Big Lemon wrote:
Skeld wrote:
alexd1976 wrote:
a)Prewritten adventures are a crutch for experienced groups, I literally never use them.
I'm an experienced GM (a very experienced GM) and I disagree with this one. Homebrewing can be great when you have the time to dedicate to it. Prewritten adventures are very useful because much of the up-front work is already done and it allows me to take that time and focus on other stuff. It's especially true here, where the prewritten adventures Paizo publishes have so much additional material available that other GMs have posted.
-Skeld
I used to feel the way Alex did, but then I bought Iron Gods and realized why these people are able to make a career out of writing campaigns and modules:
They are much, much better at it than myself or anyone I played with. I'm probably going to stick with Paizo's stuff when I'm running PF from now on and save my creative juices for systems that can more easily make use of it, like World of Darkness.
Totally agree here - Paizo does a wonderful job at setting the mood, providing a rich backstory and room for improvisation while still moving the story along. That is key for my gamemastering - ability to shift gears midstream and adapt - keeping the game intestesting with new challenges and side quests. My group is (finally) on book 6 of Shattered Star and the Isle of Xin is torturing my group... they've had to fall back several times and each time the re-equip phase is time for me to re-introduce a minor villian or confidant from the past to help or hinder. They love and hate this. :-)