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
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What do you want in a published adventure? / Adventure design best practices?
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="ArwensDaughter" data-source="post: 7165708" data-attributes="member: 6804968"><p>A bit late to the party, but here's my input as a fairly new DM, with little to no prep time. I prefer pdfs, so some of my input is geared that way</p><p></p><p>-boxed text, written to take into account different entry points and potential changes depending on what has happened so far. (I like the examples above where a couple of options are given)</p><p></p><p>-I love the idea of monster/npc cards: easy to do with a pdf; perhaps provide a link to a pdf of the cards in print versions? I prefer full stat blocks, but don't see the point of repeating them throughout the adventure description.</p><p></p><p>-Clearly designated sections in the descriptions for things like tactics, treasure, potential changes, etc. (akin to what [MENTION=6785802]guachi[/MENTION] mentions--seems like I saw another list in this thread, but I can't find it)</p><p></p><p>-Printer friendly maps that include a grid</p><p></p><p>-Printer friendly pdf (either the "main" pdf or as a supplement for those who want to print it out)</p><p></p><p>-motivations/tactics/personality notes on main NPCs</p><p></p><p>-Notes that address a fairly wide variety of approaches players may take to a situation. Often during play, my players choose to do something/try something that reveals a rather glaring lack in the adventure as written. Sometimes it's because they want to do something truly innovative, and I understand why the author didn't foresee it; but a lot of times it is a pretty logical choice/approach that was over looked in the written adventure.</p><p></p><p>One example of the latter: Quite a while ago I ran adventure that "concluded" with the PCs in possession of a red dragon egg. The adventure included suggestions for handling two different PC choices for what to do with the egg: selling it or destroying it. My players--for reasons entirely consistent with their PCs backgrounds and personalities--chose to keep the egg. There was no direction at all for how one might approach this (the egg will hatch in X days/months, how newborn dragon might respond, etc.) It was a choice that should have been foreseen and some direction provided for how to approach it. [thanks to the now defunct WOTC forums, and some other internet digging, I did figure out an approach, but it took a lot of time I don't really have at this point]</p><p></p><p>In terms of the "subsystems" conversation above, while I don't see them as necessary, I can see how they would be helpful. Cave of the Missing (available on DMS Guild) uses an interesting and somewhat different approach to both role playing encounters (when PCs are looking for info/assistance) and "random" encounters. The RP approach took me a while to get my head around, and I wish the author would have included a paragraph or two about how that system worked at the beginning of the adventure, but I did find it very helpful both in running that adventure, and in thinking about future ones. The random encounter variation was easier to understand, and didn't need a separate explanation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ArwensDaughter, post: 7165708, member: 6804968"] A bit late to the party, but here's my input as a fairly new DM, with little to no prep time. I prefer pdfs, so some of my input is geared that way -boxed text, written to take into account different entry points and potential changes depending on what has happened so far. (I like the examples above where a couple of options are given) -I love the idea of monster/npc cards: easy to do with a pdf; perhaps provide a link to a pdf of the cards in print versions? I prefer full stat blocks, but don't see the point of repeating them throughout the adventure description. -Clearly designated sections in the descriptions for things like tactics, treasure, potential changes, etc. (akin to what [MENTION=6785802]guachi[/MENTION] mentions--seems like I saw another list in this thread, but I can't find it) -Printer friendly maps that include a grid -Printer friendly pdf (either the "main" pdf or as a supplement for those who want to print it out) -motivations/tactics/personality notes on main NPCs -Notes that address a fairly wide variety of approaches players may take to a situation. Often during play, my players choose to do something/try something that reveals a rather glaring lack in the adventure as written. Sometimes it's because they want to do something truly innovative, and I understand why the author didn't foresee it; but a lot of times it is a pretty logical choice/approach that was over looked in the written adventure. One example of the latter: Quite a while ago I ran adventure that "concluded" with the PCs in possession of a red dragon egg. The adventure included suggestions for handling two different PC choices for what to do with the egg: selling it or destroying it. My players--for reasons entirely consistent with their PCs backgrounds and personalities--chose to keep the egg. There was no direction at all for how one might approach this (the egg will hatch in X days/months, how newborn dragon might respond, etc.) It was a choice that should have been foreseen and some direction provided for how to approach it. [thanks to the now defunct WOTC forums, and some other internet digging, I did figure out an approach, but it took a lot of time I don't really have at this point] In terms of the "subsystems" conversation above, while I don't see them as necessary, I can see how they would be helpful. Cave of the Missing (available on DMS Guild) uses an interesting and somewhat different approach to both role playing encounters (when PCs are looking for info/assistance) and "random" encounters. The RP approach took me a while to get my head around, and I wish the author would have included a paragraph or two about how that system worked at the beginning of the adventure, but I did find it very helpful both in running that adventure, and in thinking about future ones. The random encounter variation was easier to understand, and didn't need a separate explanation. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What do you want in a published adventure? / Adventure design best practices?
Top