What's the best way to run a module?

Hi all, looking for a little more advice here (gotten some great stuff for an earlier problem). I'm just about to start really getting into Forge of Fury with my players but I have a small problem: This is the first prefab module I've ever used. I found the first section more difficult to run than I expected and I was wondering if there are any tips for running modules.

Since someone else created it, I seem to have a hard time remembering where everything and everyone is and how the dungeon residents would react to intrusions into their turf. Much easier when you place it all yourself I think. I've played through a few mods in my time but this is the first time I've tried running one and I don't think I did the first part very well at all.

Any advice for using Forge (or any module for that matter) more effectively?

in my opinion a module that has any detail at all takes nearly as much prep time as a homebrewed one.

spend so much time with the module that you knwo it like you made it, the more you can game wihtout referencing the document, the better

Yep. To do a good job, you'll have to spend a lot of time on it. It's one of the reasons I think modules should actually be a little boring. The idea -- in my arrogant opinion -- is to make the DMs life easier by throwing him a canned adventure. The DM runs the generic, purchased adventure while he plans the next one on his own.

Also, things like how the monsters react to the PCs really ought to be covered in there somewhere. I don't have Forge though, so I can't tell you much about it.

For FoF in particular, I redrew all the maps on graph paper (with 5' squares - mush easier to translate onto a battlemat in a hurry), then read through the whole module and made notes in the appropriate areas: highlighting areas with existing light sources, flagging areas into which critters might move, etc.

Whenever I've used premade adventures I read it 2-3 times hi-lighting inmortant areas with different colored markers. Once you understand it fully, incorporate ideas and events from your preexisting world. Drop names and events as you can that make it more of your world than a drop in adventure. Then, given the idea you have a sence you know your players, each week read through that much info and write up notes on it. Things to do/change and so on.

Basically-
1. Read through it
2. Modify/clareify sections of interest to suit your wants
3. Break it down into sections
4. Play each section and modify as needed.

As said above, it takes a lot of work to put in a premade adventure but it can break up any patterns you had made which may keep your players on their toes and thus happier players!

Ok, First thing is read the whole thing at least once.

Then take the maps and make some copies so you can make notes.

Read thru the adventure again, this time have note paper and your map copies with you. Make as many notes as you need (on both) for you to refrence as you go.

IF you come across anything you don't understand, look it up now not during the game.

SPOILERS-----



















For the battle at the gate, make a small timeline/order of events log. Set a starting event; (IE - the guards outside finally seeing the party.) List out each round what the guards basic plan is, assuming the party doesn't do something to screw that up. (IE - guards out front again.... 2 step up to stop party while one runs up to warn other guards and start closing door.)

As the rounds go by, based on the info in the module contiue to lay out the NPC's plan. In this case you could end up with the entire orc warparty in the cavern room fighting the party.

Last step... review all your notes a few hours/night before the game.

I realize this seems like a lot of work, but it will acomplish several things. 1. you have a plan and don't have to make it up on the fly in the game along with everything else. 2. It helps to get to know the module. 3. It will help keep the game flowing for you & your players.


Let me know if you have more ?'s

JDragon

Up until running RttToEE, I had never used a module in all of 14 years DM'ing. It was a regrettable experience however I learned a few things from it, both about myself and about running a game using a module.

I won't bore you with the stuff about myself and instead get straight on to what I learned.

Firstly, the best way to do things is as everybody else has said; learn the module inside and out.

I also agree with a previous poster that redoing maps ahead of time to fit on a 5-ft. grid is quite useful. Also, going over the module whilst referencing the maps will help you in game as you try and remember what room = what encounter.

The greatest thing I learned from the experience, however, was to NOT reference the module during the game.

Without realizing it -until it was too late-, I let the module take over the game, which made it inflexible. I couldn't react to player tangents, of which most players tend to go off on quite a bit, and I feel the game suffered because of that. For some reason, I couldn't work outside of the module and I found all my previous skills of running things on the fly were suddenly inaccessible. I think this was due, in part, to the focus I had on the module; for some reason, my brain couldn't wrap around the concept of allowing players the freedom to explore their options.

So my advice is to learn the module and then throw it out. By all means, use the plot, the maps, the creatures, the NPC's, etc., but use them in a way that they're spurs for adventure and not a roadmap to be followed to the letter. If you forget what is in a room, make something up on the spot that you think is appropriate. Things getting a little dull? Spice it up with a random encounter that you invent on a whim!

Lots of good advice so far but I'll chip in this...

Take the maps, or copies of them, and use some colored pencils to outline Zones of Control for the various minions. You might even mark several layers of Zones noting not only where they might become aware by sounds, but also by flagrant sounds and by actual spotting. The text in the module may help you in this but it may not have already been translated to the maps, which are your best friend while running the module because they can be checked at a glance.

Go ahead and also place the creatures at stations on the maps based on a few different times of day. In the margins of the map set a plan for each stationed creature as a short list of reactions or options, depending on how things go and based on the PCs actions. If Zones of control overlap this can effect where a creature's major attention is drawn and might have a couple of effects; creatures might be too busy to immeditely react to PCs or encounters with one creature may set off a chain reaction from Zone to Zone.

Status Quo encounters, where creatures just wait for the PCs, may be fine if the encounter locations are far enough apart. But if the encounters are tightly grouped, be sure that you plan out how they might effect one another. That planning helps to keep things lively.

I use an old trick I learned in college -

I rewrite the material. Once you rewrite the material, it has filtered through both the reading and writing portions of your brain, and it's yours forever - or at least for a couple of months.

If you don't have that kind of devotion or time, the best thing is to make a key. Create a numbered key of all the sections, making it one paragraph or less for each section. Put abbreviated stat blocks in each one, and this will give you the most important information when the PC's do something unexpected (like enter through a secret passage.)

Good advice from all, thanks. Especially Henry's one about rewriting it to get the info locked into the brain through two different inputs. Something I hadn't thought of. Unfortunately, as he mentioned, time is at a bit of a premium so it's not very feasible right now. Still, rewriting certain key areas should help solidify them for me.

Thanks again all. This place rocks for good suggestions. I am so glad I decided to start posting.