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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 5108349" data-attributes="member: 18280">This is not going to be the best response in the thread, for which I apologize.  However, I can certainly tell you things I dislike in modules:1.  The Delve Format.  Feel free to ignore this comment; I'm sure lots of folks love the format.2.  Encounter Order.  I know that it is easier to write an adventure if you know the order that the encounters will occur in, but making the map funnel adventurers into the encounters in a preset order (or close to) minimizes the impact of player choice during play.3.  Encounters = Combat Encounters.  Few encounters should automatically be combat encounters.  An encounter should be a possible range of actions and reactions, which may or may not include combat.  Again, anything that "scripts" how the PCs must react to a situation is bad, because it minimalizes the impact of player choice.  For that matter, minimalizing the impact of DM choice is not so hot either, unless there is a clear benefit to doing so.Related to this, I recommend looking over some of the 1e TSR modules, as well as some of the better 3pp 3e modules.  Most of the ones that are usually selected as "classics" or "best modules" are those that can be taken from, and lead into, a number of different directions.  While offering a solid framework, they attempt to maximize the impact of player (and DM) choice.  I do not mean on just the tactical/skirmish scale, either.4.  Skill Challenge Challenge:  Perhaps 4e was not intended to be a game of traipsing around the Feywild talking to pixies, but the skill challenge system can and should be used to do just that.  Instead of just X successes vs. Y failures, consider skill challenges that require the PCs to make choices as to how to proceed, where those choices determine the skills that may be used.  Further, at each step, success or failure changes the optimal choices that are left.  Some things become harder; some things become easier.  Success overall is based not on the numbers on the character sheet, but on being able to understand the overall situation, and how it shifts, in order to meet it with the proper response.I've actually been working (sporadically) on converting some 4e materials from Dungeon, so I'll try to come back with specific examples later.RC</blockquote>

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