How to write a good module

[T. Foster]

IMO the two main keys to a good module are an interesting location and interesting characters. If you have those two you don't need a "story," because that will develop naturally as the players interact with the location and the characters (see the "gospel of Papers & Paychecks").

The first is obvious, the second perhaps a little less so. A weakness (IMO) of many of the classic TSR modules was that they tended to only present characters in the context of the location (e.g. IIRC in module G3 the characters Obmi and Eclavdra are included as part of the room descriptions for their bedchambers and not mentioned otherwise) and didn't treat them as mobile and independent entities with goals and motivations of their own even though that's presumably how they were intended to be used. In a well-run adventure the NPCs won't be sitting around waiting for the PCs to show up and kill them, they'll be active -- working against the PCs, or with them, or doing their own thing without heed to the PCs -- and a well-made module will facilitate that, rather than assuming the DM will figure it out on his own (which, if he's inexperienced, he probably won't).

Another key to a good module IMO is that it should both have elements playable right out of the box and be a toolkit for further expansion and development by the individual DM. This means that there should generally be some obvious start and end point that can be run "straight" by a harried DM without the need to modify or create anything on his own, but around the edges of that there should be room for the DM to expand and develop the material further if he chooses to (including, if he wants to and isn't harried, ignoring the canned part completely).

This is tricky to get right. A good example that comes to mind is Zeb Cook's Dwellers in the Forbidden City where there's a canned mini-scenario of the PCs working their way into the ruins in search of a local villager's kidnapped son that can be run straight out of the box, but there's tons of other material in the module and the kidnapped villager plot can be ignored completely if the DM wants to use a different approach. The Lost City by Tom Moldvay is another good one -- it comes with the canned hook of the PCs being lost in the desert and stumbling upon the ruins while looking for food, but there's also a ton of room for expansion in the module, either after the PCs have finished the canned portion or, if the DM is feeling ambitious and willing to do extra work up-front, in place of it -- the PCs don't need to be lost in the desert, they could be archeologists, or treasure hunters, or merchants, etc. seeking it out deliberately, and there could be a long adventure before they even get to the "start" of the module.

[Chgowiz]

(see the "gospel of Papers & Paychecks")

Where is this at?

[Matthew]

Where is this at?

Top right hand corner of this web page.

[Chgowiz]

Where is this at?

Top right hand corner of this web page.

Hello head. Meet desk. *thud*

(embarassed) thank you, Matt.

[Malcadon]

If you are going to put in the ye ol' cliché of rescuing the damsel in distress/virgin sacrifice in your module, never assume she is automatically in safe hand with the party. Adventures can be real rat-bastards sometimes - they might have a taste for virgin flesh, or greedy enough to sell her ass to a Gorian slaver!

Moreover, never assume the party is of a particular alignment - unless otherwise specified from the start (like a A Paladin In Hell styled adventure). More often then not, I see modules that assume the party is made up of mostly good-aligned PCs, and set events based on this assumption. The 2e era made it popular to ban evil PCs, but I see that as a huge mistake. Playing evil can be alot of fun - more so as an over-the-top bastard! I tent to write my adventure notes based on complete moral ambiguity, with both sides considered (of course, this got easier when I removed alignment from my games).

So the morality of this story is to not assume anything being outright absolute - Murphy's Law applies more to RPGs then any other game.

[Chgowiz]

greedy enough to sell her ass to a Gorian slaver

Off topic diversion:

After having encountered people who role-play Gor online and for real - I would have to really run someone through if they tried to get one of my NPCs to become a kajira or serve paga - and if they asked for a Hearthstone, I'm throwing my d30 right between their eyes.

On topic:

I like it when modules leave it that open, but then give suggestions or even examples from playtests.

[Philotomy Jurament]

(like a A Paladin In Hell styled adventure)

Was that any good? It came out after I'd decided "enough is enough" and stopped buying TSR stuff, but I the connection to the 1e PH art always intrigued me.

[Malcadon]

(like a A Paladin In Hell styled adventure)

Was that any good? It came out after I'd decided "enough is enough" and stopped buying TSR stuff, but I the connection to the 1e PH art always intrigued me.

I have no idea, I sort of skipped that era - I just played with old, beat-up secondhand 1st ed books throughout the 90's. I remember seeing it on a list of AD&D titles, so I used it as an example of one one of the most blatant alignment-specific scenarios I could think of - what more would you expect from a module with a Lawful-Good Paladin in depths of Dante's vision of He... er... well, 2nd edition era "Baator."

[Stonegiant]

The DM *MUST* let the players choose what to do and not penalize them for failing to do what the scenario specifies and/or what s/he wants. Anything else is masturbation with an audience.

I think I just found my knew sig!