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Learning from LFR: Encounter and Monster Examples to Steal for Your Game
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<blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9579285" data-attributes="member: 7737"><p>The very first Living Forgotten Realms adventure was the Weekend in the Realms kickoff WEEK1-1, run at our store in October 2008. (Along with WEEK1-2 and WEEK1-3 because it was a triple-length adventure!)</p><p></p><p>And… I don't have access to that file. It's not on the LFR adventures website and even if it were, I wouldn't have much to say about it. My recollection is that Weekend in the Realms, year 1, was a decent introduction to the game -- remember, we were all learning as we went and fumbling around to grab on to the at-the-time new edition. But there weren't any amazingly cool encounters nor monsters to learn from.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>After WEEK1-1/2/3, the first normal adventure for LFR was <strong>CORE 1-1 Inheritance</strong>. So let's make that our first example, too.</p><p></p><p>As a reminder, I'm not going to dissect the plot, so if you want to know what was actually happening in any given adventure, please grab the file from the LFR adventures website and take a look.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p><strong>CORE 1-1 Inheritance</strong></p><p>by Pieter Sleijpen</p><p>reviewed by Sean Molley and Shawn Merwin</p><p></p><p><a href="https://livingforgottenrealms.com/adventures/CORE0101LFR.zip" target="_blank">https://livingforgottenrealms.com/adventures/CORE0101LFR.zip</a></p><p></p><p>The premise here is that in Urmlaspyr, a city in "free" Sembia near Suzail in Cormyr, there is some MacGuffin that the PCs are hired to retrieve for a down-on-its-luck noble family. Literally a fetch quest. That's not an interesting premise at all.</p><p></p><p>What is interesting is the approach laid down by this adventure, an approach that would be mimicked in many, many other adventures for the next six years.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounter 1: PCs meet the quest giver at the start location (Suzail) and can make some skill checks during the conversation. PCs must accept the quest if they want to play this adventure.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounter 2: PCs journey to the target location (Urmlaspyr) and can make open-ended skill checks to investigate.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounter 3: PCs traverse the target location via a skill challenge.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounter 4: PCs locate the specific building that holds the MacGuffin via another skill challenge.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounter 5: PCs dig through the rubble of the specific building via yet another skill challenge.</li> </ul><p>(In summary: that is two open ended skill-check-centric encounters followed by three skill challenges <em>in a row</em>.)</p><p></p><p>Much has been written about 4e skill checks and skill challenges (in my opinion, the less said about them the better). Regardless of what you think about skill challenges, here's the first lesson we can learn from LFR:</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Do not start your adventure with multiple instances of investigation and skill-checking</em></strong> (unless your game is built around investigation and skill-checking as core activities).</p><p></p><p>So yes, we're starting with an anti-lesson, with a "don't do this". The reason not to do this is because in games like 4e D&D that are built around heroic action, you want to lead with the strengths of the game system, not the weaknesses. Grab everyone's attention so they put down their smartphones and can’t wait to play.</p><p></p><p>In F20 games like D&D (particularly in 4e), you should start the adventure with a combat encounter. "Roll for initiative" is a longstanding cliché about the best way to start a new D&D campaign. And clichés exist for a reason: because they contain an element of truth.</p><p></p><p>If this were GUMSHOE or some other game with a strong investigation premise backed up by rich rules around skills? Then yes, absolutely, start with a bunch of skill checks.</p><p></p><p>But for most versions of D&D or F20 games in general? Action!</p><p></p><p>Immediate action or, if you must have some setup, very quickly get to the action.</p><p></p><p>A better start for CORE1-1 would be to drop the PCs into the adventure as they're digging through the rubble, with a brief flashback to establish why they're here. This one short skill-checking encounter would lead directly into a combat encounter, which in my opinion is a better start than five skill-checking encounters in a row.</p><p></p><p>Tomorrow, we'll look at CORE1-1's first combat encounter and dissect it to see what we learn.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Joshua Randall, post: 9579285, member: 7737"] The very first Living Forgotten Realms adventure was the Weekend in the Realms kickoff WEEK1-1, run at our store in October 2008. (Along with WEEK1-2 and WEEK1-3 because it was a triple-length adventure!) And… I don't have access to that file. It's not on the LFR adventures website and even if it were, I wouldn't have much to say about it. My recollection is that Weekend in the Realms, year 1, was a decent introduction to the game -- remember, we were all learning as we went and fumbling around to grab on to the at-the-time new edition. But there weren't any amazingly cool encounters nor monsters to learn from. --- After WEEK1-1/2/3, the first normal adventure for LFR was [B]CORE 1-1 Inheritance[/B]. So let's make that our first example, too. As a reminder, I'm not going to dissect the plot, so if you want to know what was actually happening in any given adventure, please grab the file from the LFR adventures website and take a look. --- [B]CORE 1-1 Inheritance[/B] by Pieter Sleijpen reviewed by Sean Molley and Shawn Merwin [URL]https://livingforgottenrealms.com/adventures/CORE0101LFR.zip[/URL] The premise here is that in Urmlaspyr, a city in "free" Sembia near Suzail in Cormyr, there is some MacGuffin that the PCs are hired to retrieve for a down-on-its-luck noble family. Literally a fetch quest. That's not an interesting premise at all. What is interesting is the approach laid down by this adventure, an approach that would be mimicked in many, many other adventures for the next six years. [LIST] [*]Encounter 1: PCs meet the quest giver at the start location (Suzail) and can make some skill checks during the conversation. PCs must accept the quest if they want to play this adventure. [*]Encounter 2: PCs journey to the target location (Urmlaspyr) and can make open-ended skill checks to investigate. [*]Encounter 3: PCs traverse the target location via a skill challenge. [*]Encounter 4: PCs locate the specific building that holds the MacGuffin via another skill challenge. [*]Encounter 5: PCs dig through the rubble of the specific building via yet another skill challenge. [/LIST] (In summary: that is two open ended skill-check-centric encounters followed by three skill challenges [I]in a row[/I].) Much has been written about 4e skill checks and skill challenges (in my opinion, the less said about them the better). Regardless of what you think about skill challenges, here's the first lesson we can learn from LFR: [B][I]Do not start your adventure with multiple instances of investigation and skill-checking[/I][/B] (unless your game is built around investigation and skill-checking as core activities). So yes, we're starting with an anti-lesson, with a "don't do this". The reason not to do this is because in games like 4e D&D that are built around heroic action, you want to lead with the strengths of the game system, not the weaknesses. Grab everyone's attention so they put down their smartphones and can’t wait to play. In F20 games like D&D (particularly in 4e), you should start the adventure with a combat encounter. "Roll for initiative" is a longstanding cliché about the best way to start a new D&D campaign. And clichés exist for a reason: because they contain an element of truth. If this were GUMSHOE or some other game with a strong investigation premise backed up by rich rules around skills? Then yes, absolutely, start with a bunch of skill checks. But for most versions of D&D or F20 games in general? Action! Immediate action or, if you must have some setup, very quickly get to the action. A better start for CORE1-1 would be to drop the PCs into the adventure as they're digging through the rubble, with a brief flashback to establish why they're here. This one short skill-checking encounter would lead directly into a combat encounter, which in my opinion is a better start than five skill-checking encounters in a row. Tomorrow, we'll look at CORE1-1's first combat encounter and dissect it to see what we learn. [/QUOTE]
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