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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sholari" data-source="post: 263817" data-attributes="member: 6059">Here is my take on what a I consider DM support.  DM support varies depending on 1) the type of campaign you want to run and 2) what your limitations are as a DM.  In a way it is like running a services company.  There are certain things that are more economically efficient for me to outsource to the game company (Wizards of the Coast).  Personally, I am great at coming up with rules and ways to referee on the fly.  I chose not to use a lot of the add-on rules because they don’t add much value for me.  I am also great at integrating completely unrelated modules into a cohesive and compelling story.  However, I do not have the time to think through the details of every room and encounter.  This will differ for other DMs.  Of course, market research will point to how to properly segment DMs out there in the market.  I would say start by studying how DMs put their games together.From some of the interviews I read the decision was made for options instead of restrictions in the core rules.  I think this was absolutely the right decision for the core rules.  However, I think this thinking has carried over into the campaign materials for settings such as the Forgotten rules and Greyhawk.  For my campaign setting I am not looking for monsters, deities, magic, and factions all split out from each other into separate books so that I can pick and choose.  For me the real value lies in how these things are integrated on a regional level.  The Forgotten Realms Campaign setting  captured this very well, but I am looking for the same integrated set at a more regional level where the campaign happens.  The Witchfire Trilogy (minus the steampowered stuff and linearity) also did this well. In terms of the campaign setting itself I am looking for something that will integrate well with my previous resource materials but very compelling in its own right (Savage Frontiers supplement).  Furthermore, I want points of dramatic tension in the world where major things are brewing beneath the surface, but what actually triggers is up to me (Old Empires by Scott Bennie).  However, I do not want huge world changing events that irrevocably alter the campaign world like the Time of Troubles in the Forgotten Realms.I want 3-dimensional modules with a strong but non-linear story element and good ambience that I can tie into some overarching story line of my own creation.  Although the ambience has been good, the problem with recent modules like the Sunless Citadel is they were fairly weak on story and too episodical.  Modules that I think have been very good are as follows: the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater, the Slavelord Series, Thirds of Purloined Vellum (recent Dungeon magazine module), Pharaoh and the rest of Desert of Desolation series, Castle Amber, Dragons of Despair, and the Assassin’s Knot.</blockquote>

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