Modules: Made to Read vs Made to Run?

[Reynard]

I also think that sometimes people see value in a 90 page module even if a ton of it is fluff. If the made to run version is only 20 pages probably not something that gets on the shelf.

Also authors get paid by the word so some times they might pad stuff out.

Again, it is not either or. You can do both in one product.

 

[overgeeked]

I don't think published adventures are excessively narrative, but I am certainly forever waiting for someone to figure out such a good module layout that would allow me to read it for the first time when I am running it.

Check out the OSR/NSR modules then. Most by Necrotic Gnome fit that bill. As does Waking of Willowby Hall.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Check out the OSR/NSR modules then. Most by Necrotic Gnome fit that bill. As does Waking of Willowby Hall.

Also, for 5e, Kelsey Dionne's The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse...now free at DriveThruRPG.

 

[overgeeked]

Well the market leader is WotC, who seemingly have a suitable marketing budget to promote about three "big dumb campaign" type books a year, which then quickly get read and reviewed by influencer types who haven't actually tried to run them, make most their sales before many people have actually gotten far into them, and are probably profitable more as a driver of interest in the core books and other goods and services then as products in and of themselves.

Also module presentation is based on what the people creating it themselves have read and are used to. Tradition runs strong.

Bizarrely, WotC might have partially lead the way here with some 4E modules. The one I remember most for this was Dungeon Delve, an adventure anthology. The layout and information design was focused on ease of use at the table. Open the book, take 5-10 minutes to read the setup, gather materials, and run it.

And of course even if the presentation of a module to the gamemaster is needlessly bizarre, belabored, and byzantine, the end user experience for the players can be awesome, which often leaves the gamemaster also feeling good about the experience of the module which so carelessly abused their time and attention.

Of course. But that’s more a sign of the referee being willing to take the time and effort required to make the material presentable as a game to the table. My argument is that module writers and designers should do what they can to make this as easy on the referee as possible.

But I personally have never really experienced modules that weren't a pain to run. The idea intrigues me...

Definitely check out some OSR/NSR modules. Necrotic Gnome, Waking of Willowby Hall, and most stuff by Kelsey Dionne (Shadowdark and 5E).

 

[xoth.publishing]

I don't even bother with the wall-of-text modules anymore. Just not interested.

EDIT: Here's the thing...even if I never actually run a module (or a setting) I get just as much, if not more, pleasure from reading the ones that are designed to be easy-to-run, without the walls of text. When I read bullet-point summaries of backstories, NPCs, map locations, etc., the thing that I envision is just as detailed and rich as the wall-of-text version. But I read it faster, and I get more content in fewer pages. And I have a clearer understanding of because I'm not trying to pick important details out of a lot of extraneous prose.

I agree, wall-of-text is a big turn-off.

However, many modules go too far in the other direction. When everything is just keywords, bullet points, bolded words, etc and there are no complete sentences, that is a big turn-off, too.

I prefer short, succinct, but complete sentences. Gabor Lux ("Echoes of Fomalhaut", etc) is a master of this type of adventure writing.

 

[Bill Zebub]

However, many modules go too far in the other direction. When everything is just keywords, bullet points, bolded words, etc and there are no complete sentences, that is a big turn-off, too.

That is also true. This is too sparse for me:

1. 3 orcs. 3-12cp each.
2. Pit trap. Giant spider.
3. Ogre. Potion of healing.

 

[Reynard]

That is also true. This is too sparse for me:

1. 3 orcs. 3-12cp each.
2. Pit trap. Giant spider.
3. Ogre. Potion of healing.

At least this way you know at a glance what is in the rooms, which helps easily adjudicate things like "did the monsters next door hear the fight?"

Ideally, you would have both. The bullet point list goes on a GM's map that is a table tool, while the mor detailed information goes in the adventure proper.

 

[Bill Zebub]

At least this way you know at a glance what is in the rooms, which helps easily adjudicate things like "did the monsters next door hear the fight?"

Ideally, you would have both. The bullet point list goes on a GM's map that is a table tool, while the mor detailed information goes in the adventure proper.

Well I guess ideally those notes would be directly on the DM map.

 

[BruceWright]

Well I guess ideally those notes would be directly on the DM map.

Agreed. I wish DM Maps had the names of rooms instead of (or in addition to) "B63" . The players open the door, I want to be able to know what's there, and not spend precious time looking things up in an index. I already read the adventure, just remind me that's the spider pit room.

Most of my prep time is just reading the adventure and transcribing it to a table-usable map, list of NPCs and their traits and locations writing the DCs for any traps/physical challenges and printing out the stat-blocks of any foes.

Just give me a map that has all that written on it already?

 

[Bill Zebub]

Agreed. I wish DM Maps had the names of rooms instead of (or in addition to) "B63" . The players open the door, I want to be able to know what's there, and not spend precious time looking things up in an index. I already read the adventure, just remind me that's the spider pit room.

Most of my prep time is just reading the adventure and transcribing it to a table-usable map, list of NPCs and their traits and locations writing the DCs for any traps/physical challenges and printing out the stat-blocks of any foes.

Just give me a map that has all that written on it already?

Off-topic, but a recent trend I've seen that greatly annoys me is adventurers that use 3rd party maps (often Dyson Logos) but the map doesn't really "fit" the adventure as written.