We’ve been having some fun discussion on G+ about favorite old-school and new old-school/OSR titles, and I in it pulled out part of my list of favorite RPG books:  adventures, supplements, rules sets, campaigns I’d most like to run, etc.  I didn’t put all of that into the G+ thread (it wasn’t all relevant), but I’ve been evolving (and reformatting…) the list over time, and thought it would be worth sharing here.

So without further ado!:

My favorite RPG adventure/module ever is Masks of Nyarlathotep for Call of Cthulhu.

The longer answer:

My favorite D&D adventures of all time (roughly in order):

  1.  G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King by Gary Gygax (D&D; TSR)
  2. Maure Castle (Paizo)/WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure by Rob Kuntz (AD&D; TSR)
  3. T1 Village of Hommlet by Gary Gygax (AD&D; TSR)
  4. A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity by David Cook (AD&D; TSR)
  5. Maze of Zayene #4 Eight Kings by Rob Kuntz (AD&D from Creations Unlimited, or d20 from Different Worlds)
  6. WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun by Gary Gygax (AD&D; TSR)
  7. Dark Druids by Rob Kuntz (1e/Guy Fullerton’s Chaotic Henchmen)
  8. D3 Vault of the Drow by Gary Gygax (AD&D; TSR)
  9. Starstone by Paul Vernon (OD&D; Northern Sages)
  10. S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth by Gary Gygax (AD&D; TSR)
  11. Caverns of Thracia by Jennell Jaquays (D&D; Judges Guild)
  12. Return of the Eight by Roger E. Moore (AD&D 2nd edition; TSR)
  13. Tomb of Abysthor by Clark Peterson and Bill Webb (d20; Necromancer Games)
  14. “Treasure of the Dragon Queen” by Rutgers University Gamers (D&D convention tourney c. 1983; Rutgers University Gamers; details on my site @ http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_tourneys_dragon_queen.html)

Honorable Mentions for D&D adventures (in no particular order):

  • Maze of Zayene #1 Prisoners of the Maze by Rob Kuntz (AD&D from Creations Unlimited, or d20 from Necromancer Games)
  • D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth by Gary Gygax (D&D; TSR)
  • The Lost Abbey of Calthonwey by Bob Charette (AD&D; Phoenix Games)
  • Castle Zagyg: Dark Chateau by Rob Kuntz (d20; Troll Lord Games)
  • Beastmaker Mountain by Bill Fawcett (AD&D; Mayfair Games)
  • R1 To the Aid of Falx by Frank Mentzer (AD&D; TSR)
  • Crucible of Freya by Clark Peterson and Bill Webb (d20; Necromancer Games)
  • CH12 Seren Ironhand by Tom Moldvay (AD&D; Challenges), as well as the two other modules in the Morandir series CH-1 The Morandir Company and CH-3 The Mountain King)
  • B1 In Search of the Unknown by Mike Carr (D&D; TSR)
  • B4 The Lost City by Tom Moldvay (D&D; TSR)
  • X2 Castle Amber by Tom Moldvay (D&D; TSR)
  • X4 Master of the Desert Nomads by David Cook (D&D; TSR)
  • X5 Temple of Death by David Cook (D&D; TSR)
  • N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God by Douglas Niles (AD&D; TSR)
  • WG6 Isle of the Ape by Gary Gygax (AD&D; TSR)
  • N5 Under Illefarn by Steve Perrin (AD&D; TSR)
  • Three Days to Kill by John Tynes (d20; Atlas Games)
  • Demons & Devils by Bill Webb and Clark Peterson (d20; Necromancer Games)
  • The Abduction of Good King Despot by Will and Schar Niebling (AD&D; New Infinities Productions)
  • The Original Bottle City by Rob Kuntz (AD&D from Black Blade Publishing in 2014, OD&D from Pied Piper Publishing in 2007)


    My favorite adventures of all time, for any system, are, in alphabetic order:

    • Angmar: Land of the Witch King (MERP; ICE)
    • Broken Covenant of Calebais (Ars Magica; Lion Rampant)
    • Caverns of Thracia (D&D; Judges Guild)
    • The Court of Ardor (MERP; ICE)
    • “Deep Sh*t” (Blue Planet convention tourney; Biohazard Games)
    • The Enemy Within campaign (Warhammer FRP; Games Workshop):  
      • The Enemy Within (1986) by Jim Bambra, Phil Gallagher, and Graeme Davis
      • Shadows Over Bögenhafen (1987) by Davis, Bambra, and Gallagher
      • Death on the Reik (1987) by Gallagher, Bambra, and Davis
      • Power Behind the Throne (1988) by Carl Sargent
      • Something Rotten in Kislev (1989) by Ken Rolston with Graeme Davis
      • Empire in Flames (1989) by Sargent
    • G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King (D&D; TSR)
    • “Grace Under Pressure” (Call of Cthulhu; Pagan Publishing)
    • Griffin Mountain (Runequest; Chaosium)
    • “In Media Res” (Call of Cthulhu; Pagan Publishing)
    • Masks of Nyarlathotep (Call of Cthulhu; Chaosium)
    • Shadows of Yog-Sothoth (Call of Cthulhu; Chaosium)
    • T1 Village of Hommlet (AD&D; TSR)
    • Tomb of Abysthor (d20; Necromancer Games)
    • “Treasure of the Dragon Queen” (D&D convention tourney c. 1983; Rutgers University Gamers; details on my site @ http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_tourneys_dragon_queen.html)
    • Walker in the Wastes (Call of Cthulhu; Pagan Publishing)
    • WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure (AD&D; TSR) and the “Maure Castle” series (d20 in Dungeon; Paizo)
    • Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues (Paranoia; West End Games)


    My favorite supplements of all time are, in alphabetical order:

    • Big Rubble (Runequest; Chaosium)
    • Chessboards: The Planes of Possibility (generic D&D; WotC)
    • Cities 2nd edition (generic D&D; Midkemia Press)
    • Delta Green (Call of Cthulhu; Pagan Publishing)
    • Different Worlds Magazine (1979-1986; Chaosium)
    • Dragon Magazine Archive (D&D; WotC)
    • Dungeon Magazine 1986 to present (TSR, WotC, Paizo)
    • Faeries (Ars Magica; Lion Rampant)
    • GURPS: Illuminati (GURPS; Steve Jackson Games)
    • GURPS: Russia (GURPS; Steve Jackson Games)
    • Order of Hermes (Ars Magica; Lion Rampant)
    • The Primal Order (generic D&D; WotC)
    • Thieves World box set (multiple systems; Chaosium)
    • World of Greyhawk box set (AD&D; TSR)


      My favorite city-based supplements and adventures of all time are (in no particular order):

        My favorite RPGs/core rule books of all time are:

        • Amber Diceless (Phage Press)
        • Ars Magica, 5th edition (Atlas Games)
        • Blue Planet, 1st edition (Biohazard Games)
        • Call of Cthulhu 5th edition (Chaosium)
        • Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium (Last Unicorn/WotC)
        • Dungeon Masters Guide, third edition revised printing (AD&D 1e; TSR)
        • Eclipse Phase (Posthuman Studios)
        • Fading Suns, 2nd edition (Holistic Design)
        • Kult, 1st edition (Metropolis Ltd.)
        • Paranoia, 2nd edition (West End Games)
        • Star Wars, 2nd edition Revised and Expanded (West End Games)
        • Vampire: The Masquerade, 1st edition (White Wolf)


          I’ll follow-up this post with favorites from Dungeon Magazine and other zines, and campaigns I’d like to run or play in next, and perhaps get a few more of my historical reviews republished to my web site RPG reviews section, too.  We’ll see….

          Allan.