Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
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- This article is about published adventures specifically for Dungeons & Dragons. See Adventure (role-playing games) for general information regarding adventures in role-playing games. For other meanings, see adventure (disambiguation).
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, adventure or module is a term for pre-packaged books or box sets that help the dungeonmaster to manage the plot or story of a game. The term adventure is currently the preferred term.
In early editions of the game these publications were commonly referred to as modules, which stems from the term dungeon module, used to refer to the earliest adventures published by TSR, with other variation on the module name appearing on latter adventures. The term module continued to be popular among players original Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons even after newer publications were labeled adventure. Adventures that appear as a part of a larger accessory are often referred to as scenarios.
The exact differences between the terms adventure, module, scenario, and accessory is hard to precisely define in Dungeons & Dragons terminology, as they all have been used in different ways.
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[edit] History of official modules and adventures
The first Dungeons & Dragons scenario was called "Temple of the Frog", which was included in the original Blackmoor Dungeons & Dragons supplement published by TSR in 1975. This scenario was later developed into the full "Expert Game Adventure" module DA2 - Temple of the Frog
The first stand-alone Dungeons & Dragons adventure module was produced in 1976 and was called Palace of the Vampire Queen, and was produced by Wee Warriors and in the first three printings distributed by TSR. It was referred to simply as "Dungeon Masters Kit - Number 1", without mention of the word module or adventure.
This was followed by Lost Caverns of Tsojconth, which was originally the tournament module for Wintercon V in 1976 and later published by Metro Detroit Gamers in a fairly limited print run. This module was released by TSR after being rewritten for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as S4 - Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth in 1982.
The first Dungeons & Dragons module produced by TSR was Module G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant Chief in 1978 after it was originally used as a tournament module at Origins '78.
[edit] Contents of Adventures
The standard adventure is essentially an "adventure kit" including a backstory, maps and one or more objectives for the players to obtain. Some include numerous illustrations. A Dungeon Master could purchase these pre-made adventures and use it or parts of it for a gaming session. The early format was a single booklet inserted, but not fixed, in a cardboard cover. As time went by the format and information included in module increased in variety. Dark Sun modules, for example, contained top-spiralbound notebooks. Eventually, the line blurred somewhat between what was an accessory or supplement and a module.
Modules had a suggested character level, often displayed prominently on the cover, and from the late 1980's prominently display the logo of the campaign setting they were set in. Some modules were reprints or revisions of modules used at gaming conventions before being published. All early modules are now out of print, though some have been reprinted in revised form. As such, many early modules are now highly sought-out collector items, particularly the earliest printings.
[edit] Module Codes
Except for a few early limited edition modules, all modules of early Dungeons & Dragons were denoted with a code consisting of a letter and a number. Modules within a letter set were usually somehow related, either thematically or as a series of linked adventures. For example, Z1 may be a prologue to Z2. Or Z1, Z2 and Z3 may have the adventurers fighting a similar enemy such as beholders. Though related, most modules were stand-alone and could be played without playing any of the other related modules.
TSR also used the module coding system on modules for several of non-Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying games including modules for (Advanced) Marvel Super-Heroes and the Conan Roleplaying Game. The module code was de-emphasised in the late 1980s, which also saw the campaign setting logo become a main feature of the cover. The code was dropped altogether by the end of 1993.
[edit] See also
- List of Dungeons & Dragons modules - for adventure modules up until the publication of 3rd Edition D&D
- List of Dungeons & Dragons adventures - for all adventure modules after that point
