A Walk Through D&D’s Past (with Saving Throws!)

May 20, 2017

Tales From the Yawning Portal is the latest hardback for Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike previous books, this one is less a complete campaign and more a collection of greatest hits. Each one has been updated for 5th edition, with fresh new layout, maps, and art. (If you’re looking for reprints of some of the oldest RPG material out there, we have good news from Goodman Games. Keep your eyes on this blog to learn more!)

The adventures chosen for this compilation were the ones that players and DMs still talk about years later, the challenges that have stood the test of time. These include Against the Giants, one of the first series of linked adventures that served as the prototype for Dragonlance and the adventure paths we enjoy today; The Sunless Citadel, considered by many to be among the best introductory adventures of all time; and White Plume Mountain, a classic fun-house adventure designed to challenge the players as much as their characters. The cherry atop this sundae of saving-throws and sorcery is Tomb of Horrors, considered by many to be the deadliest D&D adventure ever published, and the epitome of old-fashioned “competitive” D&D.

You could easily string all of the adventures in Tales From the Yawning Portal into a coherent campaign, but they probably work best seeded into your existing campaign. As experienced DMs know, players quickly learn how a DM thinks, and they can divine all sorts of information from what they’ve seen their DM do in the past. But sprinkle in a few adventures written by someone else, and suddenly players can’t rely on their knowledge of the DM so much. Why not use some of the best ever written to throw them a few curveballs and inject some variety into your game?

You can find Tales From the Yawning Portal at your Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® today.

MORE FROM LAIR BEASTS/THE BLOG

September 1, 2022

GMing Yourself

Solo gaming, that is, playing a wargame or an RPG by yourself, was rising in pop...

Read more

Accessibility Toolbar