Kobold's Guide to Game Design (and homebrew adventure design in general)

[Mercurius]

Anyone have this? Any good? Specifically, I'm wondering about its utility as a guide for designing homebrew worlds, campaigns, and adventures--that is what it says that it is for, but I want to know how good it is.

While we're at it, what do people recommend as the best products to assist in homebrew adventure design? It has been years--a decade or more, really--since I have designed homebrews, so I am looking for some good references.

Thanks!

 

[BrianDR]

Ugh, I wrote a huge chapter by chapter review, and Enworld ate my post. I don't have time to rewrite it so to be brief:

It has some good info on adventure design, a little good info on campaign design, and relatively little on worldbuilding. A good chunk of the book, probably just over a quarter, is only useful to aspiring freelance writers. While many of the adventure design articles are good, if you're not interested in the freelance stuff, it may or may not be worth it, because you'll only be using 3/4 of 88 already not very dense pages. Some of the articles are great jumping off points, but would really benefit from some deeper discussion. I'd give it a B.

Maybe I'll rewrite the chapter-by-chapter review later if any one's interested.

 

[Starglim]

Anyone have this? Any good? Specifically, I'm wondering about its utility as a guide for designing homebrew worlds, campaigns, and adventures--that is what it says that it is for, but I want to know how good it is.

It's truly brilliant - I find the Kobold Guide has had an even greater influence on my ideas and structure than I realised at the time I was reading it.

Though written from the point of view of publication, it can help just as much to produce tightly designed, compelling adventures and to finish them thoroughly and in good time, which are surely good outcomes for any adventure you intend to run for others.

 

[Qwillion]

Anyone who wants to write a professional level adventure should own this book. I bought it at gencon, and loved every page. This really is what you wish every professional editor in the business could take the time to tell every would-be-freelancer that puts in a submission.