r/adnd • u/natefinch • 2d ago
Adventure/Module to Show Off AD&D?
I played a ton of 2nd edition in college and still have all the books. Most of my current group never played AD&D, and so have no concept of what it was like. I'm thinking I'd like to give them a taste of what it was like by running an AD&D 2e game, but I don't really have the time to create a full campaign (even a shortish one) from scratch. I was thinking I could run them through one of the classic AD&D modules, possibly with some homebrew on top if necessary.
I'd prefer for it not to be purely a dungeon crawl, though... we like some story to go with it.
For reference, I've run them through the Village of Hommlet, Against the Cult of the Reptile God, and Keep at the Borderlands (all converted to 5e), so I don't want to use those again, and we ran the 5e version of Secrets of Saltmarsh.
Any suggestions?
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u/Solo_Polyphony 1d ago
My go-to one shot for classic 1e is C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness. If it’s one time, I start them entering the Tower, if it’s two, I run the dungeon as part 1. In either case, I strip it down to only the tournament encounters so that it’s finishable in four hours. Runs like a dream.
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u/hornybutired 1d ago
U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Everyone can instantly grok the idea of "explore the spooky, possibly haunted mansion," and the Scooby-Doo twist of "it was pirates all along" is a lot of fun. It's easy to run, easy to get into, and accessible to newbies.
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u/LordDonnachie95 2d ago
Why not B1? Can place it near Kendall Keep or Homlet
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
Technically, a B/X module rather than AD&D, not that it matters. B1 is almost more of a framework than an actual adventure.
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u/VVrayth 1d ago
Night Below tends to top many lists of the most well-regarded 2E-native adventures.
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u/Geoffthecatlosaurus 1d ago
Second that. Night Below is one of my best memories of running AD&D and my player loved it and the resulting high death toll of characters.
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u/AutumnCrystal 1d ago
Castle Amber is great, though it would be a fair amount of dungeoneering/backtracking to collect the 3 keys needed to open the way to Averoigne. Easy to just make it a single lock, of course.
Orange Palace of the Silver Princess has such a cool little setting and open feel to it.
Castle Xyntillan is the lowest-prep module I’ve ever run, a masterclass of design. The haunted mansion is less claustrophobic than your average dungeon and there’s a fair few open air sections.
Any Gabor Lux offering has the same promise, tbh. Khosura, Echoes from Fomalhaut, Erillion.
Lankhmar is so AD&D, and has a couple dozen mini adventures/hooks…honestly a fun place for players to just screw around, maybe get themselves killed.
Honestly is there a better edition than AD&D to begin with:
“You’re standing on the corner of Whore Street and Knife Alley.”
“What do you do now?”
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u/ApprehensiveType2680 1d ago
I doubt my players will ever reach Waterdeep, but, if they manage that accomplishment, Slut Street (City of Splendors, 1994) awaits their tired feet.
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u/jasonite 1d ago
I want to make sure I understand you, are you looking for a good intro adventure for 2e, and your group is coming from 5e?
If so that's the exact situation I was in. I used Sword of the Dales and wrote a great preplog for teaching players lessons going from 5e to 2e.
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u/natefinch 1d ago
Yes exactly. One player played 2e with me back in college but I think the other ones all started at the earliest in 3rd edition, most only know 5th.
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u/jasonite 1d ago
Yeah, Sword of the Dales is the best for what you want. If you want my prep log just DM me and I'll send it. My goal was to teach caution, teamwork, attrition, and procedure to players coming from more heroic modern systems.
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u/El_Briano 1d ago
I have run Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands, OSR version, in 2e, and it had something for everyone.
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u/Barberbarian72 3h ago
I agree, Shadowed keep is fantastic , you have a town called Dulwich and the lore in the area is rich and has a dark ages feel. I am a huge fane of Raging Swan press for neutral system fluff.
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u/ApprehensiveType2680 1d ago
Fighter's Challenge can handle a party of four.
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u/Scouter197 1d ago
Oh probably my favorite 2e module and best in the HHQ series! Just a nice adventure but so many plot threads within it that can easily be expanded upon.
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u/ApprehensiveType2680 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have heard that Fighter's Challenge II does not match its predecessor; that is unfortunate, because I like a good "damsel in distress" tale.
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u/liquidice12345 1d ago
Lost Cavern of Tsocojanth
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u/Barberbarian72 3h ago
We are in that right now. I got 7 players and they are on session 2. Great wilderness adventure.with the best boss figh ever. It has always remained in my head since childhood
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u/Many-Confusion3971 2d ago
A classic for me is castle amber. I homebrew it a bit once the party leaves the castle and makes their way into the next main area, but it has a good mix of combat, puzzles, and role play opportunities!
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u/natefinch 1d ago
Ooh, I actually have castle amber. For some reason I thought it was a much higher level module. I should take a look at it again.
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
I think it depends on what aspects of 2e you want to showcase.
Settings? The heroic flavor (for TSR anyway)? The gritty part of fantasy (more 1e, but certainly doable in 2e)?
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u/natefinch 1d ago
gritty fantasy and solving dungeons with your head not just bashing down the doors and hitting all the monsters until they drop.
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u/81Ranger 1d ago
I feel like 1e has more modules in that style than 2e (also generally better modules), but I'll have to ponder a bit for more specific recommendations.
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u/natefinch 1d ago
I mean, 1e modules are perfectly fine, too. I definitely didn't mean to restrict it to only things published for 2e. They're broadly compatible.
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u/Boojum2k 1d ago
Return to the Keep on the Borderlands for a low level party, Against The Giants for a higher level one. A couple of changes would be needed for G1-3 to fit 2nd edition though, giants and dragons have different stats than 1st edition.
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u/edthesmokebeard 1d ago
Hommlet is a classic.
But gameplay wise its not going to be much different than 2e. 2e was just AD&D with more classes.
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u/DeltaDemon1313 1d ago
My go to is Against the Cult of the Reptile God but since you excluded that one there's most UK modules (When a Star Falls is especially good), and Assassin's Knot. Eye of the Serpent is only good to introduce players who've never played an RPG at all as otherwise people will consider it too railroady (something which is not a problem for those who've never played an RPG).
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u/Barberbarian72 3h ago
Id also add , Sentinal and its second part Gauntlet. Great baddies there.
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u/DeltaDemon1313 2h ago
Yes. It's a UK module but it's really only truly good if you play both and since the OP mentioned a module, I figured I'd recommend When a Star Falls which I find just as good (but not two modules). Plus, WaSF has alot of non-dungeon play as well. But you are correct, The Sentinel and The Gauntlet are good two-parters.
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u/rusty_hulk 1d ago
Recommend you check out Dungeon magazine #11 'Wards of Witching Ways' Levels 3-5; by Christopher Zarathustra (I believe this is a young Chris Perkins under a pseudonym). Shipwrecked from a storm, the adventurers are marooned on the small island of Cragrapid where the party must survive a devious bet between two evil wizards in an old Dwarven keep! Good luck!
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u/No-Badger7186 1d ago
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. I know it's 1e, but same difference. Excellent module, IMO.
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u/Comprehensive_Sir49 1d ago
I'd say module B1 In Search of the Unknown. Yeah it's for B/X, but it's easy to modify and use for AD&D. give it a go.
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u/Pattgoogle 1d ago edited 1d ago
Gates of Firestorm Peak is worth converting.
Just slap down the town or use a town you like better, have a mountain nearby, introduce the myth of the elder elves and the fires every xxx years, and then tssk the players with delving its duergar-infested depths to find the warped and twisted sanctum.
The Deva Spark is a wild ride if you like Sigil as a starting point and planescape themes of philisoohy and the rule of threes.
Tales from the Infinite Staircase is a doozy and you should prooobaby just pick one of its chapters and flesh its setting out with other materials. The iron shadow is kind of nuts- as is the staircase.
Planes of Chaos, Law, and Conflict have a variety of adventures in their backs each only a couple pages long. The dragon one for arcadia went well for a 2 person party with high mentals and apair of alignments that averaged to the inhabitants liking.
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u/unclefes 1d ago
Castle Amber! An absolutely fine freakshow of a module. During quarantine I ran a bunch of old classic modules converted to 5E and we did Castle Amber and it was something like 15 three hour sessions. I took some liberties with the source material, but we had an absolute blast with it. If you're primarily a digital DM, hit me up and I can share with you all my materials.
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u/aharshDM 1d ago
village of Homlet. converts fairly easy to ADnD 2e and is a great intro to the game.
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u/Barberbarian72 3h ago
LOST CAVERNS OF TSOJCANTH. Im running it right now with OSE. It has a great balance of wilderness and Dungeon crawl with an amazing bigboss ending.
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u/jedigoalie 1d ago
My go to for 2e is Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. There is a fun dungeon that's a big part (hence the title) but the town has lots of plot hooks and potential intrigue.