Why don't you buy modules?

[Altalazar]

I buy modules. I've bought all of Wizard's, what little there are. I've liked them. I've bought a few various 3rd party. I would buy more. I have every Dungeon. I like having a wide range of sources. Some to run, some to alter, some to just use as inspiration or just to get a map from.

I love modules. I get all nostalgic when I look at the 1E modules. I think there are a lot of well done 3E modules out there.

 

[dren]

I don't buy them for a variety of reasons listed in the thread. First of all, there are so many free adventures online, I don't have the time to use them all. The ones that are written are not paced in the manner I want and don't fit the game style my players like.

But the biggest reason is price. Why shell out money for something I will only use once? With supplements such as the Minature Handbook or Unearthed Arcana you get hours of use from it and everyone in the group can look through it. But once a module is finished, it's done. As the DM, I'm the only person who be extensively looking through it, so really, I'm the only person to be getting any benefit from it.

Can I be convinced otherwise? Sure, but it would have to be a darn great mod before I even consider buying it.

 

[Crothian]

I'm starting to use the ones I have. I figure if I can get some good use of them then I might look into buying more. Last week I finished Of SOund Mind and next I'm going to make the transistion to the Standing Stones.

 

[barsoomcore]

Dungeon Magazine is the perfect thing for me. The adventures are small enough to be digested and stuffed into my campaign anyway I like (without locking me into some particular storyline I may or may not be interested in), the production level is always SUPER high (beautiful maps, NPC portraits, yada yada yada), and no filler.

I don't want to spend $30 on a module. I want to spend $5-$10. Dungeon is perfect -- it's right at my price point and I usually get three modules for the price of one. Plus all that weird Polyhedron stuff.

I don't want a module to be hardbound because it means one more big honking book I have to haul around to my game sessions or stack on the table beside me. I don't want a module that assumes I know everything (or indeed anything) about Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk or whatever. I don't want a module that is just a random list of places and monsters to fight, nor do I want one that tries too hard to make my players follow some story or other.

I want modules filled with COOL. When I read it, I should be nodding my head, saying to myself, "Cool." And then when my players are halfway through, getting their butts handed to them, they ought to be shaking their heads, saying, "Okay, that was cool." Cool places, cool NPCs, cool monsters, cool magic items, cool puzzles -- gotta be cool.

I buy lots of modules -- mostly inside the covers of Dungeon.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I would only buy modules if, as barsoomcore said, it has the reek of "cool", and be modular and has some variety in encounter types.

 

[Sir Whiskers]

I want modules filled with COOL. When I read it, I should be nodding my head, saying to myself, "Cool." And then when my players are halfway through, getting their butts handed to them, they ought to be shaking their heads, saying, "Okay, that was cool." Cool places, cool NPCs, cool monsters, cool magic items, cool puzzles -- gotta be cool.

Now this I can agree with. While I don't need the mostly hackneyed ideas around which modules are built, the details can really make a difference.

I downloaded a module from DireKobold.com (wonder if they're still in business?) which featured ghosts acting out their last moments in front of the party. It gave the party useful clues to the adventure, and really added to the feel. The players loved that touch. The overall module was fairly pedestrian, but details like that made it memorable.

 

[pawsplay]

I like sprawling picaresques, and modules are usually tied to a location, often one not even found in my campaign.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I didn't answer the poll yet, first I had to read all 4+ pages of other people's posts.

I've played and DMed since 1980, so I guess I'm one of the old farts (I have the Chainmail paperback, etc.). I used to love modules, and for a long time, that's all I did. My group would take turns picking someone as DM, and the rest of us would play whatever module we hadn't played in a long time.

During 2nd edition, I mostly played, and mostly in a Greyhawk campaign.

In 3rd edition, I've mostly DMed, and mostly in my own campaign. And, this gets me to my answer.

I don't use modules because I see D&D not as a game, but as a piece of art. I see the construction of a world as artwork, I see the creation of PCs and NPCs as artwork, and I see the actual playing experience as artwork.

Even so, I bought most of the modules from WotC for their 3rd edition stuff, mostly to get a feel for the rules. I even ran two of them, hoping I'd find some immersion. But, the sessions felt contrived. It wasn't mine and so I abandoned that path.

Dave

 

[barsoomcore]

I downloaded a module from DireKobold.com (wonder if they're still in business?) which featured ghosts acting out their last moments in front of the party. It gave the party useful clues to the adventure, and really added to the feel. The players loved that touch. The overall module was fairly pedestrian, but details like that made it memorable.

You liked that one? Download "Free Lunches" -- written by YOURS TRULY!!! Brimming over with COOL. Yes, Dire Kobold is still in business.



I hope.

 

[Frostmarrow]

A big selling point for me is if the module is BIG! With big I mean, -have lots of other people played this? (or is it likely that they will?). Now, I do realise that I'm being a bit childish but I like the gaming community and I like to have things and memories in common with the gamers. That's why I've played through the adventure path, the Freeport-series, and I've DM'd RtTToEE (and more).

So, I look forward to a series of high profile, hardbound books, in a loose series that as many people as possible will find interesting. It's like waiting for blockbuster movies when you know that Hollywood stopped making films.