So...What's the Difference Between a Supplement, Splat, and an Adventure?

[changoo]

I hear these terms thrown around a lot, but I haven't noticed a consistent use of any of them. It seems like what I think of as an adventure, someone else thinks of as splat. And then when it seems like someone else sees it the same way as me, a couple more have another view.

So, fellow gamers of RPG.net, let me hear your definitions! What do YOU consider a supplement vs. splat vs. adventure? Want to toss in what you think of as a module? Go right ahead! Have some other RPG-material terms you think belong in this discussion? Let's have them. Nope, I'm not kidding or teasing. I'm hoping to see if there's a consensus on what folks mean or if it's really as dependent upon the person as sometimes it seems.

Have a great day!

 

[wedgeski]

Well first you might want to fix your copy-paste error... Otherwise welcome to ENW and I'm enjoying your first few posts.

I have quite a simple view on this. A supplement is much more fluff than crunch (hopefully we can agree what those terms mean), more background, locations, personalities and adventure hooks than feats or powers. A splat is pure player/PC empowerment: new powers, destinies, classes, items, etc. An adventure is... well, an adventure, a way to bring a group of PC's together under a common goal and face them off against their enemies, often with an over-arching timeline, plot, and/or narrative.

 

[prosfilaes]

I think the phrase splat book comes from the form of the name: The Complete Book of * (2E) or Complete * (3.5E) or Advanced Race Codex - * or The Quintessential *, where * is a metasyntactic variable sometimes pronounced as splat.

 

[delericho]

(For the below, where I say 'book', it is entirely possible that the item in question is actually a magazine or PDF.)

A core rulebook is the central book required to run a given game. For example, for D&D, the core rulebooks are the PHB, DMG and MM. (WotC's policy of "everything is core" doesn't change this - most of the 4e books are just supplements.)

A setting book is the central book required to use a given setting. The 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting would be one example.

An adventure is, as the name implies, a pregenerated adventure for use with a given game. Note that adventures may be found as part of a core rulebook (Kobold Hall), a setting book or a supplement. Additionally, there may be books or magazines that only contain one or more adventures - Dungeon magazine was a prime example of this (though it may now contain other materials). Examples include "Tomb of Horrors", "Kobold Hall", or "Racing to Ruin".

A module is a book dedicated to a single adventure. Examples are "Forge of Fury" or "Crown of the Kobold King". The Pathfinder Adventure Path books, on the other hand, are not modules, as each contains significant other materials for use with the setting (and not necessarily just the adventure included). Similarly, the "Dungeon Delves" book is not a module, as it contains several unrelated adventures.

A supplement is any book (excluding a book of adventures) that expands a given game or setting, but is not required for use.

A splatbook is a subset of supplements dedicated to a single race, class or other grouping. Examples would include "The Complete Fighter's Handbook", "Races of Destiny", "Arcane Power", "Clanbook Ventrue", and the like.

All IMO, of course.

 

[Dausuul]

I hear these terms thrown around a lot, but I haven't noticed a consistent use of any of them. It seems like what I think of as an adventure, someone else thinks of as splat. And then when it seems like someone else sees it the same way as me, a couple more have another view.

So, fellow gamers of RPG.net, let me hear your definitions! What do YOU consider a supplement vs. splat vs. adventure? Want to toss in what you think of as a module? Go right ahead! Have some other RPG-material terms you think belong in this discussion? Let's have them. Nope, I'm not kidding or teasing. I'm hoping to see if there's a consensus on what folks mean or if it's really as dependent upon the person as sometimes it seems.

Have a great day!

A splatbook is a book, outside the core rulebooks, loaded down with new options for PCs of a specific type (elf, wizard, et cetera). The term is often derogatory, with the implication that the options are excessive, a crass and shortsighted attempt to milk players for cash*. However, it's not always used this way; many people refer to any book of player options as a "splatbook" whether they like it or not.

A supplement is a book, outside the core rulebooks, containing new options and tools. All splatbooks are supplements, but not all supplements are necessarily splatbooks (the old "Fiend Folio," for instance, is a supplement but not a splatbook, since the options it contains are for the DM).

An adventure is just that--a book or books containing an adventure for the PCs, including plot, setting, NPCs, et cetera. "Module" is a unit of measurement for adventures; one module is the amount of adventure material contained in a single retail package. In most cases, the entire adventure is a single module. However, for things like adventure paths, you may have one adventure comprising as many as 12 modules.

[size=-2]*Yeah, RPGs are a business, but note the "shortsighted"--flooding the market in an effort to extract every penny from the player base may seem like a good idea, but tends to lead to diminishing returns. Each new book costs the same to produce and publish but brings in less revenue. See: TSR, near bankruptcy of.[/size]

 

[prosfilaes]

For what it's worth, I've created a definition of splatbook at splatbook - Wiktionary . It's a wiki, but feel free to criticize here instead of editing there.