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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 7798959" data-attributes="member: 45197">Hiya!Upon further reflection, I think that one of the problems I see with 5e is that they aren't creating stuff that sparks the imagination of the DM (and/or Player; but I DM mostly, so that's what I'll focus on). What I mean by that is...well...here's two examples.Ex #1: "Welcome to Baldur's Gate, a city of ambition and corruption. You’ve just started your adventuring career, but already find yourself embroiled in a plot that sprawls from the shadows of Baldur's Gate to the front lines of the planes-spanning Blood War! Do you have what it takes to turn infernal war machines and nefarious contracts against the archdevil Zariel and her diabolical hordes? And can you ever hope to find your way home safely when pitted against the infinite evils of the Nine Hells?" (from "Descent into Avernus")Ex#2: “Lost in the desert! The only hope for survival is a ruined city rising out of the sands. Food, water, and wealth await heroic adventurers inside an ancient pyramid ruled by a strange race of masked beings.”  (from "The Lost City"; Basic D&D B/X)Now, for me, #1 comes across as "Oh, got it" and my attitude going into it is "Right, so I have to study this and memorize all the important plots of various NPC's...because it all hinges on the PC's being 'embroiled in a plot'...and I know exactly where, why, who and what needs to be done". It seems more like homework than fun. It's not encouraging me, the DM, to imagine what I want to do with this book...it's telling me what I have to do with this book.Looking at #2, it comes across as "Oh, a desert and a ruined city that the PC's go into to survive...and find some strange race that wear masks. Hmmm...interesting...I wonder if [insert a bajillion ideas popping into my head involving snakes, scorpions, tarantula, twisted race of degenerate human mutants, traps, long forgotten gods, ancient scrolls, etc]"I know that this is likely COMPLETELY my own preference and mindset, but surely I can't be the only one? I just miss adventures that don't try and TELL me what is supposed to happen. What is supposed to happen is the Players decide the story...not me and not the module. Me and the module are there to facilitate the Players choices and weave them into the story they are creating because of it. If a module does try and tell me what is supposed to happen...that's ok as long as I can completely ignore it and all the 'stuff/filler/background' for that is short, concise, and totally removable (and not have taken up 80% of the book!)</blockquote>

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