It can definitely take "more" to run a published module. Whether you want to call it skill, effort, whatever, your choice.
Like Buttmonkey points out, one advantage of doing your own thing is that it seamlessly fits in with what you want to do or are doing. Modules rarely work that way as written, unless your campaign is based upon the module(s) to begin with.
So one thing I often find fun with modules is the challenge of getting them to "fit" what you are doing, or want to do. The benefit I like is the unexpected direction in which it takes the campaign, not only for my players, but for myself. The campaign goes off in a direction (or 10) that I certainly would not have come up with, so not only do the players have fun, but so do I as I step up to the challenge of adapting to these changes and making it all work.
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Lord Dynel
- Maukling
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Buttmonkey wrote:
Hmm... I should point out that although my preference generally is to run my own stuff, that doesn't mean I think my stuff is better than published modules. It's just easier for me to run my own stuff. I would enjoy running a module that I thought was really, really good, though.
I agree 100%. I still use a few of my own creations, when possible. I just have a finite amount of them, and when I've gone through them all, I'm done for a while.
All this talk about making my own stuff really gets me interested in finding some more time.
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- Frost
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LD, what can be a happy medium is to drop in home-brew expansions into the pre-made modules.
Peter's third level of the Rising Knight module in a recent Crusader issue is an excellent example.
I'm running Rappan Athuk and had a ton of fun dropping home-made wilderness encounters into the areas surrounding the dungeon.
It's kind of the best of both worlds....
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Lord Frost
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Peter's third level of the Rising Knight module in a recent Crusader issue is an excellent example.
I'm running Rappan Athuk and had a ton of fun dropping home-made wilderness encounters into the areas surrounding the dungeon.
It's kind of the best of both worlds....
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CharlieRock
- Lore Drake
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When I ran the Malady of Kings for D&D3 we changed quite a bit of it. Instead of sailing across the Sea of Dreams when the players blew the trumpet thingy it spewed out a current of stars up into the sky that the boat slid up on and into outer space where they sailed on to several asteroids and false moons before finding the real moon, landing on it, and defeating the blue dragon.
Plus they were carrying an intelligent sword from a previous module that told them it was the NPC they ended up rescuing by pulling out of suspended animation at the very end. (His spirit had taken flight into the sword and helped the PCs during their previous adventure in DCC #19 The Volcano Caves). Sort of tieing it all in together (so far).
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The Rock says ...
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Plus they were carrying an intelligent sword from a previous module that told them it was the NPC they ended up rescuing by pulling out of suspended animation at the very end. (His spirit had taken flight into the sword and helped the PCs during their previous adventure in DCC #19 The Volcano Caves). Sort of tieing it all in together (so far).
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The Rock says ...
Know your roll!