What's your least favorite AD&D module?

Discussion in 'RPG Discussion' started by Dale, Apr 4, 2009.

  1. Dale

    Dale Administrator

    Taking a cue from Melf I thought this might prove to be an interesting topic.

    However, this is not meant to attack or besmirch the writers. Keep it civil- and let see if there were other bad experiences in modules.

    I'll start...

    I was the DM for the four module series Dragonlance DL1-DL4. We decided to play in this realm as a change of pace from our usual GreyHawk setting.

    The players hated this modules series because it was a forced series of events that they had no control over. They were lead (or forced captured) through almost the entire series. Free will they had none- and eventually we quit playing the series I think DL3.

    Initially I thought it was me being a bad DM, but to a person everyone stated the series sucked- and we went on and had many successful campaigns through the World of Greyhawk!
     
  2. rossik

    rossik Footpad

    i have DMed those modiles, and they were a sucess. All the players were DL fans, so they wanna to live the history as the book, so no harm done there ;)

    but i understand the frustration it may created if you just want to play
     
  3. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    I think it was the DMing :p
     
  4. sir jon

    sir jon Spellbinder

    Dale, I had a similar experience playing in a module based upon the Forgotton Realms (*shudder*) Avatar series of novels. Not only were you pressed to follow the storyline, it didn't seem as if it were even a thought in the writers' eyes that the players might not want to follow the story! Our group broke from the story and did their own thing. Luckily for us, our DM was capable enough to let us do what we wanted. Of course, I was playing a LG character in a group full of chaotics, which made it impossible to continue for me without causing serious injury on party members. That and the fact even the NPCs were written so barren of personality made it a completely inane adventure, one more notch in my dislike of the Realms.

    Hm. I didn't mean to go on such an attack, considering I don't even recall the title of the adventure!
     
  5. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    I have to say that quite a few of the 3E modules end up on this list simply because they felt like a steamroller. I know my players and I would often say to myself, "They're not going to go in this direction" but there would not be enough flesh in the module to handle it if they stepped outside of the box.

    The worst modules from the early days that I think I read through (but never ran) were the Conan series of modules. They just grated on me because they tried to make you follow the plot straight on through....no variation. I guess I feel the same way about the Indiana Jones modules as well.

    Since I lost quite a bit of my D&D stuff during "The Great Purge" of '91" (I'll explain some other time), I can't look at those old modules and see which ones I didn't like. When I started repurchasing stuff that I used to have, all I could remember were the ones I really liked.
     
  6. deogolf

    deogolf Chevalier

    The worst for me was also the best module - Tomb of Horrors! Although it was alot of fun to go through, it was one bitch of a meat grinder as well. I can't really think of any as being "least favorite", we had fun with all the modules that we went through.

    I didn't mind reading the DL series of books, they were quite enjoyable to read when you're out in the middle of the ocean with nothing else going on. But I never did play the modules. I've heard alot of people complain about the "railroadiness" of it though.
     
  7. francisca

    francisca Troubadour

    Ditto. I can't explain to you guys the disdain I have for those modules. They are partly responsible for driving me out of the game back in the day.

    Now, today, I play in a DragonLance game, but the DM is a "Canon-schmanon" kind of guy, so it sits just fine with me. No railroading, no uber NPCs we need to bow, scrape to, and leave alone.
     
  8. GeneWeigel

    GeneWeigel Footpad

    I think for something to be classified as "bad" in this field, with so many things done that are plainly out of the scope, it must first be widely accepted as "good" or rather "good enough to get". The DL modules fit the bill although they have this warped appeal to them which was obviously intended for women players or rather to draw in romance readers. Its like the girls turning "fort adventure" into a "baby beauty shop" in a way. So back to what I was saying it initially had to suck you in and then spit you out, right?

    If I was to go for a mentality that said "all single color bordered adventures were good" (which I had circa 1982 and 1983) then I'd have to say dungeon module I1 DWELLERS OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY by Dave Cook (1981). It was supposed to be set in the World of Greyhawk but its way off in the most obscurest reaches (which was fine for GDQ but for this?) and the flavor is reminiscent of the 2e pretensiousness and hollowed form that was to come. Its hard to pin it down just by glancing through it, it looks just like any other D&D adventure of the time. However when you play it out and hear the words brought to life its like BLEH-ACKK!!! It has monsters called "aboleth", "tasloi" and "yuan-ti" but the more we get into this (and DMs must get "into" the adventures) its just pretensious affectations (Like "We are the Hoo-loo-loola!") that would have been better off as "brain fish", "jungle goblins" and "scaled ones" respectively. But it isn't just the names its presentation in this manner as well. If I have to sit through the presentation of the mongrelman's history (which is just do your best "stupid" performance) I'm going to take a hostage and demand restitution! ;) Out of all the "color bordered adventures" I like this the least so I think it trumps out all the non-Gygax based stuff that was to come because 90% of that can just get thrown in the dumpster for all I care.
     
  9. francisca

    francisca Troubadour

    Dude, I'm yanking that for a sig quotation.
     
  10. shalaban

    shalaban Chevalier

    I am going to have to say the overall worst would be WG10 Child’s Play. Although WG9 and WG11 deserve to be mentioned.

    All three make me cringe in that same way that a Greyhawk book wrote by Rose Estes does. :? I’m sure Estes has wrote some fine children’s stories, but what I’m saying is that her abilities should be applied elsewhere. :roll:
     
  11. ScottyG

    ScottyG Chevalier

    I was no fan of Dragonlance, but I didn’t really have expectations for the adventures either. I picked the first couple up out of curiosity as they were released, didn’t like them, and forgot about them.
    I’d have to say the ‘worst’ would have to be something that actually disappointed me, something that I expected good things from.
    Q1 comes to mind.
    After the awesome GD adventures, Q1 was a big disappointment. Rather than a final showdown with Eclavdra’s patron, the Elder Elemental God on some island in the underground sea, the party ends up on a giant robot spider ship fighting Lolth, who had nothing to do with instigating the giant raids that got the whole adventure rolling.
     
  12. falconer

    falconer Level 0 Character

    OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes

    A dismal failure. No maps, no combat, no adventure. Just a script to follow and experience points awarded. And the failure is made all the more “abysmal” because of the context (the planes!!).

    The DL series at least contains playable dungeon crawls, maps, monsters, etc. A halfway-decent DM weaned on Gygax modules will ignore the plot, ignore the obscure death rule, let players go where they want, and let the dice fall how they will. It still wouldn’t be my #1 choice, but you CAN get some decent AD&D out of it.e
     
  13. francisca

    francisca Troubadour

    oooooooohhhhhhhhh......had erased that one from memory....yeah, it's bad.
     
  14. GeneWeigel

    GeneWeigel Footpad

    I wonder if I still have that?

    Do I dare look?

    ;)
     
  15. GeneWeigel

    GeneWeigel Footpad

    TALES OF THE OUTER PLANES didn't survive the "Dragonlance, Oriental Adventures, Fakehawk, Forgotten Realms, Battlesystem" adventure purge of a few years ago I guess( which was the last of my bad l"ate first edition" collection)! Even though I gutted the boxes and "gazetteers" of "late 1e" long before (plus the entirety of a huge 2e collection), I held on to all adventures for years in the mistaken notion that I could redeem them I eventually learned otherwise! I still have some of the shoddy later "basic adventures" warts and all (I figured they're not as yappity as their rotten late 1e conterparts.). Plus I held on to both versions of Lankhmar 1e&2e (even though they both are unplayable to me some "kinders" might be interested in it for a start in years to come.) and Book of Lairs (of which I cant figure why I still have this. A mistake? ;) ).

    Hows that for a rogues gallery of bad adventures?
     
  16. Dale

    Dale Administrator

    Haha.

    Not bad, but I actually liked the City of Lankhmar. I even dropped it in the southern part (along the coast) in Greyhawk. We had some great adventures from it. I wonder if the GreyHawk purists will demand my head for sacrilege? :p
     
  17. GeneWeigel

    GeneWeigel Footpad

    Heck, I don't have a problem with that!

    I almost did the same thing although I was holding out til I used it for an official Lankhmar jaunt. As the years rolled by and I rounded out reading all the stories I kind of gave up on it. Since its a just a "take" on Lankhmar, I figured I could do a "take" and be more familiar with what I threw out there. But I still haven't done it yet.

    Although, Falconer, with his talk of his D&D Tolkien campaign, sometimes makes me think of doing yet another adventure back to Middle Earth...

    ;)
     
  18. Druvas

    Druvas Spellbinder

    What's your LEAST favorite AD&D module? ***SPOILERS!!!***

    Not trying to be too negative and I really don't want scathing reviews, but out of curiosity, what is your least favorite mod? I am mainly looking for 1st edition TSR modules.

    For me: A4 Slave Pits of the Underciy. I just don't like the whole railroady thing. Starting out as captured PC's really just "grinds my gears" (+1 to the person that can tell me where that quote comes from).
     
  19. clangador

    clangador Footpad

    I would have to say WG7 Castle Greyhawk is my least favorite module. It really seemed a slap in the face to Gary and Castle Greyhawk. At the point of its publication, I had read little tidbits here and there about Gary's legendary Castle Greyhawk megadungeon. For T$R to disrespect the iconic dungeon like that was clearly meant as an insult. I do own a couple copies for my collection, but I will never play or DM it.
     
  20. amalric

    amalric Level 0 Character

    I1 Dwellers was actually a favourite of mine, thought it took some brushing-up. I loved the "lost city" in the jungle feel, reminded me of some early Conan stories. I played in A1-4, and quite enjoyed A4 too, though we played it after defeating the Slave Lords at the end of A3, which rendered it slightly meaningless! :cool:

    WORST MODULE...WG9 GARGOYLE. I read it once and then chucked it into a dark corner, from which it has never returned. WG7 is also pretty useless.
     

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