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Making an adventure whole-cloth out of a novel?
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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5588990" data-attributes="member: 92305"><p>I've never done it, but I've considered it many times.</p><p> </p><p>I think you have to look at the novel as if you were reading how other players went through the adventure. Since it is difficult to control player direction without the player feeling railroaded, I think the thing to do is look at the novel. Pick out locations, bad guys, timeline events, and other obstacles. And, then just let your players go through the adventure their own way--which may be completely different from how the protagonist in the story did it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>- Example -</p><p> </p><p>As an example of how I would approach this type of thing, consider the Robert E. Howard's short story (yes, I know it's not a novel, but will suffice for the example), "The Tower of the Elephant". In that story, Conan is young and new to civilization. He wants to make a name for himself as a thief. He asks about the Elephant Tower, decides to rob it without planning, and heads to the part of town where the Tower stands.</p><p> </p><p>During his break-in, he meets another thief--the master thief Taurus--and the two team up to rob the Tower's owner. They run afoul traps and creatures. Taurus gets killed. Then Conan comes across Yag-Kosha before the climax of the story where Conan meets the master mage Yara.</p><p> </p><p>Instead of developing exactly the parts of the story that Conan experienced, I'd start with the main location of the adventure, the tower. I'd map the entire thing out, plus the grounds outside. I'd pay attention to the encounters Conan and Taurus had, but they didn't explore every nook and cranny of the place in the story. So, I'd actually add to the story by creating the entire Tower with rooms never mentioned in the story.</p><p> </p><p>I'd populate the place with Yara's human and non-human guards, plus add in a few beasties (like the giant spider Conan fought).</p><p> </p><p>I'd create the major NPC's of Yara, Taurus, and Yag-Kosha.</p><p> </p><p>I'd add in some treasure not mentioned in the story (maybe one of the PCs is a mage and looking to increase his power?).</p><p> </p><p>Then, when I finished with the tower itself and the outer grounds, I'd maybe make a rumor list or figure some interesting hook for the PCs to discover in the town.</p><p> </p><p>I'd try to have contingency plans, too? What if the PCs spend a lot of time gathering information on Yara and the Tower? I'll need NPCs, maybe even a Scholar or Sage for them to speak with. What if the PC's try to cut the jewels out of the side of the tower before they enter? How much are they worth? Are they glass? Are they necessary, in a magical sense, for the construction of the tower (which was said to be errected over-night...and item for the rumor list).</p><p> </p><p>And, if I wanted to, I could even expand the adventure beyond it's beginning in the story. Maybe the Tower connects with city sewer system, and following that leads to.....???</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Then, once I created all this stuff, I'd simply set my PCs down into this little sandbox I'd created and watch 'em go.</p><p> </p><p>Chances are real strong that the story we create when playing the adventure will be A LOT different than what I read in the Conan story.</p><p> </p><p>....the PCs talked to so many people before the braved the walls of the Tower courtyard that word got back to Yara....so he was ready for the thieves instead of being in a dope-fueled stupor as with the story.</p><p> </p><p>....the PCs break in through the front gate rather than go over the wall, as Conan did. And, they never meet Taurus...they find him dead at the top of the Tower from the Spider bite (he dies as he does in the story). Or, maybe they meet him later in the adventure--the GM could reserve him as a way to get the PCs out of trouble should Yara prove too much for them.</p><p> </p><p>....the PCs refuse to help Yag-Kosha and therefore never get the magical tool they need to defeat Yara. Yara imprisons them below his tower, using them for his magical experiments, and the adventure turns from a loot-the-mage's-tower scenario to a let's-break-out-of-this-prision-before-we-are-maimed-or-killed scenario.</p><p> </p><p>....in an act of surprising mercy, one of the players allows one of Yara's guards to flee instead of facing death at the hands of the PC. This NPC guard becomes a secret ally of the players and will be instrumental in their escape from the alerted Yara.</p><p> </p><p>etc, etc.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 5588990, member: 92305"] I've never done it, but I've considered it many times. I think you have to look at the novel as if you were reading how other players went through the adventure. Since it is difficult to control player direction without the player feeling railroaded, I think the thing to do is look at the novel. Pick out locations, bad guys, timeline events, and other obstacles. And, then just let your players go through the adventure their own way--which may be completely different from how the protagonist in the story did it. - Example - As an example of how I would approach this type of thing, consider the Robert E. Howard's short story (yes, I know it's not a novel, but will suffice for the example), "The Tower of the Elephant". In that story, Conan is young and new to civilization. He wants to make a name for himself as a thief. He asks about the Elephant Tower, decides to rob it without planning, and heads to the part of town where the Tower stands. During his break-in, he meets another thief--the master thief Taurus--and the two team up to rob the Tower's owner. They run afoul traps and creatures. Taurus gets killed. Then Conan comes across Yag-Kosha before the climax of the story where Conan meets the master mage Yara. Instead of developing exactly the parts of the story that Conan experienced, I'd start with the main location of the adventure, the tower. I'd map the entire thing out, plus the grounds outside. I'd pay attention to the encounters Conan and Taurus had, but they didn't explore every nook and cranny of the place in the story. So, I'd actually add to the story by creating the entire Tower with rooms never mentioned in the story. I'd populate the place with Yara's human and non-human guards, plus add in a few beasties (like the giant spider Conan fought). I'd create the major NPC's of Yara, Taurus, and Yag-Kosha. I'd add in some treasure not mentioned in the story (maybe one of the PCs is a mage and looking to increase his power?). Then, when I finished with the tower itself and the outer grounds, I'd maybe make a rumor list or figure some interesting hook for the PCs to discover in the town. I'd try to have contingency plans, too? What if the PCs spend a lot of time gathering information on Yara and the Tower? I'll need NPCs, maybe even a Scholar or Sage for them to speak with. What if the PC's try to cut the jewels out of the side of the tower before they enter? How much are they worth? Are they glass? Are they necessary, in a magical sense, for the construction of the tower (which was said to be errected over-night...and item for the rumor list). And, if I wanted to, I could even expand the adventure beyond it's beginning in the story. Maybe the Tower connects with city sewer system, and following that leads to.....??? Then, once I created all this stuff, I'd simply set my PCs down into this little sandbox I'd created and watch 'em go. Chances are real strong that the story we create when playing the adventure will be A LOT different than what I read in the Conan story. ....the PCs talked to so many people before the braved the walls of the Tower courtyard that word got back to Yara....so he was ready for the thieves instead of being in a dope-fueled stupor as with the story. ....the PCs break in through the front gate rather than go over the wall, as Conan did. And, they never meet Taurus...they find him dead at the top of the Tower from the Spider bite (he dies as he does in the story). Or, maybe they meet him later in the adventure--the GM could reserve him as a way to get the PCs out of trouble should Yara prove too much for them. ....the PCs refuse to help Yag-Kosha and therefore never get the magical tool they need to defeat Yara. Yara imprisons them below his tower, using them for his magical experiments, and the adventure turns from a loot-the-mage's-tower scenario to a let's-break-out-of-this-prision-before-we-are-maimed-or-killed scenario. ....in an act of surprising mercy, one of the players allows one of Yara's guards to flee instead of facing death at the hands of the PC. This NPC guard becomes a secret ally of the players and will be instrumental in their escape from the alerted Yara. etc, etc. [/QUOTE]
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