I was thinking of writing one myself, and would appreciate any advice from others who went down this route. And what better place to ask than the forum famed for such an adventure style?
What are some common do's and don'ts? What should I keep in mind that's different than a typical stand-alone adventure? Are there any web resources/blog posts/interviews which discussed this issue in the past?
Thank you for any advice that you can give!
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1) Make sure you have someone (or better yet, a lot of someones) to bounce ideas off of.
1b) Extra points if one of them doesn't play RPGs (outsider perspectives may yield surprising results)
2) The variety of player options starts wide and only gets bigger. Know the system. Review the myriad spell and item effects available and consider how they can affect the challenges you create. This gets more and more complicated as your party level goes up.
3) Don't create a need for a "key" class, skill, etc. based on player choices. If all the players need a good Acrobatics check to continue the story, the story will stop. If an encounter banks on the fighter or barbarian absorbing a lot of damage, the party will be made of all rogues.
4) Stick with a theme. Kingmaker has fey, Reign of winter has... cold. Find something that binds you story elements together.
4b) Be sure to set the theme aside every now and then so as to avoid overkill
5) NPCs. Unless your theme is "complete isolation," crank out a large cast of NPCs. They need names, quirks, attitudes, goals/motivations, a few tag lines, and pictures help. Some need to be sympathetic. Most groups expect every NPC to betray them; sure it's metagaming, but try to disappoint them every now and then.
6) New mechanics: if you need em, you need them to be simple. A group should be able to pick them up with no more than a couple minutes of explanation.
7) On clues: avoid the one giant sign (second darkness journals anyone?) in favor of a few subtler hints. Multiple clues mean one or two missed doesn't require extra work from DMs.
8) Scenes/scenarios should have at least two possible resolutions planned out. Typically, I plan for stealth, fast-talking, whatever spells seem like the most obvious shortcuts, and combat (always combat)... even if there's no reason for the party to attack anything.
9) Keep a flow chart of scenes, a timeline of events, and map of locations for the entire AP. Staying organized mitigates mistakes.
10) WTF moments. Have a few. If you begin giggling maniacally while planning a scene, you're probably doing something right.
A good mix of different encounters is always good.
Have indoor combat, outdoor combat, and no combat encounters planned. Traps are nice, as are other skill related encounters. Someone should be able to play any class and be able to use all of their class features at least once during the AP, i.e. no class should feel worthless when playing your game.
Number 8 above is crucial, having multiple different ways for the game to continue in place of player failure or important NPC death is something that is very important in case the game gets derailed. Fail-safes are generally frowned upon as they place more value on the story being pre-scripted and less value on the players actions affecting the story as it plays out.
Having multiple outcomes comes in tandem with multiple different solutions to problems. There should always be around three or more different ways for the players to overcome any given challenge. Examples include a locked door having the possibility of being broken into with a Disable Device check, opened with a Knock Spell, broken down with brute force, or opened normally with a cleverly hidden key. Making sure that any party has the potential to overcome your challenges is very important to good game design.
I'd also recommend consideration for the battle maps. As a GM, I like maps that are easy for me to draw on a flip mat. It doesn't have to fit on a flip mat, but weirdly-shaped corridors and complex mazes are a bear to try and draw for my players. Rough walls and curves are fine, just try to keep in mind that someone may have to draw part (or all) of it quickly and plan accordingly.
For example, a single "room" where there are 20 jail cells to draw would frustrate me. However, a portion of that room with 1 or 2 jail cells would be simpler.
