Why don't you buy modules?

[Ycore Rixle]

Is anyone else sick of the 1st edition retro-style?

You know, I sort of am. Not with any finality, not to the point where I would say, "Enough! I never want to see an overland-trek-leading-to-dungeon-crawl-with-keyed-encounters-plus-wandering-monsters-all-the-way-through." I still like that. And yet...

I would like to see some innovation. I would like to see a good Tournament module, centered on a joust or a kumite or ice sledding or slug riding, with tons of NPC stats and lots of rules for the games and a very open plot with just a few keyed events. I'd like to see a module that has tons of puzzle pictures, or yeti-hide handouts, or even a $39.95 boxed set with just a 64-page module but also including crystal tokens, a quill pen that figures in the adventure, or a beer stein from the tavern in the adventure. Or how about a flood/negative energy planar rift/natural disaster module, where the ultimate villain is simply the raging water that threatens homes and innocent lives?

 

[Grayhawk]

Modules are now the only thing I buy to compliment the core books.

I've bought my share of 1e and 2e AD&D supplements, but I feel that the current core rules (still) offer enough new stuff and choices, and I've created my own setting, so all I need for the moment are some modules to flesh out a campaign in that world.

As I think that 3x lets you level too fast, I'm giving less xp. So I've build a story line using the 4 first modules in the WotC adventure path series (Sunless Citadel, etc.), but intersected about 6 or 8 of the free modules from WotC site before and in-between each of them. Thus my players will progress slower, get to see and experience more, and will still have obtained the appropriate level for the modules they begin.

Obviously, all these modules have been changed slightly to facilitate their placement in my campaign setting, and some of them have just been placed on my map, so if the PC's choose to go off wandering, there are a couple of adventures waiting for them.

Also, my world has a special background story which the PC's are unaware of, but I've spread various clues to this throughout the modules, hopefully creating a sense of coherence as they explore the setting.

It will be a while, but the next campaign I'll be running will propably be based on Ed Cha's World of Whitethorn series.

The last d20 supplement I bought was The Hamlet of Thumble which I got due to it's great reviews and great cover.

(Hopefully I'll win The Village of Oester when the next competition rolls around - after all my Hafling Haiku was one of the runner-ups, so it only seems fair! )

 

[shilsen]

I bought many of the Adventure Path modules when I got into 3e, but none since and won't be buying any more. Two reasons: (1) I'm cheap, and (2) I'm creative. Simple reasons are the best

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, in all the time 3.x has been out I have bought a total of six modules.

Three were because I wanted to know more about the world. (Witchfire Trilogy)

One was because it was free with a purchase. This one - Edge of Dreams - was so well written that I bought two others from the same publisher. (Monkey God Enterprises.) It was well laid out, with the starting reactions for NPCs to the players, original enough that I wouldn't have thought of it myself, and most imprtantly it had a sense of mystery all too often missing from prewritten adventures.

All the King's Men was the second purchase from Monkey God, and it will shortly have the distinction of being the only 3e adventure that I have run twice. Again, a sense of mystery, and in this case humor, makes it stand out from the crowd. I was saddened when Monkey God made the announcement that they were no lomger going to produce adventure modules, I have been very satisfied with the ones that I have purchased from them.

So, what do I find most important in modules? Detail and flavour for a prewritten world. An original concept. And mystery, in my experience the hardest form of adventure to write. A good layout is key, clear maps and plot points are critical. A nonlinear nature that doesn't try to railroad the PCs. (Something that I hate as a player and a DM both, its just a lazy way to handle things.)

Of secondary importance is portability, the Monkey God adventures I can port around, but Witchfire is most firmly rooted in the Iron Kingdoms and does a decent job of showcasing the setting.

Things that bring an adventure down are poor maps and unclear descriptions and plot points. (Witchfire has rather poor maps, I had to go through and redraft most of the settings. I mean come on! A gatehouse with no gates?) Railroading the characters, with no provision for them not to follow the plot in a linear fashion. (Again a sticking point with Witchfire.) And ideas that have been done to death. (kick open door, check. Kill monster, check, find treasure, check. Okey dokey, next room...)

The Auld Grump

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I like modules so long as they easily fit into whatever campaign world I am using at the moment. I hate modules that you MUST use the world it was created for or you have to spend so much time modifying the module that you might as well have written your adventure yourself.

It's the opposite with me - I'm only interested in adventures if they really tie in with the setting's features. I can come up with "generic" adventures myself - what I'm interested in is something that is unique to the setting.

Come to think of it, most of the adventures I have bought were for Shadowrun...

 

[megamania]

When core books and accessory books begin at 15 and go to 40 I can't afford to spend 10-25 on an adventure that I will need to tear about and redo to fit my campaign anyway.

Sometimes one sounds kewl and I'll buy it for the creatures/PCs/Ideas within but that is very rare.

This is not to say there is not a time and place for predone adventures however. I work two jobs (over 70 hours a week). Predone adventures are sounding better every month.

 

[D+1]

Is anyone else sick of the 1st edition retro-style?

Not at all - I'd kinda prefer a little more. After all I wanna roll dice too. My next campaign will begin with Judges Guilds Wilderlands setting as a basis.

It seems to me a lot of modules are trying to ape a style that doesn't have much going for it, rather than try and do something new and original. I don't think there are many modules with original and interesting settings either...

Well, new and original adventure styles... I guess I can't say without starting to buy a lot of modules I'm not likely to use. Even if they're there, the problem is finding and pulling out the stuff that will really work for you. As far as original and interesting settings, well there's plenty of those out there too, but I can't run them all at once and I tend to prefer basic fanatasy stuff anyway. As for settings within modules it's easier to adapt to an existing campaign if they don't depend highly on a setting anyway.

 

[Setanta]

Originally posted by Ed Cha:
I sense a lot of frustration here with the modules currently out there, but very few people here have picked up any of my books, it seems.

I buy lots of modules, but I haven't gotten yours. The reason is simple. With all the publishers out there, I kind of stick to the ones I know. If a new one comes along, I guess I don't give them much chance to get my attention. In your case, the fact that your module titles start with "World of Whitethorn" was enough to keep me from looking further. I need generic modules, and from that title I inferred that these were meant for a specific setting. After reading this thread, I see that they're generic, so I'll give them a look if I can ever find one in a local store. Anyway, I hope I can find one, as I'd really like to find another good module publisher.

 

[Ed Cha]

I buy lots of modules, but I haven't gotten yours. The reason is simple. With all the publishers out there, I kind of stick to the ones I know. If a new one comes along, I guess I don't give them much chance to get my attention. In your case, the fact that your module titles start with "World of Whitethorn" was enough to keep me from looking further. I need generic modules, and from that title I inferred that these were meant for a specific setting. After reading this thread, I see that they're generic, so I'll give them a look if I can ever find one in a local store. Anyway, I hope I can find one, as I'd really like to find another good module publisher.

Thanks for keeping an open mind! I prefer generic modules, too, and when I see something too world specific, I'm usually not interested either. The World of Whitethorn series is probably one of the more generic settings out there. If your local gaming store doesn't take an order for the books, why not support EN World and order them here?

This is a link to the d20 Fantasy section of the EN World RPG Shop:

http://enworld.rpgshop.com/default.php?cPath=_1_260&

 

[jaults]

Another thing is certain though - those Mega Modules are utterly useless as "modules" to plug into a campaign. They are settings masquerading as modules. I bought RttToEE and after the first skim of reading it realized I'd NEVER EVER run the bloody thing because I would never run a campaign that consists of a single, endless, DULL dungeon crawl. By the time the PC's reached the end of the module they'd be at the end of their non-epic careers at or near 20th level. That's not a module, it's a CAMPAIGN, and a mightily tedious one it would be.

Interesting... I agree with one of your points, but couldn't disagree more with the other. I am currently a player in a RttToEE campaign, and am enjoying myself immensely. Of course, that could just be my DM and the other players. But I do see how it would be nearly impossible for RttToEE to be anything other than the whole campaign itself. Levels 4-14 is a huge swath of an adventuring career, and a loooong time IRL. I think we have been playing for over a year now, and I think we are nearing the end.

Jason