A very nice thing happened to me yesterday.
One of my players bought the AD&D reprints, after much pestering from me, and he's fallen in love with the game, specially the DMG. He's decided to run a campaign but, lacking experience as DM, he wants to try his hand running some classic module and maybe linking several to create a campaign. So far, so good, as I'm itching to play in that game. The guy is a very fun and creative guy, I'm sure it will be a blast.
Now, I'd like to ask the experts on the site about AD&D 1e modules, so I can make some recommendations to my friend. Which are good? Which are crap? What would be the best way to link them to create a campaign? My friend asked me to make a bit of research as he knows I frequently post on gaming boards and "you are in contact with all those grognards who know AD&D inside out" :D
So, which modules would you recommend?
I don't know if you would like suggestions for only TSR adventures or not, but since your friend bought the reprints, I provide an adventure order suggestion with that constraint. I don't actually think that The Village of Hommlet is a good choice for a first adventure. It is better suited to a higher level team than 1st, closer to 3rd for 4 players. It does have a good place in this list, though, as a replacement for Dwarven Delve, which is a plus-minus adventure in my opinion. Others will have other lists. I find this to be a pretty good list from what is available at dndclassics.com. This would be a good list to modify for a 3-4 player group too.
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17056/N1-Against-the-Cult-of-the-Reptile-God)
L1 The Secret of Bone Hill (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17059/L1-The-Secret-of-Bone-Hill)
L2 The Assassin's Knot (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17060/L2-The-Assassin%27s-Knot)
L3 Deep Dwarven Delve (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/111269/L3-Deep-Dwarven-Delve) Alternatively T1 The Village of Hommlet (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17067/T1-The-Village-of-Hommlet)
Another option possible from dndclassics
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17056/N1-Against-the-Cult-of-the-Reptile-God)
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17069/U1-The-Sinister-Secret-of-Saltmarsh)
U2 Danger at Dunwater (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17070/U2-Danger-at-Dunwater)
U3 The Final Enemy (http://www.dndclassics.com/product/17071/U3-The-Final-Enemy)
If there is a Gygax fan situation about to happen, this is a list of adventures that Gygax suggested as an order of his published ones. It is a pretty hard campaign! So, fair warning. It is the one he suggested, though. Here, the DM needs to complete some conversion on his very first adventure, with Keep on the Borderlands, but it is pretty easy. Also, the party level would not be up to some of these in this order, without modification or other adventures inserted in-between. The final adventure was from the game Dangerous Journeys, which he suggested converting. I include it for completeness, since it was one he suggested for the last.
I. Keep on the Borderlands
II. Village of Hommlet
III. Dungeonland
IV. Land beyond the Magic Mirror
V. Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
VI. Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
VII. Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
VIII. Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
IX. Hall of the Fire Giant King
X. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
XI. Tomb of Horrors
XII. Descent to the Depths of the Earth
XIII. Shrine of the Kuo-toa
XIV. Vault of the Drow
XV. Isle of the Ape
XVI. Necropolis (final portion).
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan and Dark Tower are the greatest of the classics, but the former is more of a one-shot module and the second is an epic, high-level death-fest that requires practice both to run and play.
For a "we want to play some AD&D" campaign, the following are pretty good:
U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh: Good low-level campaign starter.
B2 Keep on the Borderlands: It's Keep on the Borderlands.
L1 Secret of Bone Hill: Low-level mini-setting and dungeon; needs some work, but it is very easy to customise and you can integrate all kinds of extra modules into it. I think the second module is also considered good, but I have not personally had any experience with it.
X1 Isle of Dread: Tropical island, more of a mid-level thing.
A1-A4 Slavers modules: Not bad for a mid-level campaign arc. The theme is, well, slavers.
This stuff (minus B2) would make for a decent coastal/island-based setting/campaign.
For mid level play Dwellers of the Forbidden City is pure gold. There is so much that can be done with the city as its own mini-sandbox.
Some suggestions for The Keep on the Borderlands.
If you choose to run The Keep on the Borderlands under AD&D 1, one of things I find annoying is making up all of the names during play. I mean, that is something that one does all the time, but the place seems to need a more consistent heritage for the names, since the place is quite isolated. The titles are those mentioned in the module. So, the characters meet the “provisioner” Jan van der Roe, or the characters attempt to discover local information through the "wanderer" Venicia Freidlander at the Keep Tavern. Anyway, I thought someone else may find useful the names I gave to the people of the Keep, with a selection of watchmen, guardsmen and a few others that made sense, such as wives, daughters and sons.
Spoiler
Baliff, Claesekijn Dahm
Baliff’s Scribe, Coen Galle
Baliff’s Scribe’s Wife, Alijt Galle
Baliff’s Wife, Agnes Dahm
Bank Clerk, Oelard Vliese
Bank Guard, Otto Wiese
Banker, Matheus Veer
Banker’s Daughter, Aeile Veer
Banker’s Daughter, Gheile Veer
Banker’s Wife, Gheertruud Veer
Captain of the Guard, Maurits Evers
Captain of the Guard’s Wife, Bianca Evers
Captain of the Watch, Pieter Zelle
Captain of the Watch’s Wife, Isabella Zella
Castellan, Anthonius van Noort
Castellan’s Advisor, Gelarfaerdil Merevoledel
Castellan’s Daughter, Beatrix van Noort
Castellan’s Daughter, Katharina van Noort
Castellan’s Daughter, Saskia van Noort
Castellan’s Scribe, Boyke Tersteeg
Castellan’s Son, Bartholomeus van Noort
Castellan’s Son, Harmannous van Noort
Castellan’s Wife, Roosje van Noort
Corporal (First) of the Guard, Eelke Quasten
Corporal (First) of the Guard’s Wife, Famke Quasten
Corporal (Second) of the Guard, Kobus Kaeckle
Corporal (Second) of the Guard’s Wife, Iris Kaeckle
Corporal of the Watch, Arend Berghem
Curate, Jurian Markgraff
Curate’s Acolyte, Baltus Thyssen
Curate’s Acolyte, Frans Botha
Curate’s Acolyte, Joris Claar
Guardsman, Kees Blacu
Guardsman, Nys Hackenbroch
Guardsman, Jillis Bakhuysen
Guardsman, Lieve Muskens
Guardsman, Mewis Kepper
Guardsman, Powles Wessels
Guild Clerk, Bertus Leenhoff
Guild Clerk, Helmar Horenbout
Guild Guard, Antonis Groote
Guild Guard, Leendert Vorster
Guild Guard, Nandor Cuyler
Guild Guard, Nelis Hoekstra
Guild Master, Arnout Noorlander
Guild Master’s Daughter, Machteld Noorlander
Guild Master’s Daugther, Margaretha Noorlander
Guild Master’s Son, Mattias Noorlander
Guild Master’s Wife, Lijsbet Noorlander
Guild Servant, Diederick Tiele
Guild Servant, Maria Tiele
Innkeeper, Kestecen Douw
Jewel Merchant, Coppijn Hals
Jewel Merchant’s Daughter, Eilburg Hals
Jewel Merchant’s Son, Danckaert Hals
Jewel Merchant’s Wife, Annen Hals
Mercenary, Balt Teerline
Mercenary, Gysbert Tanchel
Mercenary, Henni Bester
Mercenary, Joord Edelinck
Mercenary, Marcus de Klerk
Mercenary, Piet Poeze
Merchant, Bernadette Ledoux
Merchant, Frieda Aartsen
Merchant, Gysbert Somer
Merchant, Ingo Fenwick
Merchant, Jeronymus Brugmans
Merchant, Mannon Verken
Merchant, Wilhelmus Luytens
Priest, Dirk Krom
Priest’s Acolyte, Eduard Meyer
Priest’s Acolyte, Frankrijk Ooms
Provisioner, Jan van der Roe
Provisioner’s Wife, Elen van der Roe
Sergeant of the Guard, Arie Patinir
Sergeant of the Guard’s Daughter, Eva Patinir
Sergeant of the Guard’s Wife, Trude Patinir
Smith Apprentice, Gillis Somer
Smith Apprentice, Hendrick Tilborch
Smith, Gerrit Rienks
Tavern Barkeep, Renger Smit
Tavern Scullion, Nico Dudok
Tavern Serving Wench , Rika Naude
Taverner, Zoete Jonge
Taverner’s Daugther, Katerine Jonge
Taverner’s Son, Giel Jonge
Taverner’s Wife, Johanna Jonge
Trader, Klaas van Leuven
Trader’s Wife, Filippa van Leuven
Wanderer, Ewa Wozniak
Wanderer, Venicia Freidlander
Wanderer, Volkmar Hauser
Wanderer, Zoltan Galambos
Watch Scribe, Lodewyk Brink
Watchman, Barent Wouterson
Watchman, Hugo Brouwer
Watchman, Japic Krige
Watchman, Mart Fruyiers
Watchman, Staaf Siemerink
Watchman, Tonnis Swart
Great and useful answers, as usual. Many thanks :)
Kuroth, my friend Hermes is not limiting himself to TSR modules, as he's not very into such distinctions. He'd like to start with a time-tested classic, so to speak, but he's open to other modules. He wants to make an informed choice, so his first experience is not sucky. He's looking for a module that really showcases old-school play, and that is easy to run, so to speak. Also, not a case of Gygax fan (he neither know nor care about that).
Your suggestions are very useful, as Hermes is very interested in modules he can acquire through dndclassics. :)
Melan: I'll pass the ideas to him. Actually, the guy is a bit of a sailor himself, so maybe a sea campaign will be the best for him.
What about Against the Giants, Drow Queen and other classics? Too high-level? The guy is really psyched, he says he wantsto run the campaign for as long as possible.
For lower levels I would suggest the following. Darkness Beneath, Stonehell, ASE, Kramer-ville, Barrowmaze are all long enough to sustain play for a long time.
Darkness Beneath, from Fight On. The lower levels are especially good, having been done by Sham.
Anomalous Subsurface Environment. Gonzo to the core.
Stonehell. One of the few good megadungeons in existence.
Rappan Athuk. The closest thing to the platonic ideal of a megadungeon.
Beneath the Ruins. A great OD&D feel in a small package.
The Shadowed Keep, The Shattered Skull,Ychyrn The Tyrant. Crap! I mean four people! Kramer writes good adventures and has TOP NOTCH layouts. He creates very evocative setting.
Shadowbrook Manor. This has to be an homage to Tegal with the same goofy, fun, and deadly environment.
Barrowmaze. A large dungeon featuring LOTS of undead.
Tomb of the Iron God. There's two gods and like 500+ monsters in this FIRST level adventure. Good Stuff!
Voyage to Plague Island. A Weird and wonderfully idiosyncratic adventure.
Gone Fishin'. Great folk tale feel and free to boot!
Monastery of the Order of Crimson Monks. Good expansion of the sample dungeon in the 1E DMG.
Ironwood Gorge. OBJECTIVLY better than B2, despite what Benoist says.
The Ruined Hamlet/Terror in the Gloaming. Interesting situations and evocative detail.
If I may cherry pick from this cool list, of these I think I would choose The Bone Hilt Sword Campaign (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/108894/Bone-Hilt-Sword-Campaign), by James Kramer. The link I provide is to the bundle that includes all five.
1. Yrchyn, the tyrant
2. The Shattered Skull
3. The Shadowed Keep
4. Valen'cya's Horde
5. In the Halls of the Mage-King
While not classic, these are written with 35 years of time with AD&D, with all the experience that implies. They are really meant to be played with AD&D too, since they are under the Osric publication method. There is absolutly no conversion needed for AD&D 1. This is a good option for Hermes too, that’s for sure.
Quote from: Imperator;633141What about Against the Giants, Drow Queen and other classics? Too high-level? The guy is really psyched, he says he wantsto run the campaign for as long as possible.
GDQ is a great way to cap off any campaign. I'd avoid the GDQ1-7 "Supermodule" TSR put out in the late 80s; it's strung together kind of poorly. As to level...IIRC G1 says "levels 5-10", but honestly unless you've got 10-15 players at the table, I wouldn't send anything less than an average 8th level party into that - and that's strong 8th level characters, too (e.g., not a 4/4 f/mu for example).
If he's running sea-themed modules then having the bandits of A1-4 as pirates and their strongholds in A2 and A3 be isolated islands off of, say, the coast of the Pomarj would work. With some work he could likewise throw X1 into that mix.
Yeah, GDQ has great potential, but it requires not just high-level characters, but a lot of system familiarity (and the ability to work with masses of opponents).
Quote from: thedungeondelver;633175GDQ is a great way to cap off any campaign. I'd avoid the GDQ1-7 "Supermodule" TSR put out in the late 80s; it's strung together kind of poorly. As to level...IIRC G1 says "levels 5-10", but honestly unless you've got 10-15 players at the table, I wouldn't send anything less than an average 8th level party into that - and that's strong 8th level characters, too (e.g., not a 4/4 f/mu for example).
I believe the whole giant series was recommended for levels 8-12. A 5th level party (even a large one) would be severely outmatched in the majority of confrontations in the steading.
If he wants a classic TSR dungeon experience that he can run from 1st to 8th level, with a well-developed town as a kicking-off point, then Temple of the Elemental Evil is a good choice. An even better choice is Caverns of Thracia by Judges Guild, though it's a little tougher to run because of the dramatic variance in monster power in the dungeon.
As others have mentioned, the U series is a solid option. Starts at level 1, good mix of outdoor, investigation, and dungeon adventures.
A good standalone that showcases the magical, self-contained puzzle environment of some early AD&D modules is Ghost Tower of Inverness. It's a lot of fun, but is maybe better used as a one-off than as part of a campaign. Same applies to White Plume Mountain. In both cases, you'll want minimum level 6 PCs.
Quote from: Exploderwizard;633181I believe the whole giant series was recommended for levels 8-12. A 5th level party (even a large one) would be severely outmatched in the majority of confrontations in the steading.
Sorry; just checked the module text. It suggests 6th as OK level if you have a lot of players.
Quote from: thedungeondelver;633226Sorry; just checked the module text. It suggests 6th as OK level if you have a lot of players.
I wonder if it changed between printings? Interesting.
For a "taste of AD&D" one-off where character level doesn't matter Ghost Tower of Inverness, Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, and White Plume Mountain are all good choices. The Abduction of Good King Despot is an even better choice, but it's not (AFAIK) officially available on pdf so you'd have to scour ebay for a copy. All of these ooze old-school AD&D flavor and can probably be played through in 2-3 sessions.
For a campaign-game starting at 1st level Temple of Elemental Evil is the way to go. That'll take at least a few months to play through (and likely will be abandoned before it's actually finished, because it sort of peters out and the latter parts aren't as good as the earlier ones) and get the party up to 6th level or so (even higher if they actually play it out to the bitter end). From there the next stop is The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and its companion The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun - Dark Tower would also fit well into this slot (same level-range). After getting through either of those, if the players haven't gotten bored with AD&D and want to keep going, the party should be ready to take on the Giants and Drow.
There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread.
L1 and U1 already have been mentioned. I would recommend combining them. Use Restenford (L1) in place of Saltmarsh (or just rename Restenford 'Saltmarsh'), and place U1's haunted house nearby.
Voila: you have a pretty great small, low-level 'sandbox' setting, with lots of adventure locations.
L2 and/or U2-3 can be added afterwards, if the DM wishes.
I also recommend N1 as a great low-level AD&D module. It could be played either before the U1-L1 combo, or afterwards (perhaps instead of U2-3 or L2).
After playing through L1 and U1 (and possibly N1, L2, U2-3), the group will be ready for UK2 and UK3. Follow those with UK4, one of the best AD&D adventures ever (IMO).
Quote from: Akrasia;633263I also recommend N1 as a great low-level AD&D module.
It needs a bit of adjustment to eliminate the need to have "Elminster" accompany the party. Aside from that, its pretty good.
Quote from: Exploderwizard;633274It needs a bit of adjustment to eliminate the need to have "Elminster" accompany the party. Aside from that, its pretty good.
Good point, I had deleted that aspect of N1 from my memory banks.
Running N1 after U1 and L1 would help remove the necessity of the "Elminster", as the PCs likely would be around level 3 by then.
Quote from: Akrasia;633285Good point, I had deleted that aspect of N1 from my memory banks.
Running N1 after U1 and L1 would help remove the necessity of the "Elminster", as the PCs likely would be around level 3 by then.
I suggest N1 first, since the others that are supposed to be 1st are very difficult for a team of 5 characters of first level. It is a problem that I always had with the old TSR modules. They require so much modification for a more realistic player group. U1 is suggested for 5-10 characters of 1-3, which means 10 1st. L1 is designed for 5-10 characters from 2-4 level. Village of Hommlet is supposedly set up for about 12 1st level, which will still likely end in DEATH. I have always had to have some kind of adventure prior to running these. I think N1 is one of the better ones from TSR for this use, since it is easy to adjust, and it does include some advise that is specific to running an AD&D 1 game, as the N (novice) series was meant. One of the things that is good about N1, it provides a good ground work for running towns, which one will need for L1 and U1, particularly U1, since the DM will need to write their own Saltmarsh.
Quote from: Kuroth;633387I suggest N1 first, since the others that are supposed to be 1st are very difficult for a team of 5 characters of first level. It is a problem that I always had with the old TSR modules. They require so much modification for a more realistic player group. U1 is suggested for 5-10 characters of 1-3, which means 10 1st. L1 is designed for 5-10 characters from 2-4 level. Village of Hommlet is supposedly set up for about 12 1st level, which will still likely end in DEATH. I have always had to have some kind of adventure prior to running these. I think N1 is one of the better ones from TSR for this use, since it is easy to adjust, and it does include some advise that is specific to running an AD&D 1 game, as the N (novice) series was meant. One of the things that is good about N1, it provides a good ground work for running towns, which one will need for L1 and U1, particularly U1, since the DM will need to write their own Saltmarsh.
N1 is brutal. We had two TPKs, with parties of 6 and 8 PCs.
Quote from: Haffrung;633426N1 is brutal. We had two TPKs, with parties of 6 and 8 PCs.
I know! haha It is about the easiest too. It is a problem with all of these 'low' level ones from TSR. N1 is easier than U1, L1, T1 or C3, though. So, it is a little less messing around being brought to reasonable scale. I have run Hommlet as a first before and U1 too, though. It is a brutal affair, with all kinds of experienced player requirements to basically game the system. A new DM that runs N1 will be better prepared to run L1 and U1, since both of those need a little more DM work, and N1 provides advise here and there that is expressly intended for new DMs, something that is pretty rare in AD&D modules of the time.
Edit: To be certain it is said, one can adapt almost
ANY adventure to low level play, though. It just takes creativity and a fair amount of DM experience with the game. Experienced players that can mold the system to their character's needs can do crazy things too.
A Judge’s Guild Campaign using only AD&D 1 specific adventures available through rpgnow that provides a more strange amped campaign.
First, get the Book of Islands and fill out the descriptions of each island using the guidelines given in the Book of Islands and the Dungeon Master Guide’s tables, which would also be used to describe the various towns and villages of the islands.
Second, place the ruins described in the Book of Ruins throughout the Islands. Initially, the characters would be involved with the adventures in-between and intrinsic to the ruins on the islands. This introductory and development period of the campaign will bring the characters to 3rd level, after a number of the ruins and side scenarios in-between that naturally will develop. At this time one of the ruins will contain a surprise turn into the heart of the campaign of the portals.
This sets up a campaign pretty close to a house made campaign, with quite a bit more strange/weird than a TSR adventure collection. All of these were written specifically for AD&D 1, which is why I don’t include some of the Original D&D or Universal D&D selections. The Island Book is completely generic, with just tables to help develop the islands, which one would use with the Dungeon Master’s Guide tables.
Book of Islands (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/937/Island-Book-I)
Book of Ruins (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56318/Book-of-Ruins)
Portals of Torsh (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56317/Portals-of-Torsh)
Temple of Ra Accursed by Set (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/1028/Temple-of-Ra-Accursed-by-Set) (Located in Torsh instead of Egypt)
Portals of Irontooth (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56432/Portals-of-Irontooth)
Lara's Tower (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/82557/Lara%27s-Tower) (Located in Irontooth region of Hnoon)
Portals of Twilight (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56278/Portals-of-Twilight)
Zienteck (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56342/Zienteck) (Located in the next world of the Dungeon Master’s choice)
I love the old Judges Guild adventures. My favorite one is Kthenta's Dark Repose in this free PDF (a truly great one session adventure)
http://www.necromancergames.com/judgesguild/pdf/peg/p7.pdf
If you are looking for a higher level mini-campaign, I recommend this classic from Pegasus magazine. The Black Ring was tremendously awesome fodder for a campaign I ran years ago, but I remember using the module as a starting point.
http://www.necromancergames.com/judgesguild/pdf/peg/p1.pdf
I just sent your suggestions to Hermes and he wanted me to thank you all for so many amazing suggestions XD
I am not sure yet, but from our chat I'm guessing he's going with Kuroth's idea as he can get the modules easily from dndclassics.com and he wants to pay the good bucks for the stuff. But anyway he will give a try to the rest of suggestions, at least to mine them for ideas.
Duly noted the points on how many times the level suggestions are not accurate.
Thanks again, keep the ideas coming!
I am not sure The Book of Ruins, Lara's Tower and Zienteck are very good -- all three seemed very generic to me. Book of Ruins is essentially 20-30 two-or three-room lairs with a simplistic monster/treasure key. Definitely not among JG's better products.
Quote from: Melan;633464I am not sure The Book of Ruins, Lara's Tower and Zienteck are very good -- all three seemed very generic to me. Book of Ruins is essentially 20-30 two-or three-room lairs with a simplistic monster/treasure key. Definitely not among JG's better products.
Oh, there are better ones, but they are not AD&D 1 specific and at rpgnow. They must also fit into a 1st to 8th level campaign series, which is about where Portal of Twilight finishes. Sort of hard to do with the old modules! ha There were so few good low level ones produced back in the day too.
The
Book of Ruins is low level, and used with the
Island Book it can be pretty cool, especially since the islands that the ruins will be located will be described with the Island Book. The combination makes up for the failings of the two, using the Dungeon Master's Guide tables to further enhance each island. This is a kit mentality to the first main adventure. It may help to visualize each small island as a separate wilderness|dungeon with many different important locations. I have experienced that this type of dungeon master effort is good exercise for a new DM to learn how to make their own adventures, with plenty of hand-holds to help the process. The more I consider this particular adventure set-up and look over the books the more I like it actually. I might use it for my next AD&D one. So, these comments served me some use. Win!
Lara's tower is just a location to place in Irontooth, as a supplement to the setting. It would be weak by itself, yes. Mixed in with the things going on in Irontooth, though? Can be pretty cool.
Temple of Ra Accursed by Set is also a location to supplement
Torsh, rather than an adventure unto itself.
Zienteck is your average world set-up with a number of locations. I would say it is fairly typical of the time. It isn't just a location, though. So, it has that going for it beyond the usual. It has a setting that would be easy to move on from at the end of the portal campaign, which was what I was thinking. After Twilight, one could set the next adventure upon ANY world, though.
Here are two other Judges Guild start points for a Portals campaign that could replace the Book of Ruins, Island Book and Dungeon Masters Guild adventure kit that combines AD&D, Original D&D and Universal D&D Judges Guild products.
I. Though they are not at rpgnow, my first thought would be to use
Prey of Darkness as the first main adventure. I have it, but it wasn't at rpgnow. I would probably pair it with
The Illhiedrin Book. So, that would be my non-kit approach. Well, less kit because published adventures always have a fair portion of work to do to make them playable.
II. Another option for the first part of the campaign would be to tie together
Modron,
Restormel and
Frontier Forts of Kelnore. These all are appropriate for very low level characters, with Modron the initial campaign start, Kelnore for the surrounding area and Restormel for a later adventure locale. Early on, the characters would be involved with various scenarios in Modron that would lead out into greater Kelnore, which would at some point lead to dealing with the troubles at Restormel. I play a lot of city adventures! The early Mordon part would be a pretty significant adventure, taking advantage of all the people and locales of the town.
Here are two different 1-3 level portions using Judges Guild that I like, but I’m not for sure if all of them are available in electronic anywhere to purchase. The way I approached this campaign was to make certain it was a fairly non-linear campaign. It is quite possible for the party to be in either the Island, Torsh, Irontooth, Twilight sections for any length of time, with many possible convolutions.
Thank you for those links Spinachcat! I might have those Pegasus around here somewhere, but I didn't have Kthenta's Dark Repose.
Great to read that Hermes is really looking forward to the new campaign with his reprint books Imperator!
A1 - Slave Pits of the Undercity
The aspis are nasty, nasty, nasty. High AC, high HD, multiple attacks, half or no damage from many spells. Running into more than one of them is brutal. They are walking TPK machines.
A2 - Secret of the Slavers Stockade
I really liked the infiltration feel to this module.
A3 - Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords
The city really deserves to be fleshed out a LOT more.
A4 - In the Dungeons of the the Slave Lords
A nice and memorable finale. It seems a shame to destroy the city.
C1 - Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
Awesome if you can fit a Mesoamerican ruin into your world. It's a tournament module that doesn't feel like a tournament module.
C2 - The Ghost Tower if Inverness
It needs to be fleshed out, a lot. It's a tournament module that feels exactly like a tournament module. Oh, and your party wouldn't keep the Soul Gem now would they?
C3 - Lost Island of Castanamir
I played this a few times in the the past and it always came across as really boring.
EX1 - Dungeonland
Gygaxian adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. It can be tough to pull off depending on your players.
EX2 - The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror
Gygaxian adaptation of Through the Looking Glass. Same comment as above.
G1-3 Let me say I liked all the giant series.
G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
Probably the easiest to map and handle.
G2 - Glacial Rift Of The Frost Giant Jarl
Perhaps the best and toughest to map of the giant series.
G3 - Hall of the Fire Giant King
Prepare for much loot to be had.
D1-3 and Q1 are good modules that never displayed their best form in a tournament setting. You really need more than a day hours to explore these modules and have fun.
D1-2 - Descent into the Depths of the Earth
The Shrine is so much fun.
D3 - Vault of the Drow
Ah the infamous Drow and their city.
Q1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Very interesting and also dependent on how successful one thinks one should be when going to a god's home plane and trying to kill them.
I1 - Dwellers of the Forbidden City
Awesome sandbox environment.
I2 - Tomb of the Lizard King
Meh? I don't remember ever enjoying this module or even playing it all.
I3-5 - Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm and Lost Tomb of Martek
I really enjoyed the Eqyptain theme for all of these.
I6 - Ravenloft
Ah the infamous Strahd. The 3D castle map was a thing for its time.
For the other I* series modules I don't recall any of them as being really memorable.
L1 - The Secret Of Bone Hill
A fairly typical module.
L2 - The Assassin's Knot
A deadly murder mystery continuation of L1.
N1 - Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Some really, really rich farmers and an end fight that can be a railroady.
I think the other N* module vary from the mediocre to horrible.
S1-4 modules were classics for their time, but are probably still too well known. You would probably need to make all new traps and riddles for Tomb of Horrors for example. Out of all of them, I think I liked S4 - Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth best.
T1 - The Village of Hommlet
A classic.
T1-4 - The Temple of the Elemental Evil
A classic bore. I have known GMs that have gone hoarse from reading its room descriptions out loud.
UK1-6 I think almost all the UK modules are excellent. A common small complaint is that some of them can feel a little plot heavy, but nowhere as bad as say Dragonlance.
UK1 - Beyond The Crystal Cave
The earliest UK and it doesn't really feel the same as the. Probably the weakest of the six.
UK2 - The Sentinel
Excellent.
UK3 - The Gauntlet
Sequel to UK2 and is also excellent. The castle siege is nice if it happens.
UK4 - When A Star Falls
I loved this module.
UK5 - Eye of the Serpent
I liked this module too.
UK6 - All that Glitters...
Challenging. Resource management can make you its bitch.
UK7 - Dark Clouds Gather
The only one that I never go to play or GM.
U1-3 were probably well known series modules aside from the giant and drow series.
U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
A nice introductory haunted house module. It can also be very deadly real quick.
U2 - Danger at Dunwater
Some easy accidental death and dismemberment.
U3 - The Final Enemy
A very nice water theme and an enemy that probably doesn't get used much.
That is quite the detailed breakdown!
RPGPundit
I will defend the Tomb of the Lizard King.
I have dm'd it five times and loved it.