Category Archives: Role-playing game history

Dead Gods (1997): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 5

Posted on June 6, 2019 by David Hartlage

Dead Gods (1997) is a second-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure by Monte Cook for levels 6-9. Dead Gods boasts more than the best title of any D&D adventure, it features the most audacious storytelling. To start, the book includes … Continue reading →

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Madness at Gardmore Abbey (2011): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 6

Posted on June 5, 2019 by David Hartlage

Madness at Gardmore Abbey (2011) is a fourth-edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure by James Wyatt with Creighton Broadhurst and Steve Townshend for levels 6-8. Fourth edition’s early scenarios lavished attention on combat encounters strung into linear adventures designed to ensure … Continue reading →

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Vault of the Dracolich (2013): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 7

Posted on June 4, 2019 by David Hartlage

Vault of the Dracolich is a D&D Next adventure By Mike Shea, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, and Teos Abadia for level 4 characters. The Living Greyhawk organized-play campaign pioneered a popular new way to play Dungeons & Dragons at conventions. In … Continue reading →

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Sunless Citadel (2000): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 8

Posted on June 3, 2019 by David Hartlage

Sunless Citadel (2000) is a third-edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure by Bruce Cordell for levels 1-3. When Dungeons & Dragons started, creating an introductory adventure must have been easy. The adventure setting could stick close to the mundane: back alleys … Continue reading →

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Tomb of Annihilation (2017): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 9

Posted on May 30, 2019 by David Hartlage

Tomb of Annihilation (2017) is a fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure by Chris Perkins, Will Doyle, and Steve Winter for levels 1-11. Chris Perkins approach to adventure design seems to start with a collision of classic influences. Out of the … Continue reading →

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The Gates of Firestorm Peak (1996): Greatest D&D Adventures Since 1985—Number 10

Posted on May 29, 2019 by David Hartlage

The Gates of Firestorm Peak (1996) is a second-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure by Bruce Cordell for levels 5-8. When TSR introduced the second-edition Player’s Option books, new designer Bruce Cordell drew the job of writing an adventure highlighting … Continue reading →

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Why Did So Many Classic Adventures Come From 7 Years of D&D’s 45-Year History?

Posted on May 28, 2019 by David Hartlage

When Dungeons & Dragons fans rate adventures, the ones published early get the most accolades. In 2004, Dungeon magazine listed the greatest adventures of all time. Of 30 adventures, 20 came from 1985 or earlier. TSR started publishing adventures in … Continue reading →

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Why Dungeon & Dragons Dropped Assassins and Renamed Thieves

Posted on May 21, 2019 by David Hartlage

Why did D&D’s second edition drop assassins and its third edition change thieves to rogues? Continue reading →

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In 1981 a Troll Named Grimtooth Set a Path for Today’s D&D Books

Posted on April 30, 2019 by David Hartlage

Starting in 1981, Flying Buffalo Games published a series of Grimtooth’s Traps books. They featured diagrams of traps that showed heroes on the verge of being folded, spindled, and mutilated. For instance, one sample shows a covered pit trap where … Continue reading →

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The History of Traps In Dungeons & Dragons

Posted on April 9, 2019 by David Hartlage

In original Dungeons & Dragons, the three brown books only include one rule for traps. “Traps are usually sprung by a roll of a 1 or a 2 when any character passes over or by them.” That’s it. Except for … Continue reading →

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