Best adventures ever?

[Night Goat]

I'd like to get back into running games again, and I'd like to know what modules to read through to really get an idea of what makes a good adventure. I'd probably be running 3.5 or Pathfinder, but if you know of great adventures for other versions or games then I'd like to hear about them.

 

[nikolokolus]

I love some of the stuff Frog God/Necromancer have put out over the years. The City of Tsar in particular, is a huge mega adventure that spans dozens and dozens of sessions and these are pathfinder/3.x compatible. http://froggodgames.com/slumbering-tsar

If you want to go old-school, I had a good time with the "Against the Slave Lords" A series AD&D modules, the "Against the Giants" G series, "Descent into the Depths of the Earth" and "Vault of the Drow" D series were some of the best written, most fun modules I've ever participated in.

Having said, that I've always been more of a DIY guy, but I steal lots of bits and pieces from published stuff like maps and adventure hooks all the time. If you want an excellent resource for building adventures, I think Matt Finch's "Tome of Adventure Design" is about as good as it gets.

 

[murloc_gypsy]

"Against the Cult of the Reptile God" is another pretty good introductory AD&D module featuring a small village with some mysterious kidnappings and brain-washing going on. "Castle Ember" is another fun and wacky classic D&D module I've DM-ed and enjoyed. Depending on whether your group would like something like this, you could also go for a megadungeon like Rappan Athuk (compatible with PF and S&W).

 

[Jaesun]

I always liked B1: Into the Unknown

 

[Deuce Traveler]

B1: Into the Unknown is a great module for beginner players.

The first part of The Temple of Elemental Evil with the village of Hommlet and the near surroundings is also pretty good.

Tomb of Horrors is a great module, too, but I recommend telling your players how deadly it is, letting them roll up a couple of mid-level characters each, then sending them into the Tomb for a one off session with the realization that everyone is likely to die in horrible ways. As long as the players know what they are getting into it can be a morbidly fun time.

I have also heard good things about the Kingmaker Adventure Path by Paizo, and I liked the little I've played of it.

 

[Melan]

Some modules I have particularly enjoyed:

• The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (TSR): Great Mesoamerican-style dungeon with an inverted premise (you are transported to the depth of a dungeon flooded with poison gas, and have to get out before you are finished) and encounters which combine local mythology with imaginative and fantastic dungeon puzzles.
• Realm of the Slime God (Judges Guild): A very early adventure by Paul Jaquays; wilderness and multiple dungeons. It is found in The Dungeoneer Compendium #1-6, which is easy to find and offers a fascinating look into 1970s game culture.
• The Dark Tower (Judges Guild): Jaquays again; high-level death-fest set in a dungeon centred around two towers buried by an ancient cataclysm, and still fighting a religious war everyone else has forgotten. Very 3D, and characteristically imaginative.
  
• The Tomb of Abysthor (Necromancer Games): Complex multi-level dungeon with several factions fighting for influence, and a variety of environments. This is fairly generic as fantasy goes, but it is one of the best put together dungeon modules.
• The Vault of Larin Karr (Necromancer Games): Mini-campaign setting describing a valley with numerous smaller adventure sites, as well as a huge underground cavern system. All of this stuff is interconnected both physically and by several plot threads.
• The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (Expeditious Retreat Press): Relatively small but inventive dungeon full of odd fungal horrors.

Abysthor and Vault are 3.0; there is also a 3.5 conversion of The Dark Tower.

 

[Scroo]

Rappan Athuk

 

[FuriousGamer87]

Pathfinder Adventure Paths are great. I recommend starting out with the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition.

 

[Grunker]

Well, it depends on what you're after I suppose. I generally dislike adventures for quote-unquote "serious" games. Dunno what else to call them. However for a good time for all, they can be great. So most of my suggestions will be AD&D and forward, because if I'm playing realistic medieval stuff or even sci-fi or horror of whatever else, I generally won't be using adventures.

As you can see in the Let's Play, I am currently running Way of the Wicked by Fire Mountain Games (for Pathfinder), and I must say, it is fantastic. However search for "best pathfinder adventure paths" and you'll most certainly find the cream of the crop of those. And they're really good. Jade Regent, Kingmaker, Rise of the Runelords (the new one), they're all good.

I also agree with others who said Tomb of Horrors. However I can't believe no one's mentioned Whiteplume Mountain yet. In some ways I actually think that module beats Tomb of Horrors at being Tomb of Horrors. Both have 3.5 make-overs.

Also worthy of mention is Dungeon Crawl Classics' "Crypt of the Devil Lich": http://www.goodman-games.com/5012preview.html <---- also 3.5.

It's a modern take on Tomb of Horrors, with the difficulty ramped up. A personal favourite of mine is The Cormyr Trilogy, but that one requires a GM willing to do a lot of preparation. If you got that, it can be a great Forgotten Realms romp & roleplay. I can also recommend Expedition to the Demonweb Pits in its 3.5 edition, but that one also needs some serious GM work to shine.

In terms of modern takes on the classic module though, NOTHING beats CITADEL OF PAIN or THE BANEWARRENS. Seriously, play those. Entertaining, crawley, roleplayey, explorey action in a weird setting. Experienced roleplayers will wonder why all the rules just changed and what they're gonna do about it, and new roleplayers will marvel at all the weird shit. Great either way.

Citadel of Pain is for Pathfinder, while The Banewarrens i 3.0 (but easily convertible - I played it in the Mulhorandi town of Skuld in 3.5).

 

[Broseph]

I6: Castle Ravenloft

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (3e)

Madness at Gardmore Abbey (4e, will require more work in converting)

All in all though, very very few published modules are good, because they always involve pure dungeon crawling and lots of empty rooms. It's always better to run your own game, because you know your group best and you know whether and when they would prefer combat, and when they would prefer NPC interaction, story, puzzles, etc.

That said, if you really want to piss your players off run Tomb of Horrors. The sphere of annihilation insta kill traps will result in many lulz & rage quits

 

[BigWeather]

I enjoyed Pharaoh (I3), Oasis of the White Palm (I4), and Lost Tomb of Martek (I5). I've always been a sucker for Egyptian / Arabian settings, however.

 

[Grunker]

I enjoyed Pharaoh (I3), Oasis of the White Palm (I4), and Lost Tomb of Martek (I5). I've always been a sucker for Egyptian / Arabian settings, however.

Seen this? Haven't tried it myself, but I've run multiple campaigns in Mulhorand (I too am a sucker for that kind of thing), and it certainly caught my eye.

 

[Cool name]

There are modules which are better, but there are no modules which are more ridiculously and stupidly fun if your group can get in character.

 

[Don Peste]

There are modules which are better, but there are no modules which are more ridiculously and stupidly fun if your group can get in character.

I knew it was We be Goblins before seeing the image. But it is mandatory to have a DM and a group who can actually roleplay. I played it with a default Pathfinder munchkin DM and it became a lost opportunity.

 

[Telengard]

As a Journey to the Center of the Earth fanatic, my favorites still to this day are Hollow World's The Milenian Sceptre, followed in second place by the trilogy Nightwail, Nightrage, and Nightstorm. That, despite me having an avowed preference for dungeon delving experiences. Always felt it was a shame Hollow World got drowned out by AD&D standard realms.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

As a Journey to the Center of the Earth fanatic, my favorites still to this day are Hollow World's The Milenian Sceptre, followed in second place by the trilogy Nightwail, Nightrage, and Nightstorm. That, despite me having an avowed preference for dungeon delving experiences. Always felt it was a shame Hollow World got drowned out by AD&D standard realms.

​

Hollow World never really got drowned out by the AD&D campaign worlds, as it is part of the Mystara campaign setting of the BECMI (Basic-Expert-Companion-Master-Immortal) Dungeons and Dragons line. BECMI D&D was quite different from AD&D, and I actually preferred it from AD&D since I thought the system was quicker in play and easier to master. A lot of very cool adventures came from BECMI D&D, such as the Isle of Dread and the In Search of Adventure line of quests. Both Mystara and Hollow World (the hollow world being the world under the crust of Mystara) continued to be used for BECMI D&D from the early 80s up until the mid-90s with Rules Encyclopedia, making it the longest published ruleset of Dungeons and Dragons ever. By association, that means that Mystara and the Hollow World are two of the longest published campaign worlds ever, being only beaten by the likes of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. Hollow World was first mentioned in the Isle of Dread adventure which accompanied the Expert rules in expert boxed set.