The most common mistakes that are the easiest to avoid?

[Yora]

I think someone really needs to start spreading more awareness around the RPG world on how to not make the dumbest mistakes in adventure design that have already been made a thousand times with seemingly nobody ever learning anything from it.

What do you consider the biggest mistakes that would be really easy to avoid?

Provide a summary of what's going on at the start of the adventure. This really isn't that hard. It doesn't have to be long or elaborate. Just a few words to tell the reader what the adventure is about. If there is a villain with a plan, give us one or two sentences about that. Don't make us read the entire adventure and then only introduce the villain that ties everything together in the last room of the dungeon. This is information that we need to put everything that comes before it into context. Without such a context, we need to read the entire adventure twice to really understand it. Once to figure out what's going on, and again to actually learn how everything is connected.

Don't make starting the adventure or progressing the adventure depend on a skill check. When your adventure asks for a skill check, tell the GM how to adventure proceeds if the skill check fails. If you don't know, don't include that skill check.

Before you send the adventure out to customers, have it playtested by at least two GMs who know nothing about it. If you playtest an adventure that you wrote, it doesn't tell you anything about how much your descriptions are actually comprehensible to people trying to run it themselves. Have other people try to run it and then tell you what they didn't understand or thought to be unclear.

 

[squeen]

For me at least: Put the Map In Front of the Key --- let me see what you are about to describe and detail first, in order to get my bearings. I don't care if you also put it in back or in a separate booklet too. Additionally, it visually separates the sections for quick indexing.

Here's maybe one more Brycian lesson: Don't over-specify all possible outcomes. Trust the DM. --- this avoids extensive paragraphs of the "if-then's".

@Yora: I think, practically speaking, your play-testing rule may be too high a bar for many. I would say it not a requirement if you are posting an adventure for free, but a goal if you are going to charge money for it. Play-testing sure does help add depth to a setting and expose weaknesses. The more the better.

 

[The1True]

Before you send the adventure out to customers, have it playtested by at least two GMs who know nothing about it. If you playtest an adventure that you wrote, it doesn't tell you anything about how much your descriptions are actually comprehensible to people trying to run it themselves. Have other people try to run it and then tell you what they didn't understand or thought to be unclear.

This is great advice, but honestly, how are you going to accomplish this? I think this is feasible, nay imperative for large, professional game companies, but for the rest of us, finding someone to run your game in a timely fashion and get back to you with comprehensive and constructive notes is going to be pretty bloody hard.

 

[Beoric]

Provide a summary of what's going on at the start of the adventure. This really isn't that hard. It doesn't have to be long or elaborate. Just a few words to tell the reader what the adventure is about. If there is a villain with a plan, give us one or two sentences about that. Don't make us read the entire adventure and then only introduce the villain that ties everything together in the last room of the dungeon. This is information that we need to put everything that comes before it into context. Without such a context, we need to read the entire adventure twice to really understand it. Once to figure out what's going on, and again to actually learn how everything is connected.

Agreed, with the caveat that many modules purport to have this but end up indulging in wannabe novelists. Especially those who draft it in a way intended to create suspense for the freaking DM who is supposed to be running the damned thing by teasing the "climax" and forcing the DM to read the whole module to find out. What would be really useful to me is a list of the "beats", the major elements that affect that overall progression of the module, like the activity of the BBEG or the fact that the key to the door in room 43 may be found in room 12.

I dunno, maybe we should call this section "context" rather than "summary" so it doesn't get turned into a short story or a teaser.

 

[Yora]

This is great advice, but honestly, how are you going to accomplish this? I think this is feasible, nay imperative for large, professional game companies, but for the rest of us, finding someone to run your game in a timely fashion and get back to you with comprehensive and constructive notes is going to be pretty bloody hard.

Really? I think anyone who is managing to publish an adventure should be able to get two people to reply to "does anyone want to try out the beta version of my new adventure?"

At the very least, get two people to read the thing and tell you if they have any questions about how it is meant to be run.

 

[Two orcs]

I'm a nobody and got 3 DMs to run Temple of Hypnos. Any game designer should involve themselves in a community for that reason alone.

 

[squeen]

Your not a nobody @Two orcs ...you wrote Temple of Freakin' Hypnos!

 

[Beek Gwenders]

Before you send the adventure out to customers, have it playtested by at least two GMs who know nothing about it. If you playtest an adventure that you wrote, it doesn't tell you anything about how much your descriptions are actually comprehensible to people trying to run it themselves. Have other people try to run it and then tell you what they didn't understand or thought to be unclear.

I think having someone else at least look over it and see if it makes sense/can be run is enough if you can’t get GMs to actually play it. Getting time to just randomly play an adventure someone wants me to run sounds simple, but with the reality of ongoing campaigns (which the GM’s players might want to play or continue with instead of some random thing) and life, this is actually not that easy to get time for.

 

[Beek Gwenders]

For me at least: Put the Map In Front of the Key --- let me see what you are about to describe and detail first, in order to get my bearings. I don't care if you also put it in back or in a separate booklet too. Additionally, it visually separates the sections for quick indexing.

100% disagreement on this point as a common mistake, this is just your preference I would never run or even read an adventure by page-flipping, I would always print out the map so I can view it at the same time. It doesn’t matter where it is, in fact it can be easier if all of the maps are co-located together, this can be at the back or front. If you manage to pull off the 2-page dungeon format, then you can avoid both page-flipping and printing/copying the maps, but that comes with its own negatives.

 

[squeen]

Fair enough. I respect your right to be wrong.

 

[The1True]

Don't be that guy @squeen. People misinterpret the fun feistiness...

You're both right. A map-pack at the back is handy for a quick print job. And, room maps or small-area maps accompanying the text are handy for ready reference. In the latter case, I'm starting to lean more towards small-area maps where editorially possible. It takes up less space on the page if there's one inset map/page and it helps to see rooms in relation to neighbouring rooms and to view them as clusters of inhabitants spread over an area of dungeon rather than isolated encounters. An exception to that is large set-piece encounters where the benefit of an inset map just detailing a single room is that you can mark the starting location of the combatants and obstacles without cluttering up the main map.

Increasingly, in this day and age, a set of VTT-ready player & DM maps needs to be available as well (possibly offering an added or optional source of income for the designer...) I've started drawing everything at 70 pixels/square just to save myself the extra work later.

 

[The1True]

Really? I think anyone who is managing to publish an adventure should be able to get two people to reply to "does anyone want to try out the beta version of my new adventure?"

I'm a nobody and got 3 DMs to run Temple of Hypnos.

Where are you guys finding your playtesters? I certainly don't exist in a community large enough to find people who will take time out of their long-running campaigns to run my one-shots...

 

[Two orcs]

Where are you guys finding your playtesters? I certainly don't exist in a community large enough to find people who will take time out of their long-running campaigns to run my one-shots...

ACKS discord. They don't take time out of them but rather include them in their campaigns (ofc, the player's don't always bite but that can also be valuable feedback).

 

[squeen]

Don't be that guy @squeen. People misinterpret the fun feistiness...

Aww...shucks.

 

[Beek Gwenders]

Don't be that guy @squeen. People misinterpret the fun feistiness...

Ha ha, don’t worry, I’m not that fragile and a bit of combativeness is always preferred Not putting the maps at the beginning of a level is not a common mistake, it’s just a preference.

Where are you guys finding your playtesters? I certainly don't exist in a community large enough to find people who will take time out of their long-running campaigns to run my one-shots...

I think this was my point too, I can’t imagine asking players to put their current campaigns on hold to play test something would go down well with many people. Imagine if you imposed this requirement on a product like Barrowmaze? I can’t imagine the author going ‘Sure thing, tell me how you found it went in 2 years after you and your group have finished play testing it, and then I’ll make some adjustments to it’. Not practical.

 

[The1True]

Imagine if you imposed this requirement on a product like Barrowmaze?

Ha! Good example. My group has been chipping away at Barrowmaze on and off for three years now!
It's solid at least because it's a product of the author's campaign. I have to say however, his later efforts (though still fantastic to read and look at) come off as untested. (particularly Highfell which seems at times almost procedurally generated...)

At the very least, finding a couple other active DM's to read your material and tell you if it's understandable and ready for the table seems feasible (if you can find a community. A lot of us are pretty isolated even in this day and age.)

 

[tbdcalm]

Provide a summary of what's going on at the start of the adventure

I'm one of those weirdos, who want to only have the outline, not what is "actually, factually happening" in the beginning.

I want the adventure to gradually reveal hints about the secrets as I read the rooms, locations and NPCs, because it'll help me prep the information dumps in an unbiased way (albeit non-representative). But yeah, if I don't trust the author, I'd like to see if the "actual factual conclusion" is bullshit before reading on, so, commercially, your suggestion is correct.

 

[Reason]

I want to know the "what is really happening" up front. That way I can understand and evaluate the clues as I come across them. The other big advantage is it gives a direction for all the little brain splurts I have while reading- if I know wtf is going on then they don't go off in ways that confuse or don't fit the module, they flow with it or grow from it. I find it complicates things too often if I follow those thoughts before I know what's going on.

 

[Maynard]

I want to know the "what is really happening" up front. That way I can understand and evaluate the clues as I come across them. The other big advantage is it gives a direction for all the little brain splurts I have while reading- if I know wtf is going on then they don't go off in ways that confuse or don't fit the module, they flow with it or grow from it. I find it complicates things too often if I follow those thoughts before I know what's going on.

When it comes down to it err on the side of clarity. I agree.

 

[Hemlock]

This is great advice, but honestly, how are you going to accomplish this? I think this is feasible, nay imperative for large, professional game companies, but for the rest of us, finding someone to run your game in a timely fashion and get back to you with comprehensive and constructive notes is going to be pretty bloody hard.

A possible cheap substitute: ask a buddy to playtest it with no dice rolls and no actual players, just NPCs. If it's still confusing to the DM under those conditions, change it until it's not.

Your not a nobody @Two orcs ...you wrote Temple of Freakin' Hypnos!

Now I want to Google Temple of Hypnos...

Aha, found it on Drive Through Rpg. Planning to buy a copy as soon as it's no longer the Sabbath. Edit: looks fun! The T/F rumor table immediately grabs me. I will playtest this and report back.