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The Top 10 Dungeons & Dragons Modules

This article was co-written with the help of Patrick Wilson. No, not the actor, but he’s similarly handsome.

After the release of Zero Charisma, Nerdist’s first feature film which we released with Tribeca Films, I found myself with an insatiable craving, a tabletop wanderlust that just couldn’t be satsified. I wanted to play some Dungeons & Dragons, and I wanted to play it bad. Being that my usual cohort in dungeoneering had moved across the country from L.A. to Massachusetts and the fact that playing D&D can take hours and hours that I don’t seem to have lately, I settled for a walk down memory lane instead. So, I put out the clarion call to action to my dear friend and DM-for-life Patrick Wilson to to run down the Top 10 Dungeons & Dragons modules. Sure, everyone and their mother has played a mindblowing homebrew campaign, but you’ve got to give it up for these legendary adventures that helped turn this game into a certified phenomenon.

 

10) S3 – Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

PATRICK: This much-beloved module is near and dear to many dungeon delvers, but it loses big points in my book for throwing blatant sci-fi into a fantasy game. Am I the only one around here who cares about consistent adherence to an internally sound pseudo-medieval simulacrum? Barrier Peaks is about a crashed spaceship filled with laser guns and robots, and I would probably drive a +1 ranseur of genre enforcement through the eye of any DM who brought that disbelief-shattering hot mess to the gaming table.

DAN: The fact that the cover art looks like a Venusaur had sex with a Sarlacc and that you’re hired to go on this adventure by the Grand Duke of Geoff aside, Barrier Peaks is a landmark module precisely because it introduced sci-fi trappings into a largely fantasy world. If anything, it probably helped to introduce the Roman DeBeerses of the world to the joys of a largely fantasy-based game. Plus, it’s one of Stephen Colbert’s favorite adventures, for whatever that’s worth.

 

9) DL1 – Dragons of Despair

PATRICK: The authors of the ever-popular Dragonlance novels were originally hired at TSR to write D&D products. Those first books are a novelization of the original gaming group that braved the Dragonlance line of adventures, using such legendary player characters as Tanis, Raistlin, Sturm, Tasslehoff, and the rest, and these adventures let you can walk the world of Krynn in their boots of elvenkind. Facing down the raging black dragon Khisanth in the ruins of Xak Tsaroth is a life-affirming experience.

 

8) I6 – Ravenloft 

DAN: As a child, I was scared to death of vampires mainly because I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. But, I also had a deep and abiding love of puns, especially ones as lame as Ravenloft‘s tagline: “The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner — and you are invited.” Get it? We’re the dinner. Ah, Tracy and Laura Hickman, you slay me. Combining gothic horror with the high fantasy of D&D, Ravenloft was such a well received adventure that it inspired an entire campaign setting. Set in the foggy, eerily Lateveria-esque nation of Borovia, which is obviously surrounded by evil magical fog, the player characters are tasked with investigating a series of nighttime attacks leading back to the spooky Castle Ravenloft, home to the country’s tyrannical ruler Count Strahd von Zarovich. Oh, and Strahd is a vampire, in case that wasn’t screamingly obvious. All jokes aside, the adventure’s randomization mechanics, clever writing, and built in replay value make this the stuff of tabletop legend.

 

7) Lich-Queen’s Beloved

DAN: While one-off adventures and random battles are all well and good, it’s the promise of a Big Bad, a persistent, recurring villain for you and your party members to hate with every fiber of your being, that transforms a campaign from something you do every week to something immersive, living and breathing. When Dragon #100 dropped, featuring a gnarly looking female githyanki that looked like something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft on the cover, it was a game changer. In the adventure Lich-Queen’s Beloved, players were introuced to Vlaakith, a one-time githyanki ruler who came back from the dead as a lich with delusions of grandeur and aspirations of becoming a deity of death, and the baddest bitch this side of Lolth. With her Crown of Corruption, she transforms all those who oppose her into brainless undead servants and by siphoning the power of a dead god in order to ascend to godhood herself. Clearly, she’s a type-A. Anway, what makes this adventure so damn memorable is not just the hunt for Vlaakith’s physical manifestation and her phylactery, both of which need to be destroyed because them’s the lich rules, but just what a striking villain she makes. Whether or not the assassination attempt is successful, the game’s epilogue notes that there are rumors she survived, a plot hook almost too juicy to pass up.

 

6) S2 – White Plume Mountain

PATRICK: The grandfather of all fetch quests. Travel into the heart of an active volcano to do battle with an insane wizard and reclaim three badass magic weapons. Let the druids and lesser fighting men squabble over the trident of fish commanding and the warhammer that detects gems and also goblins. You’re here for Blackrazor, the +3 intelligent chaotic neutral greatsword that eats souls and drops panties. Elric, eat your heart out. This adventure also included a map that makes the first-ever mention of an undead dragon’s lair. How did it take this long for the game to include an undead dragon?

 

5) Dead Gods

PATRICK: The mid 90s were a time of change for D&D. Angry mothers had almost completely driven the pagan deities, topless priestesses, and ram-headed demons from the pages of roleplaying games. When the pendulum swung back, Dead Gods raised the art of universe-ending evil to new heights. You don’t just stop an evil plot; you fight to save the entire universe from horrific destruction. You don’t just battle horrors of the Abyss; you square off with Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead, whose death back in 1988 turns out to have been much less permanent that previously reported. You don’t just visit mind-bending Planescape locations; you journey to Pandemoniom, a hellish, neverending cavern where howling gales drive men mad. And then, just when you think you’ve saved the day, you have to return to where it all went down to stop a civil war from breaking out. All in a day’s work.

 

4) Red Hand of Doom

PATRICK: Red Hand of Doom was a ton of fun, no matter what the grumpy old guard of 1st Edition says. It was from the latter half of the 3rd Edition era, and it was a mega-adventure in which the adventuring party has to fend off an army of marauding monsters using guerilla tactics, espionage, and good old-fashioned mass combat. It shows how far adventure writing has come since the days of Uncle Gary. Much less railroady than the old stuff, it’s an example of D&D satisfying a craving that years of fantasy movies have given us, rather than the other way around.

 

3) Queen of the Spiders

PATRICK: Is it cheating to consider this “super-adventure” a single module, when it includes the entire Against the Giants series, the Drow series of adventures within the subterranean Underdark realm, and the big one: Q1 – Queen of the Demonweb Pits? Less an adventure and more an entire campaign, what begins as a couple of raids against aimlessly misbehaving giants quickly escalates into a battle for the fate of the world. As you work your way through the hit list of classic D&D villains to slay, from nameless Slave Lords to King Snurre of the Fire Giants to Lolth herself, Demon Queen of Spiders, you’ll doubtlessly agree that any adventure that introduces D&D‘s favorite race of evil elves deserves a place of honor in RPG history.

 

2) The Temple of Elemental Evil

DAN:  Arguably the most famous D&D module, The Temple of Elemental Evil was a landmark adventure for a number of reasons: 1) it is widely considered the grandfather of huge dungeon crawls; 2) in a pre-adventure box era, this was the first true super-module (the average scenario module ran 24-32 pages); 3) it was a mammoth-sized adventure set in co-writer Gary Gygax’s home campaign setting of Greyhawk. Taking place a decade after Gygax lead his players through the Battle of Emridy Meadows, better known as the First Routing of the Horde of Elemental Evil, an event central to Greyhawk lore, Temple of Elemental Evil blends deep dungeon crawling with deception and intrigue to take players out of the frying pan and throw them into the elemental fire. A follow up to 1978’s T1 – The Village of Hommlet, this adventure is recommended for first-level players who are “weary, weak, and practically void of money.” Little do they know, after building up their levels and confidence in Hommlet and doing raids in the nearby temple, they must go toe to toe with Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi, and her agents, who loose the demoness on the unsuspecting party. And, really, isn’t a battle with a Demon Queen of Fungi what we want out of all of our adventures?

 

1) S1 – The Tomb of Horrors

PATRICK: This is the undisputed king of D&D modules. Written by E. Gary Gygax himself, this adventure is the very essence of dungeon crawling. It is such a classic adventure that, since 1978, it has been updated to two newer editions so that successive generations of fighter/mages can risk their appendages to the infamous sphere of annihilation. When nerds dream their Cheeto-stained dreams of D&D, they are imagining standing at the threshold to a dark crypt filled with traps, illogical monster placements, and a demilich waiting at the end. It’s an absolutely lethal gauntlet of death traps, even for a world of heroes who regularly brave gauntlets of death traps, and surviving it is significant as much for bragging rights as for treasure. Completely sadistic, the Tomb of Horrors brings your gaming group together like no other adventure, by griefing them with impossible puzzles and murdering their cherished characters. It’s no coincidence that the Tomb of Horrors is prominently featured — ruby-toothed Acererak and all — in Ready Player One, the recent novelization of everything nerds love, with a movie adaptation in the works.

What is your favorite D&D module? Let us know in the comments below! Or just tell us your favorite campaign story! Or tell us on Twitter!

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Comments

  1. DungeonDude says:

    Okay folks this takes me back a long ways but two greats that were not on the list are The Forgotten Temple of Tharizidun and the Lost caverns of Tsojcanth. True grinders that introduce many of the monsters first published in the Fiend Folio. My two cents.  

  2. cailano says:

    I am shocked that in 2013 this list did not include Rise of the Runelords, from Paizo.  The first Adventure Path from the company that eventually went on to create the Pathfinder Role Playing game, RotRL was the beginning of a series that contains the best pre-written campaigns in the history of table-top RPGs.  

    Paizo was going to live or die off the success of the Rise of the Runelords AP, and oh, did they live.  
    If Queen of the Spiders is a single module, this AP should be counted as one as well. 
    Plus, how many modules have been collected in a $200, leather bound wizards tome?  This is the only one that comes to mind.

  3. Rob says:

    Had to also add what some may consider a crucial omission: Vault of the Drow (D3)

  4. Nemoran’s Vault from Fiery Dragon and the Freeport Trilogy from Green Ronin. These were fantastic 3rd party modules for the start of 3rd edition. I had them set in my own world that was heavily influenced by Mystara. I use The Kingdom of Karamiekos (once know as the Grand Dutchy of Karamiekos) and Glantri. Other campaign worlds have influenced my game as well. 

  5. NINJA says:

    what about desert of desolation? thats my favorite(it is a d and d)

  6. Nerdarchy says:

    Great list especially considering our groups rarely used modules yet I’ve been through a few of these. What gamers career would be complete without losing at least one character to the legendary Tomb of Horrors. Even though I never ran it I did own the Queen of Spiders. Ahhh fond memories of drooling over that cover as teenage boy.

  7. Roomchecka says:

    Nice list – there are some I didn’t know there that I am going to check out.

    Haven’t played for 20-odd yeas but LOVE reading the old (and new I hope!) adventures.

    They get you in a way no computer game ever will 🙂

  8. P. Aaron says:

    Lovers of Tomb of Horrors (self absolutely included) need to also check out Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, module C1, which was the spiritual younger brother to the puzzle-heavy, monster-light dungeon crawl.
    I think the real surprise missing from this list is U1, Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. All the rich setting and story hooks of the Dragonlance modules, without the railroading.

  9. Nick says:

    Treasure Hunt was a great one….0 level to 1st level…

  10. shean says:

    Menzoberranzen NOR Undermountain didn’t even make the list?! BOOO!!

  11. Tomb of Horrors owns!! Don’t go in the mouth! Stay away!!

  12. wrisz says:

    You newbs don’t know from classic

    http://mboone.tripod.com/jg_dnd.html

  13. Bronn says:

    Vincent, I can attest to Reavers of Hearkenwold being a pretty good module. In fact, I liked it so much, I actually adapted it to Warhammer 2e FRPG as well for a different group, albeit heavily modified to fit that game world (campaign log at http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/averland-adventures). I don’t think I would label it a classic, but its a fun adventure.

    I haven’t played Madness of Gardmore Abbey, but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. Sadly, with the end of 4E, I couldn’t convince people to play it again, so I doubt I’ll have the chance unless I adapt it for a different game or system.

  14. Vincent K. says:

    Patrick,

    Thanks so much, man! Adding all those to the research list. Really appreciate it.

  15. F Yeah White Plume Mountain.

  16. Patrick says:

    Vincent, as the geeky co-writer of this article, I have some thoughts on 4e modules. Published adventures was never the forte of the 4e days. That edition makes homebrewing easier than ever, so a great 4e campaign should include plenty of customized content. That said, here are some new classics:

    The sequel to Keep on the Shadowfell is called H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth. Actually, there are nine adventures altogether that should span the range of levels 1-30, giving you an entire campaign of content should you decide to run it straight out of the books. These are the first adventures written for 4e so the authors were still figuring out how to make the mechanics shine, and also there have been some updates to the rules since then, so expect to have to make some adjustments to stat blocks if you’re used to the most recent 4e monsters.

    The Last Breaths of Ashenport (Dungeon #156) is also awesome, as a take on Lovecraft’s “Shadow Over Innsmouth.”

    If you like Eberron, try Seekers of the Ashen Crown. It’s the adventure that was published alongside the 4e campaign setting, and it’s a great world-spanning treasure hunt.

    For starter adventures, try the ones that came with the new Red Box of 4e’s Essentials line: “The Slaying Stone” and “Reavers of Harkenwold.” Both are a good example of low-level yet open-ended adventures.

    Madness at Gardmore Abbey. The best 4e adventure, and probably the only one that’s destined for “classic” status some day. You embark on an expedition to purge a ruined fortress of an orc army and in the process unearth the history of its downfall. Rival adventurers, feral owlbears, and the Deck of Many Things! Also worth checking out is the prequel adventure Siege of Gardmore Abbey.

  17. Daniel says:

    Jeffery, you’re a Mensch. Danke.

  18. Vincent K. says:

    Anybody got any good 4e modules they can recommend? I’m starting one up soon and have found the “Keep on the Shadowfell” storyline, but I’m wondering what other options I’ve got to use a story to take my players through the heroic tier.

  19. filthy says:

    My favorite was L1 The Secret of Bone Hill it was the first AD&D module my crew played. We had a fantastic DM, he scared out of us with the undead in the castle ruins.

  20. Jeffery Keown says:

    Denis Beauvais

  21. Daniel says:

    Oh Hi! Maybe one of you would know: who is the artist who did the cover art for for “Ravenloft: Strahds Possesion”?
    It looks like it could be the Hildenbrandts, but not sure.
    Anyone?

  22. Shayde says:

    Loved Barrier Peaks for the loot alone… and it was a run we always wanted to do, but no DM would allow the loot in THEIR campaign.

  23. amysrevenge says:

    I really liked the 3rd Ed. adventure The Fright at Tristor. I ran it once for a group of Microsoft engineers on the Microsoft campus in Redmond WA – that was a fun day.

    There were a number of fantastic 3rd Ed. adventures published under the RPGA banner.

  24. Tom Shad says:

    What about the Giant Trilogy ?

    Earth Giants, Frost Giants and Fire Giants ?

    or The introduction of the dark elves the drow