Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)

:"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 Dungeon Master 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 variations on the module name appearing on latter adventures. The term "module" continued to be popular among players of the 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 are hard to precisely define in Dungeons & Dragons terminology, as they all have been used in different ways.

History of official modules and adventures

The first published Dungeons & Dragons scenario was "Temple of the Frog", included in 1975's "Blackmoor" Dungeons & Dragons rules supplement. This scenario was later developed into the stand-alone module DA2 - "Temple of the Frog" for the D&D Expert set rules (TSR, 1986).

The first stand-alone Dungeons & Dragons adventure module, "Palace of the Vampire Queen", was published in 1976 by Wee Warriors. Although TSR did not produce this module, the company did distribute the first three printings on behalf of Wee Warriors. The adventure was described as a "Dungeon Masters Kit" rather than a "module" or an "adventure."

Also in 1976, the adventure "Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" was distributed by Metro Detroit Gamers as the tournament module for the gaming convention Wintercon V, but was not published for general distribution at the time. The adventure was later re-written for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules and published as module S4 - "The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth" (TSR, 1982).

Additional unpublished adventures were distributed at gaming conventions during this period, including "Steading of the Hill Giant Chief", used as a tournament module for Origins '78. Later in 1978, "Steading of the Hill Giant Chief" became the first stand-alone Dungeons & Dragons module actually produced and published by TSR. The company initiated its practice of assigning a code to each module published at the time, assigning the "G1" code to "Steading of the Hill Giant Chief". TSR's practice of coding modules into various series would continue into the 1990's.

Contents of Adventures

The standard adventure is essentially an "adventure kit" including a backstory, maps and one or more objectives for the players to fulfill. 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.

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.

ee 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 the publication of 3rd Edition D&D