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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Colmarr" data-source="post: 5122039" data-attributes="member: 59182">I'm only a sometimes reader of adventures (I'm mainly a player), but the things I have noticed are: (most examples are from Dead by Dawn in the latest issue of Dungeon magazine) 1. Make sure the read aloud text matches the map (eg. the wight in the rectory is described as being slumped in front of the altar when on the map it is positioned on the other side of the room). 2. Check the monster stat blocks for errors (eg. the hobgoblin zombies have ridiculously high defences - AC 25! Another example is from Rescue at Rivenroar where one of the ettercaps was described as having a "Recharge z" power. 3. Re-check the adventure after editting the content.(eg. the adventure refers to an Identifying the Necroshard skill challenge that doesn't exist and was obviously taken out during editting). The three points above are simple editting errors, and really hurt your ability to present information in a professional way. I would also agree with some of the earlier posters: 4. Page counts are not your friend. They limit your ability to set the scene appropriately and give the DM all the information they need to run the game well. An arbitrary count of 1 or 2 pages per encounter will simply result in bad writing and/or presentation. 5. Tell some innovative stories, and/or tell them in innovative ways.Dead by Dawn is the first Dungeon adventure that I've gone out of my way to read in quite some time. Why? Because it tells a story that is unusual for D&D. So it was the concept that hooked me. And once I read it, I found that I liked the way it handled its premise. It told the story in an innovative way. The combination of innovative story and innovative presentation is really calling me to get back in the DMing seat. Another example is from the old Shackled City campaign. I forget the name of the adventure, but it's the one where the volcano in the middle of the city begins to errupt and fiends appear everywhere. That adventure didn't lay out linear encounters. It said "here are the things your PCs could do. If they successfully complete X of them, they achieve Y. If not, Z happens". It was an early template for skill challenges, but on an adventure-wide scale. To this day, I remember being impressed by the author's creativity. Edit: 6. Not every adventure needs to be a mega-adventure. I personally feel that Keep on the Shadowfell and Thunderspire Labyrinth were too long (although some sections were worse than others). The Chaos Scar and LFR adventures offer a nice alternative - a snack for when you or your players aren't ready to launch into another multi-month adventure. However, in saying that, I would be very touchy about price for shorter adventures. I'm not sure how touchy, and won't really know until there's a product on a shelf with a price tag attached. I do think though, that shorter adventures are perfect for DDI because DDI doesn't require separate expenditure just to obtain that adventure.</blockquote>

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