So, any preferences ?

Sometimes the adventure that is tagged on to the system book can outlive my use of that rulebook.

For example, the 1st one I encounted was The Camp of Alla Akabar in Dragonquest 2nd ed. The PC's travel to a bandit camp as troubadors and attempt to rescue/kidnap a love-drugged damsal (the adventure's on the DQ Yahoo group). I've played it with different groups and each time they've gone about it a different way. I only played it twice using DQ (which I haven't played in yonks)


Is there any rulebook adventure that you keep using again and again, revising it for other systems ?

Why ?

Is there an Uber-scenario ? (besides just 'i go dungeon, i kill, nick stuff')

Which rulebook adventures have let the rulebook down badly, so much that you've thought 'OMG, that's not the way I'm gonna run a scenario in this setting/with these rules' ?

The Haunting, in the CoC core book, seems the one that really leaps out.

Simple, deadly, classic CoC.  It illustrates what the game is about and doesn't take up too much space in doing so either.

Unfortunately bad ones are the norm IMO, for example in Qin you can't use the pregen PCs in the pregen scenario.  In Angel I understand the scenario is the first of a two parter, the second part was in the GM's screen released some time later and which nobody needed who already owned the Buffy screen (or if like me they just don't use screens).

Most scenarios in the book suck, no idea why, an opportunity to show the game off and most folk flub it.

Here's another lousy one, WFRP1e has a vaguely crappy railroady dungeon crawl in it.  Even as a dungeon crawl it's not up to much, and if you start play with a Beggar, Raconteur, Boatman and Student (which with random chargen is entirely possible) they're going to get their asses handed to them.

Caravan to Ein Arris, in GURPS1e-3e, stupidly taken out of 4e so they could slot in an advertisement for GURPS Infinite Worlds.

It's a classic adventure, allowing characters to explore, fight, socialise, sneak, scheme, and the players to think.

both great examples !

The Tower of Zenopus in the Holmes blue-cover D&D book. Fantastic little dungeon which features all the elements of classic D&D: nice variety of monsters (ghouls, giant spider, pirates, giant octopus (!), carnivorous ape, evil wizard, etc.), engaging puzzles/ tricks (the rotating statue, sun dial), atmospheric dungeon structures (sea cave, underground river, grave tunnels, laboratory, tower), and some links to further adventures (the pirates, the graveyard). The Tower of Zenopus is tailored just right to challenge new 1st-level PCs, and you can finish it in a single session. I've probably run it six times.

Merchants of Terror published in the Danger International rulebook... and the Espionage boxed set before that.

The CoC rulebook has a brace of excellent starting adventures, in a variety of styles (from railroady to open investigation) which really give you an idea of the sort of things you can do with the game. (They also, by and large, establish the precedent that you do not need to throw the big Mythos nasties at the PCs every investigation.) Unknown Armies (at least in the 2nd edition) took a similar approach, with one railroaded freakout and one open investigation.

Maelstrom (the old one from the 1980s published as a paperback book) had an excellent sample adventure, really good for introducing people to roleplaying. The old Fighting Fantasy RPG rulebook had some nice simple dungeon crawls, very appropriate to the system presented - I was less impressed with the ones in Advanced Fighting Fantasy, however.

Those are the ones which really jump out at me.

I don't know about the best, but the old COC Dreamlands book has one of the most railroady adventures I've ever seen: Captives of Two Worlds I think its called. There is a section in it where The pcs are supposed to get captured- and the scenario as written makes it pretty clear that no matter how clever they are or how much forsight they have, the GM should negate all their efforts, bending reality of necessary- and if nothing else, kill the party instead if letting them get away or win the fight against the cultists.

I think my favorite example of in book adventures isn't a fleshed out scenario, but the random adventure tables at the back of the V&V book.

Quote from: Kyle AaronCaravan to Ein Arris, in GURPS1e-3e, stupidly taken out of 4e so they could slot in an advertisement for GURPS Infinite Worlds.

It's a classic adventure, allowing characters to explore, fight, socialise, sneak, scheme, and the players to think.

Good call, and all the better it has no magic in it at all, it's in a fantasy setting but none of the NPCs have any magic.

Because magic hadn't been developed for the system at the time the scenario was written, I believe. Magic made its appearance in GURPS Fantasy 1e, a separate book.

Mildly surprised to see the WFRP 1e intro scenario as a negative example. I've only read through the first half (pre-dungeon) and it seemed pretty good.

Quote from: Elliot WilenBecause magic hadn't been developed for the system at the time the scenario was written, I believe. Magic made its appearance in GURPS Fantasy 1e, a separate book.

Mildly surprised to see the WFRP 1e intro scenario as a negative example. I've only read through the first half (pre-dungeon) and it seemed pretty good.

As I recall, you chase someone over rooftops then go into sewers to kill mutants.

I've not played it, but I have friends who had and none of them enjoyed it.  One had rolled up a seer, he had literally nothing he could contribute as he was not a combat character and that was all the scenario was.

Interesting on Caravan there, I still think it helped it, if you want magic in your game you can still bring it in later but not having it in the first scenario gives it a feel of rarity most games lack.

Quote from: BalbinusAs I recall, you chase someone over rooftops then go into sewers to kill mutants.

I've not played it, but I have friends who had and none of them enjoyed it.  One had rolled up a seer, he had literally nothing he could contribute as he was not a combat character and that was all the scenario was.

I recently replayed The Oldenhaller Contract with a Bawd character. I was next to useless in a fight, but still had a cracking time.

Different strokes, I suppose.

Try as I might, I can't think of one I really liked while I have no problem recalling abysmal ones. Top of the list: Exit Visa (?) for Traveller 4th. WATCH in abject boredom as the PCs try to beat a planetary bureaucracy at its own game. ROLL the dice over and over for those crucial Admin checks.

Even that CoC scenario--never GMed it, never played it, precisely because it *doesn't* have the Mythos in it, and so misleadingly presents CoC as a generic horror RPG, IMO.

Mission on Mithril, included in Starter Traveller, is o-kay, but it's counting on a smart and resourceful GM. In the hands of a noob it can be agony.

Almost as mind-boggling, 'Exit Visa' started life as a tournament adventure.

I agree that 'The Haunting' (a.k.a. 'The Haunted House') and 'The Tower of Zenopus' are rad.  I'm also very fond of the fact that my Boot Hill 2nd edition rules comes with the Gunfight at the OK Corral as a training scenario.  It's not a full adventure as such, but it's probably the single most important historical event that led the existence of the game.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityEven that CoC scenario--never GMed it, never played it, precisely because it *doesn't* have the Mythos in it, and so misleadingly presents CoC as a generic horror RPG, IMO.

Our GM, all the way back in 1st edition, very easily and effectively inserted one of the simpler mythos creatures to heighten the tension.  And for a very first adventure, it was a good primer for what would follow -- the need for investigation, the de-emphasided effectiveness of guns, the slow slip toward madness, and the hint that something was not quite right with the world.

In fact, most of my best-run CoC adventures avoided direct contact with the mythos, as they tended to be game-enders off the bat.

!i!