Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Modules, it turns out, apparently DO sell
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="BryonD" data-source="post: 5182809" data-attributes="member: 957"><p>There are (at least) two completely different approaches to DMing that are talking past each other here. </p><p></p><p>I recently commented that I did not agree with the assessment that modules reduce prep time. In retrospect I was kicking myself for not anticipating the response, but I was blasted by quite a few posters for making a wildly inaccurate statement.</p><p></p><p>If you want a set of ready to run set-piece encounters with a narrative sequence, then a module with just that provides everything you need. And the most demanding piece of what you need is stating out all those mechanics. That is done for you. Prep time is slashed.</p><p></p><p>The set-piece encounters and the narrative revealed by the sequence must still be interesting and cool. As Imaro says, you can have all the pieces together and still just end up with a boring slog-fest. </p><p></p><p>But, there are also people who come at it from a completely different approach. If the BBEG is an evil cleric, simply having that information and his stats, plus a narrative sequence of events revealing his terrible plan, is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are like me, you want a hell of a lot more context. The context is both broad and generalized, as well as detailed and specific. I want know a lot about the cleric's religion and the area he lives in and how it all interacts. And I want to know about how that guy became this evil cleric and what relationships he has with other key npcs.</p><p></p><p>This level of depth can really add to the play experience through fleshing out interactions and motives and even little details that may not matter to the results. But for me as a DM they also add to fun of DMing at the table. It adds to my sense of seeing not just how the PCs overcome an EL X encounter, but how they interact with the world and the significance of it. It is fun.</p><p></p><p>And a module does not need to provide this level of information. The DM can insert it into any module. But whether you are making up your own adventure, inserting your own life into someone else's adventure, or reading and learning a lot of extra information, you need to spend time and consideration making that all come together. And that is what takes time for me. It takes time to know the "whos" and "whys", and have them cold so that they flow naturally at the table. </p><p></p><p>I can run a module without bothering. And yes, that takes less prep time. But it also results in a significantly less satisfactory experience for me.</p><p></p><p>And I'm not saying that running it my way is more fun. I'm saying that that running it the way *I* enjoy it is different than the way some others enjoy it. The same pieces can be used to play two very different games, even if the distinctions may not be obvious to a non-gamer.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BryonD, post: 5182809, member: 957"] There are (at least) two completely different approaches to DMing that are talking past each other here. I recently commented that I did not agree with the assessment that modules reduce prep time. In retrospect I was kicking myself for not anticipating the response, but I was blasted by quite a few posters for making a wildly inaccurate statement. If you want a set of ready to run set-piece encounters with a narrative sequence, then a module with just that provides everything you need. And the most demanding piece of what you need is stating out all those mechanics. That is done for you. Prep time is slashed. The set-piece encounters and the narrative revealed by the sequence must still be interesting and cool. As Imaro says, you can have all the pieces together and still just end up with a boring slog-fest. But, there are also people who come at it from a completely different approach. If the BBEG is an evil cleric, simply having that information and his stats, plus a narrative sequence of events revealing his terrible plan, is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are like me, you want a hell of a lot more context. The context is both broad and generalized, as well as detailed and specific. I want know a lot about the cleric's religion and the area he lives in and how it all interacts. And I want to know about how that guy became this evil cleric and what relationships he has with other key npcs. This level of depth can really add to the play experience through fleshing out interactions and motives and even little details that may not matter to the results. But for me as a DM they also add to fun of DMing at the table. It adds to my sense of seeing not just how the PCs overcome an EL X encounter, but how they interact with the world and the significance of it. It is fun. And a module does not need to provide this level of information. The DM can insert it into any module. But whether you are making up your own adventure, inserting your own life into someone else's adventure, or reading and learning a lot of extra information, you need to spend time and consideration making that all come together. And that is what takes time for me. It takes time to know the "whos" and "whys", and have them cold so that they flow naturally at the table. I can run a module without bothering. And yes, that takes less prep time. But it also results in a significantly less satisfactory experience for me. And I'm not saying that running it my way is more fun. I'm saying that that running it the way *I* enjoy it is different than the way some others enjoy it. The same pieces can be used to play two very different games, even if the distinctions may not be obvious to a non-gamer. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Modules, it turns out, apparently DO sell
Top