Module Database, GDQ series

GDQ series:

Series overview: The D series, G series and Q module form a gigantic series, eventually republished as GDQ. A large part of Q1 takes place on the outer planes.

Personal notes

This is the bash to end all bashes (with a nod to Temple of elemental evil). I actually think Mr Gygax was taking the Michael some what with parts of these adventures, but I am willing to go along with the joke because some of the sections are stunningly cool. Sadly its let down on two fronts, firstly by the last dungeon (Q1) which fails to live up to the hype and secondly by the fact that for all the pixie dust and rose tinted eye lens this is a bash, plane and simple.

G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 9 of levels 8-12

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1978

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: None

What you get: 8 page booklet and cover.

Summary: Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. A party of brave and powerful characters have been assembled and charged to punish the miscreant giants, starting at the fortress of the hill giant Nosnra.

Personal notes

Itís a bash, a good one but a bash. People usually end up wading into the main room and just rolling dice for hours.

G2: Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 9 of levels 9-10

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1978

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: None

What you get: 16 page booklet with cover

Summary: The trail of the giant raids leads to this rift, where live frost giants and other nasties.

Personal note

My fave of the three giant series, I made the brown mold invisible and scared the hell out of my group. Watch a movie with lots of snow in it before you play this one.

G3: Hall of the Fire Giant King

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: ? of levels 8-12

Personal Notes

The largest of the three adventures and has a strange ending which effectively makes it a story driven adventure. You get a sneak look at the Drow and thatís your lot. Fun if a little hard on your dice rolling hand.

G1-3: Against the Giants

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 9 of levels 8-12

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1981

New spells: Crystalbrittle (M9), Energy Drain (M9)

New magical items: None

New creatures: Drow elf

What you get: 32 page booklet with two covers

Summary: This module is a collection of the previous three modules.

Notes: This was originally a tournament module.

Personal notes

The easiest way to own the three modules, sadly no additional effort was made to link the stories (unlike the collected slavers series.)

D1: Descent into the Depths of the Earth

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 7-9 of levels 9-12

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1978

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: Jermlaine (FF 53, MoM 176)

What you get: 14 page booklet and cover with fold-out picture

Summary: After taking on the giants in the G series, the PCs go after the instigators of the raids in the Underdark.

Personal notes

I like this more than D2, here we get a few encounters with Drow and some idea on how to stretch out the underground adventure. I refuse to believe anyone ran this as suggested, it would have taken weeks of real time play to get through all the under ground caverns.

D2: Shrine of the Kuo-Tua

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 7-9 of levels 10-14

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1978

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: Kuo-toa (FF 57, MoM 215), Svirfneblin (FF 84, MoM 159)

What you get: 20 page booklet and cover with fold-out map

Summary: The PCs enter and pass through a religous shrine to Blibdoolpoolp, the sea mother goddess, on their way through the Underdark.

Personal note

I never saw the interest in this module, its hardly gripping and appears to be a lesson in mindless dungeon design. As an insight to the Kuo-Toa is offers little beyond fighters and a lobster headed goddess.

D3: Vault of the Drow

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: 6-9 of level 10

Written by: Gary Gygax

Year: 1978

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: Lolth (FF 24, Myth 62, FOR2 34), Mezzodaemon (FF 66, MC8), Nycademon (FF 69, MC8), Kuo-toa (FF 57, MoM 215), Svirfneblin (FF 84, MoM 159)

What you get: 32 page booklet and cover with fold-out map

Summary: The PCs reach the Drow city where the giant raids were instigated. But who instigated the instigators?

Personal notes

In light of the novels and other Drow related material that has been released, I think its fair to say the Drow got a raw deal with this adventue. its true they where still only a twinkle TSR's eye when commited to paper, but even so they deserved a better showing than they got here.

Value to modern players

A most of you will have read the books or seenmore pictures you could take the raw material and make this much better.

Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: for levels 10-14

Written by: David C. Sutherland III with Gary Gygax

Year: 1980

New spells: None

New magical items: None

New creatures: Drider (MMII 61, MoM 113), Pedipalp (MMII 100, FOR2 118), Scorpion (MMII 107, MoM 309), Solifugid (MMII 112, FOR2 122), Yochlol (MMII 130, FOR2 126), Lolth (FF 24, Myth 62, FOR2 34)

What you get: 32 page booklet with 2 covers

Summary: The PCs, on the trail of the Spider Queen after the G and D series, enter her outer plane abode to confront her there.

Personal notes

I have always held that his module missed the mark. The starts great, the spells that won't work on the plane of Lloth, the odd pathways the insane early rooms, it builds up at a great rate. Then about half way through it looses it. You end up in a huge metal spider building and it just spirals into blandness. When you get to meet the queen at the end its more with a sense of 'at last lets kill her and move onto a better module' than 'hooray the end of an epic' We where cheated with this one, if it had kept pace with the first 15 rooms it would have been untouchable..

GDQ: Queen of the Spiders

Setting: AD&D 1st Edition, Greyhawk

Characters: ? of levels 8-14

Year: ???

Notes: This module is a combination of modules D1, D2, D3, G1, G2,G3 and Q1.

Personal notes

I am at a total loss why the re edit the slavers got appears to have been a fluke, the is the slimmest of collections, hardly anything new is added and the basic problems of the entire series have not even been slightly addressed. This is still a high concept story line hindered by a bash dungeon system it needs a re write to make it great once more.