Module-writing: the proper ingredients

[Doug McCrae]

Good ideas; originality; strong theme; good names, as important to me as maps are to Steel Wind; flavourful NPCs; variety of encounter; good art, page layout and graphic design; brevity - don't pad the good ideas out with mediocre ones that just makes the good stuff harder to find. Though I realise that this is often impossible as a writer will normally be given a set word count for a project.

Of minor importance:
Railroading - It's much easier to fix a railroaded module with good set pieces, than it is a non-linear adventure with no good ideas in it. In fact if there are no good ideas, why bother?

 

[Scribble]

Don't make them 30 bux a pop....

That's way too much especially if I'm just looking at it as a source for ideas.

 

[James Jacobs]

Don't make them 30 bux a pop....

That's way too much especially if I'm just looking at it as a source for ideas.

Really?

A big hardcover novel these days is about 30 bucks a pop, and there's a LOT less art in a typical novel.

Of course... Paizo adventures are usually 20 or 13 or 4 bucks, so I guess I shouldn't be too worried about 30 dollar adventures...

 

[Aberzanzorax]

In regards to pricing, quality needs to dictate price.


I am a frequent patron of open design. Nearly every one of their adventures are usable and award winning or nominated. I've been a senior patron at a cost of $75 PLUS with the cost of lulu print and shipping. Am I glad I spent it? YES!


I also have several WotC (third edition) out of print adventures that are now uber cheap saved to my Amazon "wishlist". I haven't bought many of them, and wouldn't even for the price of a penny plus shipping.

I remember feeling VERY ripped off by some of the WotC adventures for 3rd edition...and especially the fantastic locations (e.g. Fane of the Drow). Even now, I wouldn't buy Pool of Radiance (currently .06 on Amazon Marketplace).



So, go ahead and make an adventure $30 a pop! But it has to be WORTH $30 a pop. (I just dropped over $100 on a Slumbering Tsar subscription from Frog God Games, and I've paid big money for oop materials). Since James Jacobs has commented here, I'll opine that I think Paizo adventures generally are worth the price they currently cost.


Overall, my point is that "watered down adventures, but cheap" cannot compare to "expensive, but a true treasure".

 

[Dark Mistress]

Maps are a HUGE key to a good adventure. So is art. An adventure with boring maps or bad art is worse than an adventure with no maps and no art, I think.

But maps, in particular, are important. I've seen thousands of maps in my time at Paizo, and a well-made or interesting map that looks like a fun place to visit or is just plain interesting is always a good thing to have, especially since a first glance at an adventure, be it a proposal or a finished manuscript or a published adventure, you're not going to be able to make a judgment on the words. But the maps... they're instant. If a map is dull or boring, that's going to color your perception of the entire adventure.

MAPS!!!!!!!!

I can't disagree with this, since I have actually bought products just cause they had very good maps in them.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

Maps

I agree, it's all about the maps. Melan had a really good thread on this awhile back -- I am surprised no one has linked to it.

I can take or leave story. I often find that the story in adventures puts me off, so I really like site-based adventures with minimal ongoing plot. However, there are some stories, like the one in Savage Tide, that I really like.

Backstory, however, is important. Tell me why the dungeon is there. Tell me the backstory for the creatures, and the cults, and the major magic items. Rappan Athuk Reloaded does this well.

Ken

 

[TarionzCousin]

MAPS!!!!!!!!

So... what are you trying to say? Don't hold back; just tell us.




I would say that the best modules have at least one truly iconic element; either a location (Iggwilv's Sleeping Chamber), an NPC (Meepo), a BBEG (Von Strahd) or something that is truly memorable.

Otherwise 'great' modules that don't have this iconic quality are merely 'very good.' I am thinking especially of Forge of Fury. It had a wonderful variety of encounters, monsters, challenges, and a great final battle. But it just lacks that "certain something."

 

[Azgulor]

As I am currently writing my first major module I am very interested in doing it right and so very interested in the answers this thread will recieve.

What I like personally is a compelling believable plot and intelligent use of monsters.

Basically, as a DM I want to believe in the game world I am running. Things need to make sense and if they can do that, I can run the adventure no problem and hoepfully make it fun. The better an adventure can draw in the players through the strength of its verisimilitude, the better I like it.

Also, the more intelligently the adventure is crafted, the more fun it is to read.

Since it appears I can't give you XP again yet, let me say I concur with your approach. The things you cite are the things I strive for in my homemade adventures.

Much talk is made of the GM's "work" or "chores", etc. I find that if I focus on the items you've listed above, my GM work:fun ratio stays firmly slanted in favor of Fun.

 

[firesnakearies]

I agree that maps are a big deal. I love nice maps.

But I'd like to see adventure publishers actually give us maps that we can use to run the encounters on. Either poster maps, or just the option to download high-resolution 1" square scaled versions of all of the maps in the adventure from their website.

I love pretty maps in an adventure, but I hate the fact that I don't generally have any way to provide that gorgeous map for my players to actually run around on. I hate drawing out maps myself, and having them look ugly compared to what's in the book.

When someone starts putting out modules with full poster map support for all of the encounter areas, I'll pay basically whatever they want to charge for them. Or even if they just make full-sized battlemaps for all of the areas available online as digital downloads, I'll buy those adventures, too.

Does anyone do this, or has anyone ever done it? I don't mean for a few "key encounters", I mean every place in the adventure where I might need a battlemap.

 

[Stormonu]

I rarely agree with him, but I think this time around Steel_Wind has the right of it. What he pointed out are all things that raise a module above something I myself could throw together in a weekend and pitch at my players.

One thing that I don't think has been point out that will ruin my enjoyment of a module quicker than anything is a lack of internal consistency. Keep on the Shadowfell is a big culprit in this area - the tiny keep with its 900 residents, kobolds that simply "pop" into existence because its time for them to enter the fight, access to the BBEG only through a trap even the boss can't bypass and several others (Unfortunately, Paizo isn't immune either; there's several "waitaminute - how is that possible or that makes no sense" moments in Crypt of the Everflame). I can overlook one or two errors, but when my players start raising questions - and I have to wonder about it too, that bums me out and can turn a serious adventure into a bit of a joke.

Also, on maps: beautiful maps are nice, but in the end, I'm just as happy with DCC's blue-and-white maps as I enjoy the rendered maps from Paizo and the like. After all, most of the time only the DM gets to see those maps anyways.