What is your favorite format for a module?

[geoffrey]

I'm not asking what is your favorite module(s), but rather your favorite format of a module.

IMO, the best format for a module I've ever seen is that of Bob Bledsaw's 1977 module, Tegel Manor. There is very little fat in it. I have never, ever seen a module with so little wasted space. Virtually the whole thing is pure utility. All too often modules descend into amateur story hour. Not Tegel Manor. Besides four sentences of background, everything in the module describes the present-day Tegel Manor and environs.

In the room descriptions not a word is wasted. A referee could pick-up this module, glance over it for 10 or 15 minutes, and then run it. I greatly appreciate that. One of the reasons for modules is to save the referee's time, but if the referee has to spend hours studying a module, what's the point? He could have spent those hours designing his own dungeons for free.

Here is an example of a typical room description in Tegel Manor:

A5 50' x 30' x 40' H Five butcher knives antimate [sic] and fly at intruders. Boiling pot will fly off of stove at largest in party 3-18. Six giant rats 2 HD, 7-7-5-2-13-4 HTK, AC 6. Ten silver platters worth 320 SP each in locked cabinet.

That's just about perfect. (About the only thing I would change is that I'd drop the stats for the giant rats. I dislike stats in modules. But that's another thread...) Even if I had never even seen Tegel Manor before, I could actually run this module on the fly with such concise room descriptions. Glance at that for a few seconds, and you know everything you need to know.

Not only is the concision good for ease of use of the module, but I also appreciate how it inspires my imagination. Think of all the movies, books, game aids, etc. you've read that didn't live up to your imagination of them before you were really familiar with them. For example, I was somewhat disappointed with the Greyhawk folio. It didn't live up to my own ideas for the setting, ideas inspired by the little nuggets found in the DMG (especially in the artifacts and relics section). Or look at how the Star Wars prequels didn't live up to most people's ideas of the period, ideas that were inspired by little lines here and there in the original Star Wars trilogy. Etc.

In short, small imaginative hooks are great for me because they give a little "jolt" to my imagination, and then leave me in perfect freedom to fill in all the details. Chances are that if the details are supplied for me, I'd be at least partly disappointed. ("Hmmm, that's not quite how I imagined it...")

My favorite modules (as opposed to my favorite format--see my first paragraph above) are Gary's D trilogy. But they fail at being easy to pick-up, peruse for 15 minutes, and then use in play. I consider their "underground wilderness" setting to be deeply imaginative, but (because so many details are filled in as compared with the terseness of Tegel Manor) even with this setting there are several things I would have done differently. (And of course the D modules themselves are terse in comparison to the bloated, awful things published later. Look at the 2nd edition AD&D Night Below boxed module. It's 4 or 5 times longer than the D trilogy, but with 4 or 5 times less meat.)

By now several of you are probably laughing at me for being so wordy in expressing my preference for Tegel Manor's terseness. So I'll leave it at that and ask for everyone else's opinions.

[dwayanu]

I guess it's hard to beat Tegel Manor unless (IIRC) your color printing is at least on par ... and that's not a bar I want to raise for any PDF product! (You resemble that remark, OSRIC v.2!)

I'm not so keen on "pick up and play cold" as on material with a lot of replay value.

Suggest plenty of blanks to fill in. I don't think the key for any of the Giants modules was more than 16 pp., and G1 may have been less (??).

My all-time favorite remains Chaosium's Griffin Mountain for RuneQuest -- I've used it so much I ought to look for a less tattered copy.

I also dig Dark Tower, although it's less often I have PCs of level to tackle it.

I can do without more linear, one-shot "tournament" modules!

[blackbarn]

I would have to agree, the less space used for "story" or elaborate description the better. I always end up ignoring or altering that stuff anyway... just give me the stats I need and a bare minimum of description. That's how you make a useful aid for the DM to run a game versus an attempt at conveying a story in awkward module format. Clarity in conveying information is like a lost art in the RPG hobby.

[korgoth]

I guess I tend to like a bit more "chrome". My favorites are the Moldvay modules like Isle of Dread, Lost City, Castle Amber. Each one gives you a balance of backstory, detailed locations and expansion areas (each supporting an entire campaign, basically).

I also like it when a module tells me the NPC's general goal or motivation. I could think one up myself, but often times the author can think of a better one or one that ties in with the other content or themes of the module.

[dwayanu]

By now several of you are probably laughing at me for being so wordy in expressing my preference for Tegel Manor's terseness.

That's sorted, and seems to cover the question of "read-to-players" boxed text. Any other aspects you want to consider?

I think the old TSR modules had it about right in terms of layout, although a serif typeface might ease extended reading. Twenty-four pages should be ample, perhaps even 16, for something of similar scope. Putting maps in the middle for easy removal (a la Carcosa) is an economical alternative to the tradition of putting them on cardboard covers -- especially for "mega" modules.

[kenmeister]

Caverns of Thracia is a great example of too terse. I literally had to study that module for a whole month, re-reading sections and puzzling out where passages go on the map in order to be ready to run it. Man, I felt like I'd played through it after just prepping it

[grodog]

LOL. Our DM ran that for us, using both the original and the NG version, which apparently better-clarifies a lot of the level/sub-level relationships, how the factions fit together, etc. I'm looking forward to reading both versions, sometime next year, now that we've been away from CoT since May or so.

[makofan]

The original City State of the Invincible Overlord was perfect. Enough detail to be useful and interesting, and then it stopped. OTOH, I also like the fill-in-the-blanks modules like B1 where rooms and specials are described in detail and all I have to do is fill in teh monsters.

[dwayanu]

The detailed room descriptions give B1 a special character that I appreciate. I think the text much more justifies itself than the canned "read aloud" descriptions in many modules.

Thracia is complex enough to call for a lot of clarification! Jaquays' Dark Tower can also be challenging that way, and the Temple of Elemental Evil would probably have benefited from more editorial attention.

All in proportion, shall we say? Use as many words as are needed to convey the intent, but don't "pad" encounter entries to boost page count (or advance some other goal foreign to the assumed style of play).

I understand that some folks like stat blocks and rules recaps as a way to avoid opening another book. My expectation is that I'm going to read and annotate (if not "fold, spindle and mutilate") the module carefully with books at hand before I attempt to run it. Something prepared for referees of a tournament at a convention would be another kettle of fish.

[kenmeister]

I want to say that I also appreciate highly usable adventure locale modules where the DM can supply the plot. A shining example is The Citadel of Fire. You can drop that into any campaign world, in any wilderness area. The module gives a quick but evocative backstory, details the tower, then the dungeons below it, and lets the reader's imagination run wild.

Interestingly, the 3.5E Goodman Games version is completely filled out with a complicated plot to a high page count. It robs the reader of that feeling, "Oh, just think of the things I can do with this module!"

Edit: Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the 3.5 version isn't cool, I'm just saying that it doesn't require any creativity on the DM's part, which for me is half the fun.

[geoffrey]

Sham gets it. He totally gets it:
shamsgrog.blogspot.com/2008/12/dismal-depths-another-look.html

[dwayanu]

That's a more polished (i.e., typeset rather than manuscript) version of a format with which I've been experimenting for my own use. I would have a few special areas requiring more detail on text pages.

It looks as if his map is on a smaller grid than five lines per inch, freeing up even more space for notes. This should be very suitable for public consumption! I hope he works out the kinks in making a legible "digitized" version.

[dwayanu]

I don't recall any scans in Kellri's fine works, but he seems to be a dab hand at some of this desktop publishing stuff. I'm sure there are other folks on the boards with experience along relevant lines.

This would be a really nifty "form" kind of thing, especially if it works in a program I can run on my somewhat old Mac Mini without upgrading the memory (maybe Neo Office for OS X 10.3.9?).

Splendid work, Sham and Chgowiz!

[sham]

I wasn't blowing smoke when I said I was pursuing an economy of words with my latest endeavors.

I do enjoy plunking the keys and making stuff up, but I think its even more fun as a referee to start from the bottom and build your way up...its why I have embraced OD&D. I'm just a little slow on the uptake, so it has taken me months to distill and dilute my dungeon making habit down to this level.

Dwayanu, your words inspired this idea. The template used was created by our own Chgowiz, and you can get a spiffy copy of it at his Old Guy RPG blog.

I actually ended up scanning then cropping and pasting the map in the final version rather than drawing on the printed sheet. I turned it into a PDF which I will share in case anyone cares to read it. There's an accompanying one page guide and three page bestiary, as well. The rest will be 11 more maps for the Upper Levels.

[dwayanu]

I'm piss-poor at drawing with a mouse, so the business of importing a scanned-in map is something on which I'm keen. I have downloaded but not tried the templates, and look forward to learning from other dungeoneers' experiences with them.

The two examples I've seen are exciting! In adopting a similar pencil-and-paper approach, I was just trying better to focus my own design efforts. Now, there's a proof of concept in application to actual presentation that looks really elegant.

The RuneQuest supplements Snakepipe Hollow and Griffin Mountain, and the JG Dark Tower module for AD&D, rattled my brain a bit back in the day. What's good for a sit-down reading is not necessarily so helpful in actual play (and vice-versa).

[sham]

Jan 1, 2009 2:09:22 GMT -6 dwayanu said:

I'm piss-poor at drawing with a mouse, so the business of importing a scanned-in map is something on which I'm keen. I have downloaded but not tried the templates, and look forward to learning from other dungeoneers' experiences with them.

The two examples I've seen are exciting! In adopting a similar pencil-and-paper approach, I was just trying better to focus my own design efforts. Now, there's a proof of concept in application to actual presentation that looks really elegant.

The RuneQuest supplements Snakepipe Hollow and Griffin Mountain, and the JG Dark Tower module for AD&D, rattled my brain a bit back in the day. What's good for a sit-down reading is not necessarily so helpful in actual play (and vice-versa).

One thing I should mention, don't feel confined to that single page. If you keep typing past that bottom box the text will of course simply start a new page. If you printed it in duplex format, it would still (likely) be one sheet of paper.

The right hand side can be used for whatever tables are handy for the individual referee, as well. I put Wandering Monsters, Restock, Treasure and a Legend.

I'm pencil and paper all the way when it comes to maps (and the example on my blog is my first inked effort), I cannot warm up to computer graphics D&D maps.

I've managed to distill my ramblings in adventure writing this year, but this next step is a major departure. Somewhere along the way I realized most of my text was just me writing to myself; the players only take in about 10% of those notes, that being the monsters and their treasure. I'll probably continue with a more detailed approach for things like subs to FO!, but perhaps cut back on the chaff.

I like to think of The Dismal Depths as a sand-box underground. The referee can flesh out areas he knows might come into play in the next game session, or he can just do it on the fly.

I made a doc called the One Page Dungeon Template Mapper, simply an enlarged 30x30 square page for drawing the map, then scanning, cropping and embedding...allowing for the write up after the map is done. I'll post the PDF somewhere once I figure out how to do so.

[geoffrey]

Jan 1, 2009 7:29:31 GMT -6 sham said:

I'm pencil and paper all the way when it comes to maps...I cannot warm up to computer graphics D&D maps.

You and me both.

[Ghul]

Jan 1, 2009 9:27:16 GMT -6 geoffrey said:

Jan 1, 2009 7:29:31 GMT -6 sham said:

I'm pencil and paper all the way when it comes to maps...I cannot warm up to computer graphics D&D maps.

You and me both.

Myself as well. I like to use a .05mm mechanical pencil. A little more delicate and if yo want to shade the .07 can be easier, but for fine detail, I love my .05's.

[dwayanu]

Sham's JPGs look terribly fuzzy to me, but not Chgowiz's PDF.

The Open Office template isn't working out for me. An upgrade from OO 2.0 might solve the problems, but ...

I've found it a simple matter to paste a map into AppleWorks and go from there. The results might not be quite as spiffy, at least at first, but should work well enough for me. Resizing the map and typing the key certainly allows for more per page than in my manuscript version!

I'm not sure that makes much difference for my personal use, but I may try it anyway for a game tentatively scheduled for Sunday.

[sham]

Yeah the scans are very fuzzy, but I'll have the PDF's linked at my blog tomorrow morning.

I'm going to do some more mapping tonight.

There is definitely more than one way to skin this cat, but I've found Chgowiz's template very handy since it limits set-up time once you've got it saved. I think he has it available in both Word and OpenOffice.

Amityville Mike also did an awesome map using the template, and did exactly what I suggested in a previous post, typing past the lower text box and ending up with two pages. Perfect for a duplex printing.

Mike's PDF is linked at his blog:

poleandrope.blogspot.com/2009/01/dungeon-jazz.html

[dicebro]

Palace of the Vampire Queen and Misty Isles by Wee Warriors. Simple, useable and easily adjustable formats.