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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 4177278" data-attributes="member: 7737">Saltmarsh has a great plot, no doubt. What it needs to push it over the top is a timeline.If the PCs don't disrupt the smuggling operation, they offload their goods in Saltmarsh on Day X.If the PCs still haven't acted, the smugglers deliver weapons to the lizard men on Day X+3 (or whatever).... the lizard men conclude their negotiations with the locathah, mermen, and tritons on Day X+7.... etc.This would really give the module a sense of dynamism. The only other part that needs fixing is the "what if the PCs parlay with the lizard men right off the bat", but the module does provide the giant crocodile (and dragon!) encounter as partial compensation.= = =Other modules with potentially cool plots:B4 (The Lost City) -- as-is it's rather static, with the Cynadecians just waiting around for the PCs to show up. But it doesn't have to be. Make the Zargon cult more active and villainous in kidnapping people for sacrifice. Make the three Cynadecian religions more hostile to each other, with the occassional battle in the streets (so to speak). The PCs should feel like they've walked into a gang war, with all the attendant opportunities to play all three sides against each other.I2 (Tomb of the Lizard King) - one of my favorite modules of all time, after Saltmarsh. Sakatha is a freaking awesome villain, even moreso if you play him actively; i.e., he should come after the PCs as soon as they reveal themselves as a significant threat (which in my game was right around the time they killed the green dragon). Sakatha is also deeply insane, and that just adds to his greatness.I like the way this module starts: with the PCs as bystanders during an attempted assassination of the duke! They then get the follow the trail of destruction that leads to the Tomb. Lots of opportunity here to add a timeline: additional attacks on the duchy, peasants getting kidnapped or murdered, etc.Once inside the tomb, the module as written turns into more of a dungeon crawl, but it doesn't have to be. There's a huge hoard of ghouls that ought to be intelligently combing the place for the PCs, not to mention Sakatha can scry on them. If I were doing this today, I'd have a timeline set up so that on some particular day Sakatha will have enough sacrifices ready for a mass ritual that will (do something really bad that the PCs must prevent). If the PCs dawdle... oh well.I12 (Egg of the Phoenix) - A deeply flawed module, but the plot basically revolves around the titular artifact. The beginning parts of this module do feature an implied timeline of sorts. The foray into the vampire's lair (to get the potions of dragon control so that they can't be used against the friendly, allied dragons -- which is a nice twist on the traditional dungeon crawl in and of itself) has a VERY DETAILED timeline.I like that this module gives ample opportunity for recurring villains, some of whom are even called out within the module itself.Towards the end, with the [spoiler]cheesy betrayal by Doc/One[/spoiler], it just gets silly, but you could rework it so it makes more sense. You've got to love any module whose climax features a massive battle in a "pocket plane" that will cataclysmically explode if too many high level spells are cast. Talk about forcing the PCs into a dilemma: cast spells and risk destruction? Or don't cast them and risk getting their asses handed to them?WG5 (Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure) - another static-as-written module that just begs for a plot and a timeline. Eli ought to be actively working up to some kind of grisly ritual involving Kerzit and the Tome, not just sitting around.The Dungeon magazine conversions/continuations of Maure Castle are very nice as well. There is a much stronger implied plot, and while we may never get the "official" answers, we can make them up ourselves. It seems pretty obvious that Yeenoghu is involved, and where he is, Orcus is sure to follow. Not to mention that statue of Malcanthet... jeez, that many demon lords in one place, you're bound to have sparks. The PCs could quickly get in over their heads.Add in what's left of the Maures themselves, and this module has lots of potential for tons and tons of adventuring.</blockquote>

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