#RPGaDAY2023 Day 19: “Favourite published adventure”.

Favourite adventure? “The Big Adventure“. The reasons are more complex than you’d think.

The subject of published adventures and modules is tricky for me because for a long time, I believed that the way to run and even create fun sessions was to use published materials. But then that illusion got shattered and nowadays I tend to view most published stuff as largely about selling product rather than helping the GM with their campaigns.

Many modern adventures and campaigns are published to be read by RPG fans who, I suspect, rarely (if ever) run those adventures and campaigns. As the Alexandrian noted back in 2018, “Some writers don’t actually run adventures themselves and are writing for their own preferences as people who only read adventures.” Thus, I am wary of modern published adventures because I know they are likely to be unusable without rewriting.

Older modules and adventures are just as hit-and-miss, however, and even classic and highly-regarded products from the days of yore are less useful than you’d imagine. When I ran the classic “Keep on the Borderlands” with old 1983 D&D, I still found myself having to figure out HOW to actually use the thing as the GM. In other words, many modules are written assuming prior knowledge of how to GM in that style.

Having tried my hand at writing a module, I know how tricky the whole thing is as well. While I am proud of my efforts, they represent one approach to scenario design which is focused on playability, not entertainment as an item to read. We playtested both scenarios across several groups and with different GMs. I know it can be a good experience to play… if you like what I like.

Which is all to say that I’ve come to realise that what someone else publishes is not necessarily either what I like to play nor even written to actually be played. Thus, what has evolved to be my favourite published adventures fall into one of two camps: they are either teaching tools, or examples designed to give a starting GM a place to begin.

Of all the beginner GM products on the market today, the introductory solo adventure in “Magical Kitties Save The Day!” (2nd Edition) was the most entertaining teaching tool I’ve ever played. I also played it more than once. I loved the way that introductory booklet led me into the rest of the game. It’s just a shame I don’t know other players into that genre.

Of course I still love, “All In A Night’s Work” from the GURPS boxed set. But that was a given.

Game on!