Describing different adventure types

[Schmoe]

I've been considering my current campaign and how I anticipate it playing out. While nothing is set in stone at this point, and a lot depends on which plots the players pick up on, I expect that we will progress through a couple of dungeon crawls and gradually transition into an extra-planar romp. Since I don't have any experience creating an extra-planar romp, and I'm not even entirely sure what I mean by that, I started thinking about the different qualities that define an adventure. Based on that, I started brainstorming what the different adventure types mean to me. Here's what I have so far. I thought I would post to see if anyone else finds this useful, and also to get their thoughts on other adventure types or things I've missed.

-----------------------------------------------
Adventure Types
Romp
Urgency

• Immediate, high-stakes

Qualities

• Rough
• High energy
• Non-stop action
• Environment has a big impact on the adventure
• The adventure has a big impact on the environment
• Environment is very dynamic
• Opponents are the central focus
• Multiple factions and players

Obstacles

• Threats to the environment
• Unfriendly neutral factions

Opponents

• Plot-relevant
• Powerful and destructive
• Proactive and dynamic

Rewards

• Eliminating a threat
• Thwarting opponent goals
• Recovery of plot-important objects

Crawl
Urgency

• Remote or non-existent

Qualities

• Environment has a big impact on the adventure
• Environment is a central focus
• Environment is mostly static
• Opponents are largely reactive
• Exploration is a central focus

Obstacles

• Weather
• Navigation
• Traps
• Hidden paths, hidden areas, hidden societies, and hidden objects
• Environmental challenges
• Unfriendly monsters and factions

Opponents

• Varied (see obstacles)

Rewards

• Discovery of secrets
• Treasure
• Plot hooks
• Recovery of plot-important objects
• Access to important areas or contacts

Investigation
Urgency

• Varied, often remote

Qualities

• Low-energy
• Thoughtful and reflective
• Environment is secondary

Obstacles

• Puzzles
• Hidden clues
• Uncooperative witnesses
• Restricted access to important sites

Opponents

• Hidden identity
• Hidden weaknesses
• Hidden goals

Rewards

• Discovery of an opponent’s identity
• Discovery of secrets
• Access to new allies