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<blockquote data-quote="Levistus's_Leviathan" data-source="post: 7988623" data-attributes="member: 7023887"><p>This is how I ranked my adventures. You may rank them in different ways, but this is just how I did it, and they are ranked from most important to least important:</p><p></p><p>So, the first thing I took into account was the hook into the adventure. In my opinion, this is the most important part of the adventure, as the draw into the adventure is a major part of determining how players will feel about the adventure run. </p><p></p><p>Next, I analyzed the overarching plot. Who are the villains, what are their motivations, how late in the adventure they appear, and so on. Dragon Heist has very prominent and drawing villains with known motivations and cool themes and goals. Rise of Tiamat is basically the opposite. You know what the villains want to do, they want to free Tiamat. Why? Who knows? They're evil, that'll work. So, they're evil, want to free an evil goddess just to destroy the world, or have revenge, or something. Dragon Heist has much better villains than Rise of Tiamat, IMO, because you know more about them and what they want.</p><p></p><p>Then, I analyzed the theme of the adventure. Curse of Strahd is dark, with a bit of hope. Descent into Avernus is a dark adventure that blends the lines between law and good, causing moral dilemmas in the party. Tomb of Annihilation is a gritty meat grinder, with humor mixed in with world-saving. To me, what draws me more to an adventure is how good the theme is. Out of the Abyss is themed around chaos and backstabbing, but IMO is not as well executed as Curse of Strahd or Storm King's Thunder.</p><p></p><p>After that, I took in account how linear, railroady, or sandboxy the adventures are. I prefer sandboxing adventures. That's just the type of adventure I like. Linear stories can be executed and written well, and so can railroady adventures, but I am personally more drawn to sandboxy adventures. Curse of Strahd is linear. You know your goal, kill Strahd, but it is sandboxy in the sense that player agency is the most important thing in the adventure.</p><p></p><p>Finally, I analyzed the overall adventure content. How exciting it was, what encounters happen, what twists occur, or puzzles, mind-games, moral choices. All of this stuff is what I considered last. Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus is great at making morally questionable choices seem viable. Tomb of Annihilation has great puzzles and riddles. All of this is still very important to me, even though it is listed last. Hoard of the Dragon Queen does not have any of these. There's no riddles, mind-games, morally ambiguous themes, or anything like this. It is very bland. This is why I listed the Tyranny of Dragons adventures last. On all 5 accounts, they failed in my book. </p><p></p><p>I listed Tyranny of Dragons last, because the hook is not very drawing, IMHO. The theme is not drawing. It is very linear and railroady. The plot is well known from early on in the adventure. It is not drawing in overall content. Again, this is just my opinion and how I rank adventures. </p><p></p><p>I hope this clears things up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Levistus's_Leviathan, post: 7988623, member: 7023887"] This is how I ranked my adventures. You may rank them in different ways, but this is just how I did it, and they are ranked from most important to least important: So, the first thing I took into account was the hook into the adventure. In my opinion, this is the most important part of the adventure, as the draw into the adventure is a major part of determining how players will feel about the adventure run. Next, I analyzed the overarching plot. Who are the villains, what are their motivations, how late in the adventure they appear, and so on. Dragon Heist has very prominent and drawing villains with known motivations and cool themes and goals. Rise of Tiamat is basically the opposite. You know what the villains want to do, they want to free Tiamat. Why? Who knows? They're evil, that'll work. So, they're evil, want to free an evil goddess just to destroy the world, or have revenge, or something. Dragon Heist has much better villains than Rise of Tiamat, IMO, because you know more about them and what they want. Then, I analyzed the theme of the adventure. Curse of Strahd is dark, with a bit of hope. Descent into Avernus is a dark adventure that blends the lines between law and good, causing moral dilemmas in the party. Tomb of Annihilation is a gritty meat grinder, with humor mixed in with world-saving. To me, what draws me more to an adventure is how good the theme is. Out of the Abyss is themed around chaos and backstabbing, but IMO is not as well executed as Curse of Strahd or Storm King's Thunder. After that, I took in account how linear, railroady, or sandboxy the adventures are. I prefer sandboxing adventures. That's just the type of adventure I like. Linear stories can be executed and written well, and so can railroady adventures, but I am personally more drawn to sandboxy adventures. Curse of Strahd is linear. You know your goal, kill Strahd, but it is sandboxy in the sense that player agency is the most important thing in the adventure. Finally, I analyzed the overall adventure content. How exciting it was, what encounters happen, what twists occur, or puzzles, mind-games, moral choices. All of this stuff is what I considered last. Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus is great at making morally questionable choices seem viable. Tomb of Annihilation has great puzzles and riddles. All of this is still very important to me, even though it is listed last. Hoard of the Dragon Queen does not have any of these. There's no riddles, mind-games, morally ambiguous themes, or anything like this. It is very bland. This is why I listed the Tyranny of Dragons adventures last. On all 5 accounts, they failed in my book. I listed Tyranny of Dragons last, because the hook is not very drawing, IMHO. The theme is not drawing. It is very linear and railroady. The plot is well known from early on in the adventure. It is not drawing in overall content. Again, this is just my opinion and how I rank adventures. I hope this clears things up. [/QUOTE]
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