General Discussion

[Malrex]

Coming at it from the complete opposite end, I've considered putting in an Appendix with a brief summary of how the playtesters experienced the sandbox. I think it would help a DM see how things could go down, especially in a larger sandbox where all the interconnections are buried in the main text. I know I value the hints scattered in T1 about Gygax's campaign.

That's an interesting idea. Ive wondered if others would find value/interest in it. I thought about writing something like that for Vermilion because I threw all these cool quests and tasks and the party decided to go save a sheep instead...lol.

 

[grodog]

Coming at it from the complete opposite end, I've considered putting in an Appendix with a brief summary of how the playtesters experienced the sandbox. I think it would help a DM see how things could go down, especially in a larger sandbox where all the interconnections are buried in the main text. I know I value the hints scattered in T1 about Gygax's campaign.

I find these kinds of sidebar asides very useful in general, and in particular for more complex and/or plot-convoluted adventures.

Pagan Publishing doing them in the 1990s in their CoC campaigns is the first time I recall seeing PT reports regularly in adventures.

Allan.

 

[The1True]

There are "From my campaign to yours" side bars in Ptolus and Barrowmaze. They're interesting and occasionally useful. The problem is referencing the useful ones can be hard. Memory confuses them with the body of the functional text and tends to think of side bars as fluff, and they become a blind spot when you're scanning for something.

Also, no shade on Ptolus or Barrowmaze, both of which have been excellent, but side bars, shout outs, footnotes etc. often seem like self indulgence on the part of the writer to me as a reader. I wish I could put my finger on why since I usually enjoy taking a look behind the curtain, but I've been making an effort to remove references to myself or personal comments from my module writing as a result.

 

[squeen]

I was thinking more along the line of "When entering the City of Fubar, the party decided to do X which resulted in Fraction A doing this...". Or "the stalemate in region Y can be broken a number of ways. In the original campaign, the party zigged towards A which caused the following chain reaction..."

I did not have in mind anything that took it down to the player-name/class level or was long winded. Just practical examples of how to use the setting.

 

[Beoric]

I was thinking more along the line of "When entering the City of Fubar, the party decided to do X which resulted in Fraction A doing this...". Or "the stalemate in region Y can be broken a number of ways. In the original campaign, the party zigged towards A which caused the following chain reaction..."

I did not have in mind anything that took it down to the player-name/class level or was long winded. Just practical examples of how to use the setting.

This would be especially good in a teaching module, where it shows the DM how the environment can change based on PC actions. I think that can be a tough thing for beginning DMs to grok, which may be yet another reason that railroaded modules are so popular.

 

[squeen]

The difference would be, instead of telling a DM an elaborate chain of IF-THEN-ELSE set of instructions, you are just telling them (in an Appendix) what actually did happen in one or more cases of actual play. I think it would be less dry and more inspiring.

 

[grodog]

Agreed. Anthony Huso has done this to good effect in some of his adventures, too.

Allan.

 

[robertsconley]

Coming at it from the complete opposite end, I've considered putting in an Appendix with a brief summary of how the playtesters experienced the sandbox. I think it would help a DM see how things could go down, especially in a larger sandbox where all the interconnections are buried in the main text. I know I value the hints scattered in T1 about Gygax's campaign.

In Scrouge of Demon Wolf, I felt my observations flowed better when I wrote them up as strategically placed Rob's Notes relevant to the portion of the adventure being described.

The Slain Tinker

Halfway between Kensla and Denison’s Crossing the party will encounter an overturned cart. There is a body next to the cart with several stab wounds in the front and three parallel bloody gashes on his back. The gashes appear to have been made by a large claw. An observant party member will see that the stab wounds in the front appear to be made by a weapon. The site of the attack is about 2 miles from Dension’s Crossing and 3 miles from Kensla in the midst of a forest.

The body is of Anvald, a local tinker. He makes a circuit covering the villages of the Barony of Westtower. He peddles pots, pans, and trinkets. He visits Kensla once every month or two. There is nothing left of his stock, only a few trinkets (worth 10d) lie scattered on the ground.

There is no sign of the animal that was pulling the cart. A tracking check at +5[+25%] will determine it was a mule. A tracking check will uncover several large clawed footprints leading north. They disappear about 200 yards into the woods. A tracking check at –5[-25%] will uncover normal man size tracks that circle around the site of the attack. These tracks can be followed a quarter of a mile to an escarpment where the bandit cave can be spotted.

Rob’s Note: Half of the groups failed to find the bandit tracks. They either blew their roll or just plain didn’t check. Most parties noticed the difference between the stab wounds in the front and the claws in the back. This led some to conclude that werewolves were involved. Remember the bandit encounters are optional and not critical to the resolution of the adventure. One party repaired the cart to return the body of the tinker to the village.

 

[Beoric]

In Scrouge of Demon Wolf, I felt my observations flowed better when I wrote them up as strategically placed Rob's Notes relevant to the portion of the adventure being described.

I like that. Make short comments an easily ignorable sidebar. But I also like the "Secret History" in ToEE, which is basically a play summary from Gary's campaign involving the Temple.