If I read "meat grinder" one more time...

[KnowTheToe]

I am sick of the meat grinder, PC killer, character destroying modules. I mean there has to be other ways to create enjoyable modules. 1 maybe 2 modules designed to stack PC carcasses like beer cans at a frat party would be fine, but it seems the only large scale modules available. For a community that prides itself on creativity, this sure stinks.

Sure in early 3E it was great to test abilities and certain monsters, but now who cares, I want an indepth adventure with other facets besides deadly battle after deadly battle. If I must, I will put one together and should have enough free time to get it finished in 2020. So be prepared


Does it take away from a rant to end with a smiley?

 

[Darkness]

What's this rant about? WotC? 'cause there's a lot of d20 modules out there - and not nearly all of them are meat-grinders.

 

[Zogg]

I'm no expert on the modules out there, but I have to say it's a shame if your experience has been almost entirely hack-n-slash. Certainly there are ways to spice up a module by adding non-violent mysteries, romances, scary stories or just general philosophical conundrums.

You do realize that - assuming you are a DM - you can alter a module to your liking? Obviously reducing combat might upset rabid fighters that want to kill kill kill, but I think everyone enjoys a healthy amount of variety. Good luck on your module.

 

[BlackMoria]

Let me guess..... RttToEE or Rappan Athuk or City of the Spider Queen

Everytime I see a thread like this, it is always someone who has been brutalized by one of the above.

So which one got you.....

 

[KnowTheToe]

No I do not believe all modules or even most modules have been meat grinders, but all of the mega modules have been a little less than steller on story line. The dungeons are well thought out, but that is about it, dungeon hack-n-slash.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Let me guess..... RttToEE or Rappan Athuk or City of the Spider Queen

Everytime I see a thread like this, it is always someone who has been brutalized by one of the above.

So which one got you.....

RttToEE many months ago, but it is more than that. I am a module whore. I buy and read lots of modules. I Usually read to get ideas, a few nifty encounters, an unexpected trap.... But I have read all three of the above modules and I can say that they offer very little inspiration. To me a shorter meat grinder like WoTC HoNF is not only fine, but can be good hack-n-slash fun, but it does not go on for months of game play.

This was my first attempt at a rant. I am not a very angry person and it shows.

 

[Corinth]

The best modules--the ones that people still talk about twenty years after--are the meatgrinders. People take pride in beating those modules because they had to think, plan, improvise and otherwise work for their victories over powerful, nasty and downright evil foes. Beating the module meant something, which isn't true of other modules, and they still do today. This is why RttToEE, CotSQ, RA, Necropolis, HoNS, BotLQ (from Dungeon #100), (Rtt)ToH, etc. are the exemplars of what it is to play D&D as it's meant to be played; the meatgrinder modules are the epitome of the D&D gameplay paradigm and experience.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

I'm sick of "dungeon crawls" in general. I mean, COME ON! There is more to write about besides smelly underground monster pits.

This is one of the main reasons I made the switch to Midnight and it is the primary reason the Freeport series is so popular.

As a general rule, I shy away from any module with more than a single game session spent underground hacking monsters.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Corinth

I think you are right on that front, but how many can people play? I do very much remember the first encounter with big U in RttToEE as one of the best combat encounters I have ever been in. But I prefer a module full of atmosphere such as Of Sound Mind. I did like Prophesy of the Dragon for WoT, but it needed a lot or reworking, but at least it was not a huge dungeon.

I am interested in seeing how the path series in Dungeon work out.

 

[Aaron L]

It's a little hard to come up with a good plot and involving story when designing an adventure that is supposed to be generic enough for and characters of the given levels to accomplish and have fun with. Make your own adventures if you want deep immersion storytelling. I have never run a published module; I've never seen one that wasn't a series of combat encounters unless it was a total railroad.