Top 30 D&D Adventures - Part 2 (10 to 1)

My personal Top 30 adventures Dungeons & Dragons, across multiple editions. Adventures considered come from official, licensed, and magazine sources.
Countdown from 30 to 11 can be found here: • Top 30 D&D Adventures ...
Remember, lists of this particular nature are subjective. This run-down is my own personal views based on my experiences mostly DMing, but sometimes playing, these adventures. Your mileage may vary. Where subjective views are concerned - I am not wrong, and neither are you.
Many are available as PDF and/or POD from DriveThruRPG. Affiliate link:
www.drivethrur...
Music:
Highland Song by Alexander Nakarada | www.serpentsou...​
Music promoted by www.free-stock...​
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommon....
Spoilers!
10. L1 Secret of Bone Hill/L2 Assassin's Knot (and L3/L4/L5 in passing)
9. T1 Village of Hommlet/T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil
8. U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh/U2 Danger at Dunwater/U3 The Final Enemey
7. R1 To The Aid of Falx/R2 Investigation of Hydell/R3 The Egg of the Phoenix/R4 Doc's Island/I12 Egg of the Phoenix
6. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief/G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl/G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King/D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth/D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa/D3 Vault of the Drow/Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits/GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders/G1-3 Against the Giants/D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth/Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff
5. X2 Castle Amber
4. I3 Pharaoh/I4 Oasis of the White Palm/I5 Lost Tomb of Martek/I3-5 Desert of Desolation
3. RPGA1 Rahasia/RPGA2 Black Opal Eye/B7 Rahasia
2. B10 Night's Dark Terror
Honourable mentions:
CM1 Test of Warlords
WGA4 Vecna Lives!/Vecna Reborn/Die Vecna Die!
OA6 Ronin Challenge/OA7 Test of the Samurai
FRA1 Storm Riders/FRA2 Black Courser/FRA3 Blood Charge
And at #1....
...I can't spoil everything for you, now can I?

[@tackle47]

Agree Egg of the Phoenix is woefully underrated. Have ran it multiple times and the players loved it every time.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Some brilliant NPCs in the Jaquays mould. in there, too. Mentzer adventures, Jaquays glue, not a bad combination at all.

[@chriscorr7014]

After my sophomore year in high school in 1984, my family journeyed from Oregon to southwestern England and France In those days, I was sick with a AD&D affliction that still follows me today. In the wonderful historic city of Bath England, I purchased several White Dwarf magazines, which comprise of the wondrous and thoughtful campaign of Irillion.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Irilian is fantastic. It's something I still use, in parts, to this day. Rare thing, for a magazine adventure to have that much longevity!

[@blamp666]

The audio is very informative and interesting, but the images show what this hobby has to offer: two people interacting, talking to each other and using their imagination! This is a hard thing to accomplish in these times.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

That to me is the crux of role-playing. Hopefully one that won't be lost in this world of online screen-staring and viruses!

[@steveemmerson4954]

Thank you for sharing your top 10 D&D modules

[@WillyMuffinUK]

You're welcome. It was fun to do.

[@coachace123]

This made me go start reviewing all my old saved Dragon magazines for hidden treasures like your #1 was. I wish I had subscribed and kept White Wolf, but, alas, I only bought a few off the magazine rack. What is brilliant about this top 30 is the that adventure gems can be found in alternate, on-our-shelves sources we all have available to us. Now I'm a subscriber. I greatly appreciate the depth of topic you put into your videos and look forward to your upcoming videos.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Thank-you :)

[@mammonclarke]

I think overall the I series is the best overall letter group of the AD&D modules . Desert of Desolation is great, especially Pharoah. We will see what wizards of the coast does with the about to be released 5th edition remake of Pharoah. Ravenloft, I think, is one of my all time favorites, same with the 5e Curse of Strahd as long as the DM truly knows the content and how to properly play Strahd. And Tome of the Lizard King is an under vauled and challenging module. As with any module, a lot of its success or failure comes down to the DM. Tracy Hickman was one of the best module creators, and the Dragon Lance noveks were great for their time, although the modules themselves were everything Hickma stood against. They are the worst example of railroading possible. The players are not allowed any choices, and the DM is given instructions on how to stop the players from making choices that might not follow the storyline exactly. They were absolutely horrible.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

All good points I broadly agree with - especially regarding the "I" series. Varied, and classic across most of its span.

[@batuempedu2050]

Your clips are truly fascinating to me. Personally I had most fun DMing Castle Amber with highschool friends back in the 80's. Reckon you would be a fun DM for players. I made a D&D clip few years ago on my channel. Cheers m8.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Thank-you! Castle Amber is a great adventure - I've had lots of fun with it over the years.

[@KrisM189]

TOEE is great fun. Good video matey.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Thank-you!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

The first Oriental Adventures module I bought was Blood of the Yakuza. I loved the cover art & I still do. It's my favourite Oriental Adventures module cover. As a DM, I found it difficult to use, so I was unimpressed by the contents. (I find dungeon description modules much easier to use than adventures focussing on character interactions.) I did use the map of the city of Nakamura (I traced the outline of the Nakamura castle on the city map & then I created a detailed map of the Nakamura castle) & I also used a couple of the local noble houses - one being the local daimyo & the other being a rival of the daimyo's house & I also used the clan of the shogun.... I built on that to create an adventure for my friends, inspired by real life stories of ninja as well as ninja movies (Revenge of the Ninja, etc.).... My friends' characters were 2 ninja from the country of Kozakura who were visiting the country of Wa as guests of the local noble house of Goshukara when the shogun was visiting the city & staying in the Nakamura castle.... The Goshukara enlisted the 2 ninja PCs to sneak into the Nakamura castle & assassinate both the local daimyo & the shogun who was the oppressive usurper of the rightful ruler, the emperor. That was a fun adventure. :D I remember the ninja PCs sneaking along a large sewer pipe towards the castle & encountering goblin rats (similar to wererats) in the sewer pipe. I also remember the PCs using eggshell smoke grenades, poisoned shuriken (throwing stars), etc.. :D They were only 1st level & fought some NPCs of higher level than them (samurai & bushi guards & the daimyo & shogun), but the ninja equipment & my DMing style enabled the PCs to succeed - that poison was a huge help to them. :D

[@swirvinbirds1971]

Adventures become stories... Spot on. Our adventures were our world building. Too much is preplanned today with DM's in essence railroading players to keep their plots going. We played in a sandbox and nothing was really preplanned. Take your character and go explore.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Best way, IMO. The DM. can set up situations for the players to fall into, but ultimately - it's their characters' stories they're forging!

[@swirvinbirds1971]

@@WillyMuffinUK exactly. Think too many are focused on the world building that for the most part players won't interact with or won't find as cool as you do. You need prep but too much can be a detriment. You have to leave room for the players to feel like they are not simply a part of a prewritten story, that in essence can railroad them. Let them write their own stories through play, not force them down your own. Give them a simple framework and go from there. Much like the old D&D modules. Enough to get the juices flowing but room for your own stories.

[@SimonAshworthWood]

"And at #1.... ...I can't spoil everything for you, now can I?" That got me to listen to the video instead of simply reading your list in the description :D

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Cunning, hey? ;)

[@SimonAshworthWood]

@@WillyMuffinUK, yes, I bet all of your homebrew adventures are like the Tomb of Horrors. :D

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@SimonAshworthWood 🤣 Not *all* 😉

[@SimonAshworthWood]

As for GDQ1-7, your DM addition to the plot sounds like a great idea. Thanks for telling it to us. :D

[@WillyMuffinUK]

You're welcome!

[@gregh5665]

I ran this back in 1984-85. Looking to running it again I will definitely try this angle. Brilliant!

[@xaxzander4633]

My first character of all time was a basic becmi version magic-user, with 3 HP. We started in hommlet. The group had already killed the frogs in the front of the temple, as well as the bandits near the entry before i had started. My first combat was with a few rats, My M-u was bitten and died in my first combat, in my first game. But i was addicted none the less. the DM ripped my sheet in half and had me roll a new one while the group killed the rats. My new Elf ran in the front door shortly after. I don't really recall anything else about that game. The elf died as well, but managed to get to lvl 4 or so. This was around 1980. Cool vids.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

It used to take a few characters before one of 'em survived and stuck!

[@casimirliber239]

Yes I too was not expencting #1 but in hindsight makes perfect sense. I remember being impressed when I read it at the time. One module I love that isn't here is Caverns of Thracia, whic hI have DMed 1.5 times IIRC. I am glad no dragonlance modules made it in - the railroading in them was so severe it drove me nuts

[@WillyMuffinUK]

You know, I have owned Caverns of Thracia for a looooong time, but have never actually run it. The same goes for Dark Tower. Drawn influence from them, yes, but never actually run. I'd be interested to hear your experiences! Especially - 1.5 times? What happened to the other 0.5?! (and yes - if you pick up on my DragonLance comments in other videos, you'll see I'm no fan of that railroading, either - or any railroading in adventures! Personally, I feel it detracts from the players' experience of the game)

[@casimirliber239]

@@WillyMuffinUK Is so long ago. One party went right through it and I seem to recall DMing another party (before/after) through the top level (you know how sometimes a group starts but doesn't continue for some reason - this was all in the 80s...). Each level is distinct in atmosphere, from the subtle unease of the first layer, to the stuff on the river (the giant gnome etc)., which makes it fun and novel. Jacquays' dungeon is also really fun to explore as a DM or player - teh secret doors and sublevels. I own both the pale blue 1e book and the d20 version that came out about 15 years ago (not played the latter - not sure what I think of the extra material) - I will adapt it to 5e definitely.) I found that the secret bits were challenging enough to find that players felt chuffed when they found them..but weren't so obscure that there was no way they were going to find them (if that makes sense)

[@casimirliber239]

NB: have just converted Troubles at Embertrees to 5e and players are loving it. Will do tizun thane next.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@casimirliber239 It does make sense. I may have to dig the two of them out and give them a run!

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@casimirliber239 Awesome :) Those old White Dwarf adventures are really fun.

[@rossy3486]

excellent production and a thoughtful video - thank you!

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Thank-you 🙂

[@yvindheilo229]

Thanks for making this video! Excited to see what other content I might find here! Not ONE module recommendation coming from here, but rather a designer recomendation. Gabor Lux's line of zines at Beyond Formalhaut are all really excellent IMO. They follow the old principle of presenting the meat and ingredients without explaining to you how you're supposed to cook or eat it. His modules are a joy to run (if you are willing to do the extra effort of fleshing things out and let player actions and NPC reactions guide the outcome) and because of their open-ended nature and loose frames they are easily inserted into about any D&D campaign with little tweaking other than what's necessary in the first place. Highly recommended!

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Feel free to link to examples and recommendations!

[@yvindheilo229]

@@WillyMuffinUK Here is the page where you can get his zines. Some of them also cover cities and presents them as adventure locales with ground levels and underground complexes. As with his modules there are in many cases not a clear villain, but rather factions and different people of power. They function as adventuring locales where the game can unfold dynamically and naturally, dependant on player desires and DM whims! (and of course the much dreaded dice roll : ) Also I highly recommend his megadungeon Castle Xyntillan. A sort of Castle Amber on steroids and following the same guidelines as mentioned above. No final boss villain or predetermined story arch, but rather a huge family of villains with unclear goals and power creeping into the nearby village for players to rest between adventures. The module is also mentioning other people of power, like arch-bishops, dukes and sheriffs without fleshing them out or giving them stats, just so the DM can have something to play with. emdt.bigcartel.com/category/fanzines

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@yvindheilo229 Sounds good :)

[@alanrickett2537]

Total shock someone else has Heard of and loves this set of articles best way to get this is ' Best of white drawf volume 3'

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Yes - Best of White Dwarf Articles III has Designing a Quasi-Medieval Society and The Town Planner, and Best of Scenarios III has... the other thing ;) Thank-you for pointing this out - it will help those interested in tracking them down.

[@alanrickett2537]

@@WillyMuffinUK I have three copies the one that has fallen to pieces the one I am using and my back up that I pick up for a pound at a car boot

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@alanrickett2537 I have big folders with articles I photocopied (for personal use) that I found very useful - which has let me keep my magazines in generally reasonable health. It's good to hear that they can still be found, though - and for a quid?! Excellent hunting :)

[@RtB68]

X2 is the greatest module...so much fun...a wonderful romp.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

You're not wrong!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Hey Ian, thanks for giving us your top 10 list so soon - in time for us to buy the ones we want in the DM's Guild / Drive Thru RPG sale, which ends in about 3 days. :)

[@WillyMuffinUK]

I had the material components ready - your last comment about the DTRPG sale just prompted me to glue it all together and cast a little earlier than I had planned :) I hope my highly subjective list helps your shopping decisions!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

@@WillyMuffinUK, when you give the reasons for your preferred modules, like you did in this video, then this adds objective facts to your subjective tastes, and this enables us to make choices that are more well-informed. :)

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@SimonAshworthWood Well, I am glad, then, to be of service:)

[@biffstrong1079]

10. I love Bone Hill and its Sand Box. I have all the rest because I love it so much. We never managed to make L2 work but I think it can be done. Not a fan of the Dwelve. It was fine but I need at least one Dwarven adventure that hasn't got the dwarves delving too deep and unlocking something horrible that destrpoys them. I need to find, maybe write, a Dwarven Mining Module where they just haven't delved deep enough. The Poor dwarves and the Party are actually just ten feet from paydirt. I have L4 and L5 and hope to run them. I appreciate you having them on the list. 9. Not as big an Elemental Evil Temple and the Fungus Demon. But well loved. Hommlet was fine. Though the high level NPC's were useless. 8. Salt Marsh is great. I have a 2,300 person Town of Salt Marsh built. 7. Think I have a copy of Doc's Island. That seemed fine. 6. Love the Giants None of my players made it to the Drow, ever. I think I would incorporate the Temple of Tharzidun into Vault of the Drow to attempt to explain the Eclavdra Thread and then am using a reskinned version of lloth's lair if PC's ever get there. 5. Love Castle Amber 4. Really like the Desert of Desolation. We did not enjoy the railroad but loved the maze in pharoah, the various bits of the Tomb of Martek the Skysea and a little less the role play at the Oasis. It doesnt crack my top ten but has a ton of stuff I and we enjoyed. Think I lost four or five characters playing at the Oasis. 3. Wow I hear nothing but bad things about Rahasia. Appreciate the different perspective. 2. Nights Dark Terror Second positive review I've had of this. I never bought it at the time because of how many bad modules were being produced then and the cover art. Im getting a copy thanks. 1.Loved White Dwarf and Dragon Mag and certainly have found some useful tricks traps and mini adventures. Irilian.... Dont know this. Ive got one of those magazines. Thanks That was great

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Different perspectives make the world go around 🙂

[@MisterWebb]

Hi Biff, Would you be willing to share those Saltmarsh NPCs?

[@biffstrong1079]

@@MisterWebb Sure Let me dig out what I have. Some of it is Hard Copy. relatively Rich Trading Town , as I said 2300 inhabitants. Farming and Fishing Community with a huge Saturday/end of week farmers market every week.

[@biffstrong1079]

@@MisterWebb Sure if you want to send me some sort of contact info Im happy to share. I have nine town councillors, various business leaders, a few churches, Pawn shop, silver smith, coffee shop, salvage yard, sawmill couple woodlots, farms, merchants, council office etc.

[@biffstrong1079]

@@MisterWebb Sure I had a nine person Council lead by Steven Kendall 45 6' 225 Chunky brown hair and thick beard, rough home spun clothes always with sawdust about him. Runs a large clearcut logging operation with an associated saw mill and furniture manufacturer and a boat building business at the docks. In his youth he knew the old alchemist and thought him crazy. He would like to buy the property where the house is now and rebuild there, but he fears the house is haunted. N F 0 AC 10 HP4 Elderwan Lanaway is a lean ethereal elfin man 5'10" 140 lbs pale skin and white blond hair. The half-elf runs a more sustainable logging operation next to Kendalls and sometimes supplies him wood. The whole operation is ecologically balanced and animal friendly. Lanaway is 125 years old, the oldest person in town. He was an adventurer who visited SaltMarsh 45 years ago and married into and has become part of the community. His wife Sharon is now a very frail 65. He met the Alchemist and didn't like him. He usually wears leather pants , boots and a vest HE NG R4/C5/T5 AC 6 HP 20 Tomas Brannon is 5'11" 185 lbs Balding with glasses at age 35. He was born in Salt Marsh and runs the local bank. His parents were farmers. He helped set up the local fishing coop. He is a life-long resident and has relationships with most of the town’s people. He works closely with Esther Rosenblat the woman who runs the Farmers Market. He knew the alchemist but only as a creepy old man. Always thought he was some sort of evil wizard. He is interested in developing the house and property. The bank held the mortgage and foreclosed on the property a dozen years ago but two attempts to sell it have failed. The old alchemist/MU was called Armin Malmouth LG F0 AC 10 HP 3 Simone Lemesurier is 35 5'6" 120 lbs long black hair and runs the local trading post. She is also a life long resident. Went to the alchemist’s house on a dare almost 20 years ago. It was still in pretty nice shape back then. Broke some windows stole some things(wine) and never went back. Has since heard the rumours that it is haunted and knows of at least one potential buyer who has run away screaminbg from the old Alchemist's house. The independent Simone has picked up some items cheap to sell in her store from unsavoury traders (the smugglers) from time to time. She asks no questions. A very independent woman she has very few close relationships in town though she does sell gear from the Black Smith, the rope maker, the cooper, the leather maker and various hunters and traders who come to town. She has a general supply of adventuring equipment for sale at a slight mark up. She has an idea about who is new in town because they come to her shop. N F0 AC10 HP 3

[@PeterNorthsLeftTesticle]

ToEE is my personal favorite.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

It's definitely a good one. I delve into it a tad more in another video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZzMmXaCer6prNU

[@stuartivins7846]

Your #6 includes Q1 & mensions the Portals to other realms... Well, I ran a huge campaign with the same mechanic, using the 'mirror room' from white Dwarf #18 "The Halls of Tizun Thane" but for much lower level, player characters...

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Sounds like a great idea! Gygax did similar within Castle Greyhawk - plenty of extradimensional gateways there - and there's scope for it in a fair few other adventures. Rahasia, for example, is full of internal gateways - some of those could be connected to external locations, perhaps based on the direction entered etc. Portals are a wonderful thing to play with 🙂

[@SebastienlovesCookieswirlc]

Could not agree more with number one, that was EPIC. Still have those White Dwarf issues somewhere, not here in the UK, though. Back in Switzerland, I think.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

If I extended it out to a Top 50, there would be a few more White Dwarf scenarios creeping in! Great magazine, in its day.

[@DustyLamp]

Loved all of these.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

They're all good 'uns :)

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Hey Ian, would you please make more videos about D&D? E.g. please tell us more what you like about the modules you like most, and e.g. please describe the differences between UK and North American modules.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

I will, but at the same time I want to avoid this channel becoming a wholly D&D one. There are a lot of those out there, and not enough coverage for the other fantastic games I enjoy! D&D-related, I have these on the to do list so far: * D&D Campaign Settings ("Top" form, and per-setting breakdown) * Top x DM Tools (partially generic) * Specific reviews of OAR1-4 and 6 (when it comes out) * A Judges Guild/Wilderlands Retrospective * 3rd Edition history and review * 5th Edition history and review * Top x Dragon/Dungeon/White Dwarf/Imagine Issues * D&D Boardgames history and review I like the idea of comparing UK and US module styles. That's definitely going onto the list, so thank-you for that one! For modules, are you looking at something like individual breakdown videos on them? Not a bad idea, but quite a few I've pretty much covered the main bases on in the two "Top" videos. Currently in the edit stages are history/review videos for 3rd Edition D&D and Star Wars as an RPG franchise (similar to the Marvel one).

[@genefrominksplatrecords5915]

I read a blog somewhere that puts forth the idea that UK vs USA rpg differences can be boiled down to urbanisation vs frontiersman.

[@killerklavvenn]

Temple of Elemental Evil is one of my top Modules AND computer games. I've played the computer games from the Pool of radiance on C 64 through the latest Baldor Gate 3 Early access ( Love this so far) but prior to that TEE has been my all time favorite computer version. (Elmo is the best. LOL) Love your content and you have a new subscriber. Thank you for your time.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Thank-you! I haven't played BG3 (other things to commit to than that, and Cyberpunk is higher on the list if/when time allows), but the Gold Box games I played on Amiga, and the Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale/Neverwinter/ToEE ones get a dusting off on PC now and then :)

[@killerklavvenn]

@@WillyMuffinUK WOW! I had completely forgot at on time I had an Amiga, way to go putting me in the way back machine. Good Times.

[@killerklavvenn]

Honestly the BG3 early access is great BUT at this point waiting for the Official release is probably the best route.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@killerklavvenn Nostalgia R Us 😂

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Hey Ian, you said "Sword & Sorcery Spectacular".... That was the subtitle for the Conan live action show at Universal Studios back in the mid 1980s. Did you ever hear of it or go to it? Or was your use of that term merely a coincidence?

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Wow - how did I miss this one? Coincidence. It was actually used quite a lot as taglines for magazines and short story compilations I read growing up. Just one of those phrases that rolls off the tongue, I guess!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

As for Temple of Elemental Evil, I intend to pay the computer game first & then DM the module for my fiancee & any other players who join us. :)

[@WillyMuffinUK]

My advice would be... don't let the computer game lead you by the nose, but certainly raid it for scope and filler - especially regarding Nulb!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

@@WillyMuffinUK, Nulb? I change light nulbs whenever they burn out. I am sure I won't have a problem with the T1-4 one. I'll make this Nulb an energy saving Nulb - I wouldn't want to destroy Oerth like Gary Gygax did (apparently in his Gord the Rogue novels, the world is destroyed in the final novel). :D

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@SimonAshworthWood 🤣🙂

[@BKPrice]

"I believe it existed from around 1981 through to 1984" Sorry, I quoted you on that.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Is that a problem?

[@BKPrice]

@@WillyMuffinUK You said not to quote you on that, so I figured an apology was in order.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@BKPrice 🤣 All good!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

Ian, which do you recommend more? I3, I4 & I5 as individual modules? Or the I3-5 Desert of Desolation compilation version?

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Both are excellent, but I would say I3-5 edges the original modules out on a few points. It has everything from the originals, but ties the trilogy together better.

[@SimonAshworthWood]

@@WillyMuffinUK, thanks for the knowledge. :D I reckon I'll buy I3-5 then. :D

[@Cyberfender1]

Have you ( or anyone interested ) heard of Maury Castle? ( an adventure module of a Dragon Magazine issue?)

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Do you mean Maure Castle, which originally came to print as WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, and subsequently came to 3rd Edition in Dungeon issues 112, 124, and 139?

[@Cyberfender1]

@@WillyMuffinUK ( SPOILER ALERT) Yes! I have played this( 3e). I have this and would run this for my higher tier players. It was a shock regarding that iron golem. Our party threw everything at it, to include, the kitchen sink! Twice! It was the first time I/we experienced a "Kobioshi Maru" foe! We should have just bypassed it!( can't remember exact details) If there was a way to defeat it was beyond us. It put more than half the party down. Thank you so much!

[@batmark1974]

What a lovely furry friend you have :)

[@WillyMuffinUK]

She enjoys watching a good game!

[@Ultimate_Wasabi]

Do you happen to remember what game you were playing with (I assume) your grandson? I was just wondering what game/module that is for two players.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

My son, and it was O1 Gem and the Staff. Other 1 to 1s similar to that are O2 Blade of Vengeance, and UK5 Eye of the Serpent.

[@Ultimate_Wasabi]

@@WillyMuffinUK Thanks for the info!

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@Ultimate_Wasabi No problem :)

[@danddjacko]

The only thing i find wrong with this, is your pronunciation of Gygax

[@WillyMuffinUK]

On the one hand, when for a good chunk of your life you only see a word written, the pronunciation you come up with in your head sticks. Just one of those things, and with TSR managing to spell my name wrong in credits even when having a written reference to go by, I don't feel too bad about it. It harms no-one, and I do try to get it right.

[@ardwulfslair]

I had steeled myself for #1 being Tomb of Horrors, as it so often is. It is an awful turd of a module and only notable as a novelty and for the bizarre affection people seem to have for it. Bravo for digging much, much deeper.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

I think the ToH has just hyped itself up way beyond its actual worth as an adventure. It's really an arbitrary death trap, more on a par with Grimtooth's Dungeon of Doom than anything actually interesting to play or run. Although I have run it, a few times, on a stand-alone basis. The narrative of Acererack is good, the dungeon itself is... Well, as I said, arbitrary. One day, I might run Return to the ToH. That's been sat on the shelf for over two decades. The problem with S1 for me is this. As a one-off example of a death trap, it's ok. But it gathered notoriety. That notoriety created influence. That influence means that there are now so many published dungeons out there that purport to be as deadly as, or more deadly than, the ToH. Goodman are even in on the fad, with their Crypt of the Devil Lich. Wake up, people! Killer dungeons are a tedious blight on the adventure landscape!!

[@ardwulfslair]

@@WillyMuffinUK The comparison to Grimtooth is exactly right. It's an amusing novelty, and a cute gimmick event for a convention, but a shitty adventure to run for an actual ongoing group.

[@RtB68]

@@ardwulfslair ...yeah, but you miss the point. It was never designed for an ongoing group...you never play ToH with your favourite characters...you use disposable single-use characters. Once you accept it is a competition module and nothing more (or less) ToH really is a wonderful experiment.

[@hawkthetraveler6344]

I found it odd that you said current writers/authors could learn a lot from some of these, and yet not a single title of the last ten years even made your top 30. When you said "top of D&D did you mean, top of 1st Edition D&D Basic and Advanced?" Is Red Hand of Doom (2006 v3.5) the only outlier?

[@WillyMuffinUK]

No, I mean "top" from 1974 to current, regardless of edition. Your opening statement (paraphrasing me) pretty much sum things up, from my perspective - "current writers/authors could learn a lot from some of these". Perhaps that's why there are few from 3E on in my favourite list? Now, bear in mind that there are a lot of adventures, and I've DM'd a very large cross-section, across all editions except 4th. I actually listed those that were my favourites in making this video, and threw some arbitrary scoring together to whittle things down from something in the region of 160 to 30. So if something's not in the top 30, it doesn't necessarily mean I don't like it (see my "top" worst adventures video for that), but that it didn't float high enough in my list. I wasn't going to artificially force things to give a false representation of edition demographics!

[@hawkthetraveler6344]

@@WillyMuffinUK I appreciate you sharing your thoughts in a well put together video, but the statistical improbability of your suggestion to me highlights a bias. All the writers of the last 20 years have benefit from reading or playing those that came before, many training as professional authors to one day become a professional D&D author. The OGL material alone is just staggering. I came looking for the best but in so many cases the top lists harken to 1st ed modules. I had fun with White Plume Mountain but I certainly wouldn't call it well written.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@hawkthetraveler6344 Of course, any list like this is subjective. And of course, everyone has their own biases. Let me loosely outline what, for me, makes a good D&D published module - and why *professional authors* are not necessarily the best people to write within the medium. Firstly, is the scenario concept fun. That's highly subjective, but there you go. But, as a factor - I threw in a 1-10 factor. Second, is it a railroad. This, to me, is the primary area pro authors fall over - and mainly where my bias towards older adventures comes from (although railroads exist among that set, too). Railroad adventures have definitive beginning, middle, and end, with well-defined plot points along the way. This describes many adventures written from the mid-1990s on, and particularly most of the official 5E ones. Authors are trained to build their plots along these lines, and it therefore isn't surprising that adventures have consequently gone in that direction. There are some exceptions - Red Hand, for example - that have enough elements where the PCs can affect the ongoing plot such that the railroad can be... hidden somewhat. But take, for example, Tyranny of Dragons. You could read those books like a novel - it doesn't require players. Anyway, so a factor of 0 to 5 here - 0 being "not a railroad at all", to 5 being "what is the actual point of the player characters here?" Third, room for at-the-table evolution. This sort of ties in with the second, in that railroads don't often leave much wriggle-room. However, it is separate, because as long as the general outline of the "baddy" plot is well-defined enough, then a DM can manoeuvre around the actions of the players where they do something "off-piste". A good adventure allows the players to do what they want; a bad adventure urges them down a narrow path, and presents the DM with methods for keeping the players "on-piste" rather than being robust enough to encompass all of the curve balls. Again, factor 0 to 5 - 0 being pretty much freeform within a robust frame, 5 being there is no wriggle room at all. Finally, reusability. If I'm going to invest in a book, I want to be able to get the most out of it. This, for me, is a factor of how much is reusable vs. cost. This may well be where the physical bias comes in, as we're talking about 1/6th of a £40 book effectively re-usable in the 5E era, to 1/2 or more of a £3 book in earlier times. This is the main reason why my #1 is my #1 - although it scores very well in the other factors, too. It is 100% reusable material. When you look at L1 and L2, all of those things are re-usable, except for the plot. So, this becomes an economic factor. Perhaps where my biases etc. come from is a little clearer now? If the 5E books scaled back on the set-story, and focussed more on the reusability of their not-cheap format, then my selection method would rate them higher. But, I have enjoyed Tomb of Annihilation, Rime of the Frostmaiden, and The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (those latter two I think came out after I did this video, so...). I'll say this with respect to "benefit of reading/playing those that came before". First, of course you're not wrong - there is a wealth there to mine. However, as DMs do we not build on the framework of modules? Do we not have completely different versions of the GDQ series from each other, should our notes be compiled? What seems to happen is, instead of presenting frameworks for adventures, as older adventures did, we are presented with the end result of what we would do with a published adventure as DMs "back in the day". This isn't necessarily wrong - not everyone has the time to flesh things out, and there is a mode of thinking that says "if I buy an adventure, I want it all there for me off the bat". Personally, I prefer putting the work in to making an initial framework provided to me live and breathe in a way that befits our group - and therein lies another foundation for my perceived bias towards the older flimsies!

[@Yora21]

Very nice, but volume is really low.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

I haven't noticed Amy volume issues - what device are you listening on?

[@Yora21]

@@WillyMuffinUK I am on the speakers of my old Vaio notebook. Compared to all other youtube videos, this one and part one both have a much lower volume.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@Yora21 Hmm... I'll see what I can do for the next "talkover" one I do. I use different recording techniques for "front of camera" and "talkover" ones, and the levels come out the same in my video editing software. I do use higher volumes on my music than on my talkies. But even then, they all compare fine with other videos on my playback devices. I'll have a tinker.

[@wbbartlett]

Your top 10 seems to consists of about 30 adventures, Interesting maths.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Um... Whu? Read the full title of the video!

[@wbbartlett]

L1-L5, T1-T4, U1-U3... That's 12 adventure modules from just the first 3 on the list. @@WillyMuffinUK

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@wbbartlett Hah! Yeah, not quite... Single adventures of many parts. The moniker "T1-4" is even more misleading, as it compiles T1 Village of Honmlet, and... T2 through T4 were never published. Anyway, there's the logic I was using.

[@nitehood108]

Great video, but your audio is extremely quiet. I had to turn my volume way up to hear you properly.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Interesting... What device are you using?

[@nitehood108]

@@WillyMuffinUK I'm just using a PC with headphones, but when I adjust the volume so I can hear this video well, any other videos I play afterwards are too loud. Even the music of the outro in the video feels louder than it should be compared to your voice. I just think your volume levels, particularly for speaking, are a little low. Not necessarily a massive problem, but it is a bit annoying and I just wanted to bring it to your attention. Still appreciated the video, though.

[@WillyMuffinUK]

@@nitehood108 All feedback is useful :) A lot of this stuff I'm learning as I go (and this particular video is over a year old now, so I hope I've come a way since!)

[@afitlin]

The work is great, but constantly flashing black dot is kind of annoy.

[@stevenkennedy4130]

Oi!

[@WillyMuffinUK]

Vay!?