Troll Lord Games

Do you use adventure modules in your C&C game?

It seems like many people on these boards are a bit old school and therefore tend to use adventure modules. Some CKs don't use adventure modules at all, and others just use mods for ideas in their own adventures.

Where do you fall?
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

To be honest, I rarely use adventure modules at all. I have run a few from time to time, but mostly use them if I get into a pinch for ideas. I have mined plenty of mods for ideas, but generally just make up my own stuff.

..................................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Usually I do not have time to prepare games, so modules are welcome if I just have to read them.

Cheers,

Antonio

When I was a teenager and played 2nd edition we never used modules. In fact we played what I would call "Jazz Modules." Basically we had a shell of a story and just improvised around it. "Yeah man. Like reading charts and playin' changes. Dig it." *snaps fingers* 8) Since I've gotten back into gaming I've been using mods since I don't really have the time outside of school to do make my own "skeletons" any more even. This is my last full semester however, and I expect to be making my own stuff again soon. Until then: It's all mods.

I use mods pretty frequently. I work 14-16 hour days, have two little kids. The mods save me time, they're convenient, and I use 'em.

I don't always use them as is, but if nothing else, they do half the prep work for me.

Wife and kid(s) make mods more and more attractive although I will make my own adventure if an idea hits me. When I was a kid and teenager we always made our own.

Mods are always the "core idea" for me. Then my players and I typically add on to it as I modify things to fit their specific actions and work towards goals.

If its a module that I don't like I re-write it to where I do like it and still get to use the maps, NPC's, and other things that may have been included in the adventure.

Which is why it is hard for me to hate a module. Even if I don't like it as is I still get good use out of it with some simple re-writing.

I used to do adventures right off the top of my head, and still do, but because I am using a module as my base line it is more improv than out right raw creation.

Plus with all the accessories I have bought, dungeon tiles, Dungeon Mag's map of mysteries, FatDragon Games tiles, etc... even if I were to do something off the top of my head I would still base it on something I pull from all my accessory products I have bought.

So I'll never do something from complete scratch again. At the very least I'll use material from something as my basis. Usually some map from some source.

Besides, I enjoy the exercise of this kind of mental "jigsaw" and fitting all the pieces together.

Like I had a lot of fun coming up with story plots to fit a series of modules I used in my last Wilderlands Campaign based on a bunch of my favorite Necromancer modules (Crucible of Freya, Morrick Mansion, Lost City of Barakus, Grey Citadel, Rappan Athuk (Upper Levels), and Tomb of Abysthor).

With my current campaign I intended on using the "A" series as the core of my campaign, but I have had to seriously alter things and have added in Mysterious Tower, Palace of Shadows, Halfing's Hall, Fingers of the Hand, and the Against the Giants series. Plus filled in a few spots with Brian's Killer Cave series (fits in great almost anywhere along Blacktooth Ridge). Its been plenty of fun for me to come up with plots to join these modules together.

I like it when I know where I want things to go, but have fun finding out along with my players how we are going to actually get there.

I tend to write my own mods, but if I find one that I really like, I'll use it.

R-
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Rigon o' the Lakelands, Baron of The Castles & Crusades Society
The Book of the Mind

I own very many modules, read them, shred them for the juicy parts, which is typically about 10% of the whole thing, and make my own adventures/settings/games. I look at modules as mini-sourcebooks, seeing as I'd have to modify things anyway to get them to work right, I figure I'd better just take what I like, and leave the rest as dross.

In the past and up until recently I use them extensively and have enjoyed doing so. They provide the lion's share of the work necessary to run a game, so I think they're valuable for me.

Having said that, I've always tweaked/changed/added/deleted sections of a mod,l particulary - dungeons. That comes from B1. Ever since preparing that complex I many times change/modify or populate dungeons in my own way.

I also usually never roll encounters, I just pick them from the charts to suit our group and individual players.

Lately, I've been creating in-game mini encounters and linking various modules into our Aihrde/Blacktooth Ridge campaign world and it's been great for me and the players. But I don't expect to ever write my own mods, there are too many masters at that craft and I will just use those.

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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Treebore wrote:
Mods are always the "core idea" for me. Then my players and I typically add on to it as I modify things to fit their specific actions and work towards goals.

This pretty much sums it up for me.
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Never throw rocks at a man with a Vorpal Sword!

I mostly use modules. Most of the encounters are already pretty well balanced and set up. If I find something that I really feel doesn't fit, I change it. Mostly I change the type and amount of treasure found.

Modules save time.
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The Blood of Dragons flows through my veins!

Prepare to meet your DOOM!

Kobold battle cry

It depends for me... I like using mods as what appears to be one shots but do a bit more extra work to link them up. However, if I'm running a longer series of mods then a heck of a lot gets modified and changed or I simply use some of the ideas and a few things set up and build up around it 'in my own image' so to speak.

Moriarty the Red
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

I'm actually surprised to see that not that many people "write" their own mods. Writing your own mod could be as simple as a few pages of notes, or even less.

I would go as far to say that finding a cool dungeon map in a mod, and then completey changing it up and including your own adventure references is writing your own mod.

Personally I think there has only been one mod I've ever run pretty much BTB, and that would have to be Keep on the Borderlands, and that was back in the day. I'm currently retooling Keep on the Borderlands to fit with 01 Games massive Caverns of Chaos maps. But to be honest, the entire run up to the caverns and the caverns themselves are almost 100% my own.

...............................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Omote wrote:
I'm actually surprised to see that not that many people "write" their own mods. Writing your own mod could be as simple as a few pages of notes, or even less.

I hear what you're saying ... and way back when I shortly started to play AD&D. I used to do a lot more of home brew adventures. I was also in highschool back then and had a lot more free time than I currently do. These days, my day job is really keeping me busy and I've got a whole lot of other projects on the go. These days, I rather pick up a mod and make changes here and there and run with that. It's really quick and easy to do so... especially with C&C. Things should calm down for me in the next 4-5 weeks so I expect I'll be back at doing a lot more home brew stuff.

Moriarty the Red
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

moriarty777, not that that is a bad thing. We've all been there.

I was just commenting on this because of all the fantastic ideas I see fly around here on a daily basis. Honestly, it seemed that many of us were our own module writers. Just thought that was interesting.

...................................................Omote

FPQ
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> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

Omote wrote:
moriarty777, not that that is a bad thing. We've all been there.

I was just commenting on this because of all the fantastic ideas I see fly around here on a daily basis. Honestly, it seemed that many of us were our own module writers. Just thought that was interesting.

That's an interesting observation, and I'm sure we've all been more than a little creative too.
Actually, when things calm down a bit, I hope to polish one of my original creations and see how far I can take it.

M
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"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com

I use modules practically all the time, it's what I've always done since re-capturing the gaming spirit in 2000 after a 10-year hiatus. When I originally played (1980-1990), I used modules until the higher levels, when I'd start improvising with planar travel, etc. After I got comfortable, I'd create some low-level ones as well.

I've yet to try that beyond adding onto a module to make it better gel with the campaign, but I've some ideas brewing. Finding time to turn those ideas into a "work" is the missing link right now.
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AD&D, Amish Dungeons & Dragons.

"Galstaff, ye are in a cornfield, when a moustachioed man approaches. What say ye?"

"I shun him."

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"Knowledge, logic, reason, and common sense serve better than a dozen rule books."

-- E. Gary Gygax

Omote wrote:
I'm actually surprised to see that not that many people "write" their own mods. Writing your own mod could be as simple as a few pages of notes, or even less.

Generally, because the technical aspects of module writing tend to be overwhelming, most folks dont put it all down on paper. Im in the 'write my own' category. But much of my material is so daunting to put forth, and there is such a volume of it, I may be able to only offer snippets.

Then again, not everyone is a detail maniac like me.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley