Using Purchased Adventures: How much work do you do?

[Thorin Stoutfoot]

I don't mod adventures

I just use them. I pick them based on the party's level, current location, and quest. In fact, when I ran a campaign in Greyhawk and there was an adventure in the FR in dungeon, I made the party go to Faerun on a quest.

I don't have time to go heavily rework adventures any more, so I won't buy any I can't use "out of the box" so to speak.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I usually put together a page or two of notes for any changes.

Mostly, these will be changes to the names of villages or towns, gods and organizations. I will try and link to my campaign by using an established NPC patron in place of the one provided if possible. Also, because I buy lots of d20/D&D books I might tinker with some of the encounters, changing a villain's equipment or spells, or adding a new monster.

Cheers


Richard

 

[Wraith Form]

I don't run too many modules (because I don't DM too many games), but when I do I like to grab the essence of the plot & port it into my game. Don't get me wrong, though: I love published adventures!

I always change names of NPCs, organizations and locations (I find many published adventures use cornball or silly names, and I like to retail a certain "flavor" for my game--i.e. "The Emerald Claw" doesn't blow wind up my skirt, so I'd rename it to something a bit more native sounding: "the Ardasheen" or something kooky like that.)

I also try to convert all monsters in an adventure (and even some demi-humans) into their approximate human equivalents, as I enjoy having somewhat "realistic" opponents.

 

[IronWolf]

I do use modules, though I sometimes wonder if they save me anytime. Typically I will make at least some modifications to it, simply to get it to fit well in my campaign. Sometimes this means just yanking out a piece of the module and using it for my game and sometimes this means just twisting a couple of the hooks and organization names to fit the world I use.

Along with this I read it at least twice, often three times and make notes of certain things along the way. This helps me roll with unexpected questions easier, ad libbing as I go without changing how something later will work.

 

[KB9JMQ]

I used modules exclusively up until 3E. I normally ran them as is.

I ran The Burning Plague and linked it to the Sunless Citadel. But since then I have made up my own adventures and prefer it that way.

I have built a whole Eberron campaign around the Fallen Angel article in Dugeon 117 though. I just used the article as the second of 7 goals I made up.

 

[Darkness]

Purchased adventure in strawberry marmalade by jonesy

Take a published adventure.
Replace its locales with appropriate locales in the current campaign.
Alter the encounters (read: monsters) to fit the campaign locale you placed the adventure into.
Increase/decrease the level of difficulty to fit the PC party, if necessary.
Hook up the adventure plots into the campaing plots.
Rewire current non-initiated plot lines of the campaign locale to fit or bypass the adventure plot.
Include possible small encounters, adventures and adventure hooks into the locale.
Add random dragon.
Serve with strawberry marmalade.

That's pretty much what I do as well.

Well, except that it's a random undead or fiend instead of a dragon, and that I alter even more. NPCs especially. I'm just more comfortable with, and better at, playing my own NPCs, so I use only very few that I didn't create myself. Except for nameless mooks, maybe.

I also have a habit of making adventures longer or shorter, as suits my current needs.