| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| botd |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 06:27:35
I am curious as to what the posters here regard as their favorite published adventures set in the Forgotten Realms, no matter the edition or the format (Dungeon or normal product). |
| 27 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Amluril Dire-Weaselbane |
Posted - 27 Feb 2008 : 11:52:43
I actually liked the Adventure from the 2e Spellbound boxed set that chronicled the atempted thayan invasion of Rashemen, and a dungeon crawl into the citadel in Thay to battle the demon lord Eltab whilst fighting alongside Zsass Tamm, made a whole campaign out of that one, especially when Zsass Tamm used finger of death to kill one of the group's loved ones during the fight.
WOTC seemed to have poo-pooed the whole adventure now though, instead Eltab much much more powerful and seems to have nothing to do with events in Thay at all. 
I thought City of the Spider Queen was quite a good one, although updating to 3.5 (I hate you WOTC!) has made it hard work! |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 15 Feb 2008 : 15:54:57
I would like to add that it is an honor to be receiving such advice from the author of a novel I am CURRENTLY reading (Blackstaff). Thanks Mr.Schend! |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 15 Feb 2008 : 12:39:52
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Ew. Nasty.
So when does the Crown of Horns pop onto his head to exact Myrkul's revenge? 
Haha, great idea. I hadn't run that mini-campaign in awhile (partly due to not having any ideas for it)...but this one is just too good to pass up. Thanks! |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 14 Feb 2008 : 22:18:38
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
Would like to add that I plan on running "How the Mighty are Fallen" eventually (for numerous obvious reasons, the Tarrasque being one, and the whole Fall of Netheril being shown to my group another)
I would of course adapt it to 3.5 (NOT 4E)
Oh and the aforementioned Avatar adventures I had adapted to 3.5 I will always remember when my brother's character charged Myrkul on top of Blackstaff Tower and decapitated him with two natural 20s and a confirmed auto kill roll.
Ew. Nasty.
So when does the Crown of Horns pop onto his head to exact Myrkul's revenge? |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 14 Feb 2008 : 16:11:22
Would like to add that I plan on running "How the Mighty are Fallen" eventually (for numerous obvious reasons, the Tarrasque being one, and the whole Fall of Netheril being shown to my group another)
I would of course adapt it to 3.5 (NOT 4E)
Oh and the aforementioned Avatar adventures I had adapted to 3.5 I will always remember when my brother's character charged Myrkul on top of Blackstaff Tower and decapitated him with two natural 20s and a confirmed auto kill roll. |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 14 Feb 2008 : 16:08:36
I ran the Avatar adventures and that was lots of fun....other than that I am currently running the new Undermountain adventure, which is going pretty good so far. Haven't run any of the other ones yet unfortunately. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 14 Feb 2008 : 15:53:46
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Heck, if given the chance, I'd love to do Shoonach properly.....
Steven
HASBRO: GIVE THE MAN A CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!
(ahem)
Sorry for shouting  
I agree with you Steven, when I got the OGBS and saw the two adventures in there I was very impressed. Thought out dungeons, with appropraite rooms and monsters and treasure and a feeling of 'being there' when I ran them describing what was there and knowing as a DM how things interacted with each other.
Cheers
Damian
|
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 14 Feb 2008 : 15:14:53
I want to thank everyone for their kind words on my Lost Level and Hellgate Keep. Warms me heart, it does. 
That said, I'll throw in my vote for the Ruins of Undermountain box as the most long-lived and most-replayed adventure that we ever produced for TSR. It was my first time working with Ed, and lemme tell you, being his editor was both terrifying (not wanting to offend his Beardedness, whom I only got to know via phone calls--I called him friend long before I ever met him face to face) and hilariously fun (oh, the stories....).
And I remember when at least one of the Grey Box adventures appeared in Dragon Magazine--I too thought "THIS is how adventures ought to be written..."
Lastly, Alaundo's mildly cheating by placing "Treasure Hunt" as an FR module. It's a 1st Edition module set in the Korrinn Archipelago, which did get attached to the Realms, though the module does not carry the FR logo (as it predates the Grey Box release by months). Still, who can blame him? It's shelved along with my FR products too. 
Me, I'm just kinda bummed I never got to do an adventure or two down Tethyr-way....as it would have been interesting to send PCs after Reclamation War criminals on the run (including the sole survivor of The Four) or perhaps even playing out the Reclamation War itself (though I'd resist that as you know how it turns out and you don't get to be the stars at the center of it all). Heck, if given the chance, I'd love to do Shoonach properly.....
Steven |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 13 Feb 2008 : 23:06:53
If Ed had a hand in those adventures, that certainly isn't a bad thing! |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 13 Feb 2008 : 22:55:07
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Thank you and the others for the clarification and comments. Yes, having the PCs be "tagalongs" sounds annoying, and I would argue that it's a bad way to design an adventure.
Oh, I agree. When I ran 'Shadowdale', some of my players had already read the novels and were completely aware of their role (and that of the NPCs) in the big scheme of things (I'm just glad that they didn't try to eliminate Cyric or Midnight or anything like that). Still, in the end it worked pretty well, as the modules are not completely "faithful" to the novels.
As I have already said, I've used many ideas and NPCs from these modules -- I think I actually expanded three or four adventure ideas into full-length adventures (maybe it's because Ed's writing style and ideas are really inspirational  ) |
| Shilo99 |
Posted - 12 Feb 2008 : 14:43:41
Another voice to back up what crazedventurers & KnightErrantJR have said:
As the series progresses they become more linear in style (personally I think this is OK as the series rushes to its climax).
However, none of the modules necessarily needs to be played that way, and certainly the first two have plenty of side-treks and unrelated encounters included.
That is the great thing about Ed's work, especially from 1e (refer also to Halls of the High King and Haunted Halls of Eveningstar, and Ruins of Undermountain): a literal swarm of FR lore and side encounters and interesting NPCs doing ‘Realmsy’ things liking keeping an eye out for so-and-so, leaving a scrawled message for such-and-such and, of course, harping by a campfire at night!
P.S. My dying wish will be 10,000 pages from Ed of rumours like those contained in these adventures, and FR13 Anauroch and the big daddy list of the Old Grey Box…that’s all a FR DM can ever need!
Shilo |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 05 Feb 2008 : 00:51:37
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Yeah, as the others have said, I don't want to misrepresent the adventures. They are pretty heavy handed "protect the real heroes and follow this path" kind of adventures, but, in contrast to the novels, the context of what is going on in the Realms is worth checking out.
Thank you and the others for the clarification and comments. Yes, having the PCs be "tagalongs" sounds annoying, and I would argue that it's a bad way to design an adventure. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 23:49:37
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
It's interesting to hear how the ToT modules are apparently NOT merely silly, shallow tie-ins for a so-so novel trilogy.
Yeah, as the others have said, I don't want to misrepresent the adventures. They are pretty heavy handed "protect the real heroes and follow this path" kind of adventures, but, in contrast to the novels, the context of what is going on in the Realms is worth checking out. Kind of like the Shadows of the Avatar novels, Ed managed to spin some of the Time of Troubles into being more "Realmsian" than they otherwise would have been. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 20:49:04
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
From what I understand, though, the bulk of the adventure is just following around the characters from the trilogy. I've not read them myself, but I've heard many unflattering comments; most focused on the PCs having nothing to do and being railroaded into doing it.
no different to most published modules except the railroading isn't very subtle.
For Rin some highlights of the modules from memory (its been 17/18 years since I ran them)
Lots of lore and NPC's from Ed and plots as well
The doppelganger plot
The exploding crystal balls plot
The Wizard of Power on the Height in the Stonelands
Yeven's Pool
Scardale
Tantras and the Temple of Torm (LOADS of info)
Blackoaks vilage (gray oaks?)
Myrkuls Riders
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 20:28:32
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
It's interesting to hear how the ToT modules are apparently NOT merely silly, shallow tie-ins for a so-so novel trilogy.
From what I understand, though, the bulk of the adventure is just following around the characters from the trilogy. I've not read them myself, but I've heard many unflattering comments; most focused on the PCs having nothing to do and being railroaded into doing it. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 20:11:57
It's interesting to hear how the ToT modules are apparently NOT merely silly, shallow tie-ins for a so-so novel trilogy. |
| Drunken Master |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 14:38:25
Halls of the High King is killer - all of Greenwood's lore in that adventure make it a must-have for anyone's FR collection.
I also had a lot of fun running Sean K. Reynolds' Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor; flawed, but fun for what it was. It was the first published FR adventure I ran for Third Edition.
I'm currently running Shadowdale: The Tearing of the Weave, and it's great. There are some serious problems if run as written (for instance, the amnizu devils in Castle Krag - their tactics say they pepper the party with fireballs, but evocation spells and effects are fully negated in that section of the adventure), but a careful DM can fix these problems with a thorough read-though and re-read-through before playing, and paying attention to the details. I love all the lore in the module, and the way that so many FR subplots are tied together and resolved.
I'm looking forward to completing Shadowdale and moving on to Anauroch. |
| Stonwulfe |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 06:12:11
My personal favorite is The Sunken Citadel. Because it's easy to run, it's a great dungeon to introduce new players and groom their expectations of the game, and it incorporates a little of everything necessary to play. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 04 Feb 2008 : 04:38:10
I never ran Shadowdale, but when I read the encounter with the paladin of Helm, and about the solars rallying Helm's paladins, and even the version of Mystra's death at Helm's hand presented in that adventure, I got a very different picture of Helm than I did from the novels, and it made a big impression on me. I got the impression that Helm isn't intolerant or rigid so much as kind of sad because he knows what needs to be done, and will do it no matter what, and that he might do what needs to be done even when he wouldn't require it of his mortal servants.
|
| Shilo99 |
Posted - 03 Feb 2008 : 11:50:31
I pretty much agree with crazedventurers & Asgetrion on their best & dislikes. (Note I have only ever DM’d these published FR adventurers, never been a player in one, more’s the pity, except for Desert of Desolation, as the I-series before it was transported to the Reams).
I really liked the adventure skeleton that is Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. So palpably Forgotten Realms. Excellent, although you still have to put in a lot of work yourself as DM.
I’ve heard great things about both Halls of the High King & Mad Monkey versus Dragon Claw, but have neither played nor read them thoroughly.
Reinforcing Asgetrion’s remark, I used so many of the hooks & encounters from Shadowdale in other adventurers that I have a great soft spot for it. Likewise with Ruins of Undermountain (never ran or played the full adventure, but poached many encounters, NPCs, monsters and items from it).
I also poached a couple of the adventurers from Ruins of Myth Drannor, which worked well (in the Vast IIRC).
And don’t forget all the little adventurers and hooks from the accessories, especially the FR series…grows misty-eyed at the memories…
S |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 02 Feb 2008 : 16:49:52
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Mad Monkey versus Dragon Claw was one of my all time favorite D&D adventures, regardless of setting or edition. Not only that, but the high fantasy, secret societies, and city with a billion portals made it feel like Kara-Tur was the Eastern Realms for me, rather than just "fantasy China" as some of the Kara-Tur adventures seemed to evoke. Then again, it probably helped that Jeff Grubb wrote it.
I love the "Fortune Cookie Philosophy" page of that one. 
I think that adventure is the first one that got me, as a DM, to really, really ham it up as an NPC. I loved throwing those phrases out to the players, and I actually did it as a reflex for months after I had run the adventure. |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 02 Feb 2008 : 16:45:03
quote:
Originally posted by crazedventurers
Well Met indeed
A very nice first post!
Haunted Halls of Eveningstar and Halls of the High King are joint 1st for me, loads of Lore, NPC's adventure hooks, clack etc etc etc, if HHoE was a 62 page Module rather than a 32 it would be 1st in its own right. HotHK is just superb you can run an entire campaign from that one 64 page book talk about value for money!
I like the avatar series for the Lore not the storyline, and Tantras is the best of the 3 IMHO
Under Illefarn is also very good, nice mix of dungeon bashing, wilderness and intrigue, with a place that small enough for the players to be important, but close by to bigger challenges as well
Doom of Daggerdale and The Sword of the Dales are also nice starters and can be combined quite easily to make a good mini-campaign together
of the three Schend undermountain ones, The Lost Level is th best, I find Maddgoths Castle an interesting concept but it doesn't 'work' for me, I don't know why exactly, however Hellgate Keeper is an absolute GEM and needs to be incorporated into every campaign. Again choked full of Lore and NPC's and a dungeon bash and politics, extremely well done by SES.
Ones to miss
The Marco Volo trilogy, I cannot find words to say how rubbish they are and how dissapointed I am that I bought 2 and 3 after I got 1 and was amazed how shockingly crap it was. (I can only say I was completeing my collection, not that I am fanboy or anything!). Written by Anthony Pryor who I don't recall every producing anything else for the Realms? (thankfully)
Hordes of Dragonspear - why?? what did it do exactly? (this Bill Connors work IIRC? he should have stuck to Ravenloft). Another 32 pager that was waste of print.
Jungles of Chult: I was really looking forward to this one and then it was poor, nothing special or exciting or Realmsian, just another generic module that that slapped FR on the front hoping it would sell (and written by what I would call another non FR person - Jean Rabe - it read like the usual RPGA adventure).
Cheers
Damian
I agree completely with everything you said, except that I personally like 'Shadowdale' as much as 'Tantras' -- both of them have great maps, encounters, NPCs, adventure ideas and so much juicy Realmslore. Indeed, although I ran 'Shadowdale' "as is" to my players, I still had a lot of stuff left to plunder for other campaigns.
I even asked Ed and Rich if there was any possibility of an updated 'Haunted Halls' 3E module, but no such luck. If TSR had had enough guts to go for Ed's original vision of a complete campaign module, in my opinion it would have probably been the best (and most detailed) D&D/AD&D adventure/campaign ever released.
'Halls of the High King' is a prime example of Ed's genius and talent as a DM. And I also remember reading the two modules published in the Ol' Grey Boxed Set, thinking that "Now *this* is how we all should be writing our adventures". Ed has had a lot of influence on my DMing style.
If WoTC had any sense at all, they would have hired Ed to write the first 4E FR adventure. Not only would it have "eased" the "pain of transition" for some, but it most certainly would have piqued the curiosity of most 'nay-sayers' (myself included) to take another look at 4E FR.
EDIT: I wished to add that I also like the 'Lost Level' a lot, both as a player and a DM. And I just want to mention Eric Boyd's fantastic adventures published in the 'Dungeon Magazine' -- all of them contain good maps, great villains and NPCs, juicy lore and intriguing plots (*buy* those issues if you don't already own them!). |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 15:54:06
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Mad Monkey versus Dragon Claw was one of my all time favorite D&D adventures, regardless of setting or edition. Not only that, but the high fantasy, secret societies, and city with a billion portals made it feel like Kara-Tur was the Eastern Realms for me, rather than just "fantasy China" as some of the Kara-Tur adventures seemed to evoke. Then again, it probably helped that Jeff Grubb wrote it.
I love the "Fortune Cookie Philosophy" page of that one. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 15:14:57
Halls of the High King was definitely one of my favorites. At the time, it was great because it was a fun adventure that not only revisited the Moonshaes, but kind of tied them back into the rest of the Realms. My Waterdhavian adventurers sailed over for the adventure, and it worked out really well.
Mad Monkey versus Dragon Claw was one of my all time favorite D&D adventures, regardless of setting or edition. Not only that, but the high fantasy, secret societies, and city with a billion portals made it feel like Kara-Tur was the Eastern Realms for me, rather than just "fantasy China" as some of the Kara-Tur adventures seemed to evoke. Then again, it probably helped that Jeff Grubb wrote it.
In more recent adventures, I had fun running the Twilight Tomb for my kids, right up until they made the classic mistake of splitting the party, and then, boom, Dad got to hand out his first TPK. |
| crazedventurers |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 15:04:46
Well Met indeed
A very nice first post!
Haunted Halls of Eveningstar and Halls of the High King are joint 1st for me, loads of Lore, NPC's adventure hooks, clack etc etc etc, if HHoE was a 62 page Module rather than a 32 it would be 1st in its own right. HotHK is just superb you can run an entire campaign from that one 64 page book talk about value for money!
I like the avatar series for the Lore not the storyline, and Tantras is the best of the 3 IMHO
Under Illefarn is also very good, nice mix of dungeon bashing, wilderness and intrigue, with a place that small enough for the players to be important, but close by to bigger challenges as well
Doom of Daggerdale and The Sword of the Dales are also nice starters and can be combined quite easily to make a good mini-campaign together
of the three Schend undermountain ones, The Lost Level is th best, I find Maddgoths Castle an interesting concept but it doesn't 'work' for me, I don't know why exactly, however Hellgate Keeper is an absolute GEM and needs to be incorporated into every campaign. Again choked full of Lore and NPC's and a dungeon bash and politics, extremely well done by SES.
Ones to miss
The Marco Volo trilogy, I cannot find words to say how rubbish they are and how dissapointed I am that I bought 2 and 3 after I got 1 and was amazed how shockingly crap it was. (I can only say I was completeing my collection, not that I am fanboy or anything!). Written by Anthony Pryor who I don't recall every producing anything else for the Realms? (thankfully)
Hordes of Dragonspear - why?? what did it do exactly? (this Bill Connors work IIRC? he should have stuck to Ravenloft). Another 32 pager that was waste of print.
Jungles of Chult: I was really looking forward to this one and then it was poor, nothing special or exciting or Realmsian, just another generic module that that slapped FR on the front hoping it would sell (and written by what I would call another non FR person - Jean Rabe - it read like the usual RPGA adventure).
Cheers
Damian
|
| Apex |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 13:58:27
I have had the most fun running Doom of Daggerdale and the Sword of the Dales, but to get the real Greewoodian feel of the Realms I always go straight to the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar (even though it is a bit heavy on the treasure). |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 08:32:20
Well met
A very good question, indeed, botd. (Welcome to Candlekeep, too).
As an aid, here's a list of FR adventure modules (not including Dungeon adventures).
Under Illefarn
Treasure Hunt
Swords of the Iron Legion
Desert of Desolation
Ruins of Adventure
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Halls of the High King
Nightmare Keep
Hordes of Dragonspear
Haunted Halls of Eveningstar
The Jungles of Chult
Doom of Daggerdale
Forgotten Realms Book Of Lairs
Four from Cormyr
Hellgate Keep
For Duty and Deity
Castle Spulzeer
Gateway to the Living City
Inside Ravens Bluff
Nightwatch in the Living City
Port of Ravens Bluff
The Twilight Tomb
Sons of Gruumsh
City of the Spider Queen
Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor
Into the Dragons Lair
The Dungeon of Death
Kidnapped (RPGA Exclusive)
RPGA TSR Jam 1999
The Wyrmskull Throne
The Accursed Tower
Bloodstone Pass
The Mines of Bloodstone
The Bloodstone Wars
The Throne of Bloodstone
Shadowdale
Tantras
Waterdeep
Marco Volo: Departure
Marco Volo: Journey
Marco Volo: Arrival
The Sword of The Dales
The Secret of Spiderhaunt
The Return of Randal Morn
The Lost Level
Maddgoths Castle
Star Dock
Storm Riders
Black Courser
Blood Charge
Fires of Zatal
Endless Armies
City of Gold
Swords of the Daimyo How The Mighty Are Fallen
Night of the Seven Swords
Ochimo, the Spirit Warrior
Blood of the Yakuza
Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claws
Ronin Challenge
Test of the Samurai
Ninja Wars
Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave
Shadowdale: The Scourging of the Land
Anauroch: The Empire of Shade
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