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Why is Hoard of the Dragon Queen such a bad adventure?
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<blockquote data-quote="Jhaelen" data-source="post: 6490819" data-attributes="member: 46713"><p>Maybe some modules do. But there's also plenty of modules that focus on giving you a detailed description of one or several locations, describing their inhabitants, their motives and daily routines and how they are related to each other without implying how the GM is going to use that information in her game. At most these modules tend to provide a list of story hooks to give you some ideas why it might be interesting for characters to visit the described area. In short, these modules describe a sandbox.</p><p>I seem to remember that adventure modules written for the old MERP were like that.</p><p>Similarly for games that focus more on social encounters, politics, etc. rather than exploration, there's modules describing organisations, npcs, and events, supplying a suggested timeline that basically describes what's most likely to happen if the players don't interfere in any way. Often, but not always, they also describe a couple of 'what if?' scenarios that cover likely developments if the players interfere in certain ways and/or at certain points. Several modules written for Vampire or Ars Magica are like that.</p><p></p><p>Naturally, these modules have a disadvantage over modules that are written in the expectation that a particular script is followed: They always require some additional effort from the GM, either in preparing for a session or in improvising during the session. However, I've found that 'scripted modules' rarely work as effortless as advertized. At the least you'll have to tailor them to your players' characters to get them involved. At worst you have to rewrite large passages to make it fit, resulting in more work than you'd have had, had you used a more open module or even written your own adventure from scratch.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jhaelen, post: 6490819, member: 46713"] Maybe some modules do. But there's also plenty of modules that focus on giving you a detailed description of one or several locations, describing their inhabitants, their motives and daily routines and how they are related to each other without implying how the GM is going to use that information in her game. At most these modules tend to provide a list of story hooks to give you some ideas why it might be interesting for characters to visit the described area. In short, these modules describe a sandbox. I seem to remember that adventure modules written for the old MERP were like that. Similarly for games that focus more on social encounters, politics, etc. rather than exploration, there's modules describing organisations, npcs, and events, supplying a suggested timeline that basically describes what's most likely to happen if the players don't interfere in any way. Often, but not always, they also describe a couple of 'what if?' scenarios that cover likely developments if the players interfere in certain ways and/or at certain points. Several modules written for Vampire or Ars Magica are like that. Naturally, these modules have a disadvantage over modules that are written in the expectation that a particular script is followed: They always require some additional effort from the GM, either in preparing for a session or in improvising during the session. However, I've found that 'scripted modules' rarely work as effortless as advertized. At the least you'll have to tailor them to your players' characters to get them involved. At worst you have to rewrite large passages to make it fit, resulting in more work than you'd have had, had you used a more open module or even written your own adventure from scratch. [/QUOTE]
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Why is Hoard of the Dragon Queen such a bad adventure?
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