I want more linear dungeons. So tired of the poor quality sandbox modules such as Princes of the Apocalypse. Even Ravenloft was much longer than it needed to be and was bogged down by many meaningless encounters. Stop trying to stretch out modules into super modules just to gouge people for extra $$$. If you want to charge $40 plus for a book then do more bundled modules such as Tales from the Inn of the Yawning Portal
D&D 5E What do you want in a published adventure? / Adventure design best practices?
hawkeyefan
Legend
I can understand that. The actual content can be a bit vague (?) at times. But I was incredibly impressed with the formatting and the layout, and with how the PDF used links. I also liked the (generally) quick and evocative room descriptions.
For print, what if you have the room descriptions on the left page and then maps, sidebars, and monster stats on the right page? This would keep things bundled to reduce page flipping. It's similar to what WotC was doing at the emd of the 3E eea (and which carried over into 4E if I remember correctly) but not necessarily limited to just a combat encounter detailed on the right page.
So, the text on left hand page 14 is for rooms E4 to E10, all rooms in a haunted castle let's say. You could have a quarter of right hand page 15 be a map of this section of the castle, half the page devoted to abbreviated monster stats, and then a quarter about notes/suggestions on how to handle this area (for example, "activity in room E7 will attract the zombies in room E8", that kind of thing.
I suppose this option would greatly depend on the nature of the material you will be presenting, and if it lent itself to this format. I doubt you'll ever be able to fully eliminate the need to flip pages during a game, but this would likely help out a lot.
Lanefan's suggestion of decreasing the font is a plain good idea. You can easily get away with a 9 font size if you keep the leading (vertical space) even just 2 pts. higher. So, font size 9, leading 11 is very readable. Leading 12, moreso if you're really worried about aging eyes. Also, you can play with the horizontal scalee, 95% is barely noticeable, 90% saves a good amount of space and is still very readable/barely noticed. As long as it's uniform throughout, you can make it whatever you want, though I think things start looking distorted around 85%, get to "squeezed" around 80% and damned near unreadable by 75.
I do layout for a regional magazine and the publisher's recurring fear was the eyesight of our middling-to-aging readership (who are the bulk of our subscribers receiving physical magazines.Most everyone else just picks it up in the bars or reads stuff online/from the website nowadays). We did a complete redesign a few year back. Copy text was set 9 pt., 11 leading, 90% across the board. Not a single complaint or comment about it being "difficulty to read." So, I'm speaking from direct experience.
Even just doing it for the boxed text or just doing it for the monster stats, you'll save a ton of room.
I do layout for a regional magazine and the publisher's recurring fear was the eyesight of our middling-to-aging readership (who are the bulk of our subscribers receiving physical magazines.Most everyone else just picks it up in the bars or reads stuff online/from the website nowadays). We did a complete redesign a few year back. Copy text was set 9 pt., 11 leading, 90% across the board. Not a single complaint or comment about it being "difficulty to read." So, I'm speaking from direct experience.
Even just doing it for the boxed text or just doing it for the monster stats, you'll save a ton of room.
JonnyP71
Explorer
As others have said - abbreviated monster stats should be in the room description, and all maps should be on separate (non-attached) sheets. Plus a separate monster roster page can be very handy - this can be copied and annotated as play progresses to make it easy for a DM to keep track of what has been encountered, and what remains.
Take a look at the UK series of 1E modules, especially UK2/3/4/5, for exactly how to present modules to make them DM-friendly.
Take a look at the UK series of 1E modules, especially UK2/3/4/5, for exactly how to present modules to make them DM-friendly.
Bump.
Quickleaf
Legend
Thanks for the recommendation, Jonny! I just got UK1: The Sentinel and it is really clearly laid out. For an adventure coming out of 1980's, I was surprised at how clear and concise it was. The "obligatory" background/what's-happened-thus-far sections dragged a bit, but the rest of the module is very smooth.
One thing I noticed about UK1 is that boxed text isn't used for each area description. For example, there's a Stockade – that just gets a description, no boxed text. The boxed text seems to be reserved for "special/significant" areas.
Also, in some areas, the boxed text comes first. In others – especially those with monsters – the monster's numbers, disposition, and abbreviated stats come first. I haven't yet determined if that is universally done across UK1, but it's an interesting approach.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
I'm just looking to make the text denser, more like the early 1e modules that - even allowing for occasional bouts of Gygaxian prose - mostly managed to pack a lot of info into a small page count.I'd push back against [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION]; taking the font size too small is a recipe for disaster. That said, I'm not actually sure how big the font size in the WotC APs is; I'd guess that's a solid size to mimic, if you can work it out. Doubtless it'll turn out to be font size 9, now that I've said that
Agreed, with reservations: 4e was very good at the big set-piece encounter or combat, but they were generally a) inflexible, and b) unavoidable.
WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun actually manages to pull off an almost-unavoidable big battle very well, in that it's the first thing you hit on reaching the actual dungeon - you have to fight your way in through a rather elegant set-piece.
Not every module needs this, and after a while it becomes just more extra trappings. An otherwise-disconnected series of modules from the same author or company could simply reference a town or region presented in the first one; but my own preference is an adventure that can be placed anywhere.
That said, the module should in its introductory notes give some indication of how near/far certain features should be from it. An example might go:
Danger Hill is a self-contained adventure which can be placed anywhere desired by you, the DM; though it is recommended that it be in a forested area with at least 4 or 5 days' travel between the hill and any real civilization.
Lanefan
Yavathol
Explorer
Given the mixed opinions on boxed text, I'd like to see Wizards supplying boxed text as a web supplement, so those GMs that find it useful can have it. I realise that smaller publishers might not be able to manage that.
It is a common piece of advice that there should be secrets, but quite often I find there is background material taking up space which is just for the GM, with no way for the players to ever find out. One solution for this which I came across for the Warhammer adventure "Eye for an Eye" (not sure of the original source- Gumshoe?) is to supply Clue cards which can be handed out at appropriate times. This has the benefit of saving the players from writing notes, which can lead to errors. They also specifically say clue 2 of 5, so the players know if there is still information they are missing.
Finally, I would like to see some adventures which specifically call out, if you have a pc with background X, then it's feature can tie into the adventure like this, etc..
It is a common piece of advice that there should be secrets, but quite often I find there is background material taking up space which is just for the GM, with no way for the players to ever find out. One solution for this which I came across for the Warhammer adventure "Eye for an Eye" (not sure of the original source- Gumshoe?) is to supply Clue cards which can be handed out at appropriate times. This has the benefit of saving the players from writing notes, which can lead to errors. They also specifically say clue 2 of 5, so the players know if there is still information they are missing.
Finally, I would like to see some adventures which specifically call out, if you have a pc with background X, then it's feature can tie into the adventure like this, etc..
Tony Vargas
Legend
I want them to be called 'modules,' again.
;P
And, to get simultaneously very old-school and very-5e, I think it'd be good for modules to include scenario-specific rules variants and suggested rulings & alternate rulings in places where it might be helpful...
;P
And, to get simultaneously very old-school and very-5e, I think it'd be good for modules to include scenario-specific rules variants and suggested rulings & alternate rulings in places where it might be helpful...
Quickleaf
Legend
I've heard a couple people mention the desire for "sub-systems" / "variant rules" to be incorporated, [MENTION=32659]Charles Rampant[/MENTION] and [MENTION=996]Tony Vargas[/MENTION] and I think [MENTION=37579]Jester David[/MENTION].
What are examples of that? In a war-based scenario like Red Hand of Doom, including "light weight" mass combat guidelines in the form of victory points?
What are examples of that? In a war-based scenario like Red Hand of Doom, including "light weight" mass combat guidelines in the form of victory points?