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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kheti sa-Menik" data-source="post: 3077496" data-attributes="member: 22721">I think some of it has to do with the preparation of the GM/DM.I have Red Hand of Doom and have read through various arts of it a couple times.  If I were to run it, I'd highlight and reread multiple times so I knew various important NPCs' actions at specific points.  Most modules are only as railroady as the DM chooses to make them.  If  the DM knows the module inside and out, he can nudge the PCs or allow them free reign to accomplish the goal.  Red Hand of Doom:  The bridge has to come down.  It doesn't matter how many creatures you kill or how you do it, as long as the bridge is not useable by the enemy.  If the PCs come up with a creative way to bring it down and don't kill a single creature, they still have accomplished their goal and I would give XP accordingly.  It doesn't break the module.Breaking modules is not something I really see.. besides preparation, DMs can also have an idea of the module's context against the backdrop of the campaign.  If I were to run RHoD, and the PCs did something really wacky, like abandon the quest to defeat the RHoD altogether, then the enemy wins, conquering the Elsir Vale.  You can bet other parts of the campaign world will be affected by this.  The RH will eventually want to sweep beyond the Vale and into other civilized lands.  The PCs' actions have repercussions.In a module with less grand a scope then RHoD, say Idylls of the Rat King by Goodman Games (one of the modules in their Dungeon Crawl Classics line), it's a fairly straightforward dungeon crawl.  I took the silver mine, dropped it into a desert mountainous region, threw some thri-kreen in, and that's all that was needed.  But I gave it context within the campaign.  If you don't stop the raiders, the mining town you are constables of will fail, resulting in financial ruin for a few folks, and a bad reputation for the players.  I know what the impact of the players will be in all outcomes, even if they try to do something module-breaking. Module breaking is preventable by good preparation and a focus on campaign context.</blockquote>

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