For my own ease I'm switching my library gaming group over to AD&D Second Edition. I was wondering if there are any good published campaigns or cohesive modules which would be appropriate for kids in their early teens. Any suggestions are welcome. My reason for 2e is that I own it and feel like it plays quickly. My reason for wanting published material is that my free time is about to decrease dramatically, cutting down on the time I have to plan.
Back in the 2e years, they were all appropriate for kids. TSR was nervous about concerned parents in those days.
My favorite 2e adventures were in the pages of Dungeon magazine. For starting a new campaign at first level, I would particularly recommend issue 39, which you could order here, here, or here. That one had not just one but TWO excellent beginner adventures. (One was technically for BECMI, but I easily ran it in 2e on the fly.) But that magazine produced great adventures throughout the 2e era, in my opinion, so you may want to grab a bunch of issues. I could mention many more of my favorites from that magazine...
...but... you mention published CAMPAIGNS and COHESIVE modules. Maybe you don't have time to figure out how to stitch together many short adventures. So maybe I'll mention "Eye of Pain", which the hit pointe is offering for $9, or which you could get at Amazon. If you'll take PDFs, you could get it here. I wasn't as crazy about the two sequels, but there's a campaign for you.
For a low-level dungeon crawl, you could try The Shattered Circle.
If you have Al-Qadim, I liked one lengthy campaign for that, Caravans, which you could get here or here. (Back in the day, WotC offered it as a free download, but they no longer did so the last time I checked.)
What are you looking for in a module, anyway?
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I recommend the forums at and . Both are very active havens for players of the older editions of D&D (including 2nd edition AD&D).
Dragonsfoot also has quite a few useful resources for both 1st edition and 2nd edition...
A lot of the older edition modules have been re-released on PDF (usually for $4.99) over at: Dungeons & Dragons Classics
As for a module recommendation, I just ran the module "WGM1: Border Watch" which is a low level adventure that would be appropriate for younger gamers. The problem with this module is that it is missing some text. However, this "missing text" can be found: HERE
I want to say something else about Dungeon magazine. If you're not interested in shorter adventures, but if you're a Planescape fan, I should mention issues 55 and 60, each of which contains an excellent and lengthy adventure (31 pages and 27 pages, respectively) for Planescape.
Noble Knight games has 55 here and 60 here. Third-party sellers on Amazon have 55 here and 60 here.
My favorite 2e adventures were in the pages of Dungeon magazine.
Bingo! Perfect for such a group - if you can find the magazines. Heck, you'd only need a couple and could net four or so adventures per magazine!
If you like 2nd edition and bits of the d20 System, I can't recommend Castles and Crusades enough. It's like 2nd edition, but with THACO and AC "corrected" to d20!
It's so modular, that you could use 2nd edition class kits on top of C&C classes. It's billed for that kind of play: like X from Y? Graft it on!
That would also open up 3rd edition adventures for you.
Thinking on it, I actually like the idea of stringing together some dungeon magazine stuff. There's even a book store in the northern part of my state(Vermont) which carries old 2e issues. What are people's favorites? I really want to start at level 1, but the group does meet every week. That said, I need a good amount of material.
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Here are a few - but by no means all - of my favorite adventures from Dungeon.
WARNING: THIS POST IS EXTREMELY SPOILER-HEAVY!!!
#18: Chadranther's Bane (5-8 characters of levels 4-6). Honey, I shrunk the PCs! The PCs are caught in a magical field that shrinks them down to a 50th of their right size, and must battle similarly shrunken goblins mounted on... ordinary rats! Then they must fight their way out of an outpost, which is the size of a village to them!
#34: Euphoria Horrors (4-6 characters of levels 1-2). Tasloi, say no to drugs! When a tribe finds a faerie dragon's breath addictive and intoxicating, they fight the PCs in a way the players will not easily forget.
#35: Green Lady's Sorrow (4-6 characters of levels 5-8). Running this one was such an incredible experience for me, my first post on this site was a long ramble on the subject. Will the PCs trust their employer, a green dragon?
#39: Below Vulture Point (6-9 characters of levels 0-1). This makes a perfect introduction to AD&D and start to a campaign.
Also #39: The Fountain of Health (4-8 characters of 1st level, technically for BECMI, but easily run in 2e on the fly). A perfect continuation of a campaign after "Below Vulture Point", with a nice full-color poster grid map of the whole dungeon for miniatures.
#40: Song of the Fens (4-8 characters of levels 1-3). "Please help me, heroes! I've fallen in love with whoever is singing to me from the marshes." "Um... guys? How do we break it to this woman that her love is a monster?"
#41: A Way with Words (3-6 characters of levels 1-3, technically for BECMI, but I easily ran it in 2e on the fly). Literate kobolds can be a great danger... to themselves.
Also #41: Old Man Katan and the Incredible, Edible, Dancing Mushroom Band (4-6 characters of levels 1-6). Just the title tells you that this is one weird adventure. It's also notable for allowing the PCs to deal with the BBEG by reasoning with him, if they so choose. They did when I ran this one!
#42: The Lady of the Mists (4-6 characters of levels 6-8). A classic horror story, listed as one of the top 10 Dungeon Magazine adventures in issue #116.
#45: Rudwilla's Stew (4-8 characters of levels 1-2). The PCs must go to the bugbears' lair... for diplomatic relations?!?
#46: Goblin Fever (4-6 characters of levels 3-5). To help a city with a plague, the PCs must travel about the city, which the players can see with these nifty tiles the DM lays out.
#47: Fraggart's Contraption (six characters of levels 1-2). The PCs rescue a gnome... who doesn't want to be rescued, because in captivity, he's discovered this nifty device. Um... do you really want to push that button?
#51: The Bandits of Bunglewood (4-8 characters of levels 1-3). People are reporting being attacked by terrible, powerful, monstrous bandits, who turn out to be... kobolds?!?
#53: Clarshh's Sepulchre (six characters of 1st level). The PCs must search the ruins of a village, where they get some memorable monster encounters. Also, it makes the perfect introduction for a campaign where the PCs have a contact - an Arcane - for identifying and trading magic items.
#81: The Door to Darkness (statted for different levels). The PCs stay at an inn... which is the scene of the whole adventure! Is the inn haunted... or is that what someone WANTS you to think? This issue provides a full-color poster map of the inn for miniatures, just like "The Fountain of Health".
Also, if you like Al-Qadim, I'd strongly recommend The Assassin Within (#47, 4-6 characters of levels 3-5) and The Rose of Jumlat (#57, 3+ characters of levels 3-7).
And for Planescape, I've already mentioned Umbra (#55, 4-6 characters of levels 6-9) and Nemesis (#60, adventure, 4-7 characters of levels 9-12).
Like I said, though, I have more favorites than these.
Wow... This thread is going to make me focus on collecting old Dungeon magazines. I've got all but about the first 47 or so of Dragon, and a fraction of Dungeon.
I didn't focus on Dungeon when it was in print because I wasn't a DM.
Now that I want to run a game - and have become an armchair collector - I can't believe the value in those darn things! About five or so adventures in each issue? What an awesome product.
The pre-3e issues have a lot of nostalgia for me, too.
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There is a downloadable "index" (on PDF) that only lists the issues of dungeon magazine that contained adventures for both 1st and 2nd edition over at dragonsfoot; this index includes a short description of each of those adventures as well.
It only lists issues 1 - 81, as those were the issues that were produced during the days of 1st and 2nd edition (issue number 18 was the first issue containing adventures for 2nd edition)...
is a direct link to that index.
Thanks so much for all your help. I helped two of the five kids get their characters made last week since half our group was missing. So far we've got a half-elf bard and an elf wizard/thief. Can't wait to see what the other three decide to roll up!
If you are looking at an old campaign setting geared at a younger audience, Look for Thunder Ridge. Published in 1992, it was written for a younger/newer player.
I am a big fan of a bunch of the Ravenloft modules.
Night of the Walking Dead, Touch of Death, Feast of Goblyns, were all part of the Grand Conjunction set and were particularly excellent. I had a great time running them in High School and College. The hound of the baskervilles take off one was very good as well and the Rakshasa Web of Illusion was good with a little tweaking. All are fun D&D romps with gothic horror themes and elements. House of Strahd looks fun too.
Watch out for a bunch of ones where terrible major things happen to the PCs with no chance to avoid them as written. Adam's Wrath, Hour of the Knife, and I believe From the Shadows have the PCs killed and revived as flesh golems, one PC killed offscreen and replaced by a doppelganger who tries to isolate and offscreen kill other PCs, and the PC's beheaded but kept alive to possess new bodies.
Also avoid the Death Unchained, Death Ascendant, Grim Harvest set if you like the atmosphere of Ravenloft, it is a poorly thought out over the top series of modules that trashes a lot of the mood of the setting IMO.
How grizzly are the Ravenloft modules? I like the idea but worry that they may prove to gruesome for my group of middle schoolers.
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How grizzly are the Ravenloft modules? I like the idea but worry that they may prove to gruesome for my group of middle schoolers.
The "horror" of the various Ravenloft modules and the setting is that of the more classic "gothic horror", which is a far cry from the blood and guts of today’s "slasher" horror. Good examples of the style and general atmosphere can be found within the classic books such as Bram Stoker's "Dracula", Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein", or H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu", to name but a few. The nature of the horror is very tame (especially when compared to today's notion of what horror is) because much of what actually happens is left to the imagination...
A couple of good books to read on the subject (if you have the time), are Stephen King's "The Danse Macabre" and H.P. Lovecraft's "Supernatural Horror In Literature" (both are non-fiction). Also, Wizard’s of the Coast put out a good book on how to approach classic horror in gaming, called "Heroes of Horror" (it's a 3rd edition book, but the advice given is system neutral). The 2nd edition Ravenloft Boxed set also has good advice on how to approach running classic horror in gaming.
Voadam above named some good Ravenloft modules, I would also add the 1st edition (pre-Ravenloft setting) module "Ravenloft" or its 2nd edition update: "House of Strahd" - I don't think any of those would be inappropriate for Jr. High/Middle School kids in their teens...
Sweet. I love supernatural horror and think the group might find it a fun change from my current goofball fantasy homebrew.
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I know this doesn't fit the 2nd edition bill, but I really Liked
Rahasia . It was the first module, where we realized we couldn't just simply kill all of our opponents, namely the monsters......some of them we actually had to subdue
Another one I like was The Lost City. You might enjoy this one as well.
Good luck with your games. If I may ask is the book store you are you referring to Quarterstaff Games in Burlington?
Quarterstaff is great, but I'm actually referring to The Eloquent Page in St. Albans. Turns out they have a fairly ridiculous selection of second edition material. Lots of other wacky stuff as well.
How grizzly are the Ravenloft modules? I like the idea but worry that they may prove to gruesome for my group of middle schoolers.
The ones I have read and run go for tension, suspense and dread as the atmosphere, they are not gory or squicky.
The hound one is Howls in the Night and has three different options for who the true bad guy is and what is really going on. It was a lot of fun to run.
I also had good experiences running a bunch of the short adventures in Book of Crypts and expanding a little on Ship of Horrors, which is another of the Grand Conjunction series.
I would suggest maybe Dragon Mountain. It is fairly inoffensive and involves lots of different types of adventures. Given the size of the module, it is almost Adventure Path-like in that requires several side quests and is extensive before and after reaching the actual main dungeon/lair. It's a 2.0 ready adventure, so minimal adjustments are needed and the level progression is fairly consistent.
I have the Mayfair Games 'City-State of the Invincible Overlord' box set. I know it's intended for 1e, but are any of the products for that any good?
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I have the Mayfair Games 'City-State of the Invincible Overlord' box set. I know it's intended for 1e, but are any of the products for that any good?
I ran "The Haunt", it was a fun adventure, if a bit silly at times...
It features a haunted mansion, with a...
I don't think there is anything in it that would be inappropriate for young teenagers...
I also own Briarwood Castle, though I have never run it. And it too would be pretty safe for the young ones.
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Night of the Walking Dead in PDF is currently free on rpgnow.com as a Halloween promotion. I ran it as a Halloween game in college and it sparked a whole campaign. The madman prophecy worked particularly well.
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I would suggest maybe Dragon Mountain. It is fairly inoffensive and involves lots of different types of adventures. Given the size of the module, it is almost Adventure Path-like in that requires several side quests and is extensive before and after reaching the actual main dungeon/lair. It's a 2.0 ready adventure, so minimal adjustments are needed and the level progression is fairly consistent.
The problem with Dragon Mountain is that to really get the feel the adventure is going for you have to have been playing long enough to have developed a low opinion of kobolds. Then when the little buggers are slowly dragging the PCs down in the adventure its all the more impactful that its kobolds doing this.
A good 2nd or 3rd campaign adventure - or fine for a group that is maybe returning to 2nd edition.
The problem with Dragon Mountain is that to really get the feel the adventure is going for you have to have been playing long enough to have developed a low opinion of kobolds.
A good 2nd or 3rd campaign adventure - or fine for a group that is maybe returning to 2nd edition.
Fair point, but always felt that was part of the fun of discovering it in any case. Like - why and how are these kobolds managing this big fortress? Despite it's name, you don't have lots of Dragons in it. When my playgroup did it years ago, they kept expecting it to be a dungeon filled with every monochromatic serpent in the book.
It sounds like his group has already been doing some playing, so the kobold response may not be an unexpected reaction either. Also, a teenage group's expectations may not be as cynical as us older gamers, so it could create a totally different experience.
How dependant are most modules on campaign setting material? Are there any settings which would be exceptionally tough or easy to run without the box set?
I think that depends on the module and the materials in question. Lots of 2nd edition stuff from TSR tended to be either heavily campaign setting dependent or wholly independent. Dragon Mountain, for example, could be set anywhere based on how the material was presented; same goes for many of the suggested adventures from Dungeon magazine.
You mentioned interest in the Ravenloft material - modules for that setting will probably require some greater knowledge or reference of the original campaign materials. So, more books and such. Same goes for anything from Al-Qadim. Forgotten Realms was probably the most detailed setting, but it was also the most traditional "high fantasy" game world, so you could theoretically work it with the minimal changes. I think I noticed most were spell-specific and monster-specific details, but depending on how much lore you want to add to the story from the source-material.
For example, you could do a 2.0 mega-dungeon like Ruins of Undermountain without having to necessarily study all Waterdeep. You could generically set it in any location. But there's a lot of lore that might make you want to check source material for Waterdeep/Forgotten Realms, if that makes sense.
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There were a lot of modules for 2nd edition that were "setting neutral" (those that did not have a specific setting logo on the cover), but I'd say that almost any of the setting specific modules could be run independent of the setting; though some would require more work than others to do so, because those rely heavily upon the setting's lore/canon, but it can be done if you're willing to put in the effort...
Are Spelljammer and Planescape super material intensive? Those both appeal to me.
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There was a lot of material released for Planescape (with 5 different boxed sets released for it). Most of the material released were setting souurcebooks (e.g. information on the various planes), and very few modules. Spelljammer had a fair share of material for it however (with 4 different boxed sets), a good number of the products were modules...
Spelljammer modules could be used independent of the setting, but you would have to work a bit to make some of them fit into a more "standard" setting.
Planescape on the other hand, would be a bit easier, as most of the modules take place in either a city, or in a wilderness. Sure there are some fantastical features to these locals, but these features are usually not integral to the over-all plot and a standard city or wilderness could easily be used in their place...
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Spelljammer had four boxed sets; four supplement books that expanded on the setting; three supplement books that detailed the crystal spheres for TSR's thee BIG settings (Greyspace, Realmspace, and Krynnspace); two Monstrous Compendiums; six adventure modules; a player's handbook; and a DM Screen.
So, it was a decent amount (21 RPG products), plus six novels, 15 comic books, and a computer game. Still nothing compared to Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, or even Ravenloft.
Spelljammer officially ended before 3rd edition came around, but Paizo gave some 3E rules for it in Polyhedron #151. There's also a website, Beyond the Moons, that is the official website for the setting, and it has both 2E and 3E rules.
Kenzer & Co also put out Hackjammer, which was Spelljammer for their Hackmaster system (which was a parody version of 1E).
That's pretty much everything Spelljammer that exists in offical or semi-official canon.
The other potentially interesting prospect I may have access to is 'The Night Below'. What are people's thoughts on the playability and content of that?
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The other potentially interesting prospect I may have access to is 'The Night Below'. What are people's thoughts on the playability and content of that?
I've heard people say they really enjoyed it but that it is super long and there are some parts that can drag and many people started it but did not get all the way through.
It is an underdark one, so I believe you can start from most any normal D&D setting and then all you need is the underdark areas described in the module.
Are Spelljammer and Planescape super material intensive? Those both appeal to me.
Spelljammer is D&D in magic sailing ship space, once you get them in space you should be able to use any spelljamming module. The core box has the rules on spelljammer ships and a description of some of the more common power players in D&D space.
Planescape is the outer planes with a lot of intense politics and dickensian english slang in the city of Sigil in Concordant Opposition. Depending on how much cant (setting slang) is in a module and where it takes place it should work fine even without knowing the details of every amazing sourcebook. The relevant details should be apparent from the modules. The cant can be annoying to get through and distracting, or be charming and full of the setting's flavor. Tasts vary here.
The other potentially interesting prospect I may have access to is 'The Night Below'. What are people's thoughts on the playability and content of that?
I am spot on with Voadam on the module/set as far as setup. It's definitely interesting in that it goes outside your traditional dungeon/wilderness modules. If you have any experience in the old school stuff, I would day it is vaguely reminiscent of the old D series of modules about the Underdark. But maybe that's just me.
I have no experience with old school stuff. I primarily play Pathfinder but have run some 2e homebrew. I currently have the DM Guide, Player's Handbook, Combat and Tactics, Complete Humanoids, and the Monstrous Manual. I really like how second edition plays and think it would be a good fit for my group. What can I expect from an old-school Underdark campaign?
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Night Below is pretty good, and predates the first Dungeon AP by about eight years. It does a lot of things well, but in running it in 2014, there are a few things that could probably use an update. (Note: I've been running this adventure in Pathfinder, so a lot of my experiences won't pertain to this conversation.
First off, the adventure sets up a few fetch quests between the two villages in Haranshire to introduce the area and the people therein. It sets up a lot of questions, and then immediately drops them without any way for the players to follow up on them. A young girl has gone missing in one village, and no matter what the PCs do, they can't find evidence of her anywhere. They find evidence of an attack on pilgrims of a good-aligned deity in the area, and then no evidence of the missing people. There's not a lot of direction in the first book, and while that's freeing for players that want to explore the world, computer games have trained players to look for and follow the rails. It's a playstyle that's fallen out of favor in some places, but if it suits you, and you don't mind retraining players, then you could have some fun with it.
Second, it's long. It'll probably be several levels before your players even delve into the titular Night Below, which means your game might end before it truly begins.
It does some things very well. First off, it knows exactly what players will expect from an adventure called Night Below, and then takes great pains to avoid it. It plays with that preconceived notion, and twists it in a very unique fashion. In fact, the whole thing is definitely a love letter to the D series, but it's very much its own beast. Also, there are tons of handouts, poster maps and so on. If you're in for the long haul, Night Below's pretty awesome!
Night below: it is suitable for young people. The first book is above ground. It has some straightforward quests, the village is ok but the main plot is obscure and not really discovered until later. Then into books 2 & 3 where the exploration is fun but can be a bit of a grind. Again the main plot is revealed layer by layer. By the time you find the missing girl I guarantee you have forgotten you were looking for her. Like any big adventure it will need tweaks along the way to fit your group.
I agree with Misroi, if you are in for the long haul it's a great plot and pretty well done. The first 3.0 campaign I ran was a converted Night Below campaign. It lasted 6 years and went to level 20. Awesome.
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Going to pretty much agree with the crowd here regarding Night Below. In some significant ways I think this extended adventure might actually be better for a group of Teenagers then for the 'I've seen it all before' adult D&D player. Night Below uses a lot of pretty iconic Underdark tropes but does not often really push any boundaries. Your jaded adult player will find that the adventure holds few real surprises but for Teenagers this will be the first time most of them have encountered these tropes. It'll all be new to them.
So here's what I've got: I'm going to base the group in Briarwood, since I have it. This I shall put near a coast and use it as a base from which to run Dungeon adventures. This weekend I snagged two with some nice looking low level adventures in them.
Sounds good. Best of luck and hope your group has some good fun. I found that Second Edition certainly generated some great adventures for my D&D group.
I'm curious. Which two?
62 and 66.
Ah, 66! You know, I was on the verge of including "The Petrifying Priestess" in my list of favorites. It had a...
I plan to run 'Sunken Shadow' with the group running into the dryad from 'Enormously Inconvenient' on their way to the sea. Upon returning they'll find her beset by giant ants and hopefully feel compelled to help.
Just to update, 'Sunken Shadow' went really well. They did, however, take forever to figure out that the captain wasn't on the level. The only player who spotted his peculiarities was to meek to force the issue.