Topic: What do you look for in an adventure?

[Colin-ICE]

Apologies if there is already a thread asking this question.

During one of our (very few) quiet moments at Dragonmeet over the weekend, GCP Director Nicholas mentioned very casually that perhaps I should take a stab at writing an adventure module.

To be honest I'm not sure I'll be particularly successful at it. I do however have a significant other who has done various degrees, MAs and other qualifications in creative writing and literature so I thought with her writing the narrative and me working on the stats, we might have something half decent.

With that in mind, what is it that you think makes a great adventure?

[markc]

  I know there is an old thread about what is your favorite module that you and your Sig Oth might want to take a look at. Also some of the various Pathfinder Adventure Paths are very popular and might also be a good place to look for an idea on How To Do "something".
 ICE may already have some modules in there library that you can take a look at so you may not have to buy anything.


 I guess what it comes down to to me is an interesting flow of events (story line) that fit in the world I am running or that the module another GM is running it for.
  I do not know about the rest of you but it can be a real turn off for me when playing an module that is designed to be gritty in a world of high magic or the other way around.


MDC

[intothatdarkness]

A good adventure means different things to different people. You might try writing something that you'd enjoy playing (be that a dungeon crawl or wilderness epic).

Creative writing plays a part, but you're mostly looking at synchronizing events and locations. In many cases the PCs will do their best (intentionally or otherwise) to break the narrative, so you need to allow for that.

For me, a great adventure is one that gives the PCs room to move while still directing them (gently) toward the final goal. I do a fair number of wilderness-type adventures, so I scatter ruins and bandit camps along their possible lines of movement so they have alternate encounters (and distractions), while building tension with increasingly difficult encounters with their main opponent. If it's a more urban setting, I pull from my espionage gaming and do more structured mission-type adventures that have defined end points (the PCs must infiltrate the local thieves' guild and recover item X along with some negative information about the local leader, for example). For those I design the hideout, plan its security and defenses, and then let the PCs make their moves. There may be another group trying to gain entry for different reasons, or an informant in the noble's court might have leaked word of an attempt so the defenses are on high alert.

Outside of the nuts and bolts, a good adventure to me needs room for PCs to move, a credible threat (that the PCs can still defeat if they use their resources well), and the potential for future adventures rising from the first one. I hate killer dungeons, no-win situations, or adventures that are so heavily scripted that the PCs may as well be stuck in a choose your own adventure book.

[HawksNut]

I myself like modules that can be plugged into any larger campaign. Even some of the older AD&D series would fit into that category such as the Pharaoh series I3 & I4, A1 & A2 of the Slavers etc.

For me, a great adventure is one that gives the PCs room to move while still directing them (gently) toward the final goal.

Outside of the nuts and bolts, a good adventure to me needs room for PCs to move, a credible threat (that the PCs can still defeat if they use their resources well), and the potential for future adventures rising from the first one. I hate killer dungeons, no-win situations, or adventures that are so heavily scripted that the PCs may as well be stuck in a choose your own adventure book.

I agree 100%. Some of the problems I have with Pathfinder Adventure Path is they are too scripted for my taste. I do like some of their one off modules though.

The most important part is a good story.

[markc]

 I think one of the toughest things for new people who sit down and write adventures to solve is the "Why is this here" or "Why does this happen" problem.
 In fiction that is easy, it has to happen to advance the plot but that is not the case in adventures. Also in adventures what happens if the party or group fails at a task? What happens if they need to have some down time because of injuries? What happens if you have an encounter with a major villain and he dies before he is needed at the end? What about magic items and their power, for that adventure and later on in the Campaign?
 Those are just a few of the problems new adventure authors have to deal with, wrestle with and hopefully solve.  But having a good background in writing helps a lot simply because of having a descriptive nature for your flavor text, story flow and ebb as well as many other writing techniques I never heard about after my mandatory year of English in college. But I am sure she know about them.


 I do not know it but maybe some of those Dinner murder mysteries might help out some. The ones I am thinking of are the ones where guests to your house dress up (or not) and take a character and things happen over the course (maybe main course, ) to the other characters until they solve the mystery.
But a few of my friends who have some acting background have loved them in the past.
MDC

[Old Man]

I like adventure modules that provide one or more potential adventure paths that move through, or involve, a sandbox of interest. So I like to see interesting places but with some background to give the GM a reason to send the PCs to those interesting places. The sandbox can then integrate into my campaign world and persist beyond the initial integration via the first adventure in the area. Some of my favorite modules, of that form, are Dragonquest's The Enchanted Woods (also The Palace of Ontocle) and ICE's The Iron Wind.

Regards,
Old Man

[RandalThor]

First something I don't like:

Appropriate Theme. Please do not have the fate of the entire kingdom/continent/world resting upon the shoulders of the 1st level adventurers. That bugs the heck out of me. I cannot tell you how many times I have ran acros this: "The kingdom is in dire peril from [X] and so the king calls for heroes. Your characters are given the task of saving everyone in the kingdom. (Adventure for 1st level characters.)" AAARRGGHH!! Who on earth sends children to deal with the big bad, when you have knight-lords, magister-wizards and high-priests to send?? So please, don't do that. If it is an adventure for low-level characters, make the theme appropriate to them; village/town-based, basically smaller-scaled. A great example of that is the Basic D&D adventure called B11: King's Festival: "Someone has “borrowed” a Cleric, and without him, the fabled King’s Festival cannot go on. Unfortunately, it looks like the orcs have him, and your characters must rescue him. A great learning adventure, King’s Festival provides players and DMs with a valuable introduction to fantasy role-playing in the land of Karameikos." [There's more, but I am sure you get the gist.] It is about a cleric and a festival for the town of Stallanford - not even the capitol of Karameikos - not saving the world from ultimate doom. Because really, where does a group go from there? After saving the world, how exciting does finding a kidnapped princess seem?

Other than that, just have excellent maps, art, and a combination of overland and dungeon* locations, particularly ones that give great detail to the local setting and are appropriate to the local environment. (No desert creatures in the middle of the frozen tundra - unless, of course, there is a reason.) I also really like it when the "random" encounters can be used as clues in the main storyline, or a side-story the PCs can get involved in, or one that can be connected to a larger storyline continued later. Of course, some "random" encounters are just that, a chance meeting, and that is OK. Example: In the adventure N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God (AD&D) I put in a random encounter of a recently attacked and destroyed merchant caravan, the PCs arrived about half-a-day too late. If they decided to go on to investigate one of the 20+ rumors I had previously doled out, they would be able to connect this encounter with what is happening in the Dim Forest. (If they bothered to remember, that is.) I like stuff like this, as it makes the world feel connected, more real somehow.

Some cool NPCs and special monster NPCs are nice. I like to give intelligent "monsters" like hobgoblins, orcs, etc... some character class levels to give them more depth and make them more challenging.


*It doesn't have to be a dungeon, perse, I like more realistic ruins such as ancient keeps which still have some above-ground stuff (the one from the MERP RPG is excellent as an example of this), or old settlements spread out over an area where the "rooms" are the old buildings in a variable state of (dis)repair. 

[Peter R]

Terry asked almost the exact same question recently here http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=14772.0.

I personally like a an apparently clear and obvious objective even if the evil behind it isn't immediately obvious. Kill the princess, rescue the troll, that sort of thing.

[Malleable]

I like adventures that require a variety of playstyles.
The players in my group are really varied in how they like to solve adventures.  So some:
combat, political intrigue, stealthiness, investigation/puzzle solving, social interaction manipulation.

If an adventure is entirely combat, investigation, political intrigue, etc.  it leaves players out.

Mal

[Cory Magel]

The absolute first thing I look for is the ability to drop it into virtually any campaign.  While this is a personal preference I suspect it's a relatively common one among RM users.

Next is maps/layouts (I love stealing maps for my own purposes).  I just ordered the Minas Tirith sourcebook and, while I will potentially use the materials for a MERP game, the main reason I bought it was for the map.

[markc]

 I agree about Minas Tirith, before I sold it I used it for many a different game.
MDC

[Old Man]

I agree about Minas Tirith, before I sold it I used it for many a different game.
MDC

Same re: nifty castle maps - some favorites of mine - the Astrologer's Keep from Iron Wind and Thuringthawost (sp) from the Dagorlad (?) MERP module. On a smaller scale, the moathouse from T1 Hommlet and Herubar Gubar (sp) from the MERP boxed set.

[RandalThor]

Herubar Gubar (sp) from the MERP boxed set.

I love that one! I try and use if for just about every fantasy game I run.

[DangerMan]

I like linear campaigns, i.e. not sandbox.

Maps and illustrations! Maps! Did I mention maps?

Interesting loot with plot hooks!

Interesting NPCs. I like to have one or two key NPCs who are helpfull to the PCs and can help to keep the game going in the right direction.

I also like it when the book starts with a section for the GM which draws up what the campaign will be like, a summary of sorts. This should also say something about power level / start level.

[ironmaul]

Social interaction, exploration, confrontation and a good story line.
And a lot what was mentioned above. And make it fun!

[Alwyn]

I prefer a sand box type campaign with several small adventures included.

[markc]

 I borrowed my friends copy of the Pathfinder's Rise of the Rune Lords and so far I am very impressed (but only on page 40). It seems to have a lot of depth in the timeline (ie history go's back and forth), different pacing and is well written. But as they say if the preface this is the version that has benefited from lots of feedback, extended editing and has been thus revamped from the original work. 
MDC

[markc]

  One thing I have noticed about the Rise of the Rune Lords adventure is that they generally only give the bare min information on general monsters and simply provide a page # for the Gm to refer to. This IMHO dramatically cuts down on space required but also IMHO is not as new GM friendly, but since most if not all of the Pathfinder monsters on on a website for free as long as the new GM knows that and has access to the site it is fine.
MDC   

[egdcltd]

I borrowed my friends copy of the Pathfinder's Rise of the Rune Lords and so far I am very impressed (but only on page 40). It seems to have a lot of depth in the timeline (ie history go's back and forth), different pacing and is well written. But as they say if the preface this is the version that has benefited from lots of feedback, extended editing and has been thus revamped from the original work. 
MDC

Is that the single book anniversary issue? I've just finished reading it myself.

[markc]

Yes it is the single copy anniversary issue.
MDC