Creating a "module" based campaign

[xnosipjpqmhd]

Yeah, definitely Dungeon mag. Go here for an index.

Also go here for downloadable adventures from wizards.com.

It helps to pick a theme. Using those two resources almost exclusively, I threaded together a very long campaign path based on vikings and snowy locales.

So browse everything, note the stuff that relates to your theme, put it all in order according to party level,and start looking for ways to add plots and subplots to string the stuff together.

It helps to mesh common NPC roles from multiple adventures together... for example, if one adventure calls for a wise old human woman in a mountain hut and another one calls for a wise old dwarven man in a cave, you'll add cohesiveness to your campaign by having both roles filled by the same NPC.

To some extent, the same goes with BBEGs, though here's a neat trick. If the main bad guy in an early adventure escapes, just up his power level and put him back into a later adventure in place of that module's listed villain. This really starts to turn him into the party's nemesis. On the other hand, if he doesn't survive, drop clues to the effect that he was a lackey of someone (or something) far more evil... and just use the next villain in your campaign path.

I can't stress enough, though, to look ahead and weave the plots together. As a player, I find it much more satisfying to draw conclusions from careful (early) groundwork laid by the DM. When I started building a campaign path using published adventures (something I'd never done before) I figured I'd just run the modules pretty much as printed, but that turns out to be pretty bland, so I had to start modifying stuff to give it more depth. YMMV.

 

[Treebore]

Honestly, you need to get yourself a subscription to Dungeon Magazine and you'll never be short of adventures you can link into a campaign. I had a subscription for two years and have enough adventures that I've run campaigns for two groups with them and only used a couple for both (and only then because I really enjoyed running them for the first group).

Thats the truth. I have so many issues of Dungeon I really don't need to buy modules. Then I convinced myself that if I bought every issue of Dungeon and every module under $75.00 I could have an adventure for every location on my campaign map and plenty more for the "unmarked" areas. I do need a lot more new cities to be developed.

Bards Gate and Gygax's Yggsburgh/Castle Zagyg being the best knew ones (for me).

 

[Crust]

I have also become a lazy DM, and I ONLY ever use modules. I highly recommend Dungeon magazine. Three modules each month (plus great articles and useful tidbits), and the third adventure path is right around the corner (not to mention the minor adventure paths here and there, like "Vampires in Waterdeep"). It's my most-cherished tool.

I linked the githyanki Incursion materials (Dragon #309 and Dungeon #100) with the Return to the Tomb of Horrors box (making 3.5 conversions as I needed). Vlaakith was searching for Acererak's tomb in order to learn the secrets of soul gems and demi-lichdom. The PCs sought out Acererak and destroyed him before she could lay claim to his power. I also worked in the "Prison of the Firebringer" module from Dungeon #101, featuring Bazim-Gorag, who Vlaakith's knights sought to unleash upon the Dales, causing havoc and doing a lot of the githyanki's work for them. The PCs thwarted the githyankis' plans and slew Bazim-Gorag and his followers.

After that we went back to my home-brew dungeon for a time before capping the campaign with "The Quicksilver Hourglass" from Dungeon #123. Set at PL 30, I had to make some modifications. It was a lot of fun.

We recently started the Age of Worms path from Dungeon, and I'm slipping in the FR module Sons of Gruumsh right after "Encounter at Blackwall Keep" from issue #126. Prisoners from Blackwall Keep are spirited away as per module, but some are handed off to orcs as part of a tribute to their might (and as a way to avoid them attacking the lizardfolk), so the PCs must infiltrate the stronghold, kill Thrull, and rescue the prisoners (and maybe fight a few orcish Kyuss spawns).

I had to make some major changes to all of the modules and boxes I used, but that's the nature of the game. I enjoy taking a great module, linking it to my current campaign, and putting my own spin on it. It's a lot more fun than drawing a bunch of maps and toiling over stat blocks... Well, I actually enjoy doing that, but it's too time-consuming.