DMs, How do you write your adventures?

[Berandor]

I write a background synopsis for the adventure / campaign, and detailed write-ups of the major NPCs (with all required info, so non-combat NPCs might still just get some skills and class/level info).
Finally, I write up seperate scenes that the players can/will encounter, plus cutscenes if necessary. Then, I let them do what they want and simply adapt the scenes as necessary to keep them along.
Aside from thinking about the adventure/campaign, I prepare about 4-6 hours for 1-2 sessions (depending on how fast the players go through the scenes).

 

[Buttercup]

I don't plan adventures, but I don't really wing it either.

Instead, I plan out an area. I know who lives there, how they interact, and what things are going to happen if no one intervenes. This would include, for example, humanoids who will invade if not stopped, undead who will destroy the caravan if it is not rescued, a robbery which will take place if no one finds the clues, and so forth.

Then I turn the PCs loose in this area, and let them ask questions, snoop around, and generally do whatever they like. If they don't follow up on the merchant's concern about the late caravan, then the undead will destroy it, and so forth.

I do have very general over-arching plots, but they might not come into play more than once every few sessions, and then only in a minor way. Unless, of course, the PCs decide that they want to pursue one of these plots, in which case I would have to develop it more fully.

 

[Ghostknight]

Well, over the years I have developed a technique that seems to follow much of what others here are doing

1) Detail the general history of the world, broad outlines that covers major information for players so they have a top level perspective.
2) Detail necessary information for character creation - things like any specific house rules for play, deities t be used etc. Specific groups that may be brought into play I will detail and the rest I detail as the campaign progresses and they are viable character choices or goals or I need them for my plots (they then enter the realm of general knowledge)
3) I like to leave my adventures open enough to allow player freedom while moving towards some overall campaign goal. Thus I note possible adventure paths and details of what characters need to fulfill to complete that path - this list includes major NPCs and their histories, stats for encounters (I don't detail each orc but will detail their necessary combat and non-combat stats), CRs for traps etc and plot hooks.
4) I also have a few generic encounters/ monster stats ready to throw in along the way if the players do something and take me by surprise. This includes some NPCs I have written up and detailed with no specific goal until I need them or just encounters of varying CR to utilise. Hopefully the players cannot tell the difference and thus don't know when the DM is caught off guard!

 

[Hand of Evil]

For adventures I use Outlines with bullet items, flow chart, and timeline players may only know of one but they hear of the others in most cases.

 

[diaglo]

this is a Forest vs. Trees debate.

truly some gamers enjoy looking at each individual tree. and therefore the referee must gear his description and preparation towards that.

while others enjoy looking at a big picture and don't care much for the details. so you have to outline with broad strokes.

and still others want details about certain things and none about others except...are we there yet?

you as the referee have to know what your players want...if you want to include them in the building of the campaign.

 

[Flyspeck23]

Here's how I do it:

First, I take a look at where the PCs are now (or where to begin the campaign, for that matter). I'll try to get feedback from my players what they're trying to accomplish next (or better yet, I already know that from the end of the last session - but that's not always obvious).
Then I come up with any locations, events, encounters and NPCs I might need - and then some (always plan for crazy player actions...). I map the local area (more often than not I'll use my large continent map), dungeon and/or city, and try to guess what the PCs will do (the better you know your players, the easier this is).
The last stage is designing NPCs, treasures, random encounters (preferably some sort of table, so it's really random, at least to some degree) and the like.

Key elements: Know your players. Know their PCs. Know their goals.

As for details... that doesn't only depend on what your PCs want, but on how much you yourself need those details beforehand. It can get nasty if your PCs keep digging for details, unless:
a) you can wing it
b) you've got plenty details prepared, whether you'll need them or not.

 

[Whisper72]

Erm.... this is not supposed to be a debate on which type is best, the original poster simply wanted some ideas on how other people prepare / write up an adventure to pick their brains.

The original poster will have to make out for himself how much detail his player group requires (and how much time and effort he himself is willing and able to put into the design).

I myself never really considered using flow charts as a tool for designing adventures before (even though, or perhaps _because_ I DO use them at work sometimes...), so there is always something new to be learned from other people's ideas, regardless of the level of detail different campaigns have.

 

[S'mon]

IMO 'plots' are what NPCs have as their plans - "One month from now, my frost giant army will invade the Borderlands, ha ha!" not what PCs are expected to do. I very rarely run a 'scripted' adventure that depends at all on PCs doing particular things during the scenario (aka 'railroading'), rather I will set up the start conditions - eg villain, villain's plot, villain's lair, what villain will do next - and then see if the PCs muck it up. I find a good collection of maps, plenty of NPCs (with combat stats if appropriate) and their motivations and plots, and maybe some encounter tables or typical encounters, usually does the trick. Plus I like to use bought or downloaded scenarios, usually short ones tweaked to fit my campaign, although I've had good use from the Gaxmoor adventure/campaign setting.

 

[Altalazar]

Those are all good ways to work the details. But are you looking for where you get the ideas in the first place?

When I think up something, no matter where I am, that might make a good adventure or just part of one, I write it down. If I'm at work, I may just email myself at home a reminder as to what I thought up.

Then, when I am working on designing an adventure in earnest, I always have my list of "inspirations" to work from.

I can get inspiration from just about anywhere. From reading a book, from a news story, from a conversation with someone at work. Just pay attention to things around you and see if you can't place it in a D&D context. You'll be amazed at the strange things that can inspire an adventure or even a campaign. Sometimes I'll get interesting ideas just from sitting down and reading the whole list of nuggets that I've collected up as I see them combining in my mind in new and different ways.

Maybe you'll see an old spice deodorant commercial, and from that, the image of the ship in a stormy sea, you'll jot down "ship at sea in a storm"

Maybe later you'll be watching the news about the DC area sniper and then jot something down about seemingly random killings in broad daylight in a town - maybe by arrow from shadowy rooftops, maybe by magic. Maybe by a method not obvious at first.

And so on. You can get inspiration just about anywhere - and in its raw form, it may not suggest an entire adventure, but it can be a start.

Some things may inspire entire campaigns - and those are the ones you REALLY want to make sure you write down.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Pick out monsters and design NPCs before and than weave the world on the fly?

I'm getting to be quite a fan of this method...

I put together a number of NPCs and gave them rough plans. Also roughly map out the campaign world - names of bigger cities/countries/leaders. Also come up with a few fairly structured adventures to get the players started, introduce some of the groups/NPCs.

Then I combine the NPCs plans/make them interact depending on what the players do and what they're interested in... Also twist and throw in the effects of player actions or any good ideas they've got about what's going on.

Tends to mean a fair bit of thinking before the campaign starts, then if everything goes well, the game somewhat runs itself.