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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Skyscraper" data-source="post: 5109830" data-attributes="member: 48518">WotC has been doing great stuff with rules and layout, but I admit to not liking several among the adventures I've read (mostly, 3E stuff e.g. Ravenloft, some Dungeon DDI adventures, Keep on the Shadowfell and now I'm playing through Scales of War but it's early to judge - we're finishing Rivenroar) due to story and general pace.Random thoughts (I haven't read through this long thread, sorry for repeats):- I don't like the structured encounters, i.e. not only do we know when and where PCs will be attacked by monsters, but each monster's position is already defined at the start of combat. I mean: what if the players' decisions actually mattered? Railroad has never been more obvious IMO.Proposed solution: have some encounters be predefined, but leave some open-ended. E.g. Encounter A will occur only if condition 1 is met; Encounter B will only include X, Y, Z creatures if the PCs managed to do this or that beforehand; Encounter C will occur somewhere in the castle, if the PCs are not stealthy enough (no pre-prepared plan for this one!); Encounter D will occur if the PCs have befriended NPC #5; Encounter E is left to the DM has a option to change the pace, lay an ambush, add a guard patrol, in case the DM feels like PCs should have a confrontation with the group of (guards, cultists, thieves, ...); ...- NPCs not credible. Reading through Ravenloft (3E) for example, there is a village rampaged by undead, and when the PCs arrive at the barricaded Inn, what's going on? They hear song and laugher. I mean, WTF? Those people should be scared witless. Or, in Keep of the Shadowfell: they rescue their mentor, he says thank you and leaves to return to see his wife. The guy was there to investigate a dragon grave (if I recall correctly) at the outset, and now he gets rescued and he's in a hurry to leave. There is no depth in this NPC IMO.Proposed solution: get emotions to filter out of the NPCs. Fear at the threat, humiliation at not being able to do anything, those kind of emotions should transpire. I'm sure you have plenty of people with drama experience, use them! For example, the NPC mentor in Keep on the Shadowfell could have the option to leave to return to his wife, remain in town but be traumatised from his captivity, or become mad from captivity; or any other outcome the DM feels thinking about, the latter three being examples of why he won't join the PCs for the rest of the adventure.- storyline too thin: was there a storyline in Ravenloft? Hehe. Just kidding. I found it a bit dull, but I'll use Keep on the Shadowfell as my example: there is nothing going on in town when the PCs arrive. Nothing. The only detail we have is about what NPCs know about the goblins and the kobolds and the keep itself. Do the NPCs have lives of their own?Proposed solution: adding layers in the village itself would have been nice. Example: in the Shackled City adventure path (minor spoilers ahead), there are tons of lines lying all about the city of Cauldron for the PCs to pick up. Priests disappearing at the temple, nobles that have their respective agendas, two competing thieve guilds, rumors about dragons, paladins, etc... It's not just about the "keep near the village" and the DM can make the rest up.Side note: even if the depth of the adenture will not become known to the players, the story has to be compelling for the DM at the outset. Forming a web interconnecting the NPCs is a good way to achieve that IMO. Getting the DM thrilled about the depth of the setting will in turn help the DM convey that feeling to the players.- Avoid hollywood stereotypes and try to set up surprising settings where the paladin is not the goodie-two-shoes, the BBEG actually has a reason to be evil, he's not simply evil because he's evil; and surprising stories and settings.Thanks for asking about this and I hope my opinion helps, although it is but one player's opinion.Sky</blockquote>

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