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There are a limited number of ways one can write an adventure. Letâs start with the famous railroad model:
PCs Get a Quest ---------------- Part 1 Go to Part 2 Go to Part 3 Go to Part 4 Go to Part 5 Boss fight
The tell-tale signs youâll find here are sentences like âwhen the PCs reach the villageâ, or âwhen the PCs find the itemâ. Basically, anything beginning with âwhen the PCsâŚâ, because thatâs making an assumption about the playersâ decisions, and that assumption will push the GM into making sure the PCs follow through with the suggestion.
The entire structureâs a classic trap people fall into from watching films, or playing computer games, and classically, it does not produce an interesting game.
An art show lets people in one entrance, has a bunch of things to see, then spits them out the other side.
| PCs Get a Quest |
----------|-----------------|-----------
Encounter | Encounter | Encounter
Encounter | Encounter | Encounter
| Boss fight |
One example here is Return to White Plume Mountain, which locks players into a quest to avoid a magical curse, then allows them to wander the tunnels of a mountain freely. However, the only way to break the curse is in a particular area, deep inside the mountain, so the players must eventually explore this area.
At the festival, you can see some attractions, but the real events happen at particular times, so the story itself decides the pace of the adventure.
| PCs Get a Quest |
------|-----------------|-------------
Day 0 | Location A | Location B
Day 1 | Encounter 1 | Encounter 2
Day 2 | Encounter 3 | Encounter 4
Day 3 | Encounter 5 | Encounter 6
Day 4 | Encounter 7 | Encounter 8
One example of this is Trouble at Groggâs, an adventure where the party can wander town, but the plot must develop over time as thieves sneak, steal, and burn things down around them. This adventure was unique for its time as it had no ending. When reading, it seemed to just end with a flaccid absence, but when playing the thing, a natural ending emerged from the knowledge the PCs had developed so far.
The Side Quest system in the game is mostly based on âThe Festivalâ approach, with events coming at the players, rather than any notion that players might be required to get somewhere on time. Various small plots are mixed together, and each part of a plot is placed in a different area. The areas are important, because players must be free to wander different places. âAâ, âBâ, and âCâ, could be âDesertâ, âSeaâ and âTownâ, or any other large areas.
Area A | Area B | Area C --------------|---------------|--------------- Encounter A 1 | Encounter B 1 | Encounter C 1 Encounter B 2 | Encounter A 2 | Encounter C 2 Encounter A 3 | Encounter B 3 | Encounter C 3 Encounter A 4 | Encounter D 2 | Encounter D 3 Encounter D 1 | Encounter E 1 | Encounter E 2
If the players enter area A, they get encounter A, part 1. After this the next available âpart 1â is Encounter D, part 1, so thatâs what they get. If, on the other hand, they enter Area B, theyâll get encounter B, part 1, then the second part of encounter A (which they already started). This means B2 is active, as well as A3.
The whole tends to be a lot of foreshadowing, and players saying âremember heâs from that time whenâŚâ.