I think published adventures require MORE prep, not less.

[Weregrognard]

When I run adventures I've written myself, they always seem to flow more smoothly, since most of the information is already in my head. I can't get that with published adventures no matter how much I read over them or prepare.

That said, KotS is really easy to run. I've been running it with a small, casual group and only read through/prepare about 3-4 encounters in advance. You really don't need to read through the whole thing to run a session well.

 

[RFisher]

I’ve once again sworn off modules.

I think I’ve developed adult-onset attention-deficit disorder. I seem to hit information overload easy these days. After most adventures, I feel like I never really did them justice.

For me, modules are for inspiration and stealing bits from—not for running.

Until I forget and try it again.

 

[catsclaw227]

Right now, I am a big fan of the prepublished stuff, and I don't mind the reading. For me, I am so brain dead after work, and with a 6-month old I don't have the energy to be as creative as I would like.

I do tweak them, for sure, but I like converting modules from 3e to 4e. I'm doing it for Age of Worms and it's kinda fun!

 

[Simon Atavax]

I don't know if I'd call it "harder" to run a premade, but I definitely feel more confident running my own stuff.

KoTS was pretty easy though. It's laid out pretty nicely.

Actually, I think you said it better than I did in my original post. Whether it's easier or harder may not even be the point, so much as I feel WAY more confident making and running my own adventures. When I run a prefab I keep thinking (rightly or not) that I really need to *know* it inside and out to do it justice, whereas my own adventure, obviously, can be heavily modified, ad-libbed, and winged (wung?).

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Assuming comfort with the system, then yes, I agree that it's easier to prep your own material, rather than prepping a published module.

I get a lot more prep done, these days. I'm doing my own stuff with a rules-light system I'm familiar with. I draw maps, and my key is little more than some numbered notes, so it's very fast to do.

 

[Nathal]

Just my $0.02, of course, but I've come to the conclusion that the idea that published adventures save the DM work is largely a myth.

I agree. And I HATE it when they bury DM info in with descriptive text that otherwise could be read aloud.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I didn't use a lot of published modules in 3E. Having now switched to 4E, I also happen to run the published modules (Hx and more). I must say I found it easier. All the preparation I do contains mostly in reading the module from start to end, and read again before my next session, to see that I haven't missed anything. When i made my own adventures, I had to create stat-block, come up with monster tactics and so on. Oh, and there was a story I had to make up and contain enough details in thoughts so that I could handle the PCs going off-track or getting them back on-track.

My problem with the modules so far seems to be that I seem to forget to use the tactics as they are described in the module, but the rest seems to work fine.

Still, I feel like I want to homebrew again. Not because it is easier then running modules, but because it allows me to do handle stories and themes I am more interested in, and because I believe I might now have more time to spend on the story instead of the statistics.

 

[Fenes]

I didn't use a lot of published modules in 3E. Having now switched to 4E, I also happen to run the published modules (Hx and more). I must say I found it easier. All the preparation I do contains mostly in reading the module from start to end, and read again before my next session, to see that I haven't missed anything. When i made my own adventures, I had to create stat-block, come up with monster tactics and so on. Oh, and there was a story I had to make up and contain enough details in thoughts so that I could handle the PCs going off-track or getting them back on-track.

My problem with the modules so far seems to be that I seem to forget to use the tactics as they are described in the module, but the rest seems to work fine.

Still, I feel like I want to homebrew again. Not because it is easier then running modules, but because it allows me to do handle stories and themes I am more interested in, and because I believe I might now have more time to spend on the story instead of the statistics.

I never really bother with stat blocks unless I am using some special NPC. NPC generators take care of the average NPC enemy.
I also do not bother with a story - I make up NPCs and their goals and means, then act/react to the player's actions. The story develops in game. (Of course you could call the background behind the adventure a "story", but making up that is easy.)

With modules, I'd have to cut down most of the combat encounter, thenm rewrite the story to fit it in my campaign, starting from the motivation of the characters to take part in to the background of the NPCs, even the religion, then adjusting the stats for my playstyle.

Too much work.

 

[wedgeski]

Modules save me a ton of work: stat blocks, maps, illustrations... all of the grunt work that I either can't find the time to do well, or simply don't have the talent to do well (mostly the latter when it comes to anything artistic).

BUT, I have found WotC's H series to be seriously lacking in the 'anything interesting going on' department. H1-H3 are pretty intense dungeon crawls and it seems to me that without a measure of work to layer on a more interesting plot, they're not terribly exciting in the long-run.

This is okay, though. It's still quicker -- by far -- for me to buy a module and spoon whatever I need back on top than it is to write the kind of modules my group likes from scratch.

Where I will agree with the OP is in the case of very highly-plotted adventures with complex PC's, multiple factions, several parliaments full of politics, and subtle machinations. 'Banewarrens' is a good example of this: a really classy, well-thought out module by one of the industry's best, but you had better make sure you read it four times and make a bunch of crib notes if you're going to run it to it's full potential. And if you don't intend to do that, why buy it in the first place?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I never really bother with stat blocks unless I am using some special NPC. NPC generators take care of the average NPC enemy.
I also do not bother with a story - I make up NPCs and their goals and means, then act/react to the player's actions.

That is mostly what I talk about when I say "story". What are the NPCs doing, and how might they react to the players interaction. In some cases, I also have to come up with the back-story - how did the NPCs get where they are and how did we get into the current situation.

Part of the story is for me defining NPCs and including twists - NPC A might seem like a potential ally, but has a secret agenda. Hints lead to NPC B being a potential enemy, but that's just a false lead by NPC C. And stuff like that. That's story for me. And if I don't have enough time, these things seem often to simplistic. "NPC A is the bad guy". NPC B needs your help. NPC C helps NPC A" with no twists except maybe those that the PCs introduce (like deciding they want to aid NPC A - which rarely, if ever happens. If I add a few twists and ambiguities, either can happen)