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<blockquote data-quote="Libramarian" data-source="post: 6833193" data-attributes="member: 6688858">I think OotA is best described as what Justin Alexander would call a <a href="http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/8015/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-part-6-alternative-node-design" target="_blank">node-based funnel adventure</a>.&nbsp; The players have some agency, but less than it appears. The DM&nbsp; definitely has to read ahead because right from the beginning you have&nbsp; NPCs in the party who are all from different areas of the underdark and&nbsp; who advocate going to their home area first. A big picture overview would definitely help.It's not entirely about the amount of time spent preparing the game&nbsp; though, but how enjoyable it is. Different DMs enjoy different sorts of&nbsp; prep. I find it draining to prep a plotted adventure (how am I&nbsp; going to keep the PCs on the rails...) whereas I find it energizing to&nbsp; put a sandbox together (I wonder how this will turn out!).I don't enjoy reading RPG adventures as stories. I like to make houserules and use rules that create chaos rather just resolve it. Most people ignore these rules or consider them unplayable. I'm probably the only person in the thread who's tried to use the entire social system in AD&amp;D (reaction/loyalty/morale). I will run a complex node-based adventure once in a while but I prefer to use Call of Cthulhu for that. Much better scenarios in that style and the funnel structure feels more consonant with the theme of the game.The old modules had a better sense of what to describe in detail (maps, tactical situations) and what to leave open for improvisation or procedural generation (colour, NPC interactions). The NPCs especially are underdeveloped compared to modern adventures...and yet I still always managed to have memorable NPCs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Libramarian, post: 6833193, member: 6688858"] I think OotA is best described as what Justin Alexander would call a [URL="http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/8015/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-part-6-alternative-node-design"]node-based funnel adventure[/URL]. The players have some agency, but less than it appears. The DM definitely has to read ahead because right from the beginning you have NPCs in the party who are all from different areas of the underdark and who advocate going to their home area first. A big picture overview would definitely help. It's not entirely about the amount of time spent preparing the game though, but how enjoyable it is. Different DMs enjoy different sorts of prep. I find it draining to prep a plotted adventure (how am I going to keep the PCs on the rails...) whereas I find it energizing to put a sandbox together (I wonder how this will turn out!). I don't enjoy reading RPG adventures as stories. I like to make houserules and use rules that create chaos rather just resolve it. Most people ignore these rules or consider them unplayable. I'm probably the only person in the thread who's tried to use the entire social system in AD&D (reaction/loyalty/morale). I will run a complex node-based adventure once in a while but I prefer to use Call of Cthulhu for that. Much better scenarios in that style and the funnel structure feels more consonant with the theme of the game. The old modules had a better sense of what to describe in detail (maps, tactical situations) and what to leave open for improvisation or procedural generation (colour, NPC interactions). The NPCs especially are underdeveloped compared to modern adventures...and yet I still always managed to have memorable NPCs. [/QUOTE]

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