Hidden Gems, Underrated and Overlooked FMs

[klatremus]

I tried to look for a similar thread to this, but was unsuccessful. If several exist and you feel i am spamming the forum, then I apologize.

I am looking for recommendations for good, solid missions for T1 and T2 that rarely get mentioned in the typical 'Best FM of All Time' threads, or even in Top 10 threads for that matter. There are so many missions out there (1,000+), yet only about 100 of them or so are normally mentioned. This thread should feature those missions not so epic, monstrous and mesmerizingly complex, but perhaps smaller, simpler, yet intriguing and fun maps.

I'll start:
The Saint of Redmound
The Affairs of Wizards
Falling Down (strange but cool)
Lady Lisa's Harbor
Lost In the Far Edges (not for everyone)
Precious
A Weekend Getaway

[Azaran]

Nightmares, a magnificent, surreal campaign. I mention it often among my top favourites, but still feel it doesn't get the recognition it deserves

[marbleman]

Saints and Thieves is a very underrated T2 mission.

[Melan]

I feel like ObservingEye's Precarious Business didn't get the attention it deserved. It is an excellent Bafford-style mission.

From the old ones, Ruined 1-3 by RostVogel is creative and ambitious, but I rarely see it mentioned.

[piesel]

I loved Secret Connections by DarkThiefDarek, recommended for who likes atmospheric mansion levels.

[Aemanyl]

Hightowne Museum. Simple, yet amazingly crafted mission.

[bassoferrol]

Focus for Thief2 is a great mission.

[klatremus]

Great! Several of these I had never even considered.
Keep 'em coming

I should add Sir William's Keep by Wille.

[Haplo]

Anything by BBB.

[downwinder]

anything by cardia and dront

[DarkMax]

Watery Grave by Squadarofl.

[ticky]

- Happy New Year, Mr. Lambert and
- Turn of the tide

are really great missions with a unique yet very thiefy atmosphere and gameplay.

[GUFF]

A lot of stuff in the OP is stuff I rated pretty highly in my FMsel data.

So here are some people may or may not have played, two of the 72hr contest missions from 2015;

Dirty Money by Drk
Vanishing Point by Skacky

Short-ish missions with a lot going for them in terms of exploration, despite being made in 72 hours or less.

[clearing]

Zealot's Hollow by Xorak.
Upside Down by Zontik.

[nickie]

If there's enough interest and suggestions, I'm up for adding (assuming there's space and everything else in the thread doesn't go bananas) a Hidden Gems category to the Fan Mission by Type thread but I'd want names of missions and 'anything by BBB or cardia and dront', though absolutely accurate, isn't very helpful. In the meantime, I'll add this to the Links thread.

[The Phantom]

Excellent idea for a thread.

I'll remember these small FMs which I enjoyed tremendously but are seldomly spoken of:
- The Cell Next Door, by Francine
- The Focus (contest 5 entry), by Ramirez's Old Fat Burrick
- The Royal Garmyth, by Hidden in Shadows
- The Cistern, by Gumdrop

[bbb]

Lord Edmund Entertains
All by Melan and Skacky
The Burgomaster
Lorgans Web
The Keep

So many more. The above are just quick thoughts.

[Yandros]

Love this thread. However...

All by Melan and Skacky.

While these guys are two of my favorite authors, I wouldn't call any of their missions "hidden gems" as their works are well known to most players. I think the point here is to name great missions either by more obscure authors, or which are among the least well known missions by an otherwise known author.

[yxlplig]

Saints and Thieves
Dark Messiah
Durant
Mystic Gems (series)
Two Fathers

I wish my memory was more reliable, I think I could've had some more obscure recommendations that this. I played every mission is a very short time span so they all kind of blend together.

Also in FMSel I've consistently rated missions by Uncadonego, PsymH, Ottoj55, and Haplo with high ratings and I don't see their missions talked about much.

[klatremus]

These are all awesome recommendations. However, like a few of you mentioned, I'd like to refocus the suggestions to specific missions, and not authors in general. Also, the thread should mainly suggest less talked about, perhaps more obscure missions, most likely by less known authors. It doesn't have to be missions that will be well liked by everybody, but could be more niche missions, either you love it or hate it kind of thing.

A good example is 'Lost In the Far Edges' by Soul Tear. I loved that mission, but I also completely understand those who hated it. If I had played it as a beginner, I would've torn my hair out. Though I still maintain it's a mission everyone should try. And I challenge everyone on this forum to ironman it...

[fortuni]

All for a Nights Sleep by Morrgan

[ticky]

Love this thread. However...

While these guys are two of my favorite authors, I wouldn't call any of their missions "hidden gems" as their works are well known to most players. I think the point here is to name great missions either by more obscure authors, or which are among the least well known missions by an otherwise known author.

I totally agree, because these two authors have "enough" and well deserved fame in the community due to their mostly T1 and TG styled, easy to recognize building style.

Just to name a few others:

The Rustler
Forgotten forest 1
Midday Escape

[pukey brunster]

Most of these aren't obscure, so much as a bit older. In no particular order:

Third Time's the Charm
A Smuggler's Request
Being Thief
The Sun Within and the Sun Without
Among Two Storms
Ashen Age
Curse of the Carnival
Embracing the Enemy
Hush Hush Sweet Harlot
The Vigil
Equilibrium
Hidden Agenda
Journey into the Underdark
And, last but not least, Benny's Dead (the first FM I ever played!)

Quick edit that I included the above because with the huge library of FM's that the community has amassed over the years, and constantly growing community, a lot of the older ones can become "obscure". Hope you can find something in this list that you might have missed.. they're all fun to play, and there are so many more I could list, too!

[Tannar]

Here are a few, though like Pukey said, there are so many more (if I could only remember them).

Evirath's Misery
A Theft in Hightowne
Ranstall Keep
Cult of the Resurrection
Events in Highrock
The Order of the Vine
Returning a Favor
Augustine's Revenge
So Long Hammers
A Cop in the Shadows

A few of these might be too well known, but are old enough that maybe many new players wouldn't hear about them in a "Best FM" list.

[Cavalorn]

From the old ones, Ruined 1-3 by RostVogel is creative and ambitious, but I rarely see it mentioned.

This a hundred times. Such an underrated gem.