TO-DO

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
It's been over a week and we can't even settle on a name yet, so I'm getting this ball rolling with THE BIG TO-DO LIST.

Module #1 - Introductory small-scale sandbox set in a sub-hexed area within the larger hexed world (whatever we settle on for its theme). From what I've gathered so far, aside from nitpicking the thematic stuff, the work will need to be broken down as such:

Three starting locations to be fleshed out (we'll call these TASKS A, B and C). We'll need a larger dungeon (TASK D), a smaller dungeon (TASK E) and (five?) other adventuring "sites", which aren't quite what you'd call a dungeon (TASK F). The keys for these things will form the rough manuscript - treasure, NPCs, and monsters will all be individual to the associated tasks (needs to match module thematic though, so don't jump the gun yet). We will also need someone to do up the "overland" part of the adventure which ties all the sites together and adds wilderness encounters and whatnot (TASK G).

We need maps for everything - the larger and smaller dungeon maps should both be from one source for uniformity sake (TASK H), as should the starting location maps (if required - TASK I). The overland map can be done differently since there's only one (TASK J).

So far we've opted to embed old-style play guidelines into the design, which is fine, but not what the module is all about - someone will go through the final product and embed these things after the manuscript is written (TASK K). We also need encounter, monster and treasure balancing (TASK L), play-testing (TASK M), proofreading/edits, which includes making writing standards uniform throughout (TASK N), layout (TASK O), artwork (TASK P), and publication (TASK Q).

Finally, we will need to come up with the premise for an overarching story to tie subsequent modules to this one (TASK R - likely by consensus).

Any concerns or questions? Any objections?

Who's willing to do what?
 
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Grützi

Should be playing D&D instead
No objections or questions from me.
I'm Happy someone else joined the "Organize Shit train". Don't want to be the grumpy German telling everyone how we do
Things round here.

I can do:
Task A to G
Task J (at least a hand drawn, First Version)
Task M and N
Task R with everyone else.

Little Suggestion: Tasks A to G could be done in dedicated two Person Teams. Would Likely be fun
 
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squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Have you heard this old joke?

In Heaven: the English are the police, the French are the chefs, and the Germans run the trains.

In Hell: the Germans are the police, the English are the chefs, and the French run the trains.
 

Malrex

So ... slow work day? Every day?
What's the deadline?
I'm seriously swamped and need to focus on a Kickstarter for awhile.

Wouldn't mind being involved in Task F or the dungeon stuff, but I don't want to slow down any momentum.
Once things get back to normal, I'd be happy to jump into other tasks.
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
There's no deadline, per se. These are a bunch of different parts that need to come together, all being built on the schedules of 8 different people. Also, the tasks A through G are largely independent of one another, and Tasks K onward can't be started until the other stuff is finished.
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
Have you heard this old joke?

In Heaven: the English are the police, the French are the chefs, and the Germans run the trains.

In Hell: the Germans are the police, the English are the chefs, and the French run the trains.
Ahem.

Heaven is where the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss.

Hell is where the cooks are British, the police are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
*cough*

Ok, if we are ready to start game discussion, we need a gimmick/hook/twist/whatever for the large dungeon, the small dungeon, and the overland. Something like "the large dungeon is flooded with temporal radiation which causes things to randomly age and de-age so that rooms filled with dust become sumptuous feasts and treasure chests that were locked just rot away around their treasure" - like that.

Suggestions should be mechanically-based, independent of the yet-undecided adventure theme. once we've got a good few, we can begin work building the structures of these things.
 

The1True

My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
I'm married to a German; I'm learning to stay the hell out of the way of all logistical activities in this house lol

We need a R: Indexer/Archivist. I'd like to see a comprehensive list of Rumours, Research and Clues strewn throughout our small world.
And maybe S: Lord of Crunch. Create crunch for the Appendixes (New Monsters/Spells/Items/Classes).
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
We need a R: Indexer/Archivist. I'd like to see a comprehensive list of Rumours, Research and Clues strewn throughout our small world.
And maybe S: Lord of Crunch. Create crunch for the Appendixes (New Monsters/Spells/Items/Classes).
I think your R falls under TASK G, while S would probably fall under TASK L.
 

Grützi

Should be playing D&D instead
I would find all of this talk horribly offensive to myself and my culture if being offended wasn't so inefficient.
As that goes against my ingrained german efficiency I rather choose to ignore it :p

Also I'm not some sensitive little windflower

I will take Taks A for starters.
Will try to create a rough outline and a basic structure for a starting location in the next few days. Anyone willing to join me is more than welcome ... I still think working in teams of two could be a great way to pool our creativity in quick and controlled ways.
 

Slick

*eyeroll*
I still think working in teams of two could be a great way to pool our creativity in quick and controlled ways.
Ah, the classic Zweiarbeitermannschaft method.

I was going to say that it seems weird to jump into designing anything when we haven't even nailed down the premise of the module itself beyond a few vague themes, but honestly all this organization seems a bit excessive for what it supposed to be a fun adventure building exercise.

Now that we know what everyone wants and forbids from being in the adventure, and considering there's so few people involved, maybe it would actually be better if each person comes to the table with a component of the adventure fully developed (or at least rough draft stage) and we find a way to stitch them all together. Kind of like making sense of a bunch of disparate random table results-- nothing any of us hasn't done before-- but on a larger scale. Probably more fun, too. I'm already getting "design by committee" vibes from this whole thing tbh.
 

Grützi

Should be playing D&D instead
Slick said:
I'm already getting "design by committee" vibes from this whole thing tbh.
Insolence! Don't you dare question the committee!!

Seriously though Slick has a point ... I knew a few projects that stalled and fizzled out because they were grossly overorganized for their size and scale.
As it stands we have a good baseline for everyone here and know where we want this thing to go (roughly).
Tasks A to G are rather well suited for Slicks approach I think. I mean we have to start somewhere instead of always talking about definitions and stuff.
I think that was DPs intent with this thread as well ... get something together before we discuss this project into an early grave.

So maybe we should divide Tasks A to G between ourselves, get some rough drafts together and try to stitch them together into a coherent whole?
 

DangerousPuhson

Should be playing D&D instead
Grutzi, take one of the Starting Locations - make it more than just a simple village, if you don't mind. We can thread linking stuff into it after the fact; for now, focus on making something interesting. Determine if you'll need a map for it. Looks like we are headed for the Grand Mountain theme and Lost Civilization stuff, so steer in that direction.

I'll get started on Small Dungeon (Task E) - I need to know who wants to be on dungeon work, so we can designate a Dungeon Mapper (I'm willing to take up the mantle if nobody else wants to do it), because there's little we can do dungeon-wise without the layout stuff. I may just flowchart it for now until we get maps sorted out.

Slick, what do you want to tackle: starting location #2, big dungeon, standalone sites, or overland stuff?

Everyone else: get in here and claim something to start working on! We can revise after the fact; we don't need to have everything laid out before we start any work. like above, aim for Big-Ass Mountain and Lost Civilization. For now, get something of an outline together - no need for fine details yet. If you're looking for something to do that's not super-committal, then do up a flowchart for whatever part you plan to play later.
 

Ice

*eyeroll*
maybe it would actually be better if each person comes to the table with a component of the adventure[...] "design by committee"[...]
I don't think these things have to be mutually exclusive. A committee could plod away on certain aspects and you could fully design your own part and then we could simply drop it in with the rest of the adventure. Since there isn't a whole lot of us and we are not a giant corporation who has to serve its marketing department, share-holders, and other corporate masters, thematically reconciling whatever anyone makes won't be an arduous, castrating or lobotomizing process.

I personally tend to work best when I am getting a lot of constructive feedback as I go.

Just a thought. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about.

I was thinking I could do a few of the 'task F' parts. I am thinking a Frogman birthing pool area, and some kind of indoor/outdoor ruin of a farming terrace complex like Ollantaytambo.
 

The1True

My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
I think there's room for both independent and committee work here. If people want to start work on their own small sections of the project and then put the basic outline or rough structure up in their own thread, it allows the rest of us to throw in our own ideas, suggestions and tie-ins to the other sections and maybe creates a greater sense of continuity. Impose one of those draconian deadlines of a few days (or until conversation dies down) put it all together, maybe vote on the more contentious stuff and assemble another draft. Rinse and repeat at least a couple of times; we're going for a well-realized, professional product here...
 
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