tdewitt274
Explorer
First off, I appreciate all the input. While I haven't looked at all the referring links, I will get to them as I read though the threads another time or two.
Wicht, Goatunit, and Rune bring up good points that I haven't thought about, the top down approach where you create the story around the people and events.
Umbran brings up a good point regarding who makes the story. I somewhat disagree that the DM doesn't create the story. True, the Players create the story, but the story wouldn't exist without the DM. I feel that it's up to the DM to create the backbone and let the players flesh it out. The story wouldn't exist without the DM.
While "stealing" ideas from other sources are fine, I don't read, watch TV, or hit the news to a great extent. That said, my focus is not necessarily in gaming when I do those activities, so it is rare that I get an idea from those sources. The books I read are usually computer reference books, and similar with news.
Steenan, is this what you mean by Dungeon World? http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/108028/Dungeon-World
TreChriron, I do have Red Tide and Stars Without Number, but I only glimpsed it. Wasn't sure I understood how the book worked.
JackOfAllTrades, I do not believe that I saw that list in my searches. I spent a lot of time on that site but mostly used what I found to search out somewhere else.
JHull does kind of hit what I am looking for in his last paragraph. Years of playing have left the games we play a little stagnant. In fact, we played on campaign 4 times because we "didn't get it right" (my words, not the DM). I want to throw a little more depth into the game, a hard sell I'm sure.
I have no issue using store bought adventures. The issue that I'm running into is where to go from there? An adventure path is fine, but it can suffer from the "the PCs will eventually go off track/screw something up." Which is fine, but it requires coming up with an idea to get them back "on track". While individual modules have the issue of "where do we go from here" to fit to the next adventure. Finally, if the next adventure is off in left field compared to where you want to go, it helps having the ability to plot out a new direction.
As a current example, I'm going to run Lost Mine of Phandelver when the current DM is finished. I can think of encounters to introduce them to the adventure (it's a little "here you go" to begin), but the rewards granted don't translate well to another adventure (I'll keep it spoiler free).
So, in the end, stealing is good, but improvising is key as well.
Again, I appreciate the help and I'm still interested in additional input.
Thanks!
Wicht, Goatunit, and Rune bring up good points that I haven't thought about, the top down approach where you create the story around the people and events.
Umbran brings up a good point regarding who makes the story. I somewhat disagree that the DM doesn't create the story. True, the Players create the story, but the story wouldn't exist without the DM. I feel that it's up to the DM to create the backbone and let the players flesh it out. The story wouldn't exist without the DM.
While "stealing" ideas from other sources are fine, I don't read, watch TV, or hit the news to a great extent. That said, my focus is not necessarily in gaming when I do those activities, so it is rare that I get an idea from those sources. The books I read are usually computer reference books, and similar with news.
Steenan, is this what you mean by Dungeon World? http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/108028/Dungeon-World
TreChriron, I do have Red Tide and Stars Without Number, but I only glimpsed it. Wasn't sure I understood how the book worked.
JackOfAllTrades, I do not believe that I saw that list in my searches. I spent a lot of time on that site but mostly used what I found to search out somewhere else.
JHull does kind of hit what I am looking for in his last paragraph. Years of playing have left the games we play a little stagnant. In fact, we played on campaign 4 times because we "didn't get it right" (my words, not the DM). I want to throw a little more depth into the game, a hard sell I'm sure.
I have no issue using store bought adventures. The issue that I'm running into is where to go from there? An adventure path is fine, but it can suffer from the "the PCs will eventually go off track/screw something up." Which is fine, but it requires coming up with an idea to get them back "on track". While individual modules have the issue of "where do we go from here" to fit to the next adventure. Finally, if the next adventure is off in left field compared to where you want to go, it helps having the ability to plot out a new direction.
As a current example, I'm going to run Lost Mine of Phandelver when the current DM is finished. I can think of encounters to introduce them to the adventure (it's a little "here you go" to begin), but the rewards granted don't translate well to another adventure (I'll keep it spoiler free).
So, in the end, stealing is good, but improvising is key as well.
Again, I appreciate the help and I'm still interested in additional input.
Thanks!