Homebrewers: Huzzah!

[gubaru]

Re: Re: Fawning?!

Is it OUT? Nichole Lindross said they would put me on their mailing list, and I also asked through the FLGS, but have not received anything from either channel.

Yes. It's not out anywhere near me but it is out. Green Ronin already has a couple reviews linked from their site. Also, based on what one of the authors said in the GR boards, it's in at least two stores in Toronto as of last week.

 

[el-remmen]

It would be cool if someone did a series of interview/reviews of homebrew (and lesser known) settings found on the web.

I'm sure by now most of you have heard of Aquerra (and you can find out more by clicking on the banner in my .sig). It is a low ot moderare magic fantasy setting - set amid the tiny islands of the world.

The "hook" of Aquerra is the level of detail, and the immersion into a world that seems to live and breathe with or without the PCs involvement. I have 12 years of campaigns, development and backstory to work with in making players feel like they are there.

You can check out my story hour called "Out of the Frying Pan" on these boards - or download the whole thing from my website's "downloads" page.

In June (or so) The Aquerra's Player Guide (a huge 220 page monstrousity) will be available for download in PDF form for a nominal price.

 

[rounser]

nemmerle, was just looking at the campaigns you've run on your webpage. You too seem to be an avid Dungeon magazine user...it's interesting looking at the choice of adventures.

BTW, I notice that you've used almost all of issues 36 and 39. Weirdly enough, I've got a huge amount of usage out of those too as well...36 is a contender for my favourite issue of all time...

A query about how you present adventures to players; do you give them much choice between several hooks (i.e. with multiple adventures behind them) and let them choose what to do next, or present one hook for the next adventure and run it more linearly?

 

[el-remmen]

nemmerle, was just looking at the campaigns you've run on your webpage. You too seem to be an avid Dungeon magazine user...it's interesting looking at the choice of adventures.

BTW, I notice that you've used almost all of issues 36 and 39. Weirdly enough, I've got a huge amount of usage out of those too as well...36 is a contender for my favourite issue of all time...

A query about how you present adventures to players; do you give them much choice between several hooks (i.e. with multiple adventures behind them) and let them choose what to do next, or present one hook for the next adventure and run it more linearly?

I have long been of the opinion that Dungeon adventures on average are a whole lot better than even some of the classic official moduels TSR put out over the years. The format allowed for intriguing adventure ideas to be pursued that would not have been a big -seller in module format - but was great none-the-less - esp. non-dungeon crawl type adventures.

As for how I run my game - all I can say is, obviously you never read my story hour But I run an "organic" story/character-based game - I use Dungeon Magazine in a "mosaic" style - snipping togther bits of adventure or changing elements to fit them together - sometimes I doubt the authors of said adventures would even recognize them

Of course, mostly I write my own adventures these days - but I still use NPCs and locations (and maps - I suck at maps) from Dungeon all the time - too bad it has been so lackluster with the advent of 3E (but then again with Chris Perkins at the helm it kinda was going downhill for a while).

 

[rounser]

I have long been of the opinion that Dungeon adventures on average are a whole lot better than even some of the classic official moduels TSR put out over the years. The format allowed for intriguing adventure ideas to be pursued that would not have been a big -seller in module format - but was great none-the-less - esp. non-dungeon crawl type adventures.

You're preaching to the choir.

Every time people ask for "best module?" and start talking about official 1E module X or 2E mega-adventure boxed set Y as being the cat's pajamas or "best of all time", I'm tempted to suggest that they get Dungeon back issues instead, because every issue seems to contain something better than the majority of official modules out there.

It's inevitable really; who's more likely to produce the higher quality adventures in the long term - a handful of designers with deadlines, or hundreds or thousands of gamers worldwide with no deadlines teamed with a ruthless editor?

But I run an "organic" story/character-based game - I use Dungeon Magazine in a "mosaic" style - snipping togther bits of adventure or changing elements to fit them together - sometimes I doubt the authors of said adventures would even recognize them.

Yep - there is even less excuse for not doing such customisation these days because if you're using older issues you need to get your hands dirty converting it to 3E anyway, so why not remix them to your needs whilst doing so?

Some other observations on using Dungeon magazine adventures in campaigns...

Condensation of villains and towns seems to be necessary, since they seem to present a new one of each every second adventure. Dungeon is an excellent source of town locations because they keep reinventing the wheel with bits of a new village to save all the time. It presents and interesting quandary, IMO, as well - there are a large number of "help or save the town" adventures over the years, but if you condense them into being about the same few towns, how many times can the players save or help town X before they wonder why they're bothering? As a plot hook it seems to be worn out, but can usually be switched with something else (such as an NPC under threat).

I also find that most Dungeon authors, just like most official module writers, don't write dungeons to my taste - generally too focused on the realism side things, what I consider "barracks, beds and boredom". I prefer the "adventurer obstacle course" approach of magical traps, puzzles and interesting curiousities, ala White Plume Mountain or Undermountain. I am, however, clearly in the minority given the number of people so concerned about how monsters get their food rather than whether their dungeon is much fun. I'm being facetious, though; verisimilitude certainly adds to fun, and is an admirable pursuit. Best case scenario is achieving both, I suppose.

Another thing I have observed is that some Dungeon plots never make much sense from the players' perspective; the intricate events that set up the adventure are hidden away in the DM's Background, and justify proceedings from the DM's perspective but not from the players', because they never find out this stuff. More than one seem to need alteration in this respect as well - so that they make sense to the PCs.

A final observation I think is "seeding" the campaign setting with the adventures you plan to run ahead of time. If you plan on running Secrets of the Towers later in the campaign, make sure that the towers are already there from the start - maybe the PCs have even heard about them - from the start. Same goes for McGuffin NPCs and villains - they shouldn't just pop up when you're going to run the adventure. The danger is that the PCs get interested in these locations and characters at low level and raid the vampire lord mayor's manor, in which case you have the options of either staving them off somehow, letting them run into tough encounters and take the hint, or converting the adventure or location downwards in level...

As for how I run my game - all I can say is, obviously you never read my story hour

Heh. I'll check it out...

 

[el-remmen]

YES.

I was going to reply by saying that when I first was working on Aquerra I made sure to include lots of the towns and features from my favorite Dungeon magazine adventures and from modules - I have literally dozens of adventures that are just "waiting" for PCs to stumble upon them - I do not go out of my way to get them there. . .

But you mentioned seeding

Three different camapaigns have heard rumors about "Deception's Pass" - but none have taken the bait - still it waits (since I and other DM's run games concurrently in the same continuity - not enough time has passed for adventures that lead to bigger problems to really explode) Of course, there has to be something for NPC adventurers to do - so if one day I decide enough time has passed I may just say the Company of So-And-So accomplished that task and just put that adventure aside.

Your complaints about Dungeon adventures are what I love about them, actually.

 

[rounser]

Your complaints about Dungeon adventures are what I love about them, actually.

Like I said, I'm not in the majority....however, you like plotlines that don't make sense from the player's perspective?

 

[Morrus]

Re: Re: Fawning?!

Is it OUT? Nichole Lindross said they would put me on their mailing list, and I also asked through the FLGS, but have not received anything from either channel.

Yeah, I have it.

 

[el-remmen]

Damn, we hijacked this thread! ;

Anyway, "plotlines that don't make sense from the player's perspective" is a matter of perspective in and of itself - is that because of the adventure or the players?

But seriously, I never found that to be a problem - I mean, a certain amount of mystery - stuff the PCs will never know is good for setting verisimilitude.

 

[rounser]

But seriously, I never found that to be a problem - I mean, a certain amount of mystery - stuff the PCs will never know is good for setting verisimilitude.

Oh I agree fully. Secrets and mystery are excellent campaign staples - I think the Dungeoncraft articles emphasise this point.

I think what I'm getting at is that some adventures have a plot hinge that gets set up by something the PCs will never discover, and as a result they complete the adventure, defeat the villain....but the reason why things were the way they were doesn't make much sense in retrospect.

The nearest analog I can draw is novels; if you were presented with a story that didn't make sense because certain details went unexplained, you'd either be intrigued (ala Picnic at Hanging Rock), or, more likely, never see the intricate plot which is half the charm of the story/adventure. Dungeon prides itself on good plotting; I just think that sometimes it's only for the benefit of the DM, which defeats half the purpose of having a plot in the first place.