Modules: Made to Read vs Made to Run?

[Neonchameleon]

I’ve seen way more “oh holy crap why did I never think of that” creativity in OSR-esque stuff then anything written in long form prose with endless italics and the like.

But there's a reason I call Pathfinder APs the Ideal Homes magazine of ttrpgs. It's not about pure creativity but also vibes and imagery.

 

[Celebrim]

"Stairs into the Mound
Descend 20’ (into the earth). Dusty
(caked with centuries of undisturbed dust). Deathly silence (disturbed by
PCs’ footsteps). Dank smell (moist and mouldy).
▶ If examined: Scratches are discovered. Looks like something heavy was dragged up the stairs (a long time ago)."

That would drive me bonkers. It hurts my head trying to read that just in the short example you've provided it.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Some people don't want information loss, because reading pleasure might be a higher priority than gameplay to some folks (not you, obviously, but that kinda is the whole point of the thread).

Definitely. Nowhere am I saying that I am "right" about liking terse, information-dense formats. It's just what I happen to like.

That said, I don't think there is necessarily a contradiction between "Easy to Read" and "Easy to Run". I personally find the Easy to Run modules also Easy to Read, or at least easier than wall-of-text modules.

 

[zakael19]

That would drive me bonkers. It hurts my head trying to read that just in the short example you've provided it.

It's a little cleaner in the actual layout, and yeah not everybody vibes with Necrotic Gnome's house style - but it gives you a very clear at the table experience written in quality landmark -> hidden -> secret style. Basically all the good OSR stuff is using some sort of format that helps the GM read and recount on the fly though, in a way that a bunch of italics purple prose and a handful of undifferentiated sentences dont.

Like, I've read plenty of old school modules including the "best" and they really can't touch the last couple of decades of shared knowledge and a focus on layout and editing we get these days in the better stuff. Is there plenty of drek out there? Sure. But go take a gander at the well regarded modules and you can literally scan the Referee's Background stuff and then run the entire module reading as you go along.

 

[Celebrim]

One thing reading this thread presses home for me is just how vastly different people's tastes, preferences and needs are as GMs.

I have looked at a lot of the examples that are raised as being made well and presenting information well, and I loathe them with all of my being. I feel insulted by the texts, that they are unfinished outlines where I'm left to do all the hard parts of making the idea come to life after the content creator has done the easy part of coming up with ideas. I feel the style is goofy and the adventure railroad-y and often inferior to the 1e AD&D module that inspired it. The staccato blips of micro-information with its bold fonts and frequent formatting changes just is oppressive to read. I like none of it.

But if it works at someone's table, OK, that's fine. It's just, please don't tell me that the stuff I like is hard to run and this stuff easy and well organized.

 

[Celebrim]

It's a little cleaner in the actual layout, and yeah not everybody vibes with Necrotic Gnome's house style - but it gives you a very clear at the table experience written in quality landmark -> hidden -> secret style. Basically all the good OSR stuff is using some sort of format that helps the GM read and recount on the fly though, in a way that a bunch of italics purple prose and a handful of undifferentiated sentences dont.

So the bold stuff just interrupts my thoughts. Full sentences are there but they are written unnatural ways that just interfere with understanding. Too many parenthetical asides. There is no need for the bold headers.

Reformatted as something like:

An arched passaged worked into the stone descends down a 20' staircase into deepening gloom. The stairs are caked with centuries of dust. There is a dank mildew smell rising from below.

Footsteps on the stairs echo unnaturally, and magically attuned characters (DC 15 Arcane check) feel a sense of menace at each sound that disturbs the silence.

If the dust is brushed away and the stairs examined, a DC 10 Appraisal check determines that at one time an object heavy enough to scratch the stone was dragged up the stairs.

 

[zakael19]

So the bold stuff just interrupts my thoughts. Full sentences are there but they are written unnatural ways that just interfere with understanding. Too many parenthetical asides. There is no need for the bold headers.

Reformatted as something like:

An arched passaged worked into the stone descends down a 20' staircase into deepening gloom. The stairs are caked with centuries of dust. There is a dank mildew smell rising from below.

Footsteps on the stairs echo unnaturally, and magically attuned characters (DC 10 Arcane check) feel a sense of menace at each sound that disturbs the silence.

If the dust is brushed away and the stairs examined, a DC 10 Appraisal check determines that at one time an object heavy enough to scratch the stone was dragged up the stairs.

Sure, this is a You thing. That's valid, but I have a way easier time running NG's products then anything I've ever touched that does the long form annoyance like you typed out. I'd rather let my imagination grab the short pithy bits and spin out the words on the fly - that way I can improvise based on declared actions and the situation and let my inner creativity slow.

 

[Celebrim]

Sure, this is a You thing. That's valid, but I have a way easier time running NG's products then anything I've ever touched that does the long form annoyance like you typed out. I'd rather let my imagination grab the short pithy bits and spin out the words on the fly - that way I can improvise based on declared actions and the situation and let my inner creativity slow.

And that's my point. That is a You Thing. You have a way easier time with that. I can read very fast, taking in all thread paragraphs I wrote at a glance. But the staccato formatting you prefer causes my brain to halt and stutter with each format change and parenthetical, forcing me to rearrange it into my head into a coherent thought. My version all the basic work done takes three seconds to read, stays in my head, and so now I can focus on the players declared actions and let my inner creativity show.

If the market moves entirely to make you happy, it's making nothing for me.

 

[BruceWright]

I think it’s clear by now that we all like what we like and don’t like what we don’t.

Most of my prep time is spent reading something like what your wrote there and transcribing that to my prep notes that read like:

Steps 20 feet down, Dusty. Quiet.
DC 10 Investigation—-> Scratches.

I can spin my own vibes and yarn for days. I need facts at my fingertips.

Cue cards, not a script. For me. For my style.

 

[zakael19]

I can read very fast, taking in all thread paragraphs I wrote at a glance.

So can I! Just like @BruceWright though I don't want to have to read very fast at the table, I want to read the bare minimum to springboard off of; and then be able to rapidly reference the hidden -> secret info when players start declaring actions in accordance with the procedures of the game. Some degree of highlighting and spacing makes that easier to skip around and grab.