[DF/General] Why prepackaged adventures are good

[hoshisabi]

I see a lot of discussion about prepackaged adventures aren't necessary, because the GM can so easily create every aspect of their dungeons pretty simple. It's true.

However, I think that some of the new campaigns show how things might be changing a little for GURPS. These prepackaged settings involve a little more cliche, a little more of a shared experience. They show you how to simplify the "roll your own" aspects of the game and how to ignore some of those things that "don't matter for the quick and dirty game." (They're great for those GMs who love world building, but sometimes you want to throw some dice and kick in some doors.)

One of the true strengths of a prepackaged adventure is the "shared experience" that it opens up for everyone. Once you and your buddies tackle "The Tomb of Unspeakable Slimy Bad Things" (coming soon to e23, just kidding), you can talk to some other group and say "Remember the slimy bad thing in the room with the thousand dirty salad forks?"

One of the stories that I saw posted on the forums someone posted was about their "then girlfriend, now wife" and an encounter in Harkwood, the "spider in the trees." I never got that adventure, but I can draw a parallel with my own experiences with Tomb of Horrors, Isle of Dread, and a few others. Even those adventures that were horrible allow me to talk about that experience to other players without inflicting upon them a one-sided conversation.

The other benefit to these sort of prepackaged works is that it the DM who is new to the rules or the genre has an idea of things. "Oh, that's how I build a monster to challenge the party." Or give them ideas on how to invoke the true feeling of a genre that a GM might have an interest in, but has never run.

The cliches in Dungeon Fantasy (and maybe Action!, but I haven't bought any of those yet) are full of fun cliches, that make it easier for a GM to plop a bunch of fresh players, unfamilar with the rules system, and have them feel at home.

The other thing that the DF Series of books has done is introduce a set of "standard adventurers" for which you can aim your adventures and your monster books. You have a good gauge of what you can expect the people who go through your encounter to be like, what sorts of abilities that they will bring.

So, whatever brave freelancer out there has thought "well, I'd write an adventure or a book of monsters, but I hear that they don't sell well" ... well, I think that the DF series might be your ticket to give it a shot. You have at least one customer who is out there waiting anxiously. I think that DF (and Action!) have changed the rules just slightly by introducing some commonality.

In the mean time, I'm just thankful for the people posting ideas on the forums and ideas from their own game. I'm especially thankful for the Westmarch saga, whose session logs and house rules have given me a lot to think about. I also love the Homebrew monsters thread. Oh, heck, I just love these forums.

Thanks to everyone, DF has been a fun way to spend some Sundays and I look forward to more.