Topic: New Adventure Seed Idea

[Defendi]

Okay, I was talking to my legenedary FIRST CUSTOMER in e-mail yesterday (I never asked persmission to use his name).  He was asking about some guidance for GMs to fill in spots between adventures.  I had an Idea after the HARP playtest tonight.

I invision a series of free products known as Adventure Seeds.  She would be expanded off the Adventure Seeds as presented in the source books (expanded off the concept, not the individual seeds).  For those of you who read SM Datanet, they'd be like the adventures in the campaign plans.  Essentially, they'd be 1-2 page adventure PLOTS with some supporting data on how to fit them into Moving Shadow.  No stats or rules.  Just a description of an adventure and how the plot evolves.  Basically, with this, your rulebook, your monster book, and whatever NPC premades your game of choice has, you should be able to sit down and on the fly, run an adventure with no prep.  You'd fill in details, give NPCs personalities and make up the descriptions, but it should be an easy session for the GM on the go.

Maybe more importantly, they'd fill in the holes between adventures in The Moving Shadow.  For instance, the Moving Shadow might look something like this:

Adventure #1:  The Throne of God (3rd Level)
Adventure Seed 1a:  A Knife in the Night
Adventure Seed 1b:  To Burn a Witch
Adventure #2:  The Festering Earth (6th Level)
Adventure Seed 2:  Felrican Nights
Guild Adventurer 2:  The Echoes of History (By Guild Companion)
Adventure #3:  On Corrupted Ground. (9th Level)

What do you think?

[Mungo]

Good idea.

BR
Juergen

[mocking bird]

1a & 1b sound like something I was thinking about perhaps.

I was just wondering how many of the variuos religious orders would take the news that there are several people running around who claim to be from Heaven.  You would have potential assassins as they might be heretics or potential followers looking for faith healing or something similar.

[Defendi]

Well HOPEFULLY they aren't just telling everone that. 

[mocking bird]

Not everybody.  However at the initial encounter they can only speak the Holy Speech and in a very old dialect.  The party also has some opportunities for interacting with some young priests at the church.  There is a nice list of things that would be new to them in the book - sun, moon, languages, cambioins, church, savior, etc.  I would think the last might be a bit awkward at times - I am imagining someone who grew up in a Byzantine church in 600 AD going to a Southern Baptist service.  Or not knowing about cambions, Kulan or the Great Fiends.

Perhaps I am just not giving other players enough credit, but I really doubt my group could keep that secret for very long.  Something would slip at some point.  On the contrairy, some might even get delusions of grandeur.  Imagine being a paladin who literally met angels and was in God's House?

But in general, the inital Teaser to me is one bright glowy plot hook.  Basically while reading through the various organizations, I kept thinking how they would react to such a claim.  Heretic?  Prophet?  Omen?

Really what I had in mind was a basic plot by one of the numerous organizations and some NPC's of various levels that might be tailing the party.  Then I got all excited reading the Shadowblade in the Codex. 

Did the playtesting group keep the secret or have I just been reading too many conspiracy theories recently?  Hiram Key, DaVinci Code, Focault's Pendulum and Temple and the Lodge for example.

[markc]

  I think it would draw people to your other payed for products and is a great idea. Infact you may want to give a little more flesh and charge $1 to $2.

MDC

[GerikGnome]

We kept the secret to varying extents.  Whenever we didn't, things tended to get messy.

This may or may not be a spoiler so I'll tag it as such.  (Don't worry, Defendi, it's not a playtest spoiler.)

(click to show/hide)

If "Adventure Seed 1a:  A Knife in the Night" is what I think it is, I think we played it.  And you're definitely on the right track, mocking bird.  Look up the Society of Sinnius.

[PiXeL01]

It sounds like a great idea. I have been meaning to ask here on the board for peoples experiences and for guidelines on how to run a campaign in EoH while keeping the feel of it. of course I havent completed reading the setting or Throne of God yet, but atm I have a little hard time imaging how to do it and keep the feel of the setting. Expanded Adventure Seeds sounds great!

OT - When well the Guild Adventure #2 be released or has it already?

Also looking for ward to more products for EoH. So far I havent been disappointed, especially since I am a huge fan of the Prophecy

[mocking bird]

GerikGnome - cha ching!!!  My thoughts exactly.  There were a few other possible candidates but those fit better.

For feel, I have always envisioned something like a cross between the Black Company and City of Heaven.  Actually Cook's last book Tyranny of the night fits both bills really as it is essentially the Third Crusade with magic.

PiXeL01 - if you like the Prophecy, read the Book of Enoch.  Good stuff.

[Defendi]

GA #2 is coming out after product 3.  I missjudged. 

[Grafton]

Defendi, based on what we talked about in PMs, I would think these seed adventures would be more appropriate for a play-by-post game, correct? If so, they would be ideal for me to run on rpgrm.com. I am leaning away from the actual EoH campaign due to copyright issues as we discussed.

[Defendi]

Well, yes.  But remember the published adventures would still be easier to use.  You have write descriptions for both, but the published adventures are laid out piece by piece for you while the Adventure Seeds you would have to invent details on your own.

But they'd be fine for PBP.

[Defendi]

Brief update.  I need the first adventure seed tonight so I jotted one out really quick.  It's about 2500 words long (four pages pagemade).  There will likely be about 6-9 more pages in the finished version, but those will deal with things like plugging it into The Moving Shadow and experience and all the normal "What is the Echoes of Heaven" stuff for gateway buyers.  Anyway, four pages feels like a good bit of meat for a series of free products, so I'm happy.

[markc]

  I agree 4 pages of free stuff is a good chunk and should help a lot of people using your setting with ideas.

MDC