Image by MasterTux from Pixabay
Making Adventures
Adventures are fun right? They are the most challenging thing to make, a single one can last a campaign or just a few sessions. This will also touch a little on individual session making but know that I still struggle with pacing and difficulty of combat encounters.
Now the definition of adventure here is, in essence, a story arc, so clearing out a goblin den for some coin, adventure maybe one or two sessions. But siding with a necromancer and helping him overthrow a King, that takes much more time than one or two sessions, upwards of something like ten.
The First Few Tries
At first, Adventures where simple. Kill Goblin’s, kill Orc’s, kill Medusa, and so on. The biggest variation was in the overall plot of the Adventure’s which saw my players siding with the righteous cause of a necromancer. But I relied heavily on random monsters, never bothering to balance anything and the group always won hands down. I got tired of this quickly as relying on the challenge rating almost never meant a balanced encounter. Of course, this was also my fault as I didn’t realize much about the action economy at a time, and the players almost always outnumbered the enemy.
Refining a Simple Formula
The simple solution is to make sure the player never outnumbers the enemy if you want it to be a tough fight. Challenge Rating also is just a guideline, if you want a CR4 monster to be a challenge to a party of level 4 players, throw in a few CR1 creatures to help it. They can still win, and it will make the battle more memorable.
So for instance, never use just goblins. Having them together with bugbears, hobgoblins, and the occasional Ogre can make the fight interesting. And if you really want to challenge players, well use this from Matt Colville.
The Plot of Adventures
It all starts with an idea, something you or your players find compelling. Knowing your group is the best way to find this but if you’re just starting then take a guess. Maybe its a wizard foolishly thinking he can summon an evil god or, a mercenary captain who conquers a nearby town because he wasn’t paid. Your imagination is the limit here.
Now campaign length adventures are made up of multiple smaller adventures as the players reach their goal. Once they reach the goal reward them with coin, magic items, and recognition. It gives the players a warm feeling if random people begin to recognize their group.
The Finale
Now if I knew what made a good finale I’d make a book on it. Every ending I’ve done has been meh to OK. I was never good with ending’s and still am not. So make sure it’s something your group will enjoy, whether it be comedic or dramatic. All that matters is they like the end, not that you like the end. Remember, as a DM you are your worst critic.
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