How often does your GG "break" modules?

[Thurbane]

So do you play with folks that are ex-military or architects????

I think it comes from a desire to be able to shoulder a door closed if the fight is going badly...

 

[Dracorat]

My group never breaks modules, although quite often, they lead them in directions the original authors never intended (including sometimes directly THROUGH walls)

 

[Hussar]

Number one question asked by my group that is often not in the module "Do the doors open inwards or outwards?". Always. Without fail. Every room.

(When I write my own adventures, I make sure that each and evey door is noted with which way it opens).

On a side note, the World's Largest Dungeon, with over 1600 encounters, states that ALL doors open from the hallways into the rooms unless specifically noted in the text.

Solves that problems nicely.

 

[wayne62682]

I think a lot of the problems with published modules is that some DMs that use them expect no to be required to adapt or wing it, relying entirely on what's written. But a module won't do 100% of the DM's work. It'll do about 50% of the work, but you also have to pitch in.

Aha, so therein lay my problem.. I used modules because I didn't have time to sit down and write my own stuff (well, I find I'm never creative enough to write my own stuff.. hmm maybe I'll start another read on adventure writing), and I never really took into count the fact that most of the PCs were not good-hearted heroes but Han Solo mercenary types, and the modules are obviously written on the assumption that the PCs are heroes.

 

[NiTessine]

Usually, my group doesn't break modules.

However, in the Finnish Living Greyhawk circles there was a situation in 2004 and 2005 when we wound up somehow breaking every other module, due to writers' assumptions that the group was to be heroic (Fury of a Cold Man's Heart - little kid came to the group asking them for help when his village was in trouble. "Can you pay?" "No, we're but poor farmers." "Screw you, then."), strange fortunes (Crossfire - where we somehow succeeded in accomplishing the goals of two adversaries and ended up eligible to take our pick of their rewards.), or just bad writing (The Letter - where one of our groups missed half a module and a good deal of xp because they actually succeeded in catching a murderer before he could be assassinated.).

This problem no longer comes up. The modules tend to be better now, and the European writers for metaregional modules have learned to put in the "Ahlissan solution", for the greedy, morally bankrupt and pro-Ahlissan players.

 

[Klaus]

Number one question asked by my group that is often not in the module "Do the doors open inwards or outwards?". Always. Without fail. Every room.

(When I write my own adventures, I make sure that each and evey door is noted with which way it opens).

Quick rule-of-thumb:

Unless stated otherwise, doors swing *into* a room, with the hinges on the inside.

 

[NiTessine]

Quick rule-of-thumb:

Unless stated otherwise, doors swing *into* a room, with the hinges on the inside.

Except in D20 Modern, where it's the opposite, for fire safety reasons.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

I dont run published adventures but my players try and break my games all the time. I even encourage it. And i make it my personal mission to break another DM's game, it tends to make them think a little harder next time when designing an adventure (and no ive never had anyone get mad over it).

 

[bento]

I dont run published adventures but my players try and break my games all the time. I even encourage it. And i make it my personal mission to break another DM's game, it tends to make them think a little harder next time when designing an adventure (and no ive never had anyone get mad over it).

I guess that would all depend on how you "break" adventures. If you decide to:

• Sit by yourself in the middle of a field singing "YA-YA-YA," refusing the budge

• Shout in the dungeon hall ways "HERE WE ARE GOBLINS! WE"RE GOING TO KILL YOU!"

• Try to set fire to town hall because you're bored

or

• Start fighting other party members because you think your character's hatred of all things Elven overrides your sense of party unity

Then I'd through you out on your ears.

FYI - I've had two players do these in the past year.

 

[Matchstick]

Any module I ever ran that had a scripted intro (especially a railroady one along the lines of "you've been arrested on trumped up charges and told you can go free if you accomplish mission X") the players would refuse to go along -- they'd never go to the place they were supposed to go, or talk to the person who was supposed to give them info, they frequently got into fights with the good guys who were supposed to be their patrons, etc. Sometimes I'd be able to get the module back on course later, other times the module was a complete loss. In later years, therefore, I avoided these types of intros and if the module I wanted to run had one, I'd write something new.

I usually count on my players trying to break the plan, and so the adventure may look railroady in one direction when in fact I've planned for the rebellion and am ready for them to go the other way. Many times if they go along with the "railroad" I wind up winging it.



I have played with a DM that was almost completely unadaptable. He just had no idea what to do with ideas that were outside of the printed possibilities in the module. Most times he would let us prepare for and execute whatever our plan was, and then say it didn't work. It was tremendously frustrating.