D&D 5E What do you want in a published adventure? / Adventure design best practices?

I know this topic has come up many times, but I continue to try to parse that magic formula that makes a great adventure. Maybe there are eternal truths to good adventure design, and maybe what we as gamers want from adventures is evolving. Specifically, I'm asking about published adventures (because, presumably, DMs can make things exactly as they like it in their homemade adventures).

What do you want in a published adventure? And, a related question, what do you consider to be "best practice" when it comes to adventure writing and design?

I'll try to watch the conversation for patterns, record them, and maybe brainstorm for creating a poll later on.

[SBLOCK=My initial thoughts]One thing I have open when I'm writing an adventure (whether home or published) is a page of notes with design precepts on it. Things like...

• Adventure starts fast and avoids a cliche starting point
• Avoid boxed text
• Coherent succint backstory, with ways for PCs to learn it
• Designed with an eye toward modular use by homebrew DMs
• Make it self-contained
• A Relationship Map if the NPC-NPC dynamics are complex
• An Index!
• Great Map!
• Include more INT, WIS, and CHA saves
• “Linear” in that there’s a clear path through the adventure which players *may* follow
• Locations = Familiar, Functional, Fantastic
• Mysteries should draw on Gumshoe Rule & Three Clue Rule
• Opportunities to interact with a villain without violence
• “Quality not quantity, avoid bland areas, avoid too many encounters
• “Sandboxy” in that there are multiple ways to address main conflict
• Take into account PC abilities of the level(s) adventure is written for
• Unexpected narrative twists
• Uses for downtime during an adventure (within or outside of the adventure proper)?
• Variety is the spice – encounter parameters, monster types, terrain
• Well-organized (color tabs, hyperlinks, enough but not too much white space)

[/SBLOCK]

EDIT 8/2/2017: I'm going to try to be a good thread custodian! As of post #162 here's what we're talking about...

OVERLAP

Boxed text, direction-neutral & concise – (8) Lanefan, transtemporal, LordEntrails, Charles Rampant, Schmoe, happy hermit, ArwensDaughter, ad_hoc

Good useful comprehensive maps (before area descriptions) – (6) LordEntrails, ExploderWizard, vincegetorix, Eltab, Jester David, Charles Rampant

What ifs (player actions) & Monster plans/reactions – (6) Lanefan, transtemporal, ExploderWizard, Ibranteloth, ArwensDaughter, Li Shenron

Monsters/NPCs with motivations…and relationships! – (6) robus, ExploderWizard, hastur_nz, Charles Rampant, Ibranteloth, ArwensDaughter

3.5e/4e style full page encounters (segragated monsters, treasure, traps, etc) – (5) shoak1, aco175, Ibranteloth, LordEntrails, ArwensDaughter

Layout that's clear, useful at table, and condenses info while keeping it readable (e.g. 9 pt font, leading 11 pts, diminishing horizontal scale) – (4) Lanefan, steeldragons, hawkeyefan, ratskinner

Clearly connected encounters/plot progression for groups preferring linear narrative – (4) shoak1, LordEntrails, Eltab, LostSoul

1e style abbreviated monster stats in room descriptions – (5) Lanefan, steeldragons, Schmoe, JohnnyP71, LordEntrails

Monster stat appendix in the back (4) – Eltab, Schmoe, happyhermit, LordEntrails

Something different/new (magic item, monster, NPC, trap, spell, etc) (3) – Lanefan, Schmoe, Charles Rampant

Limited Backstory, relevant to players/they can find out – (3) Lanefan, shoak1, Yavathol

Modular bits – (3) Eltab, Jester David, happy hermit

Compiled index of all monsters used in the adventure for DM token/minis prep – (3) css, JohnnyP71, happy hermit

Limited scope, self-contained (3) – LordEntrails, css, Lanefan

Maps (separate/pull-out for DMs & players) – (3) robus, JohnnyP71, Lanefan

Subsystems or rules variants appropriate to adventure – (3) Charles Rampant, Tony Vargas, Lanefan

Event/story development track or flowchart, dynamic story, “if the players do nothing…” – (3) Lanefan, hastur_nz, Tobold

Inventive design & good/imaginative ideas – (2) hastur_nz, Jester David

Ways to limit rests – (2) shoak1, JohnnyP71

Index if needed – (2) LordEntrails, happy hermit

Fun-to-read, flowing writing, non-formulaic – (2) happy hermit, Charles Rampant

Chapters/section playable on their own – (2) Carmen Sbordone, Ibranteloth

Run with no prep – (2) Libramarian, Li Shenron

Printer-friendly / detachable map – (2) ArwensDaughter, Li Shenron

*Readable* in-line monster stats – (2) pogre, LordEntrails

OTHER COMMENTS

Dungeon with multiple ingress/egress points, loops, multiple methods between levels (some which skip levels), secret areas, intentional “holes”, length of stairs noted – Lanefan

No boxed text (esp. not wordy) – robus

Sensible wandering monsters or none – Lanefan

No random monsters – robus

Innovative use of environment – Ath-kethin

Include stuff that breaks rules without explanation, i.e. “the Weird Stuff” – Ath-kethin

Chapter synopses & conclusions – transtemporal

Natural, organic language/description – Luz

Level appropriate encounters & treasure – shoak1

Relationship maps if needed – LordEntrails

“Dungeon dressing” – ExploderWizard

More complex “skill challenges” like UA traps – vincegetorix

PDF reference sheet of rooms – fjw70

Catchy title – ccs

Evocative cover art – css

Use rarely used monsters – css

Printable PDF of maps 1 sq = 1 in – css

Real danger – css

Well-organized room descriptions – Schmoe

Multiple adventure threads, esp. in “setting”-type adventures – Schmoe

Hyperlinking (for PDF/digital adventures) – hawkeyefan

Teach new DMs how to run/design advanced games – Jester David

Introduction providing breakdown of story beats & where to find stuff – Jester David

Town/region for the DM’s further use (e.g. Hommlet or Phandalin) – Charles Rampant

Using PC Backgrounds as hooks – Yavathol

Sandbox with an overarching plot – Inchoroi

Level/level range on cover – Ath-kethin

Plot twists – Yatzromo

Chance of failure, PCs have to earn success – Yatzromo

Intelligent monster strategies – Ibranteloth

Bonus materials online (e.g. printable maps, design/playtest notes) – Ibranteloth

3D dungeons, ideally isometric maps – Ibranteloth

Strong hook, get me interested in first page or two – Zardnaar

Monster/NPC cards – ArwensDaughter

Tips on adjusting adventure for party size/level – ArwensDaughter

No “fill this room with something” blanks – Li Shenron

No new monsters – Li Shenron

“Good” random encounters – ad_hoc

*Compressed* in-line monster stats – Lanefan

Ya know what I've often thought would be fun, and have almost never remembered or used it...

NOT have the adventure "build up to" some climactic BBEG encounter at the end.

Have it [or one of them ;} ] happen FIRST! Start off with a bang! Then the rest of the adventure is exploring the lair of the big bad you just defeated (possibly with an equal or secondary "not-quite-as-big" bad at the end).

Tough to do without "in medias res-ing" it...which can also be a fun way/scene to come in (start the adventure) on even if its not the big bad.

But, not impossible to write an adventure where you arrive/fund the dungeon/fortress/forest/underground location where the adventure is to take place and *BUH-WHAM!* the BBEG is right there in Room #1.

Maybe with some kind of time table/countdown thing "that must be stopped" is the true goal of the adventure. That way, even with dispatching the villain, the adventure itself still has a build of tension and sense of urgency through the end.

Some things I'd like to see, in no particular order:

- limited if any baked-in backstory to allow the module to be fully self-contained as far as possible (yes this is possible even when a module is part of an AP)
- if it's a dungeon crawl:
- - - multiple ways in and out, some obvious, some not so
- - - closed loops on some levels to avoid linearity (linearity is boring!)
- - - multiple access points and methods between one level, deck or floor and another; some of which skip or bypass levels
- - - secret areas that a party might miss completely
- - - intentional 'holes' in the map; areas of solid rock that don't contain a secret room no matter how hard they look
- - - linear lengths of stairways noted on the maps and-or in the write-ups (this is always a headache)
- passing attention paid to 'what-if' situations e.g. what if the PCs are three days late in completing the time-sensitive mission, or what if the PCs charm or capture this person instead of killing
- boxed text describing each area and its obvious contents and-or occupants (explained below)
- something different or new; whether it's a magic item, a monster or villain, a location, a nifty trap, or whatever - a reason to remember the module afterwards
- wandering monsters that make sense, and if they don't make sense don't put 'em in
- a day by day (or similar) story development track if the adventure site is not static - particularly important in race-against-time style modules
- monsters' stats in 1e-style short form in the write-up for the room in which they (are most likely to) appear

Boxed text: the reason this is important is that without it it's far too easy for a DM to miss key elements that are buried in the text, leading to headaches later. The trick is to write the boxed text as 'direction-neutral' - NEVER use "left" and "right" as directions as the party might approach from the other way! - and if the area is large enough you might need to have several boxed texts, one for each possible direction of approach, as not all of it can be seen at once.

Lanefan

Aside: why no boxed text? To my mind, boxed text helps a DM describe a scene without accidentally giving away information they shouldn't. Since I think it is common for a DM to run a module without closely reading it first, boxed text can be a lifesaver.

What I would like to see: something compelling but flexible. I don't care about new magic items unless they are important; magical loot in an adventure gets changed to mundane stuff in my campaigns anyway. If there is a magic item there, why is it there? Who owned it? Why did they lave it there? Why does it exist? Why is it still there?

I also like to see innovative uses of terrain and environment. Ants do clever things with the caverns they inhabit; it stretches credibility that goblins and kobolds (let alone humans or more powerful and intelligent creatures) wouldn't.

It seems you are getting at this anyway, but if you insist on a "characters stand around for hours wondering what to do" (I'm sorry, "sandbox") format, include a suggested sequence for the areas to be explored, events to take place, whatever.

Include something that breaks the rules. Something players can't just duplicate with spells and junk from the core books. A good example is the illusions and quasi-contract in the "Tower of the Black Flame" adventure from the Primeval Thule campaign setting book. Weird stuff happens. There is no explanation, because the tower has been home to untold numbers of magic users. It's cool and unexpected.

EDIT: Here's an example of what I mean by the "give a general plot outline" idea. It's from the Xoth adventure "X4:Land of the Silver Lotus."

Good answers so far! Let me follow up with questions to clarify...

Lanefan said:

- - - linear lengths of stairways noted on the maps and-or in the write-ups (this is always a headache)

Click to expand...

I followed everything else you mentioned, but this one I didn't grasp. Could you explain?

- monsters' stats in 1e-style short form in the write-up for the room in which they (are most likely to) appear

Click to expand...

If you have the option (let's say you can only choose one due to page count limits), which would you prefer? You can tell I have a bias in favor of #1...

#1. Index of 1e-style short form stats for ALL monsters in adventure

• Avoids duplication, everything in one place.
• DM knows exactly where to turn to; no question later "crap, dread zombies, do I flip to that Hall of Kings for their quick stats?"
• Requires separate printing/photocopying of monster index for reference.

#2. Present 1e-style short form stats in the room(s) where "most likely" to appear

• Some duplication may happen, and that's ok or even desirable.
• Due to ambiguities about where monsters appear, quite possible the quick stats the DM needs won't appear right where he/she needs them. Could mean searching for quick stats.
• Ideally no need to print/photocopy anything. Ideally it's all right in front of you.

Ath-kethin said:

EDIT: Here's an example of what I mean by the "give a general plot outline" idea. It's from the Xoth adventure "X4:Land of the Silver Lotus."

Click to expand...

Great example of a way to dovetail an exploration/site-based adventure with a quest-style story.

Ok! About boxed text..

Lanefan said:

- boxed text describing each area and its obvious contents and-or occupants (explained below)

Boxed text: the reason this is important is that without it it's far too easy for a DM to miss key elements that are buried in the text, leading to headaches later. The trick is to write the boxed text as 'direction-neutral' - NEVER use "left" and "right" as directions as the party might approach from the other way! - and if the area is large enough you might need to have several boxed texts, one for each possible direction of approach, as not all of it can be seen at once.

Click to expand...

Ath-kethin said:

Aside: why no boxed text? To my mind, boxed text helps a DM describe a scene without accidentally giving away information they shouldn't. Since I think it is common for a DM to run a module without closely reading it first, boxed text can be a lifesaver

Click to expand...

I agree that boxed text can be conditionally useful.

Personally I would notice players' attention drift at the table when I would read boxed text. Could be simply that it was "bad" boxed text.

But it sounds like what you guys are saying is that the boxed text is more for the DM than it is for the players. Is that right?

Some specific challenges I've run into with boxed text...

• Describing non-standard room shapes and sizes. I'm in architecture, so I'm comfortable with possibly a broader lexicon of building terms, but still it's challenging to describe a room like, for example, the Hagia Sophia in terms that (a) don't reference architecture terms others won't necessarily know, and (b) don't reference the real world "like the Hagia Sophia" that could break immersion or players may not know.
• Describing conditional elements, like globes of silence or darkness with information inside them. Do you write up 2 versions of the boxed text? Dark/silenced version? And un-darkened/silenced version?
• How much detail is too much / not enough? For example, is it sufficient to say somewhere in a General Features of the Site paragraph toward the beginning "most passageways are 10' x 10', walls are made of granite, floor are flagstones which can be lifted with effort, and doors are reinforced wood (AC X, hp X)", and then just let that ride until something changes? Or would you expect boxed text to inform you of each room's flagstone floors (because we don't want to assume the DM had time to read that earlier paragraph)?

1) Avoid chaotic unbalanced sandboxiness and make it direct encounter-encounter with linkage notes

2) full page write-ups on the encounters ala 3.5

3) BALANCE! level appropriate encounters (scaled up if easy access to rest and <6 likely encounters in area); balanced treasure

4) guidelines for limiting rests (ie a time crunch or such)

5) limit histories of region, NPC backstories, etc ("fluff") and focus on the beef

6) in essence, throw a bone to the D and D faction that has been ignored thus far in 5e, the strategy Gamists; don't take their support for granted

Quickleaf said:

I agree that boxed text can be conditionally useful.

Personally I would notice players' attention drift at the table when I would read boxed text. Could be simply that it was "bad" boxed text.

But it sounds like what you guys are saying is that the boxed text is more for the DM than it is for the players. Is that right?

Some specific challenges I've run into with boxed text... etc etc

Click to expand...

So I gave an example of what I liked about X4; here's an example of what I don't:



That's the extent of the information given, for each area. It's very crunchy and has a lot of information, but you can't just read it to the players because it includes stuff they wouldn't know (including mechanical terms). Running this cold or semi-cold is a real challenge, because 40 out of the adventure's 48 pages are location descriptions like that. Unless you put in substantial time beforehand working out how you want to word everything, describing these areas is a pain in the ass.

Every boxed text section I've ever seen carries the legend "read or paraphrase the following." That gives the DM the option of organizing the data differently if they feel like, or making any changes they want/need. But the bulk of the work is done for them. Especially in a setting where, for example, flowery language is common and where the physical space (architecture, extraplanar qualities, etc) are different from the norm, or where the adventure is intended to evoke a certain type of mood, having this work done ahead of time is invaluable. Could you imagine a module meant to evoke Lovecraftian horror written in the style above? I bet you can come up with evocative prose on the fly to describe misty hallways and dripping, undulating corridors pretty easily. But for how long? 40 pages' worth? Groups who don't want to use it don't have to. But it's easier to have it and not use it than need it and not have it.

So sure it's for the players, but it's for the DM too, maybe even moreso. Somebody running a published adventure isn't looking to do extra work; one purpose of using a published adventure is to reduce the amount of work you need to do. Keep that in mind.

Quickleaf said:

I followed everything else you mentioned, but this one I didn't grasp. Could you explain?

Click to expand...

I'll try.

Let's say there's a "long" stairway from level 1 to level 2. On the level 1 map you see the stairs fading into whatever graphic is used for background stonework. On the level two map you see the stairs fading in, ditto. But nowhere does it ever tell you the actual distance in feet (either horizontal or vertical, and both are useful) between the top of the stairs and the bottom. This makes it impossible to determine how the maps fit together vertically (unless there's some other feature e.g. a well or shaft that links the two), leading to problems trying to adjudicate what is found with things like detection or location spells that don't care about obstacles (some games have them work this way), or what will be found if they decide to dig through the floor.

If you have the option (let's say you can only choose one due to page count limits), which would you prefer? You can tell I have a bias in favor of #1...

#1. Index of 1e-style short form stats for ALL monsters in adventure

• Avoids duplication, everything in one place.
• DM knows exactly where to turn to; no question later "crap, dread zombies, do I flip to that Hall of Kings for their quick stats?"
• Requires separate printing/photocopying of monster index for reference.

Click to expand...

No no no!!! Horrible! Awful! (can you tell I don't like this method?)

I never want to have to separately photocopy anything; and even if I do it still involves looking at two different pages to get the info that should be on one.

#2. Present 1e-style short form stats in the room(s) where "most likely" to appear

• Some duplication may happen, and that's ok or even desirable.
• Due to ambiguities about where monsters appear, quite possible the quick stats the DM needs won't appear right where he/she needs them. Could mean searching for quick stats.
• Ideally no need to print/photocopy anything. Ideally it's all right in front of you.

Click to expand...

Much better. And if a monster is known to move around then either repeat the stat block in each place it might be seen or point to the room where it is. Ideally, if the write-up is on the same two-page spread then just point to it; if it requires flipping a page then repeat it.

I agree that boxed text can be conditionally useful.

Personally I would notice players' attention drift at the table when I would read boxed text. Could be simply that it was "bad" boxed text.

Click to expand...

Boxed text doesn't need to win any literary awards, just give the relevant info in concise terms. Then again, if they're not paying attention even after you suggest they should maybe a few times of having disadvantage on perception or searching might be a cure?

But it sounds like what you guys are saying is that the boxed text is more for the DM than it is for the players. Is that right?

Some specific challenges I've run into with boxed text...
[*]Describing non-standard room shapes and sizes. I'm in architecture, so I'm comfortable with possibly a broader lexicon of building terms, but still it's challenging to describe a room like, for example, the Hagia Sophia in terms that (a) don't reference architecture terms others won't necessarily know, and (b) don't reference the real world "like the Hagia Sophia" that could break immersion or players may not know.

Click to expand...

I've no idea what the Hagia Sophia is, but if it gets to that point you're probably already into too much detail. "20 x 30' with an angled cut in the northwest corner, ceiling about 15' high in the middle and 10' high at the sides, 10' diameter pool in the middle with a 2'-high lip around it, no obvious exits. In the middle of the pool is a mermaid statue." If a room or cavern is really odd-shaped perhaps include a suggestion for the DM to quickly map it out for the players instead of trying to describe it.

[*]Describing conditional elements, like globes of silence or darkness with information inside them. Do you write up 2 versions of the boxed text? Dark/silenced version? And un-darkened/silenced version?

Click to expand...

Just note that the boxed text will have to be altered to suit if these conditions have changed.

[*]How much detail is too much / not enough? For example, is it sufficient to say somewhere in a General Features of the Site paragraph toward the beginning "most passageways are 10' x 10', walls are made of granite, floor are flagstones which can be lifted with effort, and doors are reinforced wood (AC X, hp X)", and then just let that ride until something changes? Or would you expect boxed text to inform you of each room's flagstone floors (because we don't want to assume the DM had time to read that earlier paragraph)?

Click to expand...

The general features bit is great, as long as it's highlighted with great big neon signs and is in a logical place e.g. with other overview stuff such as wandering monsters.

One other thing to always note - please! - is which way the bloody doors open. So many modules ignore this little but very important detail, and it's so very easy to show on the map.

Lan-"if several rooms are the same, a master write-up for one followed by only what's different about the others can save a lot of space"-efan

1) A synopsis for each chapter, so you know the major beats and a clear idea of what constitutes the start and what constitutes the end
2) A conclusion for each chapter, dealing with the probable outcomes and suggestions if they didn't find clue x, y, z
3) Boxed text - I find it useful as a DM to be able to quickly identify which bits can be read or paraphrased to the PCs. Sifting through the explanatory text to suss out what is safe to read and what isn't is a pain.
4) General features of encounter areas at the start - walls, floors, ceilings, doors, chests, lighting, alarms. Adventures have gotten much better at this over the years. This should actually include a little bit about the type of construction for verisimilitude - is it reinforced earthworks, perfect cut dressed stone, weird organic metal or whatever. Sometimes adventures just leave it at "its a dungeon, you know, like all those dungeons that are common in modern times".

Quickleaf said:

• Adventure starts fast and avoids a cliche starting point

Click to expand...

• 
  Meh, YMMV. Some fast starts are fine but cliche intros can also work, especially if they don't necessarily lead to the expected outcome. And a slow build can also be very effective.
  

  Quickleaf said:

  [*]Avoid boxed text

  Click to expand...

  I'm sort of torn on this. I prefer no box text as it allows the DM to engage the players more intimately when using his/her own descriptions. As you said, players tend to check out when reading directly from the module. But I can appreciate some author's amazing descriptions if they're exceptional - some of Gygax's room descriptions were awesome, for example, and gave me a broader vocabulary to use when describing areas/encounters.
  

  Quickleaf said:

  [*]“Linear” in that there’s a clear path through the adventure which players *may* follow

  Click to expand...

  Yeah, its important to have a clear path as well as a "backdoor" that PCs may discover through exploration , so to speak. Many modules do this: and abandoned, unused tunnel or a secret escape route known only to a few, as examples. The prequel module A0 Danger At Darkshelf Quarry does a good job of this; it allows approach to two seperate locations, neither of them with priority over the other, and then offers multiple options to each approach. The quarry mines, for example, can be entered through the main entrance, an underground river tunnel, or an old access shaft that allows passage to various levels. Players love this sort of interactive environment.
  

  Quickleaf said:

  [*]Mysteries should draw on Gumshoe Rule & Three Clue Rule

  Click to expand...

  Absolutely, with other bypass methods available in the case of mysteries or riddles.
  

  Quickleaf said:

  [*]Opportunities to interact with a villain without violence

  Click to expand...

  Yes. NPC villains with hidden agendas or exploitation opportunities always make them more interesting and fun to play. Carl Sargent demonstrated this very well in WGR6 City of Skulls or The Rod of Serallian for Games Workshop.
  
  On the subject of format, I've never liked the compartmentalization format introduced by Tracy Hickman and prominently employed later in 3.5/4e/PF . That is, each aspect of an encounter has its own seperate section such Traps/Tricks and Monsters. While it seems like a good idea, it feels too artificial and deprives the encounter of its organic flow - like it must be followed in a specific, rigid order. Just my two cents.