Why Game Masters Should Use Modules - RPG Philosophy
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- Love them or hate them, Game Masters wishing to improve their game should look into pre-written adventure modules.
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00:00 Intro
01:16 Modules are Tools
01:57 My Experience With Modules
04:15 "Use" Does not mean "Run" Modules
04:21 Idea Mines
05:51 Your Players Learn How You Think
06:46 You're Not The Best At Everything
08:15 They Show You A Different Way to Play
10:31 Tools to Write
11:16 Shared War Stories
13:02 In Conclusion
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 do a mixture of 75% module, and 25% homebrewing ...
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.
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
Seth, great video thanks for taking up the cause against elitism.
"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
IMO this is one of more important videos of yours, hidden behind a low view count. Completely humbled me as an old DM. Thanks.
YES!
I remember watching Seventh Voyage of Sinbad with eyes as big as globes.
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.
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. 😉
The module is the script. The gamemaster is the director. The players are the actors. So using modules is fine.
One of the big points I want to make in my eventual "How To Run A Module" video is that GMs shouldn't feel obligated to stick to the module at all. Like a director with a script, they can change it as they see fit. There's no reason to stick 100% to the letter of the module if there's a better route or if your players go a different direction than the module anticipated.
Exactly. There's only one novel "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" and countless directors' visions on film of it.
I think words do matter a lot on this (just as systems, but that's another story...).
If there is a "script", player agency is gone, nothing new is gonna emerge from the game, I'll pass.
If there is a "director", I'll have to submit to arbitrary judgements. Screw the golden rule, it's probably the most stupid piece of advice ever written for rpgs, please give me game systems that make sense instead.
If there are "actors", most of the creative work and responsibilities are for the GM. It has advantages but also can lead to burn out or botched sessions because of lack of time for a single member of the crew.
Give me "canvasses", "moderator/facilitator" and "co-creators" (through the voice of their characters) and I'll hop in.
I think running modules as written isn't usually very interesting, but they're very good reads to gather ideas. Please cannibalize modules, but you really don't need to run them.
Guybrush Threepwood It's the ego talking. Modules are helpful for new players and old alike. Just in high school would do a Shakespeare's play for learning and a seasoned theater group would sell tickets to the same play.
Game of Thrones books are modules the TV show is the game.
Yes homebrew content can be great. Except when it's not.
You're obviously one of those people who think they look smart if they disagree about everything.
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
You changed my entire view point on modules. Thank you, sincerely
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 UA-cam). 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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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* 😏
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 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 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.
I really like the structure of a Module, as opposed to free form chaos.
Thanks for the great vid and all your module reviews! :D
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 hope we get an updated version of this someday. A lot of great observations.
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!
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.
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 love the “war stories” angle.
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.
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.
Really enjoying all your videos which I recently discovered. Please keep making them!
By the way, All That Glitters was the first campaign I played in back around 84 and definitely deserves a spot on your top 3 module list. I was 10. At the end when we were allowed to choose a wish (which the DM was supposed to subvert in true AD&D tradition) I chose 1000 Hit Points. Bless my benevolent DM, who overlooked my meta gaming and granted the wish. He actually praised me for figuring out a non-subvertable wish and from then on I was Bivotar, invincible fighter. My fellow players called me Biv the Div 🤣 - Tony the DM, if you're out there, thanks for starting me out on an unforgettable lifetime of gaming.
Very, very good advice from what has become to be my favourite UA-cam-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 really dig your content. Pls continue to illuminate the path. Thanks
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Well put! I enjoy a good module but when things get twisted and warped from the original text things always get even more interesting
Great video as always! Really enjoyed this one.
As usual great content seth, youve inspired me to run my own Call of Cthulhu game
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 love this, but really, the shared war stories part is my very favourite!
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 😁
Thank you for this it really increased my confidence as a dm
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.
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.
love your content. you' the man
Love it .
Love your channel .
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.
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.
Too many people out there that think there is no wrong way to RP, but only one right way to DM.
Great video, great advice as always. One tip I always give to new GM's is to get a couple of modules (I even loan them out sometimes) and read them, see if it takes your fancy, even if it doesn't you start learning how to craft an adventure. Now a request, any chance of you doing a review on Masks of Nyarlathotep (the new 7th ed one).
Before I review an adventure I have to play it. That's my policy. I feel the best advice comes from first-hand experience. MoN does interest me, but having just wrapped Two-Headed Serpent, we're not going to be playing any more long campaigns again for a while and MoN takes like a year to run. Our current plan is a series of Modern-Era adventures, followed by some Conan as a palate cleanser, and then diving into Hudson & Brand.
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.
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
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.
Exceptional Point. Thanks, Seth.
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.
That is a great video very thoughtful thank you Seth
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.
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 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 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.
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
I'm running games since mid 80's and I still use modules for 90% of my games and I'm humble enough to recognize that many of them are better of my own production, and a real time saver. Plus, the war stories you can share are a way to feel part of a community. Drop the names Strahd or Corbitt in a gaming store or a convention where you don't know anybody and there's a big chance that you quickly find some brothers in arms.
I look for sandbox experiences in modules and settings. I was immediately hooked on the open-ended world-building nature of The Keep on the Borderlands, and have been pilfering & expanding modules ever since.
".....Now Rise unbound, bearer of the Carrion Crown" (i love paizos APs)
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!
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
Bonus points for mentioning Ray Harryhausen. 🐲😎
Having recently watched your minis video, I feel like there's some reflection here: modules are a tool to utilize; not a crutch to lean on. Let them inspire you, but don't let them bind you.
That's pretty much the short of it for both videos.
Great video! I’m working on my first campaign now. Any modules you’d recommend to a new DM? Especially in the investigation arena.
Honestly, I wish I’d started my DMing career with modules. Running a good module really teaches you how a game is put together.
I love the feel of Seth's channel, it feels like a UA-cam channel that would be around if the 80s if the 80s had UA-cam
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
Honestly, I had eventually started shaming myself for using modules.
"Oh look how unimaginative you are! You need to be inspired by or outright steal ideas from these modules! How unoriginal. Your friends can come up with cool story ideas. Why cant you anymore?"
If nothing else, this video made me realize how ridicules that kind of DM self flagellation is.
You have a daytime job. The modules were made by people whose daytime job is creating them. Self flagellation makes no sense, your creativity is already in when you have to figure out how to implement them in your campaign, and how to adapt them for your group.
@@TheBayzent Not to mention plot-weaving them together with other adventures, which can be fun ^_^
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.