bea
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 133
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Post by bea on Nov 5, 2014 0:53:57 GMT -6
I know a lot of people in the RPG hobby collect a huge amounts of adventures and modules. I know some DM some of them and leave others unread, or read all of them and scavenge stuff for their own campaigns.
What do you do? Do you collect huge amounts of free and commercial adventures? Do you read them? Do you DM them?
My own answer would be that I rarely buy anything I don't have an immediate intention of using. I'm less restrictive about free material, but I tend not to download it unless I've had it recommended from someone and intend to at least read it and use some of it. The simple reason for this is time; I don't have as much time for the hobby as I'd like, so I make sure to spend it wisely. Well, the way I consider is wise, anyway. I like playing, DMing and creating stuff. I'm not too fond of spending a whole lot of time reading something that turns out not to be usable for me.
One reason I wonder is because I recently released an adventure and I've come to realize that I don't have a clue what to expect. I don't even know if anyone will read it, and I have a suspicion that maybe 1 out of every 100 people who do read it will use it in any fashion. (I should say that I'm fine with that, btw. It's PWYW, so I don't have to feel bad about people spending money on it and regretting it. I'm just curious about people's adventure-buying/using habits)
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Post by tkdco2 on Nov 5, 2014 2:14:37 GMT -6
I definitely read them. If nothing else, they make entertaining reading material. Whether I get to DM these modules is a different story, considering I rarely game these days. So I rarely buy new modules unless it's something I really want.
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Post by foxroe on Nov 5, 2014 3:06:05 GMT -6
I agree with tkdco2.
May I suggest setting up a poll?
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Post by kesher on Nov 5, 2014 7:54:12 GMT -6
I'll second that--a poll on this would be interesting, and I don't think I've seen this topic pop up before.
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Post by geoffrey on Nov 5, 2014 10:08:05 GMT -6
I rarely purchase or download a module (whether free or not).
I always read the modules I buy or download.
I seldom DM them. Instead, I typically use them as inspirations for my own adventures.
IIRC, I have DMed only the following modules:
the sample dungeon in Holmes (by J. Eric Holmes, natch) B1 (by Mike Carr) B2 (by Gary Gygax) Prisoners of the Maze (by Rob Kuntz) Tegel Manor (by Bob Bledsaw)
(Of course, I DMed my own Dungeons of the Unknown.)
One of these days I intend to get and DM the recently re-released Bottle City module by Rob Kuntz.
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tec97
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 157
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Post by tec97 on Nov 5, 2014 10:23:12 GMT -6
Read? Yes! DM? No - haven't even played a game for a few years now...
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Post by tkdco2 on Nov 5, 2014 10:49:18 GMT -6
Solo games are always an option. I have often played solo when I didn't have a group.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 10:53:42 GMT -6
I rarely purchase or download a module (whether free or not). I always read the modules I buy or download. I seldom DM them. Instead, I typically use them as inspirations for my own adventures. Change seldom to never and you have my reply.
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Post by Merctime on Nov 5, 2014 11:20:55 GMT -6
I've done alot of solo games myself lately. I use Ruins of the Undercity for that, mostly; Or sometimes just the straight DMG tables.
Back in the days, I began running modules, then as a kid tried to make my own using the modules as a learning block how to do so. Then, to my great misfortune, I began to become a sort of 'dungeon magazine crack baby' and used alot of those adventures instead of writing my own. I really believe my ability to create dungeons has suffered because of this and am now in practice of making dungeons again to remedy this.
Like some others here, and maybe alot of people, I love to read the modules for fun. I'll oft-times curl up in bed with module (or rulebook) in hand and fall asleep to that.
These days, I buy a few here and there if they really pop out at me. Some of the modules being put out by folks like Geoffrey and Chaotic Henchman Productions are just awesome! And really fun to read. But I don't buy them like crazy.
My play these days is all done via PbP here at these boards, and over at Immersive Ink (Delving Deeper's home). I've been wanting to DM a PbP game, something fierce lately, but probably wouldn't use a module for that as I'm sure I'd have to modify it so much that it would hardly be recognizable to the people who might play in it. So why not just make your own stuff up anyways?
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Post by mgtremaine on Nov 5, 2014 13:15:52 GMT -6
I read everyone I buy. I buy a few a year. I run a handful for groups, I run a few more for myself in a solo way. I find the solo usage helpful for running it later for a group.
Modules I've used in the last 3 years with groups, in every case I tweak and change as needed especially because it has to fit into my world setting.
Castle Whiterock (3.5 years it took to do the whole thing) U1 Sinsiter Secret of Saltmarsh DCC #0 Legends are Made G1-G3 Against the Giants B1 In Search of the Unknown
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Post by dizzysaxophone on Nov 5, 2014 13:32:41 GMT -6
I buy a few modules a year, but I don't run most of them. I read them and use them for inspiration, or if I have a game spring up on me, I may use the map for one in a pinch. I've ran a bunch of Thorkhammer's modules for my groups, sometimes as part of their campaign, and sometimes to help playtest them for him. I buy most of the LotFP modules for inspiration, and a lot of the small ones are great to just have placed in a campaign world for something gonzo, but I don't think I've actually ran any straight as is yet. I think B2, X2, and UK2 (apparently I have a thing for 2's) are the only published modules other than what I've described earlier that I've really ran.
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Post by capvideo on Nov 5, 2014 14:05:03 GMT -6
I certainly buy more than I use--some are enjoyable enough just as reading material. But I keep the best in a separate pile for use between my own custom adventures or for when the players go off course. In our last campaign I can remember using The Mad Demigod’s Castle (to introduce a new player), The Caverns of Thracia, The Fell Pass, and Chagmat. Almost ended up using The Hammers of the God, The Wandering Trees, and The Fabled Garden of Merlin.
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Post by scottenkainen on Nov 5, 2014 15:02:56 GMT -6
I don't buy modules anymore, already having so many. I have far more than I've ever been able to run. Nowadays, I concentrate on running and playing the classic modules from the '70s and early '80s, either running them as-is or adapting them to Hideouts & Hoodlums.
Just in the past year, I have played all of N1, U1, and parts of B4 and U2. I have ran parts of S4, C2, EX1&2, UK1, DA1, and H&H module FS1.
~Scott "-enkainen" Casper
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Post by oakesspalding on Nov 5, 2014 16:05:45 GMT -6
Hey bea, what did you release and where are you offering it?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 20:32:12 GMT -6
What do you do? Do you collect huge amounts of free and commercial adventures? Do you read them? Do you DM them? I acquire more adventures than I read or DM. I would say I read some and DM few. When I started playing about 30 years ago, there weren't free adventures. I acquired few, read them all, and DMed most of them. I also was more likely to pull them apart and put them back together to form my "own" adventures. A map cobbled together from the best bits of several other maps, with the best monsters, traps, and treasures from whatever I could find. These days I just don't have the time to read or DM all of it. I do have money to spend, and I acquire things that I think might be worthwhile. After I get a look at everything, only the best ones get read, and only the best of those get DMed. I don't customize them as much as I used to. Sometimes I give the ones I'm not going to use as gifts to friends, and sometimes that means I end up getting to play them instead of DM them. I think in the last several years I have DMed the following: The Keep on the Borderlands Death Frost Doom The Lost City Frontier Forts of Kelnore In Search of the Unknown The Fungus That Came to Blackeswell Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer Tegel Manor I am still looking forward to DMing: The Caverns of Thracia Night of the Walking Wet
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Post by kesher on Nov 5, 2014 21:17:22 GMT -6
I don't buy that many, though I certainly did back in the day. I always download the one-page dungeon compilations and, now that I think of it, do always contribute money for them (pay what you want), so I guess that's buying them. In the past couple of years I've run: The Keep on the Borderlands Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer (at least three times) ..actually, that might be it, in terms of purchased adventures. The two I've most recently spent money on are: Deep Carbon ObservatorySleeping Place of the Feathered SwineI'll be running DCO this Sunday, using T.W.E.R.P.S... I am excited like a little child with a sticky sucker that no one can take away from me ever!
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bea
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 133
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Post by bea on Nov 6, 2014 1:41:29 GMT -6
I was about to add a poll, but I'm not sure exactly what the alternatives should be I'll have a think about it and maybe add one later. Loving the discussion so far. The only OSR type of gaming I do is at a mini con I arrange four times a year (the 8th installment coming up in a week and a half - time flies!). I've DMed House of Rogat Demazien - which I should really try again now that I know the rules a bit - and Within the Radiant Dome that were both downloaded/bought adventures. Of my own adventures I've DMed Lady Christina's Final Resting Place and Proteus Sinking ( oakesspalding: that's the module I was talking about). Apart from those I haven't really read other adventures, except skimming through the Secret Santicore offerings and One Page Dungeon compilations. I did buy Vornheim, and read it. I badly want to DM something in Vornheim, but it seems more of a campaign tool than an adventure. As I don't get to play campaigns so far it hasn't happened.
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Post by kesher on Nov 6, 2014 9:12:16 GMT -6
Yeah, the Psychedelic Fantasies stuff is great! I'm sure I'll eventually add some of those to my inventory... You're right about Vornheim being more of an aid to play, though I'm pretty sure you could run a make-it-up-as-you-go adventure using that book alone.
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Post by makofan on Nov 6, 2014 9:31:18 GMT -6
I download a lot of free modules, and read them all. I also purchase about 8-10 per year, mainly to support small game developers. I have never run a module "as-is", but do use modules as the base for almost all my adventures. As an example, the sewers below Verbosh are filled with rats and were-rats. I thought this was boring, changed rats and were-rats to spiders and were-spiders, put an extra entrance under the Spider Temple, and established a secret breeding program run amok. I then used the map "as-is" and it was memorable. I guess I integrate ideas better than I create.
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Post by Merctime on Nov 6, 2014 9:36:28 GMT -6
I guess I integrate ideas better than I create. This is me in a nutshell; But I'm working on practicing that out. Not sure if I'll succeed! Also no offense meant, Makofan... You are a fantastic DM. It's awesome to play in your game, bro.
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Post by scottenkainen on Nov 6, 2014 11:12:49 GMT -6
I am still looking forward to DMing: The Caverns of Thracia Night of the Walking Wet By coincidence, I am looking to play Caverns of Thracia someday. Hmm... ~Scott "-enkainen" Casper
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Post by oakesspalding on Nov 6, 2014 12:26:09 GMT -6
Thanks, bea. Well, here's your answer. I just bought it so that I can read it over a beer tonight. I have no idea whether I'll ever play it, even if I really like it (which I'm assuming I will). But since it's only half the price of the beer (or if I have two beers, only a quarter of the price), it's a good deal. Beats staring into space. I like reading modules and games, to get ideas, but also just for fun. It's interesting to see what different intelligent and thoughtful people do with this whole OSR thing. One question, though: I recall seeing hard copies of these modules. geoffrey are you still selling them? By the way, it's very clever to call modules with no color art (or no art at all) "psychedelic" with that colorful background and all...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 13:28:40 GMT -6
Very interesting discussion. Personally, I am not a very "consumerist" roleplayer - I buy what I I think I need for my games, but little more. Usually, I change a whole lot, and I run one single game forever. Aaron Alston's N4 spawned TWO pretty epic campaigns, so far; ToEE, I also come back to pretty often. - Me being a 2e guy, it is to be noted that the quasi-adventure setting descriptions from Birthright and Ravenloft also served as blueprints for very long games (RL's Islands of Terror, in particular). As to my RPG spending habbits, I buy most basic rulesets for games I participate in, but seldomly anything more. Mostly, I hunt down collectibles, like the old DragonQuest adventures, or even some stuff as recent as modules from the original Necromancer Games print run. What I don't use within a certain timeframe, or do not find useful for myself, I resell or give away. - Which, historically, has lead to a couple of occasions when I had to re-buy things after changing my opinion. This year, I ran a very extended version of T1, enriched by some material from Atlas Games' Penumbra d20 line, under the DCC RPG, as well as an adventure inspired by the FFC, "Firewater", which might even see print. Also, one particularly memorable bout of the fringe RPG, "Kingdom of Nothing". Apart from my ongoing Ravenloft campaign, I think over the next 12 months, I think I'll run a few White Dwarf scenarios, set in my "Mordred" Setting. Perhaps, if the stars align right, I'll run a longer adaptation of a couple of Kalamar scenarios, again under DCC rules. Overall, yeah, I frequently buy adventure modules, and I am not shy on running them. I also have a Long wishlist of modules that I want to DM before (if) I ever retire from the Hobby, which is great, because it keeps me with my D&D roots. (As opposed to many of my friends, who usually play more generally adult-oriented/less S&S-heavy games like KULT, CoC, or Harnmaster by now.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 19:20:31 GMT -6
I was unaware of that publication. Really wishing I'd had it last week for my annual Halloween session. Will run it soon anyway.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 19:26:50 GMT -6
One question, though: I recall seeing hard copies of these modules. geoffrey are you still selling them? I think around volume 5 distribution went digital only.
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Post by oakesspalding on Nov 7, 2014 1:17:07 GMT -6
Okay. I just wrote a review of Proteus Sinking on my blog here. It looks like other reviews are popping up, for example, here. Great job!
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bea
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 133
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Post by bea on Nov 7, 2014 1:31:25 GMT -6
Thank you, oakesspalding! I'm relieved to see that reactions to the adventure are positive!
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Post by tkdco2 on Nov 7, 2014 3:29:56 GMT -6
Good review, oakesspalding! BTW, your second link goes back to this thread.
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Post by oakesspalding on Nov 7, 2014 8:09:58 GMT -6
Argh! I always do that. Thanks. Fixed.
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Post by hagbard on Nov 12, 2014 6:45:55 GMT -6
I remember DM'ing most if not all the modules I bought back in the 80s. Some multiple times with different groups.
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