adventure creation guidelines
- Thread starter howandwhy99
- Start date
FinalSonicX
First Post
I think encounter building rules are a must - not only for typical encounters but also for set piece encounters. I think rules for random encounters if they're in the next edition would be interesting to read even though I very rarely use encounter tables.
Overland travel tables are also a must for me I think. In general, details on how to handle exploration and travel, so I know whether or not I had better start mocking up my own for quick use or if I can rely on Wizards to pull through in this regard.
I'd also love to see rules for NPC's and their dwellings - towns and cities and all that. How is trade/commerce handled? Are there rules to support all manner of "mundane" occurrences in towns and cities? I'd love to see what they can come up with.
And finally, I'd like to see some treasure distribution tables to understand what kind of treasure output is "assumed". That said, I know "modular" is a big word in the new edition so if the treasure output is all modular then I'd understand if those rules were not in the playtest.
Whatever they give us, I don't want the guidelines to be primarily fluff-centric or "how do you make a cool idea into an adventure?" because frankly almost all of the DMs who will be participating in the playtest probably already know how to craft a good story.
Overland travel tables are also a must for me I think. In general, details on how to handle exploration and travel, so I know whether or not I had better start mocking up my own for quick use or if I can rely on Wizards to pull through in this regard.
I'd also love to see rules for NPC's and their dwellings - towns and cities and all that. How is trade/commerce handled? Are there rules to support all manner of "mundane" occurrences in towns and cities? I'd love to see what they can come up with.
And finally, I'd like to see some treasure distribution tables to understand what kind of treasure output is "assumed". That said, I know "modular" is a big word in the new edition so if the treasure output is all modular then I'd understand if those rules were not in the playtest.
Whatever they give us, I don't want the guidelines to be primarily fluff-centric or "how do you make a cool idea into an adventure?" because frankly almost all of the DMs who will be participating in the playtest probably already know how to craft a good story.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
I'll be really interested to see what goes in those guidelines.
What would I put in 'em?
1. Make it modular. Give it barely enough backstory to justify its own existence, don't try to shoehorn it into a pre-existing setting (or if you do, make the setting ties as loose as possible), and design it with the intention that any DM will be able to take it and drop it into her own game and-or setting with minimal revision.
2. Make it one single adventure. Too many times have I seen adventure modules written like a book - chapter 1, chapter 2, etc. - which is fine if the players are willing to go through the chapters in order and completely pointless if they don't. If you find you're writing chapters, write them as smaller individual adventures instead.
3. Give it variety. If it's playtested 10 times and each party approaches and-or defeats it differently you have a winnah. Have more than one entrance. Have multiple connections between levels. Have some foes that stay put and others that move around. And so on.
4a. Follow tradition. Include at least one standard D&D trope - a pit trap or two, an illusion, a dragon - something that makes it obviously D&D.
4b. Break tradition. Make sure your adventure includes at least one element you've never seen before - if you're an experienced player/DM and you haven't seen something, chances are most others haven't either. A new monster, a new spell, a new class even...but something new and - with luck - memorable.
5a. Make sure the maps agree with the written descriptions. This should be obvious. Too often it isn't.
5b. Make sure the map is clear about what is where, with a scale and compass. Again, this should be obvious...
6. Make sure the "boxed descriptions" make sense no matter which door the party enters through. Far too often the writers assume entry through door A, forcing the DM to frantically revise it on the fly when the party comes in through door C.
7. Put all the info for a given encounter/room/area together. It's just easier to run that way.
8a. When in doubt, write less. Keep descriptions short and stat blocks shorter.
8b. That said, try to cover some of the more obvious what-ifs. What if a party has flight? What if the party is all the same class? What if they let the demon loose rather than leave it alone? What if they try to open the gate to hell rather than close it? What if they melt the only key to the princess' cell in a fireball, or accidentally shatter the artifact they were sent to find*? Etc.
* - I have played in a party that did this - man, did that DM have to improvise!
How's that for a start?
Lanefan
What would I put in 'em?
1. Make it modular. Give it barely enough backstory to justify its own existence, don't try to shoehorn it into a pre-existing setting (or if you do, make the setting ties as loose as possible), and design it with the intention that any DM will be able to take it and drop it into her own game and-or setting with minimal revision.
2. Make it one single adventure. Too many times have I seen adventure modules written like a book - chapter 1, chapter 2, etc. - which is fine if the players are willing to go through the chapters in order and completely pointless if they don't. If you find you're writing chapters, write them as smaller individual adventures instead.
3. Give it variety. If it's playtested 10 times and each party approaches and-or defeats it differently you have a winnah. Have more than one entrance. Have multiple connections between levels. Have some foes that stay put and others that move around. And so on.
4a. Follow tradition. Include at least one standard D&D trope - a pit trap or two, an illusion, a dragon - something that makes it obviously D&D.
4b. Break tradition. Make sure your adventure includes at least one element you've never seen before - if you're an experienced player/DM and you haven't seen something, chances are most others haven't either. A new monster, a new spell, a new class even...but something new and - with luck - memorable.
5a. Make sure the maps agree with the written descriptions. This should be obvious. Too often it isn't.
5b. Make sure the map is clear about what is where, with a scale and compass. Again, this should be obvious...
6. Make sure the "boxed descriptions" make sense no matter which door the party enters through. Far too often the writers assume entry through door A, forcing the DM to frantically revise it on the fly when the party comes in through door C.
7. Put all the info for a given encounter/room/area together. It's just easier to run that way.
8a. When in doubt, write less. Keep descriptions short and stat blocks shorter.
8b. That said, try to cover some of the more obvious what-ifs. What if a party has flight? What if the party is all the same class? What if they let the demon loose rather than leave it alone? What if they try to open the gate to hell rather than close it? What if they melt the only key to the princess' cell in a fireball, or accidentally shatter the artifact they were sent to find*? Etc.
* - I have played in a party that did this - man, did that DM have to improvise!
How's that for a start?
Lanefan
Blackwarder
Adventurer
Don't hold your breath to the advantures creation guidelines, that quote was directed to me via tweeter when I asked MM if we need to make advantures for the playtest.
I don't want to speculate on the advantures creation guidelines before seeing the playtest advantures, i do hope though that it will be interesting, especially considering the fact that they mentioned moving away from per encounter design to per advanture.
Warder
Since we know 5e is making a big deal out of the game being about the "3 pillars" of Combat, Exploration, and Interaction/Social, I would expect the number one guideline for adventure building will be/say, just that.
Building an adventure should include elements (in any variety of percentages) of all three. Give the players a chance to engage and immerse in combat and other areas of the adventure with exploration and other areas where interaction is what's important...and/or mix n' match to include them in tandem. Maybe one encounter requires some exploration and interaction...and if that fails, then combat ensues. Or combat and exploration...but a particular party or character might be able to get through it on their social skills....etc.
Every character has skills of greater or lesser degree for each of these and the guidelines, i expect, will reenforce that any/all characters be given their opportunities to shine in each of the "pillars" of the game.
What you do beyond that...?...I suppose is really just a matter of fluffing how/which pillars you use and how/where you tie them together into a/the coherent story of an adventure.
--SD
Building an adventure should include elements (in any variety of percentages) of all three. Give the players a chance to engage and immerse in combat and other areas of the adventure with exploration and other areas where interaction is what's important...and/or mix n' match to include them in tandem. Maybe one encounter requires some exploration and interaction...and if that fails, then combat ensues. Or combat and exploration...but a particular party or character might be able to get through it on their social skills....etc.
Every character has skills of greater or lesser degree for each of these and the guidelines, i expect, will reenforce that any/all characters be given their opportunities to shine in each of the "pillars" of the game.
What you do beyond that...?...I suppose is really just a matter of fluffing how/which pillars you use and how/where you tie them together into a/the coherent story of an adventure.
--SD
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