Page 72 - Dungeon Master's Guide

USEFUL MAPS The beginning of a good adventure should be exciting
A good adventure needs thoughtfully constructed and focused. You want the players to go home looking
maps. Wilderness areas sprinkled with interesting forward to the next session, so give them a clear sense
landmarks and other features are better than vast of where the story is headed, as well as something to
expanses of unchanging terrain. Dungeons that have look forward to.
branching corridors and similar decision points give
players the opportunity to choose which direction their MIDDLE
characters should go. Presenting the characters with The middle of an adventure is where the bulk of the
options allows the players to make choices that keep the story unfolds. With each new challenge, the adventurers
adventure unpredictable. make important choices that have a clear effect on the
If drawing maps isn't your strong suit, the Internet is conclusion of the adventure.
a great place to look for adventure maps that have been Over the course of the adventure, the characters might
made freely available for use, as well as floor plans of discover secrets that reveal new goals or change their
real-world buildings and images that can inspire your original goal. Their understanding of what's going on
mapmaking. You can also use software to help put your around them might change. Maybe rumors of treasure
maps together. were a trick to lure them into a death trap. Perhaps
the so-called spy in the queen's court is actually a
PUBLISHED ADVENTURES scheme concocted by the monarch herself to seize even
more power.
Published adventures are available for purchase if you
At the same time the adventurers are working to
have neither the time nor the inclination to write an
thwart their adversaries, those adversaries are trying
adventure of your own, or if you want a change of pace.
to carry out their nefarious plans. Such enemies
A published adventure includes a pregenerated scenario
with the maps, NPCs, monsters, and treasures you need might also work to hide their deeds, mislead potential
to run it. An example of a published adventure appears adversaries, or confront problems directly, perhaps by
in the D&D Starter Set. trying to kill meddlers.
Remember that the characters are the heroes of the
You can make adjustments to a published adventure
story. Never let them become mere spectators, watching
so that it better suits your campaign and appeals to
as events unfold around them that they can't influence.
your players. For example, you can replace the villain
of an adventure with one the players have already
ENDING
encountered in your campaign, or add something to
the background of the adventure so that it involves your The ending encompasses the climax- the scene or
players' characters in ways that the adventure's designer encounter in which the tension building throughout the
never could have imagined. adventure reaches its peak. A strong climax should have
A published adventure can't account for every the players on edge, with the fate of the characters and
action the characters might take. The nice thing much more hanging in the balance. The outcome, which
about published adventures is that they allow you to hinges on the characters' actions and decisions, should
focus your game preparation time on highlighting plot never be a forgone conclusion.
developments in your campaign that the adventure An ending needn't tie everything up in a neat bow.
can't address. Story threads can be left hanging, waiting to be resolved
Published adventures also provide inspiration. You in a later adventure. A little bit of unfinished business is
might not use an adventure as written, but it might spur an easy way to transition from one adventure to the next.
ideas, or you can pull out one part of it and repurpose
that part for your needs. For example, you might use a ADVENTURE TYPES
map of a temple but repopulate it with monsters of your
An adventure can be location-based or event-based, as
choice, or you might use a chase sequence as a model
discussed in the sections that follow.
for a pursuit scene in your campaign.
LOCATION-BASED ADVENTURES
ADVENTURE STRUCTURE
Adventures set in crumbling dungeons and remote
Like every story, a typical adventure has a beginning, a
wilderness locations are the cornerstone of countless
middle, and an end. campaigns. Many of the greatest D&D adventures of all
time are location-based.
BEGINNING
Creating a location-based adventure can be broken
An adventure starts with a hook to get the players down into a number of steps. Each step provides tables
interested. A good adventure hook piques the interest from which you can select the basic elements of your
of the players and provides a compelling reason for adventure. Alternatively, roll on the tables and see how
their characters to become involved in the adventure. the random results inspire you. You can mix up the
Maybe the adventurers stumble onto something they're order of the steps.
not meant to see, monsters attack them on the road, an
assassin makes an attempt on their lives, or a dragon 1. IDENTIFY THE PARTY'S GOALS
shows up at the city gates. Adventure hooks such as The Dungeon Goals table provides common goals
these can instantly draw players into your story. that drive or lure adventurers into dungeons. The

CHAPTER 3 I CREATJNG ADVENTURES