Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="amerigoV" data-source="post: 6251310">I have to hide behind the module all the time.Me: "Your PC dies a horrible and humiliating death."Player: "But that is not fair!"Me: "Its in the module!"<then I have to hid behind it as the player pelts me with random thrown objects>One thing I like about modules as a player and GM is the shared experience. One of my fondest as GM is the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. On Monte's board that module was vibrant community all in itself. Some of the dastardly ideas that board came up with still warms my evil GM heart. As a player, its fun to talk with others that have gone through the same adventure on how they handled certain situations. It gives players something they can talk about with other groups without being "that guy" - you know "well, my Monk/Totem Farter/Aristocrat killed Asmodeus by taxing him to death in our homebrew campaign". The shared experience gives context.That said, the newer modules I find to have too much detail. If you like whats there, its great. If you like some if it, it becomes hard to unravel the aspects you like without a lot of work. IMO, its one of the reasons some of the old modules are still popular - since they are generally site based with a thin plot, its easier to change without the whole thing becoming a major rewrite.My favorite style these days comes from Savage Worlds - Plot Points and Savage Tales. Plot Points are campaign arcs - the 8-10 really interesting story points within a campaign. Each has bit of detail around them and is a page or two in detail (ie, a PP campaign is NOT an AP (Adventure Path) level of detail). They all link together, but not always back to back, which leaves room for the GM to put other stuff in (flexibility!). Savage Tales tend to be shorter on description but with enough to get you through a couple of sessions with minimal prep (but SW is know for its minimal prep anyway). These can run from a couple of paragraphs to a page or so in material. These are perfect items to slip between the Plot Points to flesh out the campaign.50 Fathoms (D&D meets Pirates of the Caribbean) is their best one and I am running it right now. For me, anyway, they give just enough detail to really fire up the imagination without weighing you down. I find I can expand the material to taste if the players really get into an area without breaking the plot. Or I can run it bare bones if it is just "ok". I can add things whole cloth since the Plot Point is loose in its timing (think of games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls - you can explore without having to immediately follow The Plot). Its interesting that people struggle to make a good sandbox but this 50 Fathoms campaign book is a perfect one (there is structure based on where people go, but there is open room to expand or you can contract as needed).</blockquote>

Verification