Very few adventures can be played in any edition of D&D and still be awesome. The Moathouse, from T1 The Village of Hommlet, is one of those dungeons.

The Moathouse

T1 The Village of Hommlet is one of my favourite adventures of all time. Earlier this year, I blogged about why Hommlet is awesome. In the post, I threatened/promised to talk a bit about the Moathouse and why I think it’s the perfect (or near-perfect) example of a low-level dungeon.

(And yes, while writing this I was wearing my +5 rose-tinted spectacles of Gygax appreciation. I think they might be cursed; I can’t seem to remove them…)

So What’s Good?

Over 5 pages and 35 encounter areas, Gary packs an incredible amount of detail into the module. Like so many of his adventures, he gives you just enough to be going on with, and leaves you—the GM—with the design space to make the dungeon your own. Here’s the five reasons I think it’s great:

It’s Self-Contained: The Moathouse is wholly self-contained. If the party doesn’t want to progress onwards to the Temple of Elemental Evil, they aren’t forced to do so. They can simply loot the ruins and move on. While this is unlikely—most GMs will run the Moathouse as part of the greater Temple of Elemental Evil campaign—the locale can still be easily used as a standalone adventure site. It’s generic enough to be be set almost anywhere in a “normal” campaign world.
It’s Linked to Greater Adventures: While the Moathouse is self-contained, it has links to further adventures. This is great, if the PCs decide to explore the nearby Temple of Elemental Evil. Linking the two adventures takes zero effort on behalf of the GM. Even better, if the PCs don’t want to visit the temple, the temple might force the matter. If Lareth is slain—and the party identified as the perpetrators—the heroes may be the target of an assassination attempt (which could propel them into the greater adventure).
It’s Got Different Zones: The Moathouse doesn’t just contain one basic type of foe; it’s got several. The upper ruins host vermin and animals; elsewhere lurk bandits. In the lower level we’ve got undead, evil humanoids and cultists. This keeps what is essentially a slew of combats interesting and fresh and gives the heroes opportunities to use different tactics, spells and so on.
It’s Got Verisimilitude: The Moathouse reeks of realism (as far as is possible in a fantasy game); it feels like a place that could really exist. Its history, including recent events, is evident in the character and flavour of the place as well as those lurking within the ruin. The Moathouse has got lots of cool details a GM can use to flesh out the place and reward attentive play.
It’s Got a Mix of Challenges: In some places, the party must simply batter their way through the opposition. In others, they must overcome or bypass environmental challenges such as a rotting drawbridge. Secret doors, lurking traps and hidden treasures give something for the rogues to do while the undead provide a prime target for any clerics or paladins in the group. (And, of course, there’s lots of things for fighters to whack).

(In fact, I liked these facets of the Moathouse so much as used several of them to inform my design of there Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands—Raging Swan’s most popular adventure.)

So What’s Bad?

The Moathouse is a fantastic adventure locale, but (sadly) it has a couple of flaws:

Nothing for Wizards: While there is some treasure for wizards and their ilk, there’s nothing special for such characters to do in the ruins beyond cast spells.
Not A Lot of Talking: Most of the ruin’s denizens aren’t particularly pre-disposed to talk to the PCs. In most cases, combat is the inevitable (and immediate) result of encountering any given group. On the upper level, the bandits are the most likely—or only—group the party could speak with, and the text provides no guidance on the matter. In the lower level, there are a few more possibilities for roleplaying—some of the gnolls will desert if bribed and the PCs could speak with Lareth in the Chamber of the New Master. (However, this is almost certainly going to end in combat and/or betrayal).

Of course, these imperfections could be fixed by any half-competent GM but it’s a shame they exist in the first place.

So is it Perfect?

At its heart, the Moathouse is a simple two-level dungeon and that’s part of its genius. It aims to be one thing, and it does it spectacularly well. Is it perfect? No; but it’s damn close!

And even better than that, it stands the test of time superbly. I’ve run it repeatedly with multiple edition of D&D and we’ve had a blast every time. If you haven’t run your current group through the Moathouse (and if they haven’t visited Hommlet) stop reading this and go dust off your copy!

Do You Agree?

In any event, do you agree? Is there a better low-level dungeon (not adventure, dungeon) out there? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below!