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Recent posts by
Mark Hart:
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Sebastian wrote:
Great. Now I have to figure out some paranoid way to twist your words to support my conspiracy theory. Just terrific.
...
Anyway, I'm off to find more obscure references in Dungeon adventures. I understand that the word Gambit has arisen in James Jacobs' work...
Don't worry about it...I think there's another thread around someplace that assumes that the "Graymalkin" adventure is a take-off of Harry Potter and Hogwartz...some days you just can't win...
:-)
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Matrissa the Enchantress wrote:
Just to get things rolling, I've put in a few specific questions below...
I’ll describe how I do things, but I can virtually guarantee that everyone pursues the creative process in their own unique style…I think the best way to write is the way that works best for the individual.
Matrissa the Enchantress wrote:
QUESTIONS:
Q1
When you are working on a query for an adventure that you haven't actually written yet, how do you:
* Figure out what level it will be written for
* What encounters will go into it
* Who the main villains and other important NPCs are
* Calculate what length the finished adventure
I usually start with a setting in mind, or an overall kind of villain. Sometimes I start thinking about an unusual plot hook or story element. Once I come up with my main villain that tells me in general what level the adventure will be written for.
Once I have an overall theme for the adventure, I do a quick run through some monster books and jot down some different monsters that would make sense for the locale, the PC level, and the overall type of adventure. It is sometimes helpful to think in broad categories. An adventure set in the frozen north might call for monsters like the polar worm, white dragons, frost giants, etc.
As for the adventure’s length, I usually shoot for 10-15k adventures. This is more of an art than a science. Once a query is given the greenlight, I write the adventure, and then later pare it down to meet word count (which usually entails a lot of cutting later). The higher the adventure level, the more words needed. The more complicated the plot or setting, the more words are needed. If you use a lot of monsters with PC levels, or monsters from books beyond the Monster Manual, you need more words.
Matrissa the Enchantress wrote:
Q2
Once you start a new query, how long does it take you to complete and then submit it and, once you've gotten past the "grey render and the door", how quickly do you usually take to get the first revision of the query (if it's a "re-edit" ) or the first draft of the manuscript (if it's a "send us a manuscript") back to Piazo (And how long do they usually expect/want it to take)?
Once I start a query, I try and finish it within a day or two while the idea is still fresh, and in total I probably take two or three hours of writing, editing, and polishing to finish one. Many people prefer writing the query and then putting it aside and re-reading it a few days later so they catch any errors or omissions.
Paizo generally gives you 2-3 months to turn in the finished manuscript after they green-light a query. I have found this to be more than enough time.
Matrissa the Enchantress wrote:
Q3
How much time do you actually spend each week bashing out queries and/or working on manuscripts?
I find that it varies from week to week. Some weeks I spend 15-20 hours working on queries, articles, etc. Other weeks I spend less than 5 hours. I seem to work in cycles. I will have a busy two weeks where I generate a bunch of queries and then e-mail them out, and then a few weeks of doing other unrelated projects.
Matrissa the Enchantress wrote:
Q4
On a slightly tangential note, when you get a new idea for an adventure/CW/&c. where do they usually come from and/or come to you?
What I like to do is think about the most iconic and common experiences shared by players and characters in any campaign, and then find ways to develop one aspect of such an experience. I also like to read through the Monster Manual and other books for those throwaway lines of fluff, and use those as a foundation for an adventure or idea. The adventure “Funeral Procession” originated when I read in the Monster Manual about how a mohrg comes into being, and that got me thinking about an adventure idea.
One of the best ways to generate ideas is to ask yourself questions, and then come up with ways to answer those questions. It often helps to throw away the first two or three answers you come up with, and dig deeper for a less conventional or fresher approach. “What if” questions are fun, as are “what happens next,” and “how did this get started?” Look at a monster or magic item or unusual locale and ask questions, and then try and answer those questions.
Hope this helps. Best of luck...
--Mark
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James Jacobs wrote:
In some cases, that means we end up sitting on a manuscript for months or even years. If, after a year, we still haven't published an adventure, we have to make a hard decision what to do with it.
One of my adventures falls into this category. I submitted it in November 2004 and basically "accepted," but hasn't made its debut yet. To date, its ultimate fate remains up in the air.
Fortunately, an adventure I submitted last October was recently published, so even if my other adventure ultimately gets canned, I've had some success.
I also had a fair number of "accepted" articles with DRAGON that ended up being canned with the change in editors and the change in the magazine's focus. Published or not, they at least helped me hone my writing and learn the process. For better or for worse, it seems every submission has something to teach...
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I have a question about the use of more recent WotC books in desgining adventure submissions for DUNGEON. Specifically, in this case, the excellent TOME OF MAGIC.
I am designing a submission proposal that would work especially well with one of the new classes introduced in ToM.
I know that when using non-core books for adventures -- the Fiend Folio, for example, the designer needs to include info on that monster in the adventure, since the assumption is that readers do not necessarily have the FF.
How does this work for new spellcasting classes, such as the binder, introduced in ToM? Is this a case where it is just best not to use non-core material, but rather find a way to use a core class instead? I imagine that word limitations alone might force this path. Does use of something as rule-heavy as a new class from a non-core book pose too many problems, or make the adventure inaccessible for too many readers?
If it *is* permissible to use a new spellcasting class like the Binder in a DUNGEON adventure, how much info should be included?
I would greatly appreciate any help, advice, suggestions that people (editors, designers, gurus) could provide.
Thanks in advance!
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From the 1st edition modules, three possible examples of true "dungeon crawls" (as the term seems to be evolving in this thread) could incude Ghost Tower of Inverness, White Plume Mountain (mentioned above), and Tomb of Horrors (the "killer dungeon" prototype).
Several other 1st ed. modules seem to epitomize adventures with plots: Against the Giants and Vault of the Drow. Obviously, these series also had elements of dungeon crawl built into them (slogging through the Underdark, for example), but they also had cohesive plots, groups of monsters and bad guys in close proximity for good reason, and a narrative flow.
I like all of the above named adventures -- each has its charms, each has its drawbacks. From a personal stance, I prefer the adventures with a narrative flow, and where monsters have reasons for collecting in one place.
Of course, many adventures are of both types, such as Temple of Elemental Evil. It had a plot, narrative flow, but it also had a hefty dungeon crawl.
It often seems that after the "mystery" of the dungeon wears off, it often becomes a chore to slog through, rather than an adventure. For various reasons, once a dungeon gains too many rooms, too many hallways, and too many different encounters, it moves into the category of dungeon crawl. As long as the setting (be it dungeon or whatever) retains an air of mystery, a feeling of danger, and an atmosphere of impending danger, it holds a lot of fun potential. Once the dungeon becomes commonplace (another empty room, or this room contains dust and cobwebs), it ceases to be unique and becomes gaming-by-numbers.
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I like the fact that, more and more, designers are putting serious, detailed thought into how to make the game FUN. Figuring out what rules make the game fun, and which bog things down. Then, when folks like WotC and Paizo incorporate their findings and discoveries into their adventures and products, the game benefits immensely.
For example, random traps sprinkled throughout the dungeon. As a side effect, players slow everything down while their characters search every square inch of the dungeon on the chance a trap lies in wait. Now, the thinking about traps has really moved away from that paradigm and towards making the presence of a trap an opportunity for characters to meet a challenge and possibly evade or eliminate it. The emphasis is on making the game more fun for the participants.
I think dungeons/adventures are undergoing a renaissance of sorts. I love the classic adventures and always will have nostalgia for them. As far as actual play, however, I appreciate the direction adventures are taking. Emphasis on the fun, de-emphasizing the mundane, the boring, and the tedious. There seems to be a growing and evolving *intentional* process involved about focusing the game on the fun. I don't recall ever seeing this level of forethought, design, and anticipation applied to the game before.
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With "dungeon crawls," my players like dungeons, but generally don't care for huge, multi-level complexes...especially those that have 4-6 doors and hallways every time you go through a room (too many choices often as bad as not enough choice). I personally think "dungeon" type locales are the heart and soul of fantasy adventures (at least the kind I enjoy most). Crypts, ruins, castles, prisons, haunted houses, etc. make for the most memorable adventures (location, location, location).
Personally, I think "Red Hand of Doom" is a perfect model for D&D adventures. Whoever thought to place the designer notes sidebars in the text is a genius. The adventure features a great mix of adventure locales, and thus players don't feel trapped in a single location for a lengthy period of time.
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