Questions tagged [adventure-writing]
For questions about designing and writing adventures, for personal use or publication.
125
questions
7
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How to create creative plot hooks?
I am a pretty new DM, running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for a group of also pretty new players. I am trying to expend the world of the campaign (especially since they are near the end of it) to also be ...
- 79
9
votes
2
answers
798
views
Is this quest possible without being too easy?
I'm concocting a scenario for my players. In this scenario, in order to convince a ghost to hand over the keys to a valuable piece of property, they'll be given a quest:
"To redeem {a paladin ...
- 2,914
8
votes
3
answers
623
views
How to handle a plot twist for a character arc?
One of the characters of our roleplay is an elf with amnesia. His background is that he lost his memory and is looking for someone but doesn't remember who he was. I asked the player for more details ...
16
votes
3
answers
3k
views
In the final act, how to drop clues without causing players to feel "cheated" they didn't find them sooner?
I'm a bit of an "on the fly" GM: in terms of writing a story, I prefer to sketch out the skeleton, and add flesh as the players move along the limbs. The quest to find the Plot Device, at ...
- 4,456
15
votes
7
answers
3k
views
How do I make a non-permanent death more impactful?
One of my players is going to be playing the homebrew Felis race for the campaign I'm going to be running. In the race description, it states that they have nine lives, and they typically die once ...
- 175
2
votes
5
answers
557
views
Separate Session Starting?
I'm starting a campaign with a few of my friends pretty soon, and I'm going to be DMing. I wanted to find a way to really ground their characters into the world and get to know them, so I think I may ...
- 175
-3
votes
1
answer
254
views
What does a D&D adventure format look like? [closed]
I am writing a D&D story and I am new to the world of D&D, and wanted to make an adventure of my own. I am not quite sure how to write one though. How should I format it? What format are D&...
6
votes
2
answers
437
views
How to add a magical composite bow to a treasure haul?
This is a matter of clarity in writing.
When I have a Composite Sortbow with a strength rating of +2 and a +1 magical enhancement, what is the clearest way to write this on a loot list? Precedent is ...
- 3,481
53
votes
9
answers
5k
views
How do I handle when my players overestimate the importance of an encounter/a location?
TL;DR: How can I (and should I) make the players' efforts worth their while when they overestimate the importance of an encounter or a location?
I am running a homebrew DnD 5e adventure where the ...
- 2,036
51
votes
9
answers
6k
views
How can I check if a new group is OK with a plotline from an ethical standpoint without spoiling the plot?
TL;DR: I am unsure if the plotline I planned is "too dark" for a new group, and would like to discuss the level of grit with them without spoiling the plotline. How can I do this?
I am ...
- 2,036
22
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How do I run an adventure with the party in competition with an NPC party in a race for the MacGuffin?
I'm looking at the next leg of our campaign being a "race for the MacGuffin" scenario. The PCs (Rolemaster) have been chasing an evil sorceress for a while now. She is currently on her own but will ...
- 321
5
votes
1
answer
193
views
Ideal group size for a murder/horror mystery [closed]
I am writing a short murder/horror mystery adventure. System will be D&D 5e, and players will be level 2 (I plan to give them the 3rd level during the adventure). There will be some strong DM ...
- 12.4k
0
votes
1
answer
129
views
How can I write up interesting filler for my campaign? [closed]
At the end of the fourth session, just yesterday, I actually ran out of content for the session almost an hour before I thought I would.
So I'm going to employ the old 'Adventurer's Guild' trope to ...
- 315
2
votes
0
answers
70
views
Need a simulation of a lost recording related to a murder mystery game realted to the murder on former UN secretary [closed]
I'm a scout leader in Sweden and I'm preparing a murder mystery for my scouts. We prepare simulated tasks for them so that they gain more intel so that they can solve the mystery of the death of Dag ...
- 21
42
votes
7
answers
7k
views
How to guide my players into realizing they have multiple options available for an encounter?
For my next session with my PCs, I'm planning to have them witness an attack on an NPC that's intended to hook them the adventure. The plan is for the party to encounter his daughter, who also has a ...
- 3,070