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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 2264089" data-attributes="member: 8835">Well this topic is breaking down.  I concur with the market.  If modules made money, there would be more modules.  There were a bunch of modules, they didn't make much money.  The cost of making modules may have gone up.Now for the point about fluff writing, cheetos, and half-arsed DMs.  For a real example, consider this:  I can write 3 pages of text in about 2 hours.  I can write "fluff" and do so in the form of a website and newspaper for my campaign world.  For my adventures in my homebrew campaign (aka, D&D rules, my world, my map, my adventures), I support Mona's statement, what I write for a homebrew adventure is minimal.  Here's a dump of the last adventure I ran (not claiming to have a good or pretty adventure, I suspect other DMs are equally sparse):15th Adventure“Darkness Crossing”03/26/05Extra Print-Outs needed:5x Currents of Tarai2x Combat ManeuversTool URLs:Combat Conditions: <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm</a>D20 SRD: <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm</a>Players:Lt. Commander Jean Pierre Latour – paladin – PaulLt. Viktor Sluchesk – fighter – Greg? – ? – JeffLt. Commander Darwin DeWare – rogue – NedMarie Giavani - wizard - NicoleDarwin DeWare is captain of the Maiden’s SpearFosian and Sindael have been reassignedThe Game:Current Date: Wenan 30th, 1366Location:  Island of Karnos, at the port city of KoumosShip: Maiden’s SpearThe dreams continue.  Each night.  The flames.  The screams.  The last act.  The light.  Yet the answer to Jean Pierre’s question eludes him.  Was it the hand of Verun, reaching down to spare him?  A visit to the temple of Verun puts it into perspective.  The answer will tend to itself.  Jean Pierre remains.  He has his duty.  He will hold the line.  When the answers come, everything will change.Viktor trains his marines.  They are like iron.  The Maiden’s Spear is the anvil, and he is the anvil.  When the time comes, they will be ready.Darwin asks Marie to investigate his sword’s background and powers.  She tells him it will take some time.  While he is waiting, he teaches his Amber and her mother Shelby some swordplay.  This inspires Darwin to go to Ritali and enter the Fencing Trials.  He is easily granted leave by Arama, aside from running a simple delivery errand to Coran.  At the trials, competition is fierce.  Things were going well, until he sprained his ankle when Sharina Adar, one of the skilled competitors, slipped on a wet stair while going to the arena, and Darwin caught her, albeit they both tumbled to the bottom.  Darwin’s injury immediately removed him from the competition.  Sharina felt so bad, she dropped out from the competition.  While Darwin recuperated and skulked, she stopped by Darwin’s room and brought him food.   They became close, though her duties in the Explorer Corps soon called her away.  Darwin and Sharina keep in touch at infrequent visits, where their paths crossed.Marie studies the spell book that was recovered from the rogue wizard.  It contains mostly summoning spells.  Marie manages to learn a few of the spells, that are within her reach.  In addition, Darwin asked her to research his sword.  The sword’s stony, wet surface is intriguing.  While her own research tells little of the sword, she does get one lead. There is a reclusive wizard with some background in magical blades.  Haraka.Assuming the party goes to see Haraka:It takes some time before the Maiden’s Spear gets orders that take Darwin to the vicinity of Haraka.  An island.  A man.  Apparently, no man is an island, unless he has an ego the size of one.  The journey there is uneventful.  The island draws near.  The shore is rocky and jagged, like black blades.  The dock is crewed by heavily scarred workers.  It is unclear what species they are.The tower of Haraka stabs into the sky like a wound.  The top is flat, with 6 sharp points rising up above it.  The walls of the tower appear to have a black scaly texture, though the scales appear elongated.  An ominous feeling cuts into you, making you uneasy.The interior walls appear to be made of sword blades, laid together, overlapping.There are several large brutish creatures about the area (ogres).  The skin is brownish and is covered with the same cuts and scars.<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ogre.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ogre.htm</a>Haraka stands 10 feet tall.  His bluish grey skin  contrasts coldly with his open black robe.  Beneath it glints the black chain armor he wears.  A red silk belt crosses his midsection.  He wears a greatsword at his side casually, as if it were not there.Haraka (Lawful Evil Ogre mage)<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ogreMage.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ogreMage.htm</a>Gear:art    bizarre  idol,  made  of  serpentine  (960.4  gp)    carved  harp  of  darkwood,  with  jet  inlay  and  ruby  gems  (1,055.4  gp)    silver  chalice  with  eye  agate  gems  (55.6  gp)coin    102,622  copper  coins  (1,026.22  gp)potion    potion  of  blur  (300  gp)        green-colored        sweet  odor/taste        watery,  cloudy  appearancering    ring  of  swimming  (2,300  gp)weapon    greatsword  +2  (8,350  gp)-------------------Total  Value:  14,047.62  gpHaraka welcomes the party and invites them to dinner to explain their visit.  He insists on standing on ceremony. He is rather polite.A mist rolls in around the island.Haraka insists they stay the night, for their safety.  Wait until morning, when the mist clears.Things about the Darwin’s Blade:Zha’Delkar (End of Darkness)Protection from Fire (at 7th level, -5 damage from fire attacks)Increases in Plus (per four levels, round down, minimum +1)Haraka will tell Darwin about his blade, if the party agrees to run an errand for himThere is a tar pit on a nearby island.  Haraka needs a gallon of it for his work.  Naturally, it will be dangerous.  Haraka has no boats of his own, he has supplies brought in twice a year.  The tar pit should be inside a cave.The Island of the Tar:The beach is sandy, allowing you to take a launch out to the island.  The rest of the beach is rocky and mountainous, and nearly as inhospitable as Haraka.  Hopefully, this place is merely an extinct volcano.An ettin is walking the sandy beach<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ettin.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ettin.htm</a>XP: 2242A quick recon along the beach, reveals there is a cave opening in the side of the mountainside.The tunnel twists and winds for quite a way into the mountainside.  It’s grows dark quickly, as the bends of the tunnel prevent the light from the entrance from reaching you.(assume they light a torch)The tunnel opens up to a large chamber.  There floor is flooded with water, but there is a tunnel exit on the far side of the chamber, though it sits closer to the left.  The ground slopes downward, toward the center of the chamber.  It is slick and uneven.  The chamber is roughly oval shaped and is 60’ by 50’ across.DC12 reflex save to avoid slipping every 40 feetWatching the party is an aboleth<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/aboleth.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/aboleth.htm</a>XP: 3051The tunnel goes on farther, though it seems to be climbing up now.A choker tries to grab one of the PCs when they pass<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/choker.htm" target="_blank">http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/choker.htm</a>XP: 249After walking for a long time, you finally begin to see light ahead.The tunnel opens up, into what must be the bowl of the volcano.  You can see the rim soar above you at least a hundred feet.  The bowl itself is two hundred feet across, and you’ve come out a rubble strewn crack near the side.  In the center sits a black pool.When the party fills their container, the pool starts bubbling.  They broke the surface tension, which was holding back the trapped gasses, and now a cascade event is occurring.The tar starts bubbling and the smell of sulfur fills the air.  Soon a rumbling sound begins.  The air is getting hot and it is hard to breathe.If the party tries to climb up, the tar pit catches fire, causing more smoke and breathing difficulty.  -4 to climb checks.  After awhile, the center falls in, and a jet of lava shoots straight up, and sprays the rim side near by.  The tunnel is still safe (unconnected from the main lava tube).There's some fluff in there.  There's very little flow control.  It's mainly notes to myself on parts I'll need as the PCs get there.  Not enough for a publishable adventure, and I certainly predicted where the PCs (people that I know personally) would go.  For a real adventure, it'd border on railroading.  I simply avoided writing material for stuff I didn't think they'd do.In conclusion, writing an adventure takes fluff and crunch.  Not rules, but well thought out pacing and options.  I've seen the polls on EN World that reflect that most DMs make up their own adventures.  The result is, modules don't make money.Janx</blockquote>

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