{
 "breadcrumbs": [
  "Chapter 1: Gamemastery Basics"
 ],
 "breadcrumbs_spa": [],
 "category": "rules",
 "exclude_from_search": false,
 "id": "rules-944",
 "markdown": "<title level=\"1\" right=\"Rules\">[Adventure Design](/Rules.aspx?ID=944)</title>\r\n\r\n<row gap=\"tiny\">**Source** [Gamemastery Guide](/Sources.aspx?ID=22) pg. 40</row>\r\n\r\n<row gap=\"medium\">\r\n<column gap=\"medium\" flex=\"1 1 400px\">\r\nWhen making your own adventure, you get to choose the themes, play style, and NPCs that most appeal to you and your group. This section gives you tips for making your adventures exciting and memorable, and for creating them quickly and efficiently.\n\n Creating an adventure for your players can be one of the most fulfilling parts of being a GM. Get started with the basic tips on [adventure building](/Rules.aspx?ID=493) on page 487 of the _Core Rulebook_, then flesh out your adventure using the following adventure recipes to quickly outline an adventure based on your chosen theme. Reading other adventures is a great way to get ideas, whether they’re published adventures or ones your friends have written. You can borrow ideas and structures if they work for your game, and tweak as needed.\r\n</column>\r\n\r\n<column gap=\"medium\">\r\n\r\n</column>\r\n\r\n</row>\r\n\r\n<aside>\r\n<title level=\"2\" noclass=\"true\" icon=\"\">Adventure Presentation</title>\r\n\r\nWhen you’re writing up your own adventure, you don’t need to go into the same level of detail you’d see in a published adventure. You might be able to get by with just an outline, some bullet points for each NPC, a breakdown of encounters, and a few rough maps. Or maybe for your style of running games, you prefer to have some text written about each scene, or even particular lines of dialogue. If you’re creating your first adventure, it can be good to write out a little more than you need. Just keep in mind that things might change in play. If you prepared more than you actually used, that’s normal! Detailing NPCs or locations in particular can be useful, especially if they’re going to appear again. But in many of these cases, you’ll add details at the table and can jot down those notes for later.\r\n</aside>\r\n\r\n<aside>\r\n<title level=\"2\" noclass=\"true\" icon=\"\">Building a Sandbox</title>\r\n\r\nIn a “sandbox” game, you give the players a sizable location to explore and let them decide how to go about it. A sandbox doesn’t have as many time-sensitive events as a directed adventure, and the flow of the game is driven more by the players than by the opposition. You can put self-contained dungeons or other locations within the sandbox, but it’s up to the players when and how to visit them or deal with them. To make a sandbox, create about triple the number of encounters and spread them out among multiple locations or factions. You can expect the PCs won’t deal with all of them. In most cases, you’ll want to determine where the PCs are headed next before the end of a session so you can prepare for the next session. Depending on the size and complexity of the location, the number of encounters might be much higher. Treat each sub-area as a kind of mini-adventure, and only loosely sketch it until you know what the PCs’ plans are.\r\n</aside>\r\n\r\n<aside>\r\n<title level=\"2\" noclass=\"true\" icon=\"\">Running Your Own Adventure</title>\r\n\r\nIt’s often easier to run an adventure you made yourself, but that’s not true for everybody. If you notice as you run your adventure that your notes don’t have enough for you to go on, you can be more thorough next time. And if something ended up inconsistent, there’s nothing wrong with telling your players you want to revise something you previously said. Because this is your own creation, it’s closer to your heart. If the adventure doesn’t go well, it can sting. Sometimes this is because of random chance, sometimes due to unforeseen decisions, and occasionally because you made a mistake. Those are all normal parts of the game! One of the things you’ll internalize the more you run games is that you’re a part of the creative process and don’t need to be perfect.\r\n</aside>\r\n\r\n<document level=\"2\" id=\"rules-945\" />\r\n\r\n<document level=\"2\" id=\"rules-946\" />\r\n\r\n<document level=\"2\" id=\"rules-947\" />\r\n\r\n<document level=\"2\" id=\"rules-948\" />",
 "name": "Adventure Design",
 "next_link": {
  "label": "Encounter Design",
  "url": "/Rules.aspx?ID=969"
 },
 "previous_link": {
  "label": "Campaign Structure",
  "url": "/Rules.aspx?ID=921"
 },
 "rarity": "common",
 "release_date": "2020-02-26",
 "resistance": {},
 "search_markdown": "<additional-info>\r\n<row gap=\"tiny\">**Source** [Gamemastery Guide](/Sources.aspx?ID=22) pg. 40</row>\r\n\r\nChapter 1: Gamemastery Basics\r\n</additional-info>",
 "source": [
  "Gamemastery Guide"
 ],
 "source_raw": [
  "Gamemastery Guide pg. 40"
 ],
 "source_category": "Rulebooks",
 "source_markdown": "<row gap=\"tiny\">[Gamemastery Guide](/Sources.aspx?ID=22) pg. 40</row>",
 "speed": {},
 "text": " Adventure Design Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 40 When making your own adventure, you get to choose the themes, play style, and NPCs that most appeal to you and your group. This section gives you tips for making your adventures exciting and memorable, and for creating them quickly and efficiently. Creating an adventure for your players can be one of the most fulfilling parts of being a GM. Get started with the basic tips on adventure building on page 487 of the Core Rulebook , then flesh out your adventure using the following adventure recipes to quickly outline an adventure based on your chosen theme. Reading other adventures is a great way to get ideas, whether they’re published adventures or ones your friends have written. You can borrow ideas and structures if they work for your game, and tweak as needed. Adventure Presentation When you’re writing up your own adventure, you don’t need to go into the same level of detail you’d see in a published adventure. You might be able to get by with just an outline, some bullet points for each NPC, a breakdown of encounters, and a few rough maps. Or maybe for your style of running games, you prefer to have some text written about each scene, or even particular lines of dialogue. If you’re creating your first adventure, it can be good to write out a little more than you need. Just keep in mind that things might change in play. If you prepared more than you actually used, that’s normal! Detailing NPCs or locations in particular can be useful, especially if they’re going to appear again. But in many of these cases, you’ll add details at the table and can jot down those notes for later. Building a Sandbox In a “sandbox” game, you give the players a sizable location to explore and let them decide how to go about it. A sandbox doesn’t have as many time-sensitive events as a directed adventure, and the flow of the game is driven more by the players than by the opposition. You can put self-contained dungeons or other locations within the sandbox, but it’s up to the players when and how to visit them or deal with them. To make a sandbox, create about triple the number of encounters and spread them out among multiple locations or factions. You can expect the PCs won’t deal with all of them. In most cases, you’ll want to determine where the PCs are headed next before the end of a session so you can prepare for the next session. Depending on the size and complexity of the location, the number of encounters might be much higher. Treat each sub-area as a kind of mini-adventure, and only loosely sketch it until you know what the PCs’ plans are. Running Your Own Adventure It’s often easier to run an adventure you made yourself, but that’s not true for everybody. If you notice as you run your adventure that your notes don’t have enough for you to go on, you can be more thorough next time. And if something ended up inconsistent, there’s nothing wrong with telling your players you want to revise something you previously said. Because this is your own creation, it’s closer to your heart. If the adventure doesn’t go well, it can sting. Sometimes this is because of random chance, sometimes due to unforeseen decisions, and occasionally because you made a mistake. Those are all normal parts of the game! One of the things you’ll internalize the more you run games is that you’re a part of the creative process and don’t need to be perfect. ",
 "type": "Rules",
 "url": "/Rules.aspx?ID=944",
 "weakness": {}
}