RPG Review: AD&D 1e: S1-S4: Dungeons of Dread

With the rerelease of classic D&D products, it was only a matter of time before Wizards unleashed the most fearsome of their dungeons back into the world.

Dungeons of Dread is a fantastic new supplement that provides for classic dungeons for your 1st Edition victims… I mean… players.

These are the four classic S-Series adventures designed by the venerated Gary Gygax: Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. All four adventures are presented with their original text and illustrations.

Tomb of Horrors is particularly brutal. This dungeon, for those who don’t know, is designed as an adventure meant for cons, where players have a set of multiple pregenerated characters, and attempt to make it through the dungeon before all of their characters die. The advantage to having pregenerated characters is that you won’t be sending in your hero you’ve spent the last four years grooming, only to lose him to a save vs. death poison trap. This dungeon is just awful. I had never read the module before, and after reading it, I knew I needed to sit down and gather up some players to brave it. None have volunteered so far (the cowards). We’ll have to see if I can find any brave enough soon.

The second adventure, White Plume Mountain, is a hunt for three legendary monsters through a tricky and brilliant dungeon. There are lots of diagrams to explain some of the strange magical effects of the dungeon such as streams flowing through the air, bizarre terraced rooms and deadly swinging platforms over boiling mud. This dungeon is a pretty cool one, and feels distinctly a genuine classic.

Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is one that I’ve heard a lot of derisive comments about. In this adventure, the heroes actually venture into a massive crashed spaceship and deal with aliens, monsters, biodomes and laser guns. Personally, I really enjoyed this module. If pulled off my a good DM, I don’t think it would feel hokey, particularly if the DM were to avoid using words like spaceship, alien or laser gun, and instead present it in fantasy terms. I think it could actually be a fantastic game session. There are some really cool elements to this module, including some tables that actually require rolls to see how a futuristic piece of technology functions. There is also a large equipment section for different weapons and items. Very cool stuff.

In the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, ancient treasures from a long-dead arch-mage wait those who would be brave enough to battle gnolls, wyverns, golems, giant crickets (yes, crickets), formians and more. This module is a pretty cool one with a complex labyrinth, a massive wilderness map, multiple caverns and lots and lots of cool monsters. This one feels like a complete campaign in and of itself with its off-the-rails open world map and cool and varied magical items. This is a very cool adventure.

This whole book is steeped in classic gaming legend. It’s a definite must buy, even if you don’t play 1st Edition, as it will provide you with a wealth of new ideas for any game.

Full Disclosure: Wizards of the Coast sent me a review copy of this game.