From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

The revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons have created a quasi-new edition of the game, not quite 5th edition, yet decidedly not a complete restructuring
of the game. Still, with new rules come new adventures, and often, for
Wizards of the Coast, a look back at previous modules from earlier versions
of the TTRPG. Some of the best 5e adventures are lifted directly from 3.5 and first edition, and there's no reason why this trend of restructuring old modules will stop now.

Many existing adventure modules have official remakes for 5e, but there are some which have been left out. Fan favorites from across the years deserve to be experienced by new players, and including them in future books using the revised rule set would be a great way to do that. These ten modules in particular should get a second look in the 2024 edition of D&D.

10) Vault Of The Drow Is Overdue For An Official Redesign

Among the unadapted modules from previous editions, Vault of the Drow is one of the most desired by fans. Originally released in 1978 for Advanced
Dungeons & Dragons, it was part of a larger series following a conflict with Drow and Giants. It featured a huge subterranean paradise for the dark elves, all centered around a complex temple/vault complex that the party needed to reach.

: A lot of earlier D&D modules contain troubling content and lore, including
: racist depictions of characters and prejudiced adaptations of cultures.
: Reworked versions could provide a fairer, more three-dimensional view of
: those characters using more recently-established lore.

The module is famous for its creative setting and the puzzles contained
within it, but the lore around the Drow society itself could use some
updates. So much work has gone into giving detail and humanity to the various cultures within D&D's worlds, and while the original module is beloved, it lacks complex characterization for the people of this underground society. There are a lot of opportunities for a newly released adventure to take this setting and reinvent it, and WotC should take the chance to do so.

9) Red Hand Of Doom Puts Your Party Up Against A Warlord

The Red Hand Of Doom is another fan-favorite module, this time from 3rd edition. This adventure saw players fighting a half-dragon warlord, Azarr
Kul, as he and his army attempted to bring forth a new age of draconic tyranny. It was an exciting quest that involved both large-scale combat and intense interactions with NPCs, as the players needed to gather allies in their fight from nearby settlements.

A reworked version of The Red Hand of Doom could make the adventure more accessible to new players and introduce ways to run large combats with the 2024 version of D&D's rules. Combat in this game has always struggled with pacing and clunkiness when the number of combatants gets too high, even in
5e, which was supposed to simplify the rules. There need to be more concrete and clear ways for DMs to run these sorts of encounters, and this module
would be a great place to introduce those.

8) Night Below Provides A Neat Look At The Underdark

Night Below is more widespread than the previous two modules, made up of
three separate adventures which tell one continuous story that takes place in the Underdark. It existed for AD&D and took players from low-to-high-level, effectively an entire campaign unto itself. It included vast worldbuilding
for the settings both above and below ground, as well as the peoples who resided there.

This campaign is a great one for exploring Underdark societies and locations, and is perfect for a remodel with the 2024 rule set. It even includes a plot surrounding an aboleth, an perfectly grotesque monster that not enough people have used in their games. It could be great as a module and source book to introduce new Underdark monsters and subclasses themed around shadows.

7) City By The Silt Sea Sends Players Into The Ruins Of Giustenal

Dungeons & Dragons has never been limited to a single fantasy world. There's the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Eberron, and, in the case of
this module, Dark Sun. The Dark Sun world had several adventure modules written to fit its lore, including City by the Silt Sea, well-liked for its design and the lore it centers around.

: While distinct in its fantasy world, most of the Dark Sun content uses the
: AD&D and the 2nd edition rule sets.

City by the Silt Sea takes place in the dilapidated city of Giustenal, full
of hidden treasures and ancient evils. It's a good module, but more importantly, this could allow new players to experience the Dark Sun setting for the 2024 version of D&D. It's one that hasn't seen much in the way of official support in a while, and its blend of fantasy elements with near- dystopian desert environments strikes a good niche.

6) Desert Of Desolation Includes Fights With Djinni And Mummies

Desert of Desolation is a compilation of three separate 1st edition modules: Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm, and Lost Tomb of Martek, which go together to create a semi-related story in an Egyptian-styled setting. It is
considered a part of the Forgotten Realms, and features some surprisingly complex mysteries for the party to unravel as they make their way across the desert.

The storylines of each module are compelling, from robbing a pyramid to set a pharaoh's spirit free, to reviving a dead wizard and freeing them from an
evil Efreet, and could easily be adapted to suit the new rules. Plus, it
could explore an area of the Forgotten Realms outside Faerun, to the east on the world map, which has not seen much attention in 5th edition or the 2024 books.

5) Age Of Worms Is A Long-Form Campaign Against A Killer Cult

Of all the modules on this list, Age of Worms is likely the longest. It consists of twelve different adventures all centered around the same story, and is designed to take players from first level all the way to level twenty. Set in the Greyhawk setting, this module sees players go up against a cult which wants to end the world as they know it. It features evil mages, undead dragons, mind flayers, doppelgangers, and more that will have players entertained from start to finish.

Related
: The 2024 edition of D&DAs Dungeon MasterAs Guide reintroduces the
: classic Greyhawk, avoiding a common pitfall of tabletop RPG settings.

Age Of Worms is a more recent creation than those from 1st edition and AD&D, but still deserves some upkeep and attention from modern audiences. It's a truly impressive long-form story that DMs looking for a longer campaign will love, and many of its big bads are already present in 5th edition content, meaning players will be familiar with these sorts of threats.

4) The Dancing Hut Of Baba Yaga Is Simple But Fun

In contrast, The Dancing Hut Of Baba Yaga is very simple. It was made for 2nd edition and centers entirely around the titular villain and her animated
home. The module itself is full of history and backstory for the character, and then sees players enter her hut searching for treasure and secrets.

Baba Yaga and her hut are unique as far as fantastical monsters go, and the 2024 edition of D&D could benefit by featuring her as a villain. Characters like Vecna and Tiamat are great, but more fitting for longer campaigns with higher-level characters. This module is meant for a shorter adventure with less powerful players, and that is also necessary for a well-rounded game.

3) Eyes Of The Lich Queen Sends Players On A Far-Reaching Treasure Hunt

Shifting over to the Eberron setting, Eyes of the Lich Queen embraces the combination of magic and technology that world emphasizes. It's a campaign that acts as a competitive treasure hunt, with the party working against evil forces to obtain a legendary magical artifact. It sends players all over the setting looking for clues and leads, and culminates with a fight against a powerful mage.

Not only is this a good campaign to introduce players to different parts of Eberron, but it also includes a multitude of varying dungeons and fights against various creatures. It's a dynamic and fun module to go through, and one that deserves more attention than it gets.

2) Tyranny Of Dragons Deserves Another Look After Its Early Appearance In Fifth Edition

It might seem too soon to adapt 5th edition modules, but it's worth pointing out that it's been over a decade since some of these were published, and
their early introduction meant they were almost tests for the new version of the game. As such, Tyranny of Dragons suffered from janky combat and unpolished encounters. The core ideas were sound, pitting players against the Cult of the Dragon and Tiamat herself, but their implementation left
something to be desired.

The 2024 rule-set changes present the perfect opportunity to revisit this module and do it justice, tweaking the original fights and puzzles to make them work more fluidly. If these new rules are truly meant to mark a new edition of the TTRPG, then modules from 5e shouldn't be left out from being revisited.

1) Princes Of The Apocalypse Is A Fight Against The Gods

Another early module from 5th edition, Princes of the Apocalypse saw players fighting against four different cults, each obsessed with destroying the
world in their own specific ways. Much like Age of Worms, this is a long-form module meant to act as a whole campaign, running from levels one to fifteen. It was well-liked upon release but criticized for being too harsh, and while it didn't have the same mechanical issues as Tyranny of Dragons, it felt similar in how it was experimenting with the new rules.

While many of the rules from its supplemental source book, Elemental
Evil, have been changed in the intervening years, many ideas from
those texts are still important to the world of D&D.

While the entire campaign may not need a redesign for the 2024 rules of Dungeons & Dragons, it would certainly be interesting to see remakes of its dungeons and monsters to be used in modern games. While many of the rules
from its supplemental source book, Elemental Evil, have been changed in the intervening years, many ideas from those texts are still important to the world of D&D.

--
Not a joke! Don't jump!

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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:36:23 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

The revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons have created a quasi-new edition of >the game, not quite 5th edition, yet decidedly not a complete restructuring >of the game. Still, with new rules come new adventures, and often, for >Wizards of the Coast, a look back at previous modules from earlier versions >of the TTRPG. Some of the best 5e adventures are lifted directly from 3.5 and >first edition, and there's no reason why this trend of restructuring old >modules will stop now.

I'd much rather they create NEW modules than go over the same ground
again. If there is a need for porting the older modules to new rules,
let third-party designers do that (like Goodman Games is doing with
the 'Original Adventures Reincarnated' series). But WotC would better
spend their time and resources on creating new material.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind a return to the 2E era where TSR was just
spewing out new material and hoping something sticks. A lot of it
wasn't very good (Sturgeon's Law strikes again!) but the sheer volume
meant that some of it was worth playing. Whether it's a flood of new
modules or just new campaign settings, it'd be a great departure from
the absolutely glacial release schedule WOTC has now.


But especially they shouldn't be 'remaking' material from just a few
years ago, like 'Princes of the Apocalypse'. That's right up there
with Sony remastering 'Horizon:Zero Dark' ;-)


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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:36:23 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

The revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons have created a quasi-new edition of >the game, not quite 5th edition, yet decidedly not a complete restructuring >of the game. Still, with new rules come new adventures, and often, for >Wizards of the Coast, a look back at previous modules from earlier versions >of the TTRPG. Some of the best 5e adventures are lifted directly from 3.5 and >first edition, and there's no reason why this trend of restructuring old >modules will stop now.

Many existing adventure modules have official remakes for 5e, but there are >some which have been left out. Fan favorites from across the years deserve to >be experienced by new players, and including them in future books using the >revised rule set would be a great way to do that...

[snip]

1) The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh 2024
2) The Ghost Tower of Inverness 2024
3) Expedition to the Barrier Peaks 2024
4) Scourge the Slave Lords 2024 (A1-A4) (I found a WoTC 2014 version)

All 1e classics in their own right. We're playing the 50th anniversary
edition of "Lost Caverns of Tsjocanth" rn, complete with 5e conversion
and Roll20 maps, and it's a hoot.

However, it smells distinctly of Gygax, and it's fun that I still
understand how to deal with him. Despite opinions to the contrary
expressed in this group, I still think Gygax was arbitrary, unfair, and
brutal as a DM. There's so much, "Either you're smart [in his opinion,
it's a particular way of thinking], or you straight up die or suffer a
terrible curse for little to no reason with little or no warning," in
this adventure.

(Our sorcerer got cursed with what we called "boneitis" for the entire
first level because of an enemy we fought with a high "all or nothing" Constitution save DC. He was practically crippled as far as movement
went. Remove Curse didn't help (our GM graciously gave us a DC, but
that's not what was written). If it had happened to my monk, my character
would have become nigh unplayable. No warnings. Just f*** you.)
--
Zag

This is csipg.rpg - reality is off topic. ...G. Quinn ('08)
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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On 1/10/2025 2:52 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:36:23 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

The revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons have created a quasi-new edition of >> the game, not quite 5th edition, yet decidedly not a complete restructuring >> of the game. Still, with new rules come new adventures, and often, for
Wizards of the Coast, a look back at previous modules from earlier versions >> of the TTRPG. Some of the best 5e adventures are lifted directly from 3.5 and
first edition, and there's no reason why this trend of restructuring old
modules will stop now.

I'd much rather they create NEW modules than go over the same ground
again. If there is a need for porting the older modules to new rules,
let third-party designers do that (like Goodman Games is doing with
the 'Original Adventures Reincarnated' series). But WotC would better
spend their time and resources on creating new material.

I don't think they want to do any adventures at all. I think they
finally realized that adventures are largely cost for them, and that the
true money is in the core rulebooks and a few splatbooks. It's very
noticeable they made way less supplements and adventure modules than in
any previous edition. Even the ones they made were mostly re-imagined
versions of classics, all nicely made up as huge honkers of books that
looked nice on shelves.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind a return to the 2E era where TSR was just
spewing out new material and hoping something sticks. A lot of it
wasn't very good (Sturgeon's Law strikes again!) but the sheer volume
meant that some of it was worth playing. Whether it's a flood of new
modules or just new campaign settings, it'd be a great departure from
the absolutely glacial release schedule WOTC has now.

I think what you need to be looking at is their online portal. They have
moved from doing their own stuff to getting fans to create stuff for
them and making a profit from that.

But especially they shouldn't be 'remaking' material from just a few
years ago, like 'Princes of the Apocalypse'. That's right up there
with Sony remastering 'Horizon:Zero Dark' ;-)

Does it even need to be remade? Isn't the new edition largely
compatible? (I don't have a clue, I play neither)

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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:31:35 +0100, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

On 1/10/2025 2:52 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:36:23 -0500, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

The revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons have created a quasi-new edition of
the game, not quite 5th edition, yet decidedly not a complete restructuring >>> of the game. Still, with new rules come new adventures, and often, for
Wizards of the Coast, a look back at previous modules from earlier versions >>> of the TTRPG. Some of the best 5e adventures are lifted directly from 3.5 and
first edition, and there's no reason why this trend of restructuring old >>> modules will stop now.

I'd much rather they create NEW modules than go over the same ground
again. If there is a need for porting the older modules to new rules,
let third-party designers do that (like Goodman Games is doing with
the 'Original Adventures Reincarnated' series). But WotC would better
spend their time and resources on creating new material.

I don't think they want to do any adventures at all. I think they
finally realized that adventures are largely cost for them, and that the >true money is in the core rulebooks and a few splatbooks. It's very >noticeable they made way less supplements and adventure modules than in
any previous edition. Even the ones they made were mostly re-imagined >versions of classics, all nicely made up as huge honkers of books that >looked nice on shelves.

A lot of WOTC's more recent adventures are (or were, I haven't really
been keeping up) the episodic "Adventure League" stuff designed to get
groups into game-stores. The individual adventures themselves are
pretty poor (they're mostly designed as pick-me-up games and while the
entire season has a combined theme and campaign, they're pretty
shallow because its not expected that the same players will be back
week after week to play through the entire thing) but WOTC does (or
did; again, not keeping up anymore) release a lot of the darn things.

But like I said, the adventures weren't really meant to be sold. They
were used to get people into stores, either to play in an in-store
event, or find a group there. And once you were there, you'd of course
want to buy something, even if it was the sourcebook for the campaign
you were currently in.

I'd rather WotC created its own full-length, well-written modules...
but still better the Adventurers League fluff than rehashing old
adventures.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind a return to the 2E era where TSR was just
spewing out new material and hoping something sticks. A lot of it
wasn't very good (Sturgeon's Law strikes again!) but the sheer volume
meant that some of it was worth playing. Whether it's a flood of new
modules or just new campaign settings, it'd be a great departure from
the absolutely glacial release schedule WOTC has now.

I think what you need to be looking at is their online portal. They have >moved from doing their own stuff to getting fans to create stuff for
them and making a profit from that.

Oh, definitely WOTC is relying heavily on fans to do the heavy lifting
for them. And I've no problem with them allowing that. But A LOT of
that fan material is of really questionable quality and -worse-
exceptional brevity. Sure, a lot of TSR stuff was crappy too, but the
resources of the company churned out so much stuff that often the
settings could grow into their potential

[And sometimes grow right out of it too... see Dragonlance,
a series which TSR milked dry rather than give an honorable
death ;-)]

Anything WOTC puts out also get an official stamp of approval, and
fans can then work off of that to create interesting new creations You generally don't see fan-works iterating off their peers that way.


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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On 2/24/2025 6:13 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

A lot of WOTC's more recent adventures are (or were, I haven't really
been keeping up) the episodic "Adventure League" stuff designed to get
groups into game-stores. The individual adventures themselves are
pretty poor (they're mostly designed as pick-me-up games and while the
entire season has a combined theme and campaign, they're pretty
shallow because its not expected that the same players will be back
week after week to play through the entire thing) but WOTC does (or
did; again, not keeping up anymore) release a lot of the darn things.

But like I said, the adventures weren't really meant to be sold. They
were used to get people into stores, either to play in an in-store
event, or find a group there. And once you were there, you'd of course
want to buy something, even if it was the sourcebook for the campaign
you were currently in.

I'd rather WotC created its own full-length, well-written modules...
but still better the Adventurers League fluff than rehashing old
adventures.

Well, but aren't those just the equivalent of the old RPGA modules
(which also never got sold properly and in a lot of cases are really
hard to get nowadays... not that it's worth getting them in the first
place in a lot of cases I noticed)


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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Tue, 25 Feb 2025 10:57:10 +0100, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

On 2/24/2025 6:13 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

But like I said, the adventures weren't really meant to be sold. They
were used to get people into stores, either to play in an in-store
event, or find a group there. And once you were there, you'd of course
want to buy something, even if it was the sourcebook for the campaign
you were currently in.

I'd rather WotC created its own full-length, well-written modules...
but still better the Adventurers League fluff than rehashing old
adventures.

Well, but aren't those just the equivalent of the old RPGA modules
(which also never got sold properly and in a lot of cases are really
hard to get nowadays... not that it's worth getting them in the first
place in a lot of cases I noticed)

Yeah, pretty much.

My point wasn't that they were good adventures, just that WOTC is (or
was? Somebody give me some updates about whether WOTC is still doing Adventurers League stuff) still making adventures in addition to its occassional splat and fluff books. They aren't entirely relying on
fan-works to fill in the gaps.


And also that I wish they'd expand from that to match the TSR era.

Well Dragonlance was the goose that was laying golden eggs. They even
moved that to a different system at one point (Saga?) which was supposed
to be better for the structure of the adventures as opposed to DND
modules. I think the intention was to spin that off from DND as much
as possible to get other people interested.

Yeah, like I said, TSR milked the poor franchise to death.
"Dragonlance" worked because (amongst other reasons) it was an epic
story that had a very definitive arc. The entire gameworld was built
to support that arc, and trying to expand the world beyond that just
didn't work very well. The later adventures were all rather awful and
silly.

(Saga, which was heavily card-based, seemed to be TSR flailing about
trying to create an RPG system that could compete with "Magic the
Gathering". Despite its failures in the RPG market "Dragonlance" still
had a lot of cachet --mostly thanks to its novels, which were
amazingly popular-- and from what I can tell it was picked more to
push SAGA than revitalize Dragonlance (although the latter was a hoped
for benefit too). From what I can remember, the change in system
alienated more fans than it attracted though.

(My opinion was that SAGA was arguably a good fit for Dragonlance,
since SAGA was a more narratively-based system that was more in tune
with the romantic fantasy of the franchise... but the writing was
awful, the authors attempts to expand the setting were awful (oh look,
Takhisis is back), and I generally didn't care for the mechanics of
the new game anyway. Neat that TSR was trying to push the series
forward... but it really just needed to leave the story lie where it
was. Not every story benefits from seeing what happens past the
"happily ever after".)



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