Man, same story here. Bought a box of AD&D modules for $1 at a garage sale, converted them to 3.5 and used them as "side quests" or adapted them to our homebrew campaign
Seems to be loads of people that are commenting on the so called choppy footage. What you are actually seeing is that Seth now moves faster than a regular person could possibly hope to see smoothly. It is a class feature that he has now that he hit lv20 GM.
"Your players know how you think" First I was skeptical, but this is very true. It doesn't even take years. Humans start looking for patterns right away, and you may not think you are being uniform, you definitely are
To those concerned, his shirt reads as follows. *It's true.* I'm an evil, twisted, sadistic genius with delusions of grandeur, bent on the total humiliation of those around me. I kill without reason or warning. I set impossible goals, and then I raise impenetrable barriers to the advancement of any who dare to challenge my supreme authority. I change the rules to suit my every whim. The only thing I can be relied upon to do is ensure tgat no one has a fair chance. I am no mere tin-plated dictator; even the laws of physics cannot deter me. My godlike powers are without limit, and I use them freely and capriciously. Your abject surrender and worshipful adulation will not save you from my wrath... forever. It is futile to appeal to my better nature, for I have none. I will not keep your secrets, I will not try to soften the blows of misfortune, and I will never fail to heap insult upon injury. Your doom has been sealed: *I am your Game Master.* Also, as always, an awesome video to go with your awesome shirt.
"As dungeon masters, we are only as good as the content we steal from." -Matthew Colville Even if you don't run a module word for word, there are a lot of cool ideas in modules. Thanks for bringing this lesser known concept up, Seth. It really helps those new at running a system get to know the system better and come up with cool ideas to hook the players. 10/10 Goldblums!
@@isaiaharmour6145 belated response, I don't know the exact episode, but I'd think it is fairly early in his "Running the Game" Playlist. He's got like 90 or so 1hr+ episodes. Real good podcast material for work or travel.
I'm interested in knowing why you both don't use modules and also agree GMs should use them. Did you start out using modules and eventually outgrow them? Did you learn everything the hard way and wish you'd started with modules? Just curious.
@@Dorian_sapiens Doelie only said he writes 100% of his campaign, but that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't use modules. You can "use" modules without necessarily taking anything directly from them. Perhaps you are just getting an idea of pace, setting or theme. Perhaps you take a trap or encounter idea and reframe it. You might take no idea from a module whatsoever but still learn a lot by reading one. :)
Not op but i stand on the same side of the curve. Personally i like writing all of my stuff because some of my players are either also dms or have some experience with rpgs, so the possibility exists that they have already played/heard of/know the module i'm running. Now, i trust my players not to metagame, but also i don't want them feeling bad because, let's say, they pass a room with a secret door and don't make the checks to find it. The player knows the doors is there, but the character does not, and that kind of separation breeds discomfort. Still, i think that reading trough modules is an important part of any dm's learning experience, one should always look for ways to improve and modules provide just that, in a variety of ways.
As a person who also writes his own adventures, for me it comes from the want to design. In other words: I like building. And, to be entirely honest, I have this thing about parting with money that the core rulebooks already put a strain on.
@@Dorian_sapiens I know you posted that a year ago, but I can answer that. I think preparing a module is a lot more work than just making my own content. I also really enjoy building worlds and modules don't really fit if you're not in the setting that use.
Been gaming for roughly 40 years. I was an online friend of Gary Gygax and I still buy nearly every module that's released. Even the so called "crappy modules" have something to offer. It could be a new monster, a plot hook, a trap, a really cool villain, etc. Thinking you have all the answers is not only pretentious, it is also wrong. No GM has all the tools. I run a ridiculously good 'vanilla' high-fantasy campaign. If I were to ever attempt a campaign that focused on steampunk or science-fantasy, then I would need a lot of help. Great video and something every new GM should watch.
My DM used to use a mixture of modules and homebrew adventures, and both were great. When I started to DM, I tried both, and the modules helped me learn to write. There are a few people who can read the DM guide and PHB and be a good DM right out the gate, but the majority of beginners would do well to run a few modules first. Great vids!
Hey Seth, i have been following you since you were at roughly 1000 subs. I just wanted to say thanks for all the great content over the years - and for introducing me to Call of Cthulhu. You really are an inspiration.
Seth, you are such a blessing to this community! Thanks for all you do! The picture of all those modules, many of which I own also, brings back so many great memories!
I love modules and my first gaming experience was Keep on the boarderlands, I actually thought that was how a game should go and back in the day telling a story was the last part of the craft and drawing maps on a grid and placing monsters in a maze was where I got my start as a gamemaster. Over the years I have found that modules are constraining only if you let the module control the game world. What I have done over the years is connect modules together in a sandbox setting. Also, what I have done is combine several modules together into one adventure. This works great, You have an end in mind, but how to get to the end is defined by several modules, giving the players some sense of control. These modules help because they do a lot of the legwork, and let you as the gamemaster work on stuff you like to work on. One of my favorite parts of the hobby is drawing maps on my fractal mapper program. I just love Fractal Mapper. So I never use maps from the modules, but certain monsters and rooms are adapted to my maps and my players think its all original stuff and they would never know that 50 to 60 percent of my stuff is lifted from the module. Running a module is about preparation, and at all costs, never run from the book at the table, A rookie mistake I did a long time ago, it never worked out. Instead make the module your own. Make maps and prepare and take the essence of the module but always put your own spin on the module so that you can improv the stuff that you just can not prepare for.
People don't understand that the first session you run a game from a module, that story becomes yours. There's no way, two games will be the same. You HAVE to change things and adapt on the fly, that's what DMing is!
Good video. I've never understood the stigma associated with modules. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't, but they really are just a damn handy tool to have even if I'm not straight up running what's in the pages.
meatguyf I mean I can see the stigma behind them. Like or dislike modules they’re not unique, they’re something tons of people use. Personally I think they’re fine though I think home brew is more popular
100% agree. I especially like the difference between "run" module and "use" module. there are a ton of great ideas out there... even from crappy modules.
You make an awesome case! I have played D&D off and on since 1981 and love many of the ready-made modules. In the last group I played in, all the players were younger and had never been through the Tomb of Horrors. So I decided to run it for them using the version that was printed in Dragon magazine for 5e (because it had not yet been published in a book). I had a lot of fun making tiles for the rooms (esp. the mosaic entrance hall) and props (wall tiles that stand up so they can see the frescoes and the archway of mist out of a pained box with a tea lamp in it making cotton ball "mist" glow, following a model I saw on RUclips). I thought it was important to share this bit of D&D lore with them by initiating them into it with first-hand experience. :D Also...I learned something in a poetry class many years ago: that you need to read poetry in order to be able to write it.
Excellently done. I agree with everything here but most especially "Your Players Know You Better Than You Think" and "Shared War Stories." I try to use published adventures to make sure my players don't get too used to my writing (when I can). Hell, I've even run a couple of non-mythos/non-supernatural scenarios in my Down Darker Trails game just to point out to them that approaching every situation like something sinister is going on is just going to get them into trouble. One of the two had no villain, nothing happening (but a misunderstanding during surgery), and the npcs completely innocent of wrongdoing. Thanks for another fun video.
I personally LOVE modules, and have created great stories using modules and other people's suggestions and ideas. An example is with a group I call 'The Corpse Bride' party. Why? Well, before I answer that, I tell you there are some spoilers for the Fan Made Module: Seven Weddings. If you'd rather play that yourself or wanna check it out first, go to DM's Guild for it, it's low priced and SO good for a short, 3rd Level adventure. Once you do, read below for the most amazing module-based setup that has lead to me preparing for an epic story that, while not 'groundbreaking' is all my own, and three of my personal best NPC characters to date. Okay, into the Corpse Bride Party. The module I used, Seven Weddings, details the trouble that Marcus de' Mandeu, a bachelor in his late 50's- early 60's (yet looking no younger than his late 30's), is having in finding a wife. When he was young, Marcus was engaged to a witch named Lilian, who died in a tragic accident while attempting to enchant their wedding rings. In time, Marcus has attempted to find love, but continually found tragedy as one after another, his other brides all died at the alter, culminating in 6 dead fiances, and one sad bachelor. Enter my party! A pair of human childhood friends (cleric and fighter), an elf ranger stopping in town for supplies, and a half-orc barbarian in self exile. The party is, through various means, either invited to Marcus's latest wedding attempt, or hear the commotion that arises from the wedding when a bunch of ghouls suddenly crash the nuptials. Eventually this rag-tag group figures out that Marcus is cursed by his first fiance to never be married until her restless spirit is appeased. I won't go into ALL the details, but it culminated in my party realizing that Lilian wouldn't be happy until SHE got married. And while the module has clauses for all possible scenarios, it does lean towards assuming that the party will either make Marcus honor his former love and marry her, or that the party will kill her. My party, however, failed the Charisma checks needed to make Marcus marry Lilian, but our half-orc, who had a heart-to-heart at one point with Lilian's spirit at one point prior to this, decided HE would marry her instead. This and a proper cleansing of Lilian's rings not only broke the curse, but Lilian was brought back to life! Where am I going with this? Well, because the half-orc is now married to a necromancer/lich, he's gained a follower character he can roll in combat, and who has become an integral part of the party. All the party members, including the cleric who SHOULD be suspicious of her, think she's great. Because of how endeared they are to Lilian now, who is becoming far removed from the NPC that was detailed in the original module as the party goes forward, I was inspired to create 3 NPC Antagonists who will challenge this group in their faith, their ideals, and especially their loyalty. My NPCs include a cleric of Pelor who's essentially a Pope/Saint type who is loved and respected by all, but who is overzealous in his desire to bring 'light and purity' to the nation. At his side is a paladin who is quintessentially a mosh of Captain America and Wonder Woman in her popularity among the people of the kingdom, and who is loyal to the NPC cleric because he raised her. Third is a multi-class Bloodhunter(yes from Critical Role)/Wizard who has a HATRED for undead, in spite of being a user of necromantic magic due to his tragic backstory. The party's met the Bloodhunter already and know that he hates people who dabble in Death Magic, so they're already freaking out and preparing for what is going to be, with some hope, an epic adversarial chase adventure. And NONE of this would have come about without using a module that someone else made to help kick-start things. Modules work as a great gateway to other things, and hell, if you can merge modules together into a huge story, you end up with an epic campaign your players will remember for ages.
This video is showing me everything that I have in my mind nowadays. I feel the need to refresh my DMing by reading modules. Wished I had seen it 10 years ago. Great video!!
I agree completely with this. I had the same mentality coming from D&D that published modules and adventures were unneccessary. Then I came to Earthdawn, and it changed my entire way of organising adventures. Most fluff books had adventure ideas or actual fleshed out adventures, and running a few opened my eyes to different types of stories within the fantasy genre (ran a few detective style stories, political intrigue and a good chunk of horror). Our most enjoyable campaign was when we played through the Prelude to War campaign book, where the players got caught up in the outbreak of a major conflict in the Earthdawn setting. It was so rewarding that my previous prejudices against premade stuff was obliterated.
Very good advice here! Fun note on the side, since I enjoy investigation and political intrigue (which is quite similar imho), I am the flip side of your expertise, I am a lot less proficient in dungeons and battle based adventuring.
Modules are a great choice. They give you time you don't always have, new perspectives and viewpoints to create own scenarios, give a gaze and look to where you can go wrong in your own scenarios or campaigns. Modules also gives a freedom of choice, to not to be forced to make your own scenarios or campaigns all the time.
This advice is priceless! Personally I love running modules and home brewing content. I get so much inspiration from reading adventures, I don’t know why anyone would shun such valuable rescues.
I usually start reading a module with the intent of reading it all the way through. Then five minutes in, I get inspired and start writing my own stuff.
I like to use mostly for the maps, as they tend to be high-quality and can be used for other things (I've used the castle from the AD&D 2nd edition red box so often I can't remember how many times I've used it, even by accident) and most are instantly able to be retailored to your game. Modules are also good for starting out with a new group or new players. It lets you start out easily and right away, and once you've learned how the players play, you can tailor the game to their style later.
I do homebrew only, this is my 'ism' as I like to create & imagine. I do however like to read through pre-made modules as it does give you some nice ideas & it's great to see what other folk have come up with. Good vid Seth
I absolutely agree! For a about a year back when I was in college I ran a Twilight 2000 campaign in the Free City of Krakow. My best adventure came about because I read a novella called 'The Trumpeter of Krakow' and used elements from it and 'The Maltese Falcon'. My players had a ball running through dark alleys and across open fields pursuing the Philosopher's Stone. And my players made my job easy. They came up with so many crazy plans and ideas I had no trouble creating scenarios. As a matter of fact, the campaign happened in almost real time.
Couldn't agree more. I was a module snob trough my academic years, but once I started working full time they've become a stable of my GM style, initially because I didn't have time to fully plan a full adventure, but now it more to do with adapting them as a framework.
Good video Seth. If you write adventures, you're an author. If you run adventures, you're a DM. Anyone who says you're not a "real DM" unless you run your own content, is disingenuous. Every story has already been told, we're all just rehashing old ground and "stealing" ideas from whatever sources we've consumed. It's a silly and indefensible position. Now, on the other hand... If you don't paint your own miniatures, you're not a real DM :P
Nah, not every story has been told... yet. Few decades of role-playing and some stuff has come up that I have never heard of before or seen prior. Not just weird stuff, but situations and odd characters far beyond the norm. Rpgs won't just fall into the same seven rehashed story types over and over like some more stale and samey forms of media.
Yeah it's like arguing that writing a book is more fun than reading one - how do you even compare the two? When playing a module GM can experience the novelty of someone else's talent as much as the players (if not more so due to the added challenge of running the damn thing).
Wow, this is such a truth emerging. I must admit I developed that attitude pretty soon in my "career". It's similar to the "anti-preset" bunch from audio or graphics producers, which I also fallen to. But now growing up I completely came back to senses abou it. But for mastering, I think I'm still there with one foot. Especially since I tend to run systems like World of Apocalypse where you're not supposed to have a script from the start. But really, thinking about that in the way you just showed, it makes alot of sense to still read modules and understand the various schemes and just immerse in them. Thank you for clearly showing a not so obvious truth. Btw awesome t-shirt
The points that you Name is exactly why I loved Dungeon magazine. I ran about 1-3 Adventures out it as is (besides the fantastic Savage Tide adventure path) but the ideas you got to plunder were priceless.
Love that quote! I am currently reading that book! XD And i do believe you are right in applying it. Ive also started living by the modified quote: If you can't "steal like an artist" or writer, steal like a good GM.
One thing I’ve found is even if you have a great imagination for fantasy or whatever your setting is, and can come up with great plots and characters, at least for me there is a lot you can learn about structure and techniques that make for specifically for good RPG adventures... the different tactics involved are different from simply being able to tell a good story. I’ve always written my own even in my younger days and that led to me feeling free to modify modules or work them into my own campaign. EDIT: after watching your video you seem to be referring to what I am talking about as “tools” for your toolbox as a DM and that’s a good analogy.
I've been playing since 1977 and still I use modules a lot, sometimes mostly wholesale as "side quests" but much more commonly integrated into my campaign world and overall storyline. I don't mind which edition, I don't even mind what game systems - you can find good ideas everywhere. I commonly mix and match elements from different modules into an adventure for my players, taking the most interesting/fun parts (even just sections of maps) and overlaying the themes and plot of my campaign to knit everything together into something cohesive. The classic modules like "Dragonlance" are just worth playing through as standalones - though, in that case, that's a full campaign.
Very, very good advice from what has become to be my favourite RUclips-channel. We have been playing Call of Cthulhu for 15 years (and D&D since the late 1980's) and I have never used a Call-scenario straight out of the box. I have however stolen ideas and set ups like crazy; about ½ of all the scenarios we have completed, were either lightly to heavily modified modules or at the very least based on their basic premise. The rest has been my own, build from scratch, but I love doing that and I realize that is not for everybody.
I used to forgo published modules. I wasn't arrogant about it, I just liked to prepare my own stuff and create my own worlds. Near the end of my time in uni though I picked up a PDF of Plundered Vaults so I could run some WFRP 2e, because I really didn't have any good ideas. I ran For Love of Money and we really enjoyed it. Since then I've enjoyed modules for the time saving they offer, the new ideas, and the opportunity to run a single session of some different. Love that Stephen King quote too, it's spot on.
Great talk, thx. I always try to create my own frame work for campaigns/adventures and filling it with snippets from different modules, plot ideas, and enounters. Works fine for me. Sometimes, when I read modules, I am so amazed about the brilliance in their story elements. I would never have come along of some of their ideas. Modules enrich my adventures for sure.
I only got into a word scrum with another DM about the module/homebrew debate and we settled it with running 2 different adventures, one homebrew and one module and needless to say that the grp enjoyed my by far, not because it was a module but because my style was more enjoyable and a couple of epic moments didnt hurt, lesson learned was like Seth said use all your tools at your beck and call and remember its not always about modules or homebrewing but if you and your grp had an awesome time.
I started DM'ing about two years ago. My group started off with a conversion of The Caverns of Thracia which I had pulled together from an old Judges Guild module I had laying around. It was awesome because it's given me the tools to make my own stuff that flowed out of our experience in that module. I plan on finishing up the campaign with a run through The Dark Tower. It's definitely a good thing to have a pool of ideas and scenarios to draw from.
Great video. Totally agree: great chefs don't avoid other restaurants, they specifically visit them to be inspired. At the end when pitching your book you sounded sort of like Matt Marcer's Pumat Sol and I half expected you to add "Respectfully" in there a few times 😁
Another great video (content-wise, that is :) ) I 100% agree with you once again! And yes, folks, Seth's novels are really great. Especially the audio books are great! I'm Currently to finish my 2nd pass of the four novels :D
Agree 100%. I've come across some neat little dungeons in modules, nice traps, puzzles, riddles, and some very difficult situations that have, alas, killed off a pc or two when thrust upon players. I use them for all of the above, new campaign ideas, and themes. I also will pilfer module dungeons and use those to save time. Heartily recommend them.
Thanks for this one, Seth. I started running games in 1985, and never ran a module until 2013. Now they are a frequent thing for me, as I've learned to really enjoy different writers styles and ideas. I still do homebrew stuff as well, but I for one don't really do well at writing investigations... and since Call of Cthulhu is my favourite game I run a lot of Investigation Modules!
I never run modules, but I do like to pull them apart, and drop bits of them into my own homebrew adventures. Transplanting a villain, location or trap into something I've made can save a lot of time. Where I back away from running modules is that it can be difficult to fit them into my world, since most of the modules I've read require starting condition my world just doesn't provide. I am thinking of running "Dungeon of the Mad Mage" as it's own thing, in a vacuum. It seems like a solid funhouse dungeon, and I have a desire to run one of those...
I have a tough time reading and with retention and find it easier to really write out a lot of my own content but it definitely helps to get ideas and concepts out of a module or start from the book and just let the game takeover and prep it session by session. Those are my best games tbh.
I have been using Modules as imagination fodder since the mid-80's. The worst thing to do is to run them as-written. The best thing to do is strip out what you like and run that! I ignored my own advice when 5E came out and we tried to run the Rise of Tiamat campaign as written. It was terrible for our group! I saved the day by tossing the book near the end and coming up with something that was right in our wheelhouse. These days I am loving the Modiphius Conan adventures for inspiration (thanks, Seth, for getting me on to that!) as well as Schwalb's Shadow of the Demon Lord. Oh, and CoC adventures can make phenomenal Dread scenarios!
I was all ready to completley disgree in the comments. But you made a GREAT Point! Modules are great _to read_ because they give excellent ideas that wouldn't have occurred to the GM without them. And they are fun to read! Yet I would still say it's more fulfilling to run your own stories and worlds...But there is a huge treasure trove of great ideas out there to recombine.
I agree wholeheartedly with this! I primarily homebrew (have run some modules) but I still pick up a lot and borrow ideas from them - often for different systems than the module was originally written in
Thanks Seth for another great video. I'm not worried about other GMs that have unwarranted elitism with control issues. I like prewritten modules because they are inspiring and give me a start on actually playing the game as I have limited time with work and family life. Looking forward to your next video!
Perfect example: Zak Smith's "Vornheim". Revolutionary city mechanics with three awesome scenarios whose principal plot and mechanics are so simple to be pulled apart, yet elegant enough to be played out of the book.
I've been running games for over 30 years. I was very guilty of this as I always thought modules were for lazy game masters. However, after watching your reviews for Call of Cthulhu, I've taken your advice to Heart. Not only have I fell in love with Call of Cthulhu, but the modules are so very well written. I actually enjoyed being a keeper, because most of the work is already done for me. I'll have to do is make some minor changes to fit my group and Bam! Game On!
Dude, I love your videos. I don't always follow what you do, it does open my mind to other possibilities that I may not have thought of had I not watched them. I am currently running a game for the first time in 25 years. Your videos have given me thoughts on how I might handle a situation if it comes up. At least i am prepared if it happens. I am running a module and originally was trying to railroad the party to stay on task. I have since stopped forcing scenarios to happen like in the module, and they are now in a module prime setting. So, if in the future they come across someone who has run or played it the two may not recognize them as the same one. The party took a small detail about a minor NPC and now have had to create a separate side quest for it.
Well you've convinced me. I got my start in DND in college and everyone only used home brew and that has continued. When doing call of Cthulhu (how I found this channel), I've rather only used modules (due to me not having seen others do it before trying it but also due to increased nuance of intrigue stories and not wanting to write a small book for my players). Now I feel like looking into some DND modules, especially as you stated your worst area of expertise was, political tales. It sounds so foreign to me, where all my DND games have been righteous quests basically, but as you said, new ideas can improve your skillset.
Really love your channel Seth. You give great advice in an interesting and humorous way. Most importantly you give me great ideas for things to do and use in my own games.
I have to say that while I try to write most of my own material, I still comb over every gaming supplement I can get my hands on. Even for systems I'm not running, or don't own. I still have stacks of books( bestiaries, a copy of world's largest dungeon, and plenty of setting primers) for various fantasy systems that I've literally never run but continue to borrow and learn from
I’ve read and played in several modules. I prefer original stories but have definitely borrowed ideas from modules and campaigns as well as books and movies. Modules often feel a bit dry, so even if I run one, it will probably have a number of changes for flavor or a major twist. Wonderful tools and nothing’s wrong with running them. I have to say I like your style
Great video! I have been using modules for inspiration, and running them, since I first started GMing in 1990. I started with the intro adventure in the WEG Star Wars RPG (1E) where the PCs are new recruits to the Rebel Alliance and have to escape an Imperial ambush in a mine. Suffice to say I wasn't familiar enough with the rules, but my players and I had a great time. Over the years I've plundered modules for ideas, read them to learn more about a setting, and run quite a few. I've learned how to identify good modules from bad ones, and how to improve on bad modules and how to learn from the good ones.
Ive never had any luck with D&D moudules. However, when I read the pathfinder modules ( Adventure path) I was like hey this is awesome. I now use Modules as a base to build upon. Giving me more time to build up detail words without getting overwhelmed
I've been using printed scenarios for 20 years. Having a full time job and a family doesn't leave me with time to write my own and game too. Besides, some of my best games have been from printed scenario books
I ran the last few sessions of White Plume Mountain. Our party Turned the vampire to steal Whelm, only to get blocked by the Efreeti at the exit. The party ended up making their escape by using Wave's Cube of Force ability to survive getting erupted out of the volcano (that probably should've killed the party anyway, but the rule of cool applied). Unfortunately, the dice decided that it was nighttime in the overworld, so the party had to deal with the vampire again as they tried to gather their mounts.
Jzst had 3 modules combuned into 1 long story that i play with my ppl for about 5 months now. Had some homebrew stuff thrown in to bind rhem together and everyone loves it.
I started DMing homebrew. I did try to run a module not too long ago, but I really, really didn't like it. I'm the kind of DM that likes to wing it and let my players freely roam my cities and wilderness. I felt like using modules involves a lot more prep work than homebrew, because you have to memorize what's going to happen in the next session or be leaving through the book constantly to answer questions your players ask
Great video Seth! There's a common conversation that emerged below, that would be a great topic. Structured story/adventure vs loose/collaborative style. Personally, I find that "structure" has the greatest chance for an apex session. Collaborative can often be better than a poorly written adventure, however, I don't find that they can match a well prepared story. Reason: people aren't nearly as good at "improvising" as they probably think they are. Lot's of "um...uh...you know...like". Also, there's very little chance of a killer "game of thrones" level spider-web of info when it's "off the cuff". I believe that "names" are the single most important element in RPG's. A good name is like a great picture. It not only gives us some info on the NPC, but also facilitates the ultimate and most basic aspect of immersion. With this in mind...names off-the-cuff rarely hit all the marks. It's too easy to be silly, trite or just repetitive. I probably put more effort into naming my NPCs and locales than any other element of my adventures. Now, "structure" doesn't have to mean "100% railroading"...just that you have a framework to fall back on. I tend to treat it as my "filler" for any holes that the players leave. I know from the start that I'll be lucky if 50% of what I have planned actually happens. And that's ok...I want my players to have fun. But if you have a detailed thread, you have an anchor...even when they derail the adventure...you STILL have an anchor. And "anchors" are continuity...and continuity helps immersion. - Keep up the great work!
Modules are amazing! Since I moved to mostly GMing(Pathfinder) online, I exclusively run Modules/Adventure Paths. It's so much easier to run a long term game, especially with strangers, when everybody knows ahead of time what kind of game/style it's gonna be.
I play table top rpgs for 25 years now. A huge part of that time as a gm and I never used modules until I started playing Cthulhu a few weeks ago ("what took you so long?" I know) and I read Crimson Letters just out of curiosity. Well nlwe are playing that one now and we're having a blast. I will definitely start to use them frequently from now and still feel free to add own ideas.
Great video Seth. I've been leaning on modules lately and feeling a bizarre sense of guilt about it. This made me realize that was foolish. Right now I don't have all the planning time I want, so I am just using a different tool. Thanks.
I wouldn't be able to creae the quality of content, including my entire campaign setting, if I didn't run the tons of modules and handful of settings that I had. Those modules and settings taught me every preference, shortcoming, and strength that I had when trying to write for myself in those early years and undoubtedly pushed me to write and prepare to my strengths, but also called attention to the things I could improve. All in all, they allowed me to become a better writer, storyteller, and GM.
Thanks for this video. I run modules almost exclusively, because as a working professional adult, who also has a social life, I don’t have time to write out adventures, let alone campaigns. That said, I have never run a module straight up. To the point where I don’t mind if players have been through them before. As an example, keep on the borderlands where the three goblin races own half the valley, the gnolls allied with the Orcs, and both groups effectively serve and raid for the clerics, who I replaced with the Earth Elemental Priests from T1-4. A troll replaced the ogre and working with one of the priests is farming the oozes into a growing collection of ceramic vases and hunting down the Minotaurs who refuse to submit. Oh, and the kobolds collapsed the main entrance to their lair and have a small sized tunnel allowing them to come and go and practice the magic they are being taught by a dragon living far away, but whom intends to claim the caverns eventually. This offers opportunities for alliances and treachery while building a threat to the keep that the Earth temple wants to own and use as a base to assault T1-4 second level and drive the other temples into subservience. Toss in a glamoured dark elf, and make the mad hermit Otis on a deep cover mission, and it’s a whole different adventure.
Modules are fantastic. Especially ones that present a setting. Basically I love any module that has a village and half a dozen wilderness locations regardless of anything else. "Oh, 70%-90% of the boring work done? Yes please." There are also modules out there that are HARDER than making the stuff up yourself. I challenge anyone to run Rough Night at Three Feathers properly without basically memorizing it and it's a very short module. In an Inn. With 7 concurrent plots going on around the PCs. And things develop as time goes on. So while the PCs are chit chatting and strategizing, time advances and everything changes. Their problem and your problem is keeping up with all the events unfolding. It's like orchestrating a long single tracking shot for an entire movie. That adventure is brilliant and exhausting. I'm checking out those two cyberpunk modules you mentioned, I never got into cyberpunk but they sound interesting.
I'm still a pretty new gm and for my first campaign I didn't use a modual at all. It unfortunately crashed and burned but I learned from it and decided to use a modual for my latest campaign. Me and my dnd group are now having a lot more fun thanks to the change :)
I enjoy running modules, but I like using them to do about 80% of the work for me, and customize beyond that. I also enjoy writing up campaign journals, and your last point about shared stories means that there are those who can enjoy reading said journals to see how my players(or I as a player in some cases) approached them.
Completely agree that reading/running modules improves your game. That being said, the reason I don't like modules is architectural: most I have seen either suffer from over-linearity or from insufficient signposting - I've seen few that hit that sweet spot in the middle where the GM knows what's "supposed" to be happening, but also how to adapt it to keep up with player decisions.
I have had problems running modules in 5e for a long time. Thing is I love doing worldbuilding and writing stories that fit within that world. It was only recently that i started running Lost Mines of Phandelver for a group of friends. I repurposed a lot of things and adapted it so that it could fit in my world, but it waas essentialy the same; and as soon as i started i knew something was different. I had run for them before and the game was a bit dry since it was my first time DMing and i had no idea of how to do anything, yet i wanted to write my own stories in my own world... but now the players were attentive, the places were cohesive and i started taking notes about the structure of the adventure, how it was written and planned, and a couple of weeks in i ran my best session ever, the players were excited, invested in the story... the only thing they werent feeling too hot about was my world. This was a heavy hit for me, but i realized my worlds were not half as good as i thought, and neither were my precious stories. So i decided to start over with a new game, reading a bunch of settings and other adventures to know what good design was about, and the process was smoother and the players were really enjyoing it. i think what im trying to say is that whatever you are doing, or trying to do/learn, do not underestimate other people, and what they have to say and do. Perhaps it seems odd or useless, but there is almost always a good reason behind it. No one was born already knowing how to GM.
I look forward to watching this. I've been trying to bring to attention that at least some of the magazine published modules (Namely those published in Challenge Magazine (GDW) and White Wolf Magazine for Call of Cthulhu are available again. A couple of them I'd judge to be good campaign starters and there is at least one that could be inserted into a campaign with little prep. Some others try to squeeze too much into the space given or just lack that spark.
I have been a DM sence 1988, I always use modulus as the bones/scaffolding to build my campaigns on. Filling in the meat with story tailor written to my players. I em currently running a 2nd ed D&D campaign for a table of 6 players brand new to TTRPGs. We are having a blast, im running all my fave modules( 1ist and second ed) woven to gether with what the players do. We started with the classic first ed modual N4 Treasure hunt. I love this modual as a start, yha I know the 0 lvl thing is controversial. So a couple of sessions ago one of my players came in very exited, they had gotten talking to an older coworker of theirs about D&D and low in behold, they to had (of corse) played Treasure hunt. They were so exited that even though the way I had run it was different then the way their friends DM had run it, that they had this shared adventure to compare,and discuss, and there co worker so full of nostalgia, and wounder that this young person had was playing second ed and had experienced one of the classics. Shared war stories are great for giving generations of players something to talk about instead of addition wars arguments lol.
I'm not sure if this is a compliment or a very clever jab at how rough and outdated I am in both thought and video technical ability. No need to answer. I prefer the mystery.
I’ve been running D&D for a long time but only recently have started running modules. I’ve never had anything against modules mind you, I just like the freedom of my own stories and worried players also have access to modules and could read ahead or hear spoilers etc... It was a pretty big mistake and I’m glad I’ve corrected it.
I use modules all the time. The group will do their thing, then the module changes due to what they've done. I currently run games on Roll20 and I just ran the 'Thicker than Blood' module for Cyberpunk 2020, and it's repercussions continue to be felt in the campaign now. I'm sure my running of the scenario in that book was different--and yet the same--as it has been run in other groups. So many NPCs for instance were prepped but never sought out by players--I re-purposed them down the road; no use in wasting characters with stats. Other NPCs were treated as less important than they "should" have been while still others were outright killed off--it is cyberpunk after all. Just like a homebrew story, most modules won't survive contact with the players anyway, so there's still plenty of creative things and general prep that I have to do to run, and that's good enough for me.
I dm for a 5e game and i've been re-purposing a lot of modules to build up on my lore and history. i'm currently running the 4e module Orcs of stonefang pass and they're none the wiser. they had an absolute blast. they had a battle on a broken up bridge over a raging river going down a water fall against harpies using their songs to lure them onto the bridge and knock them over the falls. guaranteed death for a merchant caravan, but a great way to get on an adventurers badside. only one character made their save against the song. one character failed all his saves and fell down the falls but was safe because he was a monk. he then rolled several d20s to get back into the game and climb back up. they had an absolute blast and i was laughing my ass off the whole time. also had a dwarf that used a greatsword as a knife, a trident as a fork and a greataxe as a spoon to flavor up the modules set-up and they took to him like a dwarf to ale
I learned some of these lessons when I picked up a book of adventures for the original d6 Star Wars RPG. I was playing d20 Star Wars at the time, so I only planned on mining the book for some cool adventure hooks; but being able to slowly, carefully study a well written module for the first time was really eye-opening.
As someone who is only 3 sessions into their GM career I love modules. And almost all of the modules I’ve read through seem super adaptable. Feel like you’d have to be kind of crazy to run one word for word
Man, same story here. Bought a box of AD&D modules for $1 at a garage sale, converted them to 3.5 and used them as "side quests" or adapted them to our homebrew campaign
Seems to be loads of people that are commenting on the so called choppy footage. What you are actually seeing is that Seth now moves faster than a regular person could possibly hope to see smoothly. It is a class feature that he has now that he hit lv20 GM.
"Your players know how you think"
First I was skeptical, but this is very true. It doesn't even take years. Humans start looking for patterns right away, and you may not think you are being uniform, you definitely are
To those concerned, his shirt reads as follows.
*It's true.*
I'm an evil, twisted, sadistic genius with delusions of grandeur, bent on the total humiliation of those around me. I kill without reason or warning. I set impossible goals, and then I raise impenetrable barriers to the advancement of any who dare to challenge my supreme authority. I change the rules to suit my every whim. The only thing I can be relied upon to do is ensure tgat no one has a fair chance. I am no mere tin-plated dictator; even the laws of physics cannot deter me. My godlike powers are without limit, and I use them freely and capriciously. Your abject surrender and worshipful adulation will not save you from my wrath... forever. It is futile to appeal to my better nature, for I have none. I will not keep your secrets, I will not try to soften the blows of misfortune, and I will never fail to heap insult upon injury. Your doom has been sealed:
*I am your Game Master.*
Also, as always, an awesome video to go with your awesome shirt.
Thank you!!! Now I want to find this shirt
Need this shirt.
People are like you are why I’m not dead yet.
This was the reason I scrolled through the comments
When I saw the shirt I was like, “Hey! I have that shirt too!”
"As dungeon masters, we are only as good as the content we steal from." -Matthew Colville
Even if you don't run a module word for word, there are a lot of cool ideas in modules. Thanks for bringing this lesser known concept up, Seth. It really helps those new at running a system get to know the system better and come up with cool ideas to hook the players.
10/10 Goldblums!
What video did he say this in? I want to watch it!
@@isaiaharmour6145 belated response, I don't know the exact episode, but I'd think it is fairly early in his "Running the Game" Playlist. He's got like 90 or so 1hr+ episodes.
Real good podcast material for work or travel.
Pseudo-profound bullshit. No, you can create good stuff. Matt Colville is just confessing that he's better at recycling than creating.
@@magonus195 perfect profile pic.
@@madsam7582 Thanks.
As “one of those game masters” that always writes 100% of their adventures, I still agree with every single word you said here seth!
I'm interested in knowing why you both don't use modules and also agree GMs should use them. Did you start out using modules and eventually outgrow them? Did you learn everything the hard way and wish you'd started with modules? Just curious.
@@Dorian_sapiens Doelie only said he writes 100% of his campaign, but that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't use modules.
You can "use" modules without necessarily taking anything directly from them. Perhaps you are just getting an idea of pace, setting or theme. Perhaps you take a trap or encounter idea and reframe it. You might take no idea from a module whatsoever but still learn a lot by reading one. :)
Not op but i stand on the same side of the curve. Personally i like writing all of my stuff because some of my players are either also dms or have some experience with rpgs, so the possibility exists that they have already played/heard of/know the module i'm running. Now, i trust my players not to metagame, but also i don't want them feeling bad because, let's say, they pass a room with a secret door and don't make the checks to find it. The player knows the doors is there, but the character does not, and that kind of separation breeds discomfort.
Still, i think that reading trough modules is an important part of any dm's learning experience, one should always look for ways to improve and modules provide just that, in a variety of ways.
As a person who also writes his own adventures, for me it comes from the want to design. In other words: I like building.
And, to be entirely honest, I have this thing about parting with money that the core rulebooks already put a strain on.
@@Dorian_sapiens I know you posted that a year ago, but I can answer that. I think preparing a module is a lot more work than just making my own content. I also really enjoy building worlds and modules don't really fit if you're not in the setting that use.
Been gaming for roughly 40 years. I was an online friend of Gary Gygax and I still buy nearly every module that's released. Even the so called "crappy modules" have something to offer. It could be a new monster, a plot hook, a trap, a really cool villain, etc.
Thinking you have all the answers is not only pretentious, it is also wrong. No GM has all the tools. I run a ridiculously good 'vanilla' high-fantasy campaign. If I were to ever attempt a campaign that focused on steampunk or science-fantasy, then I would need a lot of help.
Great video and something every new GM should watch.
My DM used to use a mixture of modules and homebrew adventures, and both were great. When I started to DM, I tried both, and the modules helped me learn to write. There are a few people who can read the DM guide and PHB and be a good DM right out the gate, but the majority of beginners would do well to run a few modules first. Great vids!
Hey Seth, i have been following you since you were at roughly 1000 subs. I just wanted to say thanks for all the great content over the years - and for introducing me to Call of Cthulhu. You really are an inspiration.
Seth, you are such a blessing to this community! Thanks for all you do! The picture of all those modules, many of which I own also, brings back so many great memories!
modules are awesome , im 52 years old been dming since the 70s and some of the great modules are better than anything i could come up with
I love modules and my first gaming experience was Keep on the boarderlands, I actually thought that was how a game should go and back in the day telling a story was the last part of the craft and drawing maps on a grid and placing monsters in a maze was where I got my start as a gamemaster.
Over the years I have found that modules are constraining only if you let the module control the game world. What I have done over the years is connect modules together in a sandbox setting. Also, what I have done is combine several modules together into one adventure. This works great, You have an end in mind, but how to get to the end is defined by several modules, giving the players some sense of control. These modules help because they do a lot of the legwork, and let you as the gamemaster work on stuff you like to work on.
One of my favorite parts of the hobby is drawing maps on my fractal mapper program. I just love Fractal Mapper. So I never use maps from the modules, but certain monsters and rooms are adapted to my maps and my players think its all original stuff and they would never know that 50 to 60 percent of my stuff is lifted from the module.
Running a module is about preparation, and at all costs, never run from the book at the table, A rookie mistake I did a long time ago, it never worked out. Instead make the module your own. Make maps and prepare and take the essence of the module but always put your own spin on the module so that you can improv the stuff that you just can not prepare for.
IMO this is one of more important videos of yours, hidden behind a low view count. Completely humbled me as an old DM. Thanks.
Seth, great video thanks for taking up the cause against elitism.
People don't understand that the first session you run a game from a module, that story becomes yours. There's no way, two games will be the same. You HAVE to change things and adapt on the fly, that's what DMing is!
No game plan survives contact with the players.
Good video. I've never understood the stigma associated with modules. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't, but they really are just a damn handy tool to have even if I'm not straight up running what's in the pages.
meatguyf I mean I can see the stigma behind them. Like or dislike modules they’re not unique, they’re something tons of people use. Personally I think they’re fine though I think home brew is more popular
100% agree. I especially like the difference between "run" module and "use" module. there are a ton of great ideas out there... even from crappy modules.
A crappy module can have very good/bad traps. 😉
I do a mixture of 75% module, and 25% homebrewing ...
YES!
I remember watching Seventh Voyage of Sinbad with eyes as big as globes.
You make an awesome case! I have played D&D off and on since 1981 and love many of the ready-made modules. In the last group I played in, all the players were younger and had never been through the Tomb of Horrors. So I decided to run it for them using the version that was printed in Dragon magazine for 5e (because it had not yet been published in a book). I had a lot of fun making tiles for the rooms (esp. the mosaic entrance hall) and props (wall tiles that stand up so they can see the frescoes and the archway of mist out of a pained box with a tea lamp in it making cotton ball "mist" glow, following a model I saw on RUclips). I thought it was important to share this bit of D&D lore with them by initiating them into it with first-hand experience. :D Also...I learned something in a poetry class many years ago: that you need to read poetry in order to be able to write it.
You changed my entire view point on modules. Thank you, sincerely
Excellently done. I agree with everything here but most especially "Your Players Know You Better Than You Think" and "Shared War Stories." I try to use published adventures to make sure my players don't get too used to my writing (when I can). Hell, I've even run a couple of non-mythos/non-supernatural scenarios in my Down Darker Trails game just to point out to them that approaching every situation like something sinister is going on is just going to get them into trouble. One of the two had no villain, nothing happening (but a misunderstanding during surgery), and the npcs completely innocent of wrongdoing. Thanks for another fun video.
I personally LOVE modules, and have created great stories using modules and other people's suggestions and ideas. An example is with a group I call 'The Corpse Bride' party. Why? Well, before I answer that, I tell you there are some spoilers for the Fan Made Module: Seven Weddings. If you'd rather play that yourself or wanna check it out first, go to DM's Guild for it, it's low priced and SO good for a short, 3rd Level adventure. Once you do, read below for the most amazing module-based setup that has lead to me preparing for an epic story that, while not 'groundbreaking' is all my own, and three of my personal best NPC characters to date.
Okay, into the Corpse Bride Party. The module I used, Seven Weddings, details the trouble that Marcus de' Mandeu, a bachelor in his late 50's- early 60's (yet looking no younger than his late 30's), is having in finding a wife. When he was young, Marcus was engaged to a witch named Lilian, who died in a tragic accident while attempting to enchant their wedding rings. In time, Marcus has attempted to find love, but continually found tragedy as one after another, his other brides all died at the alter, culminating in 6 dead fiances, and one sad bachelor.
Enter my party! A pair of human childhood friends (cleric and fighter), an elf ranger stopping in town for supplies, and a half-orc barbarian in self exile. The party is, through various means, either invited to Marcus's latest wedding attempt, or hear the commotion that arises from the wedding when a bunch of ghouls suddenly crash the nuptials. Eventually this rag-tag group figures out that Marcus is cursed by his first fiance to never be married until her restless spirit is appeased. I won't go into ALL the details, but it culminated in my party realizing that Lilian wouldn't be happy until SHE got married. And while the module has clauses for all possible scenarios, it does lean towards assuming that the party will either make Marcus honor his former love and marry her, or that the party will kill her. My party, however, failed the Charisma checks needed to make Marcus marry Lilian, but our half-orc, who had a heart-to-heart at one point with Lilian's spirit at one point prior to this, decided HE would marry her instead. This and a proper cleansing of Lilian's rings not only broke the curse, but Lilian was brought back to life!
Where am I going with this? Well, because the half-orc is now married to a necromancer/lich, he's gained a follower character he can roll in combat, and who has become an integral part of the party. All the party members, including the cleric who SHOULD be suspicious of her, think she's great. Because of how endeared they are to Lilian now, who is becoming far removed from the NPC that was detailed in the original module as the party goes forward, I was inspired to create 3 NPC Antagonists who will challenge this group in their faith, their ideals, and especially their loyalty. My NPCs include a cleric of Pelor who's essentially a Pope/Saint type who is loved and respected by all, but who is overzealous in his desire to bring 'light and purity' to the nation. At his side is a paladin who is quintessentially a mosh of Captain America and Wonder Woman in her popularity among the people of the kingdom, and who is loyal to the NPC cleric because he raised her. Third is a multi-class Bloodhunter(yes from Critical Role)/Wizard who has a HATRED for undead, in spite of being a user of necromantic magic due to his tragic backstory. The party's met the Bloodhunter already and know that he hates people who dabble in Death Magic, so they're already freaking out and preparing for what is going to be, with some hope, an epic adversarial chase adventure.
And NONE of this would have come about without using a module that someone else made to help kick-start things. Modules work as a great gateway to other things, and hell, if you can merge modules together into a huge story, you end up with an epic campaign your players will remember for ages.
This video is showing me everything that I have in my mind nowadays. I feel the need to refresh my DMing by reading modules. Wished I had seen it 10 years ago. Great video!!
I agree completely with this. I had the same mentality coming from D&D that published modules and adventures were unneccessary. Then I came to Earthdawn, and it changed my entire way of organising adventures. Most fluff books had adventure ideas or actual fleshed out adventures, and running a few opened my eyes to different types of stories within the fantasy genre (ran a few detective style stories, political intrigue and a good chunk of horror). Our most enjoyable campaign was when we played through the Prelude to War campaign book, where the players got caught up in the outbreak of a major conflict in the Earthdawn setting. It was so rewarding that my previous prejudices against premade stuff was obliterated.
If I had a nickel for every time I had a gamemaster who was proud of their 100% own stuff that was actually 75% uninspiring, boring crap...
Well, to be fair a lot of published material is uninspiring boring crap.
@@dirus3142 ^
You're not wrong. I'm just saying there's a lot of people out there who think they're all strengths. ;)
I'm constantly stealing stuff from things around me
They are good starting points, and modding them helps you learn how to build your own
Very good advice here! Fun note on the side, since I enjoy investigation and political intrigue (which is quite similar imho), I am the flip side of your expertise, I am a lot less proficient in dungeons and battle based adventuring.
They take the offer or they get the rapier/stiletto/.45 in the neck.
Then some poor sod has to figure out *why* 😏
Modules are a great choice. They give you time you don't always have, new perspectives and viewpoints to create own scenarios, give a gaze and look to where you can go wrong in your own scenarios or campaigns. Modules also gives a freedom of choice, to not to be forced to make your own scenarios or campaigns all the time.
This advice is priceless! Personally I love running modules and home brewing content. I get so much inspiration from reading adventures, I don’t know why anyone would shun such valuable rescues.
I usually start reading a module with the intent of reading it all the way through. Then five minutes in, I get inspired and start writing my own stuff.
I like to use mostly for the maps, as they tend to be high-quality and can be used for other things (I've used the castle from the AD&D 2nd edition red box so often I can't remember how many times I've used it, even by accident) and most are instantly able to be retailored to your game.
Modules are also good for starting out with a new group or new players. It lets you start out easily and right away, and once you've learned how the players play, you can tailor the game to their style later.
I do homebrew only, this is my 'ism' as I like to create & imagine. I do however like to read through pre-made modules as it does give you some nice ideas & it's great to see what other folk have come up with. Good vid Seth
I absolutely agree! For a about a year back when I was in college I ran a Twilight 2000 campaign in the Free City of Krakow. My best adventure came about because I read a novella called 'The Trumpeter of Krakow' and used elements from it and 'The Maltese Falcon'. My players had a ball running through dark alleys and across open fields pursuing the Philosopher's Stone. And my players made my job easy. They came up with so many crazy plans and ideas I had no trouble creating scenarios. As a matter of fact, the campaign happened in almost real time.
Couldn't agree more. I was a module snob trough my academic years, but once I started working full time they've become a stable of my GM style, initially because I didn't have time to fully plan a full adventure, but now it more to do with adapting them as a framework.
Good video Seth.
If you write adventures, you're an author.
If you run adventures, you're a DM.
Anyone who says you're not a "real DM" unless you run your own content, is disingenuous. Every story has already been told, we're all just rehashing old ground and "stealing" ideas from whatever sources we've consumed. It's a silly and indefensible position.
Now, on the other hand... If you don't paint your own miniatures, you're not a real DM :P
Tim Bennett
I read somewhere that every single movie ever made revolves around no more that 7 basic plots.
Nah, not every story has been told... yet. Few decades of role-playing and some stuff has come up that I have never heard of before or seen prior.
Not just weird stuff, but situations and odd characters far beyond the norm. Rpgs won't just fall into the same seven rehashed story types over and over like some more stale and samey forms of media.
Yeah it's like arguing that writing a book is more fun than reading one - how do you even compare the two? When playing a module GM can experience the novelty of someone else's talent as much as the players (if not more so due to the added challenge of running the damn thing).
The basic plots have, but one can always find a twist, or stack of twists, no one else has.
Wow, this is such a truth emerging. I must admit I developed that attitude pretty soon in my "career". It's similar to the "anti-preset" bunch from audio or graphics producers, which I also fallen to. But now growing up I completely came back to senses abou it. But for mastering, I think I'm still there with one foot. Especially since I tend to run systems like World of Apocalypse where you're not supposed to have a script from the start. But really, thinking about that in the way you just showed, it makes alot of sense to still read modules and understand the various schemes and just immerse in them. Thank you for clearly showing a not so obvious truth. Btw awesome t-shirt
The points that you Name is exactly why I loved Dungeon magazine. I ran about 1-3 Adventures out it as is (besides the fantastic Savage Tide adventure path) but the ideas you got to plunder were priceless.
Love that quote! I am currently reading that book! XD
And i do believe you are right in applying it.
Ive also started living by the modified quote: If you can't "steal like an artist" or writer, steal like a good GM.
One thing I’ve found is even if you have a great imagination for fantasy or whatever your setting is, and can come up with great plots and characters, at least for me there is a lot you can learn about structure and techniques that make for specifically for good RPG adventures... the different tactics involved are different from simply being able to tell a good story. I’ve always written my own even in my younger days and that led to me feeling free to modify modules or work them into my own campaign.
EDIT: after watching your video you seem to be referring to what I am talking about as “tools” for your toolbox as a DM and that’s a good analogy.
I've been playing since 1977 and still I use modules a lot, sometimes mostly wholesale as "side quests" but much more commonly integrated into my campaign world and overall storyline. I don't mind which edition, I don't even mind what game systems - you can find good ideas everywhere. I commonly mix and match elements from different modules into an adventure for my players, taking the most interesting/fun parts (even just sections of maps) and overlaying the themes and plot of my campaign to knit everything together into something cohesive. The classic modules like "Dragonlance" are just worth playing through as standalones - though, in that case, that's a full campaign.
Very, very good advice from what has become to be my favourite RUclips-channel.
We have been playing Call of Cthulhu for 15 years (and D&D since the late 1980's) and I have never used a Call-scenario straight out of the box. I have however stolen ideas and set ups like crazy; about ½ of all the scenarios we have completed, were either lightly to heavily modified modules or at the very least based on their basic premise. The rest has been my own, build from scratch, but I love doing that and I realize that is not for everybody.
I used to forgo published modules. I wasn't arrogant about it, I just liked to prepare my own stuff and create my own worlds. Near the end of my time in uni though I picked up a PDF of Plundered Vaults so I could run some WFRP 2e, because I really didn't have any good ideas. I ran For Love of Money and we really enjoyed it. Since then I've enjoyed modules for the time saving they offer, the new ideas, and the opportunity to run a single session of some different. Love that Stephen King quote too, it's spot on.
Great talk, thx.
I always try to create my own frame work for campaigns/adventures and filling it with snippets from different modules, plot ideas, and enounters. Works fine for me.
Sometimes, when I read modules, I am so amazed about the brilliance in their story elements. I would never have come along of some of their ideas. Modules enrich my adventures for sure.
I only got into a word scrum with another DM about the module/homebrew debate and we settled it with running 2 different adventures, one homebrew and one module and needless to say that the grp enjoyed my by far, not because it was a module but because my style was more enjoyable and a couple of epic moments didnt hurt, lesson learned was like Seth said use all your tools at your beck and call and remember its not always about modules or homebrewing but if you and your grp had an awesome time.
I started DM'ing about two years ago. My group started off with a conversion of The Caverns of Thracia which I had pulled together from an old Judges Guild module I had laying around. It was awesome because it's given me the tools to make my own stuff that flowed out of our experience in that module. I plan on finishing up the campaign with a run through The Dark Tower. It's definitely a good thing to have a pool of ideas and scenarios to draw from.
Great video. Totally agree: great chefs don't avoid other restaurants, they specifically visit them to be inspired.
At the end when pitching your book you sounded sort of like Matt Marcer's Pumat Sol and I half expected you to add "Respectfully" in there a few times 😁
Another great video (content-wise, that is :) ) I 100% agree with you once again!
And yes, folks, Seth's novels are really great. Especially the audio books are great! I'm Currently to finish my 2nd pass of the four novels :D
I really like the structure of a Module, as opposed to free form chaos.
Agree 100%. I've come across some neat little dungeons in modules, nice traps, puzzles, riddles, and some very difficult situations that have, alas, killed off a pc or two when thrust upon players. I use them for all of the above, new campaign ideas, and themes. I also will pilfer module dungeons and use those to save time. Heartily recommend them.
Thanks for this one, Seth. I started running games in 1985, and never ran a module until 2013. Now they are a frequent thing for me, as I've learned to really enjoy different writers styles and ideas. I still do homebrew stuff as well, but I for one don't really do well at writing investigations... and since Call of Cthulhu is my favourite game I run a lot of Investigation Modules!
I never run modules, but I do like to pull them apart, and drop bits of them into my own homebrew adventures. Transplanting a villain, location or trap into something I've made can save a lot of time. Where I back away from running modules is that it can be difficult to fit them into my world, since most of the modules I've read require starting condition my world just doesn't provide.
I am thinking of running "Dungeon of the Mad Mage" as it's own thing, in a vacuum. It seems like a solid funhouse dungeon, and I have a desire to run one of those...
I have a tough time reading and with retention and find it easier to really write out a lot of my own content but it definitely helps to get ideas and concepts out of a module or start from the book and just let the game takeover and prep it session by session. Those are my best games tbh.
I have been using Modules as imagination fodder since the mid-80's. The worst thing to do is to run them as-written. The best thing to do is strip out what you like and run that! I ignored my own advice when 5E came out and we tried to run the Rise of Tiamat campaign as written. It was terrible for our group! I saved the day by tossing the book near the end and coming up with something that was right in our wheelhouse. These days I am loving the Modiphius Conan adventures for inspiration (thanks, Seth, for getting me on to that!) as well as Schwalb's Shadow of the Demon Lord. Oh, and CoC adventures can make phenomenal Dread scenarios!
I was all ready to completley disgree in the comments. But you made a GREAT Point! Modules are great _to read_ because they give excellent ideas that wouldn't have occurred to the GM without
them. And they are fun to read! Yet I would still say it's more fulfilling to run your own stories and worlds...But there is a huge treasure trove of great ideas out there to recombine.
I misread the title. I thought it was: Why Game Masters Should *Only* Use Modules. I was prepared to be irked. But I stand corrected. Good Video.
I agree wholeheartedly with this! I primarily homebrew (have run some modules) but I still pick up a lot and borrow ideas from them - often for different systems than the module was originally written in
Thanks Seth for another great video. I'm not worried about other GMs that have unwarranted elitism with control issues. I like prewritten modules because they are inspiring and give me a start on actually playing the game as I have limited time with work and family life. Looking forward to your next video!
Perfect example: Zak Smith's "Vornheim". Revolutionary city mechanics with three awesome scenarios whose principal plot and mechanics are so simple to be pulled apart, yet elegant enough to be played out of the book.
I've been running games for over 30 years. I was very guilty of this as I always thought modules were for lazy game masters. However, after watching your reviews for Call of Cthulhu, I've taken your advice to Heart. Not only have I fell in love with Call of Cthulhu, but the modules are so very well written. I actually enjoyed being a keeper, because most of the work is already done for me. I'll have to do is make some minor changes to fit my group and Bam! Game On!
Dude, I love your videos. I don't always follow what you do, it does open my mind to other possibilities that I may not have thought of had I not watched them. I am currently running a game for the first time in 25 years. Your videos have given me thoughts on how I might handle a situation if it comes up. At least i am prepared if it happens. I am running a module and originally was trying to railroad the party to stay on task. I have since stopped forcing scenarios to happen like in the module, and they are now in a module prime setting. So, if in the future they come across someone who has run or played it the two may not recognize them as the same one. The party took a small detail about a minor NPC and now have had to create a separate side quest for it.
Happy to help. Just remember, as long as you and your players are having fun, you're doing it right, no matter what I or anyone else says.
Well you've convinced me. I got my start in DND in college and everyone only used home brew and that has continued. When doing call of Cthulhu (how I found this channel), I've rather only used modules (due to me not having seen others do it before trying it but also due to increased nuance of intrigue stories and not wanting to write a small book for my players). Now I feel like looking into some DND modules, especially as you stated your worst area of expertise was, political tales. It sounds so foreign to me, where all my DND games have been righteous quests basically, but as you said, new ideas can improve your skillset.
2:25 nostalgia brain storm! I DM'd so many of those modules. I had to pause the video and just let it all come back.
Really love your channel Seth. You give great advice in an interesting and humorous way. Most importantly you give me great ideas for things to do and use in my own games.
I have to say that while I try to write most of my own material, I still comb over every gaming supplement I can get my hands on. Even for systems I'm not running, or don't own. I still have stacks of books( bestiaries, a copy of world's largest dungeon, and plenty of setting primers) for various fantasy systems that I've literally never run but continue to borrow and learn from
I’ve read and played in several modules. I prefer original stories but have definitely borrowed ideas from modules and campaigns as well as books and movies. Modules often feel a bit dry, so even if I run one, it will probably have a number of changes for flavor or a major twist. Wonderful tools and nothing’s wrong with running them. I have to say I like your style
Great video! I have been using modules for inspiration, and running them, since I first started GMing in 1990. I started with the intro adventure in the WEG Star Wars RPG (1E) where the PCs are new recruits to the Rebel Alliance and have to escape an Imperial ambush in a mine. Suffice to say I wasn't familiar enough with the rules, but my players and I had a great time. Over the years I've plundered modules for ideas, read them to learn more about a setting, and run quite a few. I've learned how to identify good modules from bad ones, and how to improve on bad modules and how to learn from the good ones.
Well put! I enjoy a good module but when things get twisted and warped from the original text things always get even more interesting
I hope we get an updated version of this someday. A lot of great observations.
Ive never had any luck with D&D moudules. However, when I read the pathfinder modules ( Adventure path) I was like hey this is awesome. I now use Modules as a base to build upon. Giving me more time to build up detail words without getting overwhelmed
Very persuasive Mr. Skorkowski. I have been in the in the modules are dumb camp since 1982 and you have me looking at them again. 😀
I've been using printed scenarios for 20 years. Having a full time job and a family doesn't leave me with time to write my own and game too. Besides, some of my best games have been from printed scenario books
I ran the last few sessions of White Plume Mountain. Our party Turned the vampire to steal Whelm, only to get blocked by the Efreeti at the exit. The party ended up making their escape by using Wave's Cube of Force ability to survive getting erupted out of the volcano (that probably should've killed the party anyway, but the rule of cool applied). Unfortunately, the dice decided that it was nighttime in the overworld, so the party had to deal with the vampire again as they tried to gather their mounts.
I love the “war stories” angle.
Jzst had 3 modules combuned into 1 long story that i play with my ppl for about 5 months now. Had some homebrew stuff thrown in to bind rhem together and everyone loves it.
I love this, but really, the shared war stories part is my very favourite!
I am brasilian. I watched your vídeo and a liked. Congratulations.
I started DMing homebrew. I did try to run a module not too long ago, but I really, really didn't like it. I'm the kind of DM that likes to wing it and let my players freely roam my cities and wilderness. I felt like using modules involves a lot more prep work than homebrew, because you have to memorize what's going to happen in the next session or be leaving through the book constantly to answer questions your players ask
Great video Seth! There's a common conversation that emerged below, that would be a great topic. Structured story/adventure vs loose/collaborative style. Personally, I find that "structure" has the greatest chance for an apex session. Collaborative can often be better than a poorly written adventure, however, I don't find that they can match a well prepared story. Reason: people aren't nearly as good at "improvising" as they probably think they are. Lot's of "um...uh...you know...like". Also, there's very little chance of a killer "game of thrones" level spider-web of info when it's "off the cuff". I believe that "names" are the single most important element in RPG's. A good name is like a great picture. It not only gives us some info on the NPC, but also facilitates the ultimate and most basic aspect of immersion. With this in mind...names off-the-cuff rarely hit all the marks. It's too easy to be silly, trite or just repetitive. I probably put more effort into naming my NPCs and locales than any other element of my adventures. Now, "structure" doesn't have to mean "100% railroading"...just that you have a framework to fall back on. I tend to treat it as my "filler" for any holes that the players leave. I know from the start that I'll be lucky if 50% of what I have planned actually happens. And that's ok...I want my players to have fun. But if you have a detailed thread, you have an anchor...even when they derail the adventure...you STILL have an anchor. And "anchors" are continuity...and continuity helps immersion. - Keep up the great work!
Modules are amazing! Since I moved to mostly GMing(Pathfinder) online, I exclusively run Modules/Adventure Paths. It's so much easier to run a long term game, especially with strangers, when everybody knows ahead of time what kind of game/style it's gonna be.
Nice collection! You can learn a lot from them. They can be a great time saver and can be further enhanced with artwork, handouts and sounds, etc.
I play table top rpgs for 25 years now. A huge part of that time as a gm and I never used modules until I started playing Cthulhu a few weeks ago ("what took you so long?" I know) and I read Crimson Letters just out of curiosity. Well nlwe are playing that one now and we're having a blast. I will definitely start to use them frequently from now and still feel free to add own ideas.
Glad you and your group are having fun with it. Welcome to Call of Cthulhu.
Thank you for this it really increased my confidence as a dm
Your mom is a Saint getting that 1E haul.
One time my mom came back from her yard sale run with a 3' tall toolbox full of 40K figures and bits. Tons of rocket launcher marines.
@@SwiftJusticeMay the Emperor protect your mom
Great video Seth. I've been leaning on modules lately and feeling a bizarre sense of guilt about it. This made me realize that was foolish. Right now I don't have all the planning time I want, so I am just using a different tool. Thanks.
I wouldn't be able to creae the quality of content, including my entire campaign setting, if I didn't run the tons of modules and handful of settings that I had. Those modules and settings taught me every preference, shortcoming, and strength that I had when trying to write for myself in those early years and undoubtedly pushed me to write and prepare to my strengths, but also called attention to the things I could improve. All in all, they allowed me to become a better writer, storyteller, and GM.
Thanks for this video. I run modules almost exclusively, because as a working professional adult, who also has a social life, I don’t have time to write out adventures, let alone campaigns. That said, I have never run a module straight up. To the point where I don’t mind if players have been through them before. As an example, keep on the borderlands where the three goblin races own half the valley, the gnolls allied with the Orcs, and both groups effectively serve and raid for the clerics, who I replaced with the Earth Elemental Priests from T1-4. A troll replaced the ogre and working with one of the priests is farming the oozes into a growing collection of ceramic vases and hunting down the Minotaurs who refuse to submit. Oh, and the kobolds collapsed the main entrance to their lair and have a small sized tunnel allowing them to come and go and practice the magic they are being taught by a dragon living far away, but whom intends to claim the caverns eventually. This offers opportunities for alliances and treachery while building a threat to the keep that the Earth temple wants to own and use as a base to assault T1-4 second level and drive the other temples into subservience. Toss in a glamoured dark elf, and make the mad hermit Otis on a deep cover mission, and it’s a whole different adventure.
Dido. You, my friend, get it. I love modules for all the same reasons.
Modules are fantastic. Especially ones that present a setting. Basically I love any module that has a village and half a dozen wilderness locations regardless of anything else. "Oh, 70%-90% of the boring work done? Yes please."
There are also modules out there that are HARDER than making the stuff up yourself. I challenge anyone to run Rough Night at Three Feathers properly without basically memorizing it and it's a very short module. In an Inn. With 7 concurrent plots going on around the PCs. And things develop as time goes on. So while the PCs are chit chatting and strategizing, time advances and everything changes. Their problem and your problem is keeping up with all the events unfolding. It's like orchestrating a long single tracking shot for an entire movie. That adventure is brilliant and exhausting.
I'm checking out those two cyberpunk modules you mentioned, I never got into cyberpunk but they sound interesting.
".....Now Rise unbound, bearer of the Carrion Crown" (i love paizos APs)
I'm still a pretty new gm and for my first campaign I didn't use a modual at all. It unfortunately crashed and burned but I learned from it and decided to use a modual for my latest campaign. Me and my dnd group are now having a lot more fun thanks to the change :)
I enjoy running modules, but I like using them to do about 80% of the work for me, and customize beyond that.
I also enjoy writing up campaign journals, and your last point about shared stories means that there are those who can enjoy reading said journals to see how my players(or I as a player in some cases) approached them.
Completely agree that reading/running modules improves your game. That being said, the reason I don't like modules is architectural: most I have seen either suffer from over-linearity or from insufficient signposting - I've seen few that hit that sweet spot in the middle where the GM knows what's "supposed" to be happening, but also how to adapt it to keep up with player decisions.
I have had problems running modules in 5e for a long time.
Thing is I love doing worldbuilding and writing stories that fit within that world. It was only recently that i started running Lost Mines of Phandelver for a group of friends.
I repurposed a lot of things and adapted it so that it could fit in my world, but it waas essentialy the same; and as soon as i started i knew something was different. I had run for them before and the game was a bit dry since it was my first time DMing and i had no idea of how to do anything, yet i wanted to write my own stories in my own world... but now the players were attentive, the places were cohesive and i started taking notes about the structure of the adventure, how it was written and planned, and a couple of weeks in i ran my best session ever, the players were excited, invested in the story... the only thing they werent feeling too hot about was my world.
This was a heavy hit for me, but i realized my worlds were not half as good as i thought, and neither were my precious stories. So i decided to start over with a new game, reading a bunch of settings and other adventures to know what good design was about, and the process was smoother and the players were really enjyoing it.
i think what im trying to say is that whatever you are doing, or trying to do/learn, do not underestimate other people, and what they have to say and do. Perhaps it seems odd or useless, but there is almost always a good reason behind it. No one was born already knowing how to GM.
I look forward to watching this. I've been trying to bring to attention that at least some of the magazine published modules (Namely those published in Challenge Magazine (GDW) and White Wolf Magazine for Call of Cthulhu are available again. A couple of them I'd judge to be good campaign starters and there is at least one that could be inserted into a campaign with little prep. Some others try to squeeze too much into the space given or just lack that spark.
I have been a DM sence 1988, I always use modulus as the bones/scaffolding to build my campaigns on. Filling in the meat with story tailor written to my players. I em currently running a 2nd ed D&D campaign for a table of 6 players brand new to TTRPGs. We are having a blast, im running all my fave modules( 1ist and second ed) woven to gether with what the players do. We started with the classic first ed modual N4 Treasure hunt. I love this modual as a start, yha I know the 0 lvl thing is controversial. So a couple of sessions ago one of my players came in very exited, they had gotten talking to an older coworker of theirs about D&D and low in behold, they to had (of corse) played Treasure hunt. They were so exited that even though the way I had run it was different then the way their friends DM had run it, that they had this shared adventure to compare,and discuss, and there co worker so full of nostalgia, and wounder that this young person had was playing second ed and had experienced one of the classics. Shared war stories are great for giving generations of players something to talk about instead of addition wars arguments lol.
I love the feel of Seth's channel, it feels like a RUclips channel that would be around if the 80s if the 80s had RUclips
I'm not sure if this is a compliment or a very clever jab at how rough and outdated I am in both thought and video technical ability.
No need to answer. I prefer the mystery.
@@SSkorkowsky I just like your channel and thought I would say something I thought was funny,either way your response made my day
I’ve been running D&D for a long time but only recently have started running modules. I’ve never had anything against modules mind you, I just like the freedom of my own stories and worried players also have access to modules and could read ahead or hear spoilers etc...
It was a pretty big mistake and I’m glad I’ve corrected it.
I use modules all the time. The group will do their thing, then the module changes due to what they've done. I currently run games on Roll20 and I just ran the 'Thicker than Blood' module for Cyberpunk 2020, and it's repercussions continue to be felt in the campaign now. I'm sure my running of the scenario in that book was different--and yet the same--as it has been run in other groups. So many NPCs for instance were prepped but never sought out by players--I re-purposed them down the road; no use in wasting characters with stats. Other NPCs were treated as less important than they "should" have been while still others were outright killed off--it is cyberpunk after all. Just like a homebrew story, most modules won't survive contact with the players anyway, so there's still plenty of creative things and general prep that I have to do to run, and that's good enough for me.
I dm for a 5e game and i've been re-purposing a lot of modules to build up on my lore and history. i'm currently running the 4e module Orcs of stonefang pass and they're none the wiser. they had an absolute blast. they had a battle on a broken up bridge over a raging river going down a water fall against harpies using their songs to lure them onto the bridge and knock them over the falls. guaranteed death for a merchant caravan, but a great way to get on an adventurers badside. only one character made their save against the song. one character failed all his saves and fell down the falls but was safe because he was a monk. he then rolled several d20s to get back into the game and climb back up. they had an absolute blast and i was laughing my ass off the whole time. also had a dwarf that used a greatsword as a knife, a trident as a fork and a greataxe as a spoon to flavor up the modules set-up and they took to him like a dwarf to ale
Wait, so you DON'T use a trident as a fork???
I learned some of these lessons when I picked up a book of adventures for the original d6 Star Wars RPG. I was playing d20 Star Wars at the time, so I only planned on mining the book for some cool adventure hooks; but being able to slowly, carefully study a well written module for the first time was really eye-opening.
As someone who is only 3 sessions into their GM career I love modules. And almost all of the modules I’ve read through seem super adaptable. Feel like you’d have to be kind of crazy to run one word for word