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

[blackshirt5]

I have to say from experience(I'm claustrophobic IRL) that being in a cramped, confined space only aggravates me, and makes me want to hit things harder. All the more argument for a dungeoncrawl; wouldn't you be hostile if you were stuck in a cramped smelly space all the live long day?

 

[Angcuru]

I have to say from experience(I'm claustrophobic IRL) that being in a cramped, confined space only aggravates me, and makes me want to hit things harder. All the more argument for a dungeoncrawl; wouldn't you be hostile if you were stuck in a cramped smelly space all the live long day?

Well, yeah, but we're talking nigh-insanity style claustrophobia. If you can't spread out your wings, you are gonna FREAK. Which should make things interesting.

 

[ForceUser]

I dislike running store-bought modules because I enjoy crafting adventures germane to my campaign setting (usually a homebrew). That said, there are a few meat-grinders I would enjoy springing on my party unannounced. Nothing yanks a player group out of complacency like an unexpected ass-whuppin'.

 

[SHARK]

Meatgrinder Modules!

Greetings!

Hmmm, ok, "meatgrinder" modules have a long, well-established history, and are obviously quite popular. As for "dungeon-crawls", I can understand why some would get tired of them. The question is, how much of the market wants modules that *aren't* dungeon-crawls or meatgrinders?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

www.SHARKEMPIRE.com

 

[Tewligan]

How about "Stick of Pain"?

I'd like to see a module that doesn't even have a proper name. Instead, it would just have a crude drawing of a skull with X's for eyes, a tongue hanging out of its mouth, and a knife stuck into it. The only problem would be alphabetizing it with your other gaming stuff.

 

[Staffan]

I'm currently running Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (the PCs are about 3/4 of the way through the Outer Fane), and to be honest I'm getting kind of sick of it. Dungeon-crawling is one thing, but this is getting ridiculous.

My memory might be tainted by nostalgia, but I think a much better way of doing "mega-adventures" would be to do it like in the 2e Dark Sun adventure Dragon's Crown: instead of having one big honkin' mega-dungeon, make it a bunch of smaller adventures that lead into one another. Not all of the part adventures even need to have dungeons - though it shouldn't be totally dungeon-free.

However, making an adventure like Dragon's Crown relies in a large part on the setting, since one of the more enjoyable parts of the adventure was that you had to travel all over the world to accomplish it - not that the region covered in the Dark Sun box set was all that huge, really (roughly the size of Spain, IIRC).

Edit: Checking Dragon's Crown, I see that it has seven major parts, some of which have even smaller sub-adventures, plus a total of 14 vignettes that can be added into the adventure here and there.

 

[Emiricol]

Shark, as long as there was a balance of combat, I'd be happy if it weren't a straight dungeon crawl. IMC we rarely used to do the dungeon crawl thing (though lately I've been doing it more, maybe I'm getting lazy).

My players like their PCs and don't like meat-grinders. Maybe for a one-off, but not for a campaign.

 

[Nine Hands]

Y'know, someone really should use "Meat Grinder" as the title of a module.

Yeah and make it a political adventure involving the butchers and meat packers guilds

 

[CCamfield]

Some of the Penumbra titles come to mind (as being non-meatgrinder or useful for other adventure styles) - Splintered Peace, which is a campaign supplement rather than a fully mapped out & plotted adventure, but has a decent amount of detail, and Dynasties & Demagogues, their political book.