Lets go exploring! A poll about adventures

[Sir Elton]

I thought I'd do some market research in order to understand what everyone wants. I erased my adventure I was working on in a fit of despair, and now I need to write another one. Since I need to do some market research, this community is probably the best one to do research other than the RPG.net forums.

And I can't afford researchers to do the market research for me. This is about adventures. Not the content, but the format. I need to see what anyone is willing to buy. If you deign not to buy ready-made adventures and make your own . . . well, when my company is up and running you can submit something.

Also, feel free to sound off your opinions!

 

[Crothian]

Adventures for me are frustrating. I like published adventures, but I find them hard to use and confineing. My current group loves a free form RPG where they get to make choices and don't have to rely on me to come up with the adventure. They also don't like dungeon crawls. So, I find myself buying less and less modules.

To help you out though I really do like the Goodman's Games Dungeon Crawl Classics. These are very first edition feel in that they have a little story, they have a good bit of humor in them at times, they are small and have those great players handouts. THese are easy to use as they last a session or two. I've also found that they include enough plot for me to use it but not so much that I can't alter it with problems.

The mini campaign setting are the modules I like to read. I never get to run these as they have yet to really fit in what I'm doing. But I like to think how I'll use them and I place ideas on the back burner with them. Necormancer does a great job with these, the Bonegarden being the latest of theres I've read and really enjoyed.

The big campaign modules are interesting but I know that I do not have a group that would want to play one. I just don't think any of them are interesting enough and have enough plot that is seen week to week to keep players interested. It would be something I'd love to try to use, but I don't plan on buying any of these as I know I never will use it.

I don't buy many adventures these days, and everyone in the industry still says they don't sell. Monkeygod, who did great adventures, has even stopped publishing them. That says something to me when one of the better companies for them even has to stop them. Hope that helps in some way and best of luck to you.

 

[EricNoah]

"I don't buy published adventures" -- but I do subscribe to Dungeon. i've used maybe 10% of the material as-is; the rest I just enjoy reading, seeing all of the different ways the tools of D&D can be used to build stuff.

However, when Planescape was around I bought everything including modules and mined them for characters, ideas, etc.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Hafta agree w/ Mr. Noah on this one: don't buy modules, but I regularly pick up current (and back issues) of Dungeon for adventures and adventure resources.

On occasion I actually get a module or two, but it's extremely rare, & it's really got to be generic enough for me to use in my campaign. Or, I pick up an old module (like Keep on the Borderlands) & recycle the map & a few other elements, but have a new adventure. Heck, I used the old sample dungeon map from the 1st ed. AD&D DMG (the one which received a 3rd ed. revamp a couple of years ago) for a 2nd ed. AD&D campaign a couple of years before the release of 3e--it was the second level of a 3-level dungeon. The "entry level" was the mini-dungeon used for the solo adventure in the Mentzer Red Box Basic D&D Player's Guide; the true "first level" was the second level of the Basic Set adventure; the "second level" was the DMG dungeon, & I made up the third level from scratch. Proved to be a very worthwhile adventure.

 

[Umbra]

Kiss

I rarely buy modules nowadays and only occassionally Dungeon if I see anything especially tempting in it. However, from past experience and my limited recent experience I can say:

1) Too complex a plot; a high number of cruical NPC's/clues/elements reduces likely hood of purchase as its too time consuming to integrate it with whatever campaign elements are in play at a particular time or with my homegrown world.

2) Organisation & clear labelling is crucial. If trying to find that critical clue or the stats of X, Y and Z takes too long...forget it. My preference is for all the information to be located with the location and a master index in the back. Flipping back and forth from location to back of the book in the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil was annoying (ended up copying all the stat pages but why should I be paying extra)

3) Modular - Yes I will use that but not that.

4) More visual stuff for players: handouts, maps, artwork that doesn't give anything away

5) Not all dungeon crawl, or all wilderness, etc.

Mostly it's ease of use that most concerns me.

Good luck with it!

 

[Ed Cha]

I voted "I like mini-Campaign Settings". I buy a lot of adventures and related products, but I really like the ones that detail a village or town and have a main adventure plot and some interesting side encounters.

I don't like linear "story"-like adventures where if the party doesn't do this, then the whole thing is screwed up. There seem to have been a lot of these since 2nd edition and even today I find many in 3rd edition. It works for some people, but I much prefer a free-form way.

I don't find the ones in magazines very appealing, but I do see how some people could find some of the adventures in them useful.

By the way, "The Hamlet of Thumble" has sold more copies than "The Grey Citadel", at least at RPG Shop (see "Best Sellers" list):

http://www.rpgshop.com/default.php?cPath=_1_260_283&

So it might be more appropriate to say "a la The Hamlet of Thumble"...

 

[The_lurkeR]

I voted for the original adventures, but I also like mini-campaigns. I never run them straight, but there's usually a good deal of material that can be stolen

 

[DragonLancer]

I voted for the first option, that of classic old style modules. Check out Necromancer Games (and to a lesser extent, the adventure path series from WotC) for good modules of this type.

 

[Turanil]

I voted "I like mini-Campaign Settings". I buy a lot of adventures and related products, but I really like the ones that detail a village or town and have a main adventure plot and some interesting side encounters.

I don't like linear "story"-like adventures where if the party doesn't do this, then the whole thing is screwed up. There seem to have been a lot of these since 2nd edition and even today I find many in 3rd edition. It works for some people, but I much prefer a free-form way.

Ditto. What I like is a book describing a city or a very small region (something very easy to integrate in any campaign, such as a simple forest, a single mountain, etc.). Then description of what's important in it, plus numerous NPCs stats (which are really a pain in the ass to produce as a DM). Sith that it's easy to have a detailed place, plus to create my own adventures with minimum work using the info in the book.

 

[fanboy2000]

I like the classic adventures and mini-campaign settings. A location such as a sity, mountian, or etc 9as mentioned above) with a few NPCs and some spiffy roleplaying encounters is always good.