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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pseudopsyche" data-source="post: 5213908" data-attributes="member: 54600">I'm a newish DM myself, so I definitely understand the appeal of running an existing module.  One thing I've learned is that it's critical (at least for me) to take the module as a convenient starting point, not as a finished product to run as is.This attitude is important for two reasons.  First, the module writer does not know you, your group, or your campaign, so certain aspects of the adventure may require customization.  Second, a published adventure is not immune to the inherent difficulty of anticipating the random outcomes of dice rolls and player choices, even given familiarity with the group.For these reasons, you must feel free to modify the module.  Expand upon material that particularly interests your players, such as by adding role-playing options and notes to combat encounters and developing a supporting cast.  Remove material that does not interest your players, such as by excising meaningless or frustrating encounters.  Relocate and recycle material to compensate for your players' deviating from the expected path, such as moving an encounter group from a skipped location into the entirely new location they decided to explore.Because you are working with an adventure path and not just a single module, do try to figure out what the necessary ending conditions are for each chapter.  Where do the PCs need to be?  What should they have learned and accomplished?  For most groups, it is straightforward enough to get the players' explicit buy-in for these goals, as a courtesy to the DM, who may not want to generate an entire campaign from scratch.One idea I'm considering is chucking out XP.  Try telling the PCs that they will level up when they reach the appropriate milestones in the adventure path.  They will gain treasure as they accomplish the quests defined by the expected ending conditions discussed above.  How they achieve these goals is up to them, leaving you to mix, match, and expand upon the raw ingredients--encounters, locations, NPCs, hooks, plot elements--in the module to make it happen.In short: what's in the module is just the default.  Sometimes I wish all modules were released as editable documents, not as "print-ready" documents.</blockquote>

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