Making Modules Easier to Use

[schporto]

I thought the Delve Format Wizards was working on had some good ideas. And I started playing with it some myself. The problem is that it is very difficult/I am not good and experienced enough at it. I'm also a computer geek. I want to have details from the encounter have popups that tell me about the spells. Or a quick link to bull rush rules. Things like that.
The other thing I find tough about most of the print adventures is fluidity. Too ofter I've read about how group B will arrive 2 rounds after group A starts combat. Only to have the party encounter group B first. That ability to change quickly on the fly is a problem for print base products.
Any changes would be welcome. Many people don't like the new stat block layout, but I think it was a good idea to try something. Same goes for adventures...
-cpd

 

[MerricB]

I can say that after using the new statblock format extensively, I really have trouble going back to the older format. The new statblock is just really good (at least for me ).

I haven't run a Delve format adventure yet, however. I think it's still in its early stages, although some adventures (e.g. Expedition to Castle Ravenloft) handle it better than others.

Cheers!

 

[Lanefan]

You're absolutely right that adventure design hasn't made fantastic progress. If you open a module from 1980, it doesn't look that different than an adventure now.

In fact, I'd say it has taken one large step backwards: old modules had the map on the inside of the hard-card cover instead of integrated into the text like they do now. This often if not always makes it impossible to easily refer to the map while reading the text, either before or during play. I'm not about to spend time and money making copies, if only because I don't feel I should have to; a well-designed module doesn't force this unnecessary effort. And I don't know 'bout you, but I sure don't want to cut up my modules just so I can clip the map to my side of the DM screen where it belongs! (never mind that in a pinch those hard-card covers could *be* the DM screen...)

Note to the OP: I have not seen your adventure, and if you've got the maps on separate pages from the text, good on you!

Lanefan

 

[Li Shenron]

One thing I would really like to have in every adventure is "double maps".

I need one version of the map with everything important marked: encounters, traps, key items.

I need another version of the same map with nothing... all blank.

So I'd be the only one looking at the full-map behind my screen, and hopefully I'm not missing anything or taking too much time to figure out what happens in the next room, particularly if there is something very position-sensitive (like a trap). But if I only get this map, then I will never be able to show it to the players without revealing something they should discover "the hard way".

That's what the "blind map" is useful for: the players get the general features of the area but not the details. This is actually not always important for dungeons or enclosed spaces (normally I don't show them any map at all, but I just describe a room only when they get in), but it is very needed IMHO for overland maps. So if your adventure takes place in a few different locations scattered around a certain area (think ToEE), have a blind map which shows only mountains, lakes/rivers/coasts, towns and roads (all with names) and a full map of the same area for the DM only.

If you make the blind map photocopy-able, then the party can mark down on the copy of the map the new places which they've discovered.

 

[Krilia]

I'm a player, GM and writer in Living Arcanis, so these days that's what I mainly see, module wise. I've played/ran some published adventures, Living City, Living Force, Living Spycraft and a tiny bit of Living Greyhawk.

Anyway... how we're arranging the mods in Living Arcanis these days: Stat Blocks are presented at the end in detail, one full page per monster (or monster type), though there are reminders of what they should be in the main text. (ie, "3 male Human Ftr 3")

Maps are all located in the appendix, along with any Player Handouts (mysterious diary pages, wanted posters, whatever). There's no formatting rule at the moment about two maps, but some authors are doing that.

The mod opens with an adventure background - all of the back history of events that the GM needs to know. Then there is a brief summary of encounters, perhaps a sentence or two each. Each encounter is numbered and starts with a "Key Ideas" section pointing out what the point of the encounter is. The encounter ends with a section listing what encounters the party should be able to get to from this one, and what actions or decisions lead there, in a nutshell.

There are still some problems, but I think that it's pretty easy to follow compared to some of the other formats I've dealt with.

 

[Hussar]

On Li Shenron's idea of the blind map, I would point to the players map in the old X1 Isle of Dread module. That was a FANTASTIC game aid. It really gave the players something to work towards. Here's this honking big island, with the outside already filled in. Now go and explore everything inside.

Great way to get the players actively engaged. And the map wasn't skewed to cause frustration later on.

Paizo's web enhancements for their Dungeon modules are great - you get the keyed and unkeyed maps together.

/edit - Read Ben Robbins module

Sweet. That's exactly what I'm talking about. I can see pretty much all the information that I need to see, right on the map. Excellent work.

 

[3catcircus]

Something that I think should be done in modules is include more information on the map. For the record, I haven't checked out the module referenced above, so appologies, if that's already done, but, for the most part, module maps have the room, possibly a few fixtures and the encounter number. Then lots of blank space.

Why not fill up the DM's map? Put in numbers and types of creatures. If the room has a trap, not something like a pit trap, but, any trap, put a notation on the map. If there is a listen DC to hear the orcs talking in the room, put that on the map too. When I ran the WLD, I made maps like this to help me along. The numbers are referenced on the bottom for effects of the room (a great idea in the WLD - standardized room effects), locked doors, open doors (ESPECIALLY OPEN DOORS) and the like are all marked.

This sort of thing would be very nice to see in modules.

That is why I favor Harnic-style maps - you can show the guard post with % chance of them being on-duty, you can show the DC to unlock a door, etc.

 

[kaomera]

See, I think that the ideal easy-to-use module would have things set up so that you could literally drop characters into the first encounter, even if all you've done is read that first encounter. No prep required at all. I don't know quite how to piull that off, but that's the ideal that should be aimed for, while still leaving the ability to modify the adventure based on owns own campaign.

I've been thinking about this... I really don't think I could ever handle that, regardless of how a module was set up. It would help if any really critical descriptive information was set forth (bullet pointed, I guess) at the top of the encounter / room description. I tend to ad-lib my descriptions pretty heavily, and I need to know if it's actually important that the room is 18' high and not 12', or if that's just flavor, for example. But beyond that I need a pretty good idea of what the overall layout of the place is and what's going on in each section. Without that I'm just not going to be running the dungeon as written; before too long I'm liable to be completely ad-libbing.

 

[Redrobes]

You guys are talking about having information on the map. This thread has been linked into from the digital RPG tools threads which are running discussions along similar lines. Theres a lot of work being done especially in the online virtual table top (VTT) apps that do all this stuff. You can use a VTT offline as well as online too. Most people familiar with the PC at the table have the map on the PC when in play as well as having a table with some miniatures. What most people would like is to have a table with the map projected or displayed directly on it. Anyway, the point here is that I write, and there are others too, applications which not only allow you to map the dungeon, but also to add hot spots onto the map which you can call up information. I would reckon you would be surprised at what is happening with the mapping VTTs that are being made.

My ViewingDale is a zoom browser that can handle any sized map at any scale. You put all the map for a dungeon on it. In fact you can put the entire campaign world on it all at once. You can zoom into areas and add links to documents, sounds, text, pictures, movies - anything. Also, if you add a document with skeleton stats to a skeleton icon then any time you put a skeleton into the map then it will have that link to its stats on it. So with NPCs you can have their history which you can keep adding to as the players keep meeting them and each person in the campaign has that info right at the point you need it. The same thing goes for the PCs too. You can have their character sheet nailed to the character icon on the map so you can add icons to the page for stuff they pick up, delete it when they use items and look at their picture or get damage values etc. Theres a free demo to see all this in action.

In terms of a blank map this has been programmed too. There is what is known as 'fog of war' where you can hide bits of the map that players have not seen yet. Some (other) apps are calculating the visual range based on the player character icon positions as well as trying to figure out whether this can be done for flying creatures or people with infravision or otherwise different sight ranges etc.

There is lots to look over. Its all good stuff.

 

[schporto]

There seems to be a disconnect I think. I think CMP did some digital adventures, and I never got to play or use them.
I just haven't seen any of the digital aids approach the concepts of presenting a digital adventure. The aids generally look at presenting a map, or dealing with an encounter, or making a PC or NPC, or treasure table.
The adventure writers meanwhile (and its the point of this thread) are still working on presenting in the same paper format. So this thread has been talking about better ways to present the written product by using more consistent formats, more information on maps, more details readily available.
My suggestion is to present a better format entirely. Continue with the print versions, but instead of providing a download, provide a copy that can be run on a PC and has a lot of these features we've talked about. These electronic versions will be nearly unusable without the paper version. At the same time these electronic versions make life easier to present all those map details, remember that the bad guys in room 2 should hear the fight in room 1, and move them to join the fight.
At the same time - no the software doen't exist. And the software probably won't exist until there are adventures to deal with it.
A good first step has been for publishers to make available digital copies of their adventures. Maybe a good next step is for either software folks to work from those to make something usable.
-cpd