Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
This week we look at something slightly different and take a look at the various types of adventures and styles that a Game Master can run.
So, you’re a Game Master, now what to run?
There are a couple of considerations that you need to take into account when you choose which type of adventure to play.
- Preferences among you and your players for system
- Preferences among you and your players for theme and style
- Length of Game Time (both per session and per campaign)
1: Preferences for system
Presumably, you already know your own preferences for which system you want to play. If not, then I strongly suggest that you have a talk with your players about it. Obviously, the system that most people are using at the moment is Dungeons & Dragons, but do not hold yourself to only one game system. There might be things you’re missing out on. Ultimately though, this particular choice is a matter of preference. For example, while I like 5e, I prefer Pathfinder 2 for my fantasy kick. I don’t play PF2 currently though, as my group has a preference for 5e.
2: Theme and Style
Here you have to ask yourself what the story is that you want to tell? Is it Gothic Horror? A Fantasy Epic? A Space Western inspired by Japanese Samurai films? Perhaps an odd mix of anime high school shenanigans and love stories mixed with some Lovecraftian old ones? (Before anyone asks, YES, I have something on backburner for that idea. 😛 I’ve yet to find an artist, but once I do… Oh boy.)
Once you have these in places you can begin looking for the system and adventures that tell the story you’re interested in playing out. But there is one more thing to consider.
3: Game Time
How much time do you have to invest in the game? Both for preparation (especially as a Game Master) and for each individual session? How often will you play? These all matter to you when you’re looking for your next adventure(s). How much time you’re willing to invest, and how much time you have varies greatly by group. In the d20radio community, I know of people who play multiple times per week, for 4+ hours each time (I did this when I was younger as well), but at the other end of the scale, I find myself with a single game roughly every 2 weeks for about 3 hours at most. We’re all older, and have children which limit our opportunities for game time. (Regrettably, we also waste a fair bit of time each time due to having to catch up with each other, but those are the conditions sometimes).
So, now to come with a few examples. Some of these will be familiar to you, while others will likely be new. Think of this as a quick set of examples:
Example A:
1 – Starfinder (or any science-fiction system)
2 – Must teach players to play the game, as they’re new
3 – 4 hours per session at most, but no maximum amount of sessions
Into the Void – Yes, this one is written by myself, but it was actually done so partly with the ideas above in mind, so I wanted to use this one.
It’s broken into 3 parts (Acts A, B, and C). Act A will take about 4 hours and help people build their characters from scratch. Act B and C will take about another 4 hours, and deposit the heroes in a central location for them to continue their adventures. And combined they’ll give the players an idea of how the game works, introducing combat, hazards, social interactions, and more.
Example B:
1 – Pathfinder 1 (Experienced group, but no time to learn a new system)
2 – Gothic horror
3 – Campaign Length. Each session’s length is irrelevant.
Carrion Crown Adventure Path is a set of 6 adventures starting with the Haunting of Harrowstone, that introduces the heroes into the country of Ustalav, the gothic horror country of the Golarion world. It stretches on for long enough to cover an entire campaign, and it’s something different to Curse of Strahd (for 5e), especially as it’s possible to take a break between each module.
Example C:
1 – Not important (players willing to learn new system)
2 – Weird and Gonzo
3 – Single Session adventure.
So, here we’re gonna go with Sailors on the Starless Sea for Dungeon Crawl Classics. It’s a 0-level adventure, what they call a funnel in this system. Each player starts with 4 characters, but by the end, only one will be left alive, and proceed to level 1 — their new character. Just as important as the adventure idea being novel (I’m not aware of any other system that does a funnel like DCC does), is the fact that the adventure is good and ODD. If the idea of a Gonzo-like Conan setting sounds like fun, in an old-school system, this could be the adventure for you.
Example D:
1 – Pathfinder 2
2 – Quick dungeon crawl
3 – Single 2 hour session
Somewhere Below is an adventure where the heroes will need to climb into a cave system to help a stranded scholar from a mess she’s gotten herself into. Written and produced so that it can be run in 1-2 hours, it makes for a great tie-over adventure for those days where you’ve got a couple of hours, but you don’t want to run something complicated.
And look, not a single 5e adventure on the list (except for comparison). 😉
Next week, more castles!
Kim Frandsen
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