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    Canonfire :: View topic - 1st Editon Modules - Greyhawk Campaign
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    1st Editon Modules - Greyhawk Campaign
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    Novice

    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
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    Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:38 am  
    1st Editon Modules - Greyhawk Campaign

    Hi there... long time lurker, first time poster.

    So, I'm beginning work on a Greyhawk campaign using the 1983 boxed set as a basis and comprised almost entirely of 1st Edition modules (though I'll likely be using Castles and Crusades as a system). Any advice on which ones to use (I'd really like to stick to the -classic- or most famous ones) and in which order to use them. Also, is there any advantage to having the so-called "super modules" in one volume as opposed to say the individual modules in a series (like the G-D-Q series for example)? Thanks!
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
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    From: Montevideo, Minnesota, US

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    Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:32 pm  

    The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh is a good starting module. It has two related follow up adventures as well. Saltmarsh is located in Keoland pretty much where the Hool Marshes/plains/Dreadwood Forest converge. It is a first level module and I think the two subsequent adventures go to about level 3-5. Personally, I love this trio of modules. Eileen recommended.

    Other good starting modules includ The Keep of the Borderlands is another 1st level module that many reccommend. I personally have not played it. Also, The Secret of Bone Hill followed by the Assassins Knot are also two other Greyhawk modules for early adventurers. Overall levels 2-5.

    The next Greyhawk adventure I am a big fan of is Ghost Tower of Inverness. The tower is located on the edge of the Abbor Alz hills near the Bright Desert. I believe the adventure is levels 4-7 or so. Eileen very recommended.

    The Slavers series is the next big series that comes along. I believe this series of 4 modules are located within the Dragensgrab Hills and encompass level 4-7 or so. Eileen recommended.

    While the PCs are in the central Flanaess region I would then have them go to White Plume Mountain. It is located between the Shield Lands and the Rift Canyon, levels 5-10. The levels vary quite a bit, more than a module of its size should in my opinion. I would opt for the mid levels when completing it. At level 5 I think it's to difficult as written and at level 10, I think it would be to easy. Eileen very recommended.

    The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (levels 5-7) takes place in the Amedio Jungle. The overall culture of the jungle is different than the Flanaess proper so keep that in mind if you use it. If the PCs don't catch on to that they may be kinda confused, depends upon your players. I put this module after White Plume Mountain mainly because travelling to the Amedio Jungle from the Central Flanaess takes some work. Eileen recommended.

    The Tomb of the Lizard King (levels 5-7) I have also enjoyed. Eileen recommended.

    I haven't adventured through the original Temple of Elemental Evil (1st edition) but I hear it is really good. I did DM the Return to version which I really loved. The Temple of Elemental Evil takes place between the Gnarley Forest/Kron Hills region. Levels 1-8. The Return to version is levels 4-14 and is a 3.0 version.

    I would then move on to the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (levels 5-10 and the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, both of which are located in the lower Yatil Mountains. Here we are talking about levels 6-10 or so. I have found that one should be on the upper end of the levels for these (around 8 or so). Both Eileen very recommended.

    Mordenkainen's Adventure, which is the original Maure Castle would then fit in as well. Levels 9-12. Maure Castle is located kinda in the southern Cairn Hills region. Eileen recommended.

    This pretty much would lead you up to the giant and drow series. Giants are 8-12 while the drow are levels 9-14. Eileen very recommended.

    This brings you to the infamous Tomb of Horrors. In my opinion, no Greyhawk campaign is complete without this module. Eileen very recommended.

    Isle of the Ape would then be a good adventure, though it is for higher levels 18+ so you may have to work with things to make it fit or wait a bit.
    Eileen recommended.

    This roadmap would take the PCs around the Flanaess quite a bit so you'd have to decide how you want to deal with that one. Some folks like adventures which are more localized, others want to do a lot of travelling and exploring. Also, to try and include so many adventures would mean the PCs need to progress slowly. I'm not familiar with Castles and Crusades XP system, but if it is slow like 1st edition D&D then your probably ok.

    I did try and keep it 1st edition for you. There are a lot of modules I skipped but these are the ones that I think highly of.
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    Last edited by EileenProphetofIstus on Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
    Novice

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    Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:14 pm  

    Wow, thanks! Great response and more there than I can run in a year or so. You've given me alot to consider. Smile
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 20, 2008
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    Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:30 pm  

    I agree with the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh being a wonderful starting place. There is also quite a bit of information on Saltmarsh (though not necessarily continuous with the module) in the Dungeon Master's Guide II.

    I ended a 6 month campaign recently in which we begun with Saltmarsh, ran through elements of the Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde, went through some spots of homebrew adventure and finally I threw in the Ghost Tower of Inverness.

    I also worked out a deal with the Festival of Frogs being a particularly bad thing in the year 591. Being that Wastri incarnated as an aspect near Saltmarsh while the Scarlet Brotherhood invaded from Monmurg. I also made the Viscount of Salinmoore a Brotherhood agent.

    It was all in good fun.

    I started Greyhawk campaign this past Sunday in which I plan to run through Barrow of the Forgotten King, Sinister Spire, Fortress of the Yuan Ti, then they will get thrown through a portal and negotiate Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (the Strahd gone insane path) to which they will graduate to the events of Expedition to Demon Web Pits. After that, I am going to include the AD&D A Paladin in Hell and then wrap it all up with events based on the events of Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue parts involving the collecting of the Theorparts.

    I really like many of the old modules, although I would like to recommend against the Slavers series. I like them, a lot, but I literally was killing a party member a session with that one, and I began the party at 5th level for the campaign, which ended after only two months due to the mortality rate.

    Finally, I would like to preach about A Paladin In Hell, my favorite adventure. Monte Cook was on his top game with that one. It's a rough trip, with little reward (at least monetarily) but its fun as all hell.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 28, 2008
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    Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:12 am  

    In order to get a full view of the Flaness, I would recommend making sure that you cross diverse geographic regions throughout the campaign. This will really bring the world alive for the players and is quite fun as a DM. In order to do so some key modules are:
    The Secret of Bone Hill
    The Slavers Series
    The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
    White Plume Mountain
    Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
    The Giant Series
    Tomb of Horrors

    There are some modules that I have never played, like the Drow Series, The Lost Carverns of Tsojcanth, or The Ghost Tower of Inverness, and I would recommend looking at those, especially Ghost Tower as those I know who have played it enjoyed it thoroughly. The Lost Caverns has an excellent review here on CanonFire, so you may want to check this out as well.

    If you want to add a touch of humor to the campaign, toss your players in Dungeonland or the Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, but these may or may not fit your campaign.

    Adding your own personal adventures can be helpful as you can use them to tie the plot lines together as well as add things that may help players round out their characters' skill in surviving.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 15, 2008
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    Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:19 am  

    Assassin's Knot and Secret of Bone Hill (L1 and L2) are great lower level modules. Secret can be downloaded for free from WotC's site, at the older editions downloads area. It's supposedly set in the Lendore Islands but easily set in the Wild Coast, which is where I've located (it goes well with the Suloise cultural predominance in the Wild Coast).
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 15, 2008
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    Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:21 am  

    Assassin's Knot and Secret of Bone Hill (L1 and L2) are great lower level modules. Secret can be downloaded for free from WotC's site, at the older editions downloads area. It's supposedly set in the Lendore Islands but easily set in the Wild Coast, which is where I've located (it goes well with the Suloise cultural predominance in the Wild Coast).
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    Adept Greytalker

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    Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:33 am  

    Do pay close attention to the amount of players recommended. In 1st ed modules a body count was to be expected. However, in 1st ed it did not take an hour to draw up another character as it does in 3rd ed.

    I know, in S1, I ran it with four 5th level characters and they were losing a party member a session (mostly due to the random monsters).

    Also, though they are not always done well,

    http://www.enworld.org/cc/converted/

    has converted many 1st and 2nd ed monsters to 3rd ed stats.

    If you are looking for Tsojcanth, WotC has released a 3rd ed remake on their Dungeon Magazine online site.
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:32 am  

    Excellent replies though I would like to add Cult of the Reptile God to this. Its a favorite of mine, and due to the story it is pretty easy to scale to just about any level and keep it the same in delivery and tonality. It also works really well as a "side-track" if your pcs are going to be in the Gran March/Northern Sheldomar regions.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Oct 19, 2007
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    Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:44 pm  

    I agree with the folks suggesting the Saltmarsh Series to begin with. Throw in some monster hunts in the Hool/Dreadwood and then the party will be ready for mid-level modules.

    I tried to run a conversion of some of the Slavers series and didn't care for much of it. Only drafted out 50% of the encounters. My preferred substitute modules would've been a combo of I1-Dwellers of the Forbidden City and C1-The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (mega jungle rumble?).
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 25, 2007
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    From: Neck Deep in the Viscounty of Verbobonc

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    Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:50 pm  

    I didn't really care for the idea of putting together the supermods into a series the way they did.

    I highly recommend (since I've done it) starting with either Cult of the Reptile God or The Village of Hommlet.

    Then I'd likely throw in a random mod or 3 just to keep things interesting, then move to the Slavers series, followed by Tamoachan.

    After that, Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, to be followed up with Tsojcanth.

    This ties in nicely to the GDQ series, which could lead into Expedition to the GH Ruins.

    If you can get your hands on all the parts, I'm also fond of The Ether Threat series of mods from Living Greyhawk, or perhaps the Bright Sands series.

    Given my personal preferences, I'd probably finish off with the last few mods in the Age of Worms series, and end the campaign with Isle of the Ape.

    Yes, I realize I've thrown in several 3e/3.5e mods here, but I think this makes for a rather interesting campaign. You'll also note that using the mods in this order will require a bit of retrofitting, but since you're converting them to C&C anyway that shouldn't add to the load significantly. Also, there will likely be some gaps between some of the mods mentioned, which will have to be filled with stuff of your own design or perhaps a variety of short LG mods. Let us know how it all turns out!
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: May 14, 2003
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    From: the Free City of Dyvers (Kansas City, MO)

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    Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:57 pm  

    I had to make some changes, but I built a successful campaign out of the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Against the Cult of the Reptile God, Tomb of the Lizard King and Dwellers of the Forbidden City, all of which took place in and around the Hool Marshes. Basically, the yuan-ti were behind it all, working to undermine the humans in the area and build a power base in the Hool. The party faced off against evil serpent cultists, lizard folk, nagas, ophidians, yuan-ti and their "experiments", and more.

    Another was a retelling of the Against the Giants series, with the addition of material from Dark Clouds Gather, and leaving the drow out. With the (then unavailable) Red Hand of Doom (though not classic, and would need some major revisions), there would be even more fodder for giant-slayers!

    The Temple of Elemental Evil is a huge, sprawling dungeon crawl, and a campaign in its own right. If you use both the original ToEE and ideas from the Return to ToEE, and flesh out the elemental nodes, you can adventure well into the teen levels.

    If you start your group with the Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad, and introduce the PCs to that enigmatic being, then you have the start of a continent or even world-spanning quest to retrieve dangerous magic items and artifacts, making a perfect segue into modules like White Plume Mountain and Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, among others.

    When 3E first came out, I successfully linked the modules that followed (the Sunless Citadel, Forge of Fury, the Speaker in Dreams, etc.) into a campaign against a cult of undead dragon worshippers in Ratik. Give them a look.

    Hope this helps give some ideas.
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    Master Greytalker

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    Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:04 pm  

    Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh definitely rocks the Casbah as a starting point. Lots of good stuff you can do with that.

    If you are considering it, you might want to look at Wolfsire's excellent expansion of the storyline with other published adventures that fit right in. Its one of the topical articles here on canofire:

    http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=865&mode=&order=0&thold=0
    Master Greytalker

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    Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:50 pm  

    EileenProphetofIstus wrote:
    Other good starting modules includ The Keep of the Borderlands is another 1st level module that many reccommend...
    I did try and keep it 1st edition for you. There are a lot of modules I skipped but these are the ones that I think highly of.


    Minor, niggling point.

    Keep on the Borderland is not 1st edition.

    It is D&D, back when D&D meant not AD&D. That is, it went along with the "Basic Set." It has a very 1st ed feel (hordes of monsters wait in their caves for you to attack) and has been a very fun module for the players I have taken through it.
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    Master Greytalker

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    Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:57 am  

    Your right, minor niggling point probably not worth bringing up, especially when your just trying to help people. But yes you are correct, not 1st edition D&D!
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