In the Worldwide Adventure Writing Month forum [1] here on TT, Roger [2] linked up five articles full of scenario-writing tips (thanks, Roger!).
He said, “These articles are some of the best advice I’ve ever read on writing adventures, and hardly anyone has seen them.”
All five articles Roger recommends come from the Andy Collins’s “Craft (Adventures)” column, and he’s right about them being well-hidden on WotC’s site. Here they are:
- Two Hundred Minutes and the Bonus Encounter [3] (writing for a 4-hour time slot)
- The Adventure Framework [4] (adventure structure)
- The Adventure Comes to Life [5] (choosing a theme)
- Going Through the Paces [6] (pacing)
- It’s All About Style [7] (adding flavor and color)
They’re written with RPGA game masters (and therefore, D&D) in mind, but there’s plenty of good advice for GMs of all stripes. Whether you’re writing a con scenario for the first time (and if you are, don’t miss I Was a Virgin Convention GM [8]) or putting an adventure together for WoAdWriMo [9], these articles are worth a read.
Comments Disabled To "Scenario-Writing Tips from Craft (Adventures)"
#1 Comment By Roger On May 17, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Glad you found this useful, Martin!
Some of my own comments on these articles:
Two Hundred Minutes: I’d never really thought of the players’ time as a resource used up by the DM before, but it’s a compelling idea.
Adventure Framework: Plotting out the encounters by EL, while a bit too linear for my tastes, is still a handy way to consider the structure of an adventure.
Adventure Comes to Life: The brainstorming ideas here are top-notch. This is the part of adventure writing I find the most fun.
Going Through the Paces: And then comes the hard work. It’s interesting to see the basic idea behind “start the session with combat” right here in an article from 2003.
Style: This is a bit of a catch-all for everything else. This part — adding the final touches and polish — is also pretty fun.
Cheers,
Roger
#2 Comment By VV_GM On May 17, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
I’ve been checking these out and I’m glad that Roger shared this info as I gear up for WoAdWriMo. Good stuff!
#3 Comment By Scot Newbury On May 18, 2007 @ 5:48 am
Thanks for posting these links! The first one I had read a while ago but had ‘misplaced’ the link – lots of good information in there.
Looking forward to the other articles.
#4 Comment By Martin On May 18, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Fuel for WoAdWriMo is always a good thing. 😉 Thanks for posting these, Roger.