of a hag's tomb in the Cave of the Unknown

    - the marsh area isn't all lizardmen; there are pathways to the First World here and the lizardfolk are dealing with incursions of mites who use the spiders to do their bidding.

    - the evil priest in town is masquerading as a healer and midwife, all the while mutating unborn children and animals to become monsters. He's also got several other Lamashtan plots under way; unearthing the hag's tomb and a staff there that can unleash powerful mutations; working with alchemists on horrifying mutagens; abducting victims who pass through the keep for foul experiments

    - the Castelan is a pawn of the Lamashtan who wants to see justice done but can't directly move against his overlords

    El Jeffe: I agree with you that there's not much to it but it's not nostalgia that keeps me coming back. Its the fact that I don't feel I've really explored every possible combo of the "bare bones" given to me in the adventure. This module isn't so much an adventure as it is a mini-campaign setting which you can build into whatever you need it to be, and I LOVE that!


    Mark Hoover wrote:

    KotBl always represented for me the classic megadungeon. I also enjoyed that there was no plot presented in the module, but hints of several. This to me makes the adventure supremely re-playable.

    ** spoiler omitted **El Jeffe: I agree with you that there's not much to it but it's not nostalgia that keeps me coming back. Its the fact that I don't feel I've really explored every possible combo of the "bare bones" given to me in the adventure. This module isn't so much an adventure as it is a mini-campaign setting which you can build into whatever you need it to be, and I LOVE that!

    Yeah, I can see that it gives you bare bones onto which you could actually build an adventure or actual campaign. And I get the nostalgia value.

    But it was billed as an introductory module, packaged with various versions of the Basic set. As such, it was very easy to take as "This is what adventures should be like" - hack and slash dungeons with tons of monsters packed into a small area with little justification, either for them being there or you fighting them.

    As a framework to build an adventure around, it isn't bad. Run as presented, not so much.

    Metanote: Irritating that when replying the spoiled text is counted to see when to truncate the quoted message, but isn't actually included. Bad design.


    I think all those old modules have points to them, but honestly, when looking through them today, they fall well short of the mark. Things have changed. Random tables have been recognized not to be all that much fun. Same with mazes, inescapable deathtraps, and so on. The NPCs in modules today have personality. We don't get battles like a 20x30' room with 400 dwarves in it, or 5-50 nixies attacking the raft, and that is something to be grateful for.

    Please, any REALLY good adventures that weren't written 30 years ago?


    Folks have identified some pretty recent ones, like Return to the Tomb of Horrors, Red Hand of Doom, or Rappan Athuk.

    I'll put forward Rasputin Must Die! and Shadows of Gallowspire as recent higher level modules that are pretty boss. Brandon Hodge is a beast.

    Going back to classic ones - Queen of the Demonweb Pits - a tour of a demon queen's Abyssal realm with all the lunacy that entails. Never got to run it or play it, sadly. But growing up with that thing around (it was my big brother's) is at least partially responsible for my love of all things extraplanar.


    There are a lot of really good old modules, but a lot of them are really starting to feel dated. If I look at an AD&D module and a Pathfinder AP book the difference is product quality is huge! Personally I have a very hard time going back and playing old books, they're definetely are gems but they have aged. That being said I have never been disappointed by any of the Adventure Paths, even the ones that folks say are not as good.. I can always manage to alter it enough to have tons of fun with my players and really that's all that matters, so Paizo owns my soul until they stop publishing stuff.


    The enemy within campaign (specifically death on the riek and the power behind the throne) and Masks of Nyarlathotep. Hands down, every time. These two are the grand daddies of good adventure design, and it is a really pity 3x games have learned so little form them.


    Kennesty wrote:
    There are a lot of really good old modules, but a lot of them are really starting to feel dated. If I look at an AD&D module and a Pathfinder AP book the difference is product quality is huge! Personally I have a very hard time going back and playing old books, they're definetely are gems but they have aged. That being said I have never been disappointed by any of the Adventure Paths, even the ones that folks say are not as good.. I can always manage to alter it enough to have tons of fun with my players and really that's all that matters, so Paizo owns my soul until they stop publishing stuff.

    I think the big distinction between modules written for the earlier editions of the game and today is the level of detail in the module. Earlier editions of the game didn't color everything in-- or even ink over the pencil sketches, so to speak. The GM was expected to fill in those details as he or she saw fit. That's both a strength and a limitation.

    Let's take I6: Ravenloft as an example. I'm currently running it using Pathfinder rules, converting it on the fly. Major NPCs don't have a whole lot written about their appearance, personality, demeanor, or attitude toward the PCs. Most enemies don't have suggested tactics. Many encounter areas have no maps. The GM has to ad-lib all of that. The plus is that it allows the GM to be creative and make the NPCs exactly what he wants them to be. The minus is the extra work of creating things on-the-fly, and then making sure to write down your ad-libs so you can build off them and keep the story consistent.

    Shadow Lodge

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    Mark Hoover wrote:
    KotBl always represented for me the classic megadungeon.

    Fairly small for a megadungeon. When I think megadungeon, I think this.


    Kthulhu wrote:
    Mark Hoover wrote:
    KotBl always represented for me the classic megadungeon.
    Fairly small for a megadungeon. When I think megadungeon, I think this.

    For a kid learning to play, that was a megadungeon.

    A buddy of mine years ago was way into old-skool and got a hold of a map of the levels under Castle Greyhawk. "That wasn't enough for me" he said so he also got a map of some huge castle in England. He took the English map and made encounters or write-ups for EVERY room, major hall, outbuilding, etc. PLUS he had random tables, PLUS he had wilderness adventures, PLUS some of the wilderness adventures had whole dungeons with them.

    It was the most ridiculous amount of gaming I'd ever seen in my life to that point.

    I felt really bad for the dude too. He started building the thing for a gaming club he was part of, for when he finally got his shot at running. A few months before finishing the whole group finished their old campaign but decided to disband since one guy was moving away. Literally years of this dude's life were dedicated to a project that never got played.

    Anyway sorry for the derail.

    I get what everyone's saying about the old school modules aging. Even the best of them seem 2 dimensional in relation to stuff written in the last 10 to 15 years. IMO (and yours will likely differ) the reason for this is motivation and depth of character.

    The old giant modules for example. They just start; "there's these hill giants attacking so you're doing something about it..." and you don't really know or even care who the villains are or why you're the heroes on this particular case.

    Now consider the first book of Rise of the Runelords. You have a whole town, complete with fleshed out NPCs. The villains too have needs, wants and motivations. GMs are given enough info to really know

    Spoiler:
    the guy working with the goblins in the glassworks
    and such. At certain points GMs are encouraged to make the PCs care about Sandpoint and its people as that's central to the entire AP.

    Even the stand alone modules are like this. Keep on the Borderlands: a great stand-alone with tons for the PCs to do but as mentioned upthread it's not even details-light. The details are literally non-existent. Hollow's Last Hope on the other hand has fully-developed NPCs plus, if the players are paying attention, the sub-plot that the Lumber Consortium is squeezing this town to death.

    So I guess what I'd say is this: old skool modules are really great if you need bones or inspiration on which to hang your campaign. You can really customize them to your needs. That's why I like calling them "modules." Current pre-written adventures are more like mini-campaigns in and of themselves. You don't really have to do anything except open them, read ahead a little and start running.

    Shadow Lodge

    Mark Hoover wrote:
    For a kid learning to play, that was a megadungeon.

    I'm gonna resist the urge to say anything more, as it would probably just serve to turn this into a full-blown argument, but I do want to ask one thing:

    Was that really needed?

    Grand Lodge

    Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
    Kthulhu wrote:
    Was that really needed?

    Of course. Why wouldn't it?

    Shadow Lodge

    Haladir wrote:
    2. Masks of Nyarlathotep (Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium, 1984) A world-spanning Call of Cthulhu adventure path. Some have called this the greatest module of all time for any game system.

    Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, one of "some" is Paizo's Creative Director.


    Kthulhu wrote:
    Haladir wrote:
    2. Masks of Nyarlathotep (Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium, 1984) A world-spanning Call of Cthulhu adventure path. Some have called this the greatest module of all time for any game system.
    Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, one of "some" is Paizo's Creative Director.

    I think Mr. Jacobs's running that for a number of fellow Paizo employeees, even? I don't remember if they finished or if it's still going.


    What's the best pre-written adventure? I can't answer that because when I was playing as a teenager I wanted different things that I do now 30 years later.

    The D&D/Pathfinder game has also massively changed.

    Genre and date of publishing plays a significant part in how i would valuate pre-written adventures accurately.

    Some pre-written adventures were not the best but had 1 or 2 profound ideas that became the catalyst for the evolution in adventure design.

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