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Using Old School Adventures in 5E - The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford
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<blockquote data-quote="Sparky McDibben" data-source="post: 9167213" data-attributes="member: 7041430"><p>Howdy y'all! Sparky McDibben here coming at you with a new (small) series on adventures we can use in our 5E games. I tend to prefer player-driven campaigns, where the world is reacting to the PCs choices, over adventure-path style modules*. One thing I tend to use is OSR products, simply because they're set up to produce that experience. So I wanted to go over how I use OSR-style products in a 5E game, because it was non-obvious to me when I started how I should proceed. I intend to use <em>The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford</em> for this, because it's one of the best darned modules ever produced by the OSR, and it's 19-page length makes it ideal as a starter adventure. </p><p></p><p>I will cover it in four parts:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Scenario (what is going on in this adventure)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Mapping OSR Expectations to 5E play</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Running This Adventure</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Appendix - Mechanical Conversions</li> </ol><p>But first, I want to address the biggest split in new and old-school players. Frequently, I will see new school players confused when using old-school products. You will get questions like, "Where's the plot / story?" a lot (see Roll For Combat's interview with Kelsey Dionne, designer of Shadowdark, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SukSBCGZGPI&t=10226s" target="_blank">here</a>, timestamp 1:24:00 for relevant commentary). The secret is that there is no plot, by which I mean there is really no expectation that the PCs will proceed through a three-act structure before achieving an heroic triumph. Instead, PCs are offered information in the form of various adventure hooks, all of which should tie into and feed on each other. PC goals and attitudes shift as they proceed through the adventure, leading them to plot their own course through the material.</p><p></p><p>Now, this is all great and I love it. However, if your players are not interested in making their own decisions (which does happen), or want you to provide them a balanced, power-scaled story they can play through, then this style of play is probably not going to work. Trust me, I speak from experience. So if this sounds cool, check with your group and make sure that's an experience you want, before you drop fat stacks of cash on OSR adventures. Of course, many such adventures are available pretty cheaply; <em>Black Wyrm of Brandonsford </em>is available on DriveThruRPG.com for only $4.99, which is about 26 cents per page.</p><p></p><p>Alright, y'all! I'm going to go engage the good folks of Higglisburg in single combat, to the death, with my trusty chainsaw Clown-Slayer!!! If thou hast not had thy fill of death, citizens, come to me, and I will give thee SURFEIT!!!!!!!!!</p><p></p><p>*If you prefer adventure paths, that's OK. That experience just isn't why I play RPGs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sparky McDibben, post: 9167213, member: 7041430"] Howdy y'all! Sparky McDibben here coming at you with a new (small) series on adventures we can use in our 5E games. I tend to prefer player-driven campaigns, where the world is reacting to the PCs choices, over adventure-path style modules*. One thing I tend to use is OSR products, simply because they're set up to produce that experience. So I wanted to go over how I use OSR-style products in a 5E game, because it was non-obvious to me when I started how I should proceed. I intend to use [I]The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford[/I] for this, because it's one of the best darned modules ever produced by the OSR, and it's 19-page length makes it ideal as a starter adventure. I will cover it in four parts: [LIST=1] [*]The Scenario (what is going on in this adventure) [*]Mapping OSR Expectations to 5E play [*]Running This Adventure [*]Appendix - Mechanical Conversions [/LIST] But first, I want to address the biggest split in new and old-school players. Frequently, I will see new school players confused when using old-school products. You will get questions like, "Where's the plot / story?" a lot (see Roll For Combat's interview with Kelsey Dionne, designer of Shadowdark, [URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SukSBCGZGPI&t=10226s']here[/URL], timestamp 1:24:00 for relevant commentary). The secret is that there is no plot, by which I mean there is really no expectation that the PCs will proceed through a three-act structure before achieving an heroic triumph. Instead, PCs are offered information in the form of various adventure hooks, all of which should tie into and feed on each other. PC goals and attitudes shift as they proceed through the adventure, leading them to plot their own course through the material. Now, this is all great and I love it. However, if your players are not interested in making their own decisions (which does happen), or want you to provide them a balanced, power-scaled story they can play through, then this style of play is probably not going to work. Trust me, I speak from experience. So if this sounds cool, check with your group and make sure that's an experience you want, before you drop fat stacks of cash on OSR adventures. Of course, many such adventures are available pretty cheaply; [I]Black Wyrm of Brandonsford [/I]is available on DriveThruRPG.com for only $4.99, which is about 26 cents per page. Alright, y'all! I'm going to go engage the good folks of Higglisburg in single combat, to the death, with my trusty chainsaw Clown-Slayer!!! If thou hast not had thy fill of death, citizens, come to me, and I will give thee SURFEIT!!!!!!!!! *If you prefer adventure paths, that's OK. That experience just isn't why I play RPGs. [/QUOTE]
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