D&D 5E (2014) Buying Adventures

[Ahnehnois]

That's what I thought. Completely different cultures, for whatever reason.

 

[Agamon]

That's what I thought. Completely different cultures, for whatever reason.

Nobody you've played with in the history of ever has heard of Keep on the Borderlands or Against the Giants or Temple of Elemental Evil or would understand what an pre-written adventure is without a thorough explanation?

Did we colonise the moon in the 70's and no one told me?

I get not using published adventures, but consider my mind blown in this instance. It's kinda like owning a computer without knowing the existence of published software because you're a programmer.

 

[Holy Bovine]

One thing I'm getting from this is that ENWorld skews heavily towards GMs in terms of who buys adventures.

I'll agree with the adjusted statement. There are way more players than GMs around but GMs spend the real money.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Nobody you've played with in the history of ever has heard of Keep on the Borderlands or Against the Giants or Temple of Elemental Evil

Absolutely not. Unquestionably. The concept of an adventure is a stretch, but any specific proper nouns associated with one, definitely not.

And that was true even at the old (now defunct) WotC store where I met a lot of the people I didn't personally play with. If that store had any interest in this type of thing, they kept it secret. (Maybe that's why they went out of business?)

or would understand what an pre-written adventure is without a thorough explanation?

The number of people who might grasp it to some extent would be moderate, I'd guess.

For my part, even though there probably were a few bits in the DMG about this idea, I probably played for close to ten years without ever seeing a published adventure as a physical book form. When I did, I was quite mystified. It looked like a D&D book, but had a title composed of proper nouns that lent itself to no clear topic. How did a new D&D book come out and no one told me? I thought I had everything! It was only once I opened the book that the idea started to dawn on me. Oh, it's one of those things.

It would be hard for me to adequately articulate how utterly bizarre the idea is to me.

I get not using published adventures, but consider my mind blown in this instance. It's kinda like owning a computer without knowing the existence of published software because you're a programmer.

The way I see it, the software is the rules, and the adventures are more like the sample songs/pictures/etc. that come with your computer.

***

Or, to put another spin on it, the majority of players I've met are familiar with the Baldur's Gate series and immediately get inside references to it and recognize many of the associated proper nouns. I theorize that perhaps computer games create the common lexicon for younger generations that I've seen referred to by the older ones.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

I honestly never understand the negativity about modules. Over the years, I've seen lots of people turn up their noses at modules as if it were somehow beneath them. I've never felt that way. Some of my greatest gaming experiences have come from modules. Actually, I'd take that a step farther, most of the best gaming I've run or played over the years, has come from modules.

I don't have anything against them, but I don't use them. A very big part of my enjoyment of DMing comes from the creative process of building adventures and campaigns from scratch. I prefer to run long-term campaigns (as opposed to one-off adventures), and the worldbuilding process is half the fun for me.

 

[Agamon]

It would be hard for me to adequately articulate how utterly bizarre the idea is to me.

That makes sense, because it's pretty bizarre from the this angle, too. I assume there was no FLGS in your neck of the woods?

The way I see it, the software is the rules, and the adventures are more like the sample songs/pictures/etc. that come with your computer.

Not quite. Published adventures aren't just examples of what you can do with the game, they're useful themselves for actually playing the game if you lack the time or creativity to make it all up yourself.

It's not that odd, really. I can create a pizza from scratch or order from Domino's. Put together my own PC or buy an ASUS. Create my own adventures or run one out of Dungeon mag. The former is more personal and gets you exactly what you want, but takes some time and effort. The latter is easier, though you're limited to what the creator gives you. There's pros and cons both ways.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

I've been subscribed to every AP from Paizo since the beginning. That alone is 81 different volumes of adventures.
That doesn't include the adventures I own from basic, 1E, 2E and 3x! Heck, I even have CHAMPIONS adventures from 4th Edition and 5th Edition.

Then there's my collection of Dungeon! magazines...

So yeah ALOT of adventures.

 

[Ahnehnois]

That makes sense, because it's pretty bizarre from the this angle, too. I assume there was no FLGS in your neck of the woods?

Ever since the close of the WotC store, there has been a surprising and noted dearth in the general geographical area. The few comic book stores and such that do gaming I haven't been to in a very long time.

It's not that odd, really. I can create a pizza from scratch or order from Domino's. Put together my own PC or buy an ASUS. Create my own adventures or run one out of Dungeon mag. The former is more personal and gets you exactly what you want, but takes some time and effort. The latter is easier, though you're limited to what the creator gives you. There's pros and cons both ways.

I would say that it isn't quite that simple, though. For one thing, the amount of meaningful effort that you can put into or must put into a D&D game is a lot more variable. It's entirely possible to run something completely off the cuff with no work whatsoever (and no cost). If I could clap my hands and make a pizza appear, Domino's would be out of business. And yet, I can clap my hands and make an rpg session appear, and Paizo is still ticking.

And perhaps, more parsimoniously than pure off the cuff gaming, I do get by with a lot less prep than a published adventure would theoretically provide.

Moreover, there's also a cost to "eating out" both financially and timewise, which also translates to D&D. I'd find it much more difficult and time-consuming to check a book to see what the treasure is or what the name of some NPC is, as opposed to just making it up. Honestly, I don't know how having such a book would even be helpful. It's a completely different philosophy from what I'm doing.

 

[Agamon]

I would say that it isn't quite that simple, though. For one thing, the amount of meaningful effort that you can put into or must put into a D&D game is a lot more variable. It's entirely possible to run something completely off the cuff with no work whatsoever (and no cost). If I could clap my hands and make a pizza appear, Domino's would be out of business. And yet, I can clap my hands and make an rpg session appear, and Paizo is still ticking.

Don't make too much of my examples. The point is you can create or you can consume another's creations. Writing and Amazon maybe is a better example.[/quote]

Moreover, there's also a cost to "eating out" both financially and timewise, which also translates to D&D. I'd find it much more difficult and time-consuming to check a book to see what the treasure is or what the name of some NPC is, as opposed to just making it up. Honestly, I don't know how having such a book would even be helpful. It's a completely different philosophy from what I'm doing.

Just an aside, you're preaching to the choir. I make up my own stuff, too, I just understand that there's value in using published adventures. It might not be one's cup of tea, but that doesn't make it worthless.

And sometimes, even if you do make stuff up, you might need to check notes (or at least I do, my memory is a finite resource). If you make up the name of an NPC every time the PCs meet him, they might soon get suspicious...

 

[Uchawi]

WOTC should provide a short adventure format similar to encounters from 4E, so at least everyone that plays the game contributes by providing their own adventure. However small or brief it may be.