Creating A Good Adventure

Creating A good Adventure 

Generally, a good Roll-playing session boils down to two things: “As a GM, did I have fun?” and “Did my players have fun?” When making an adventure, start with things that you know you like. Do you enjoy combat more or frustrating you players with puzzles? Maybe you like talk play sessions were plays spend a lot of time talking with each other or NPCs.

From there, think of what your players love. This can be a genre of game play; some players love combat, some love storytelling, and so on. It can be a genre of fantasy, like sword and sorcery, epic fantasy, or science fantasy. The classes your players chose have a lot to say, too; if one player rolled a monk, they may want cinematic action, while a rogue player may prefer a game with lots of passing notes to the GM.

CHOOSE A PATH

With this in mind, choose a genre of game play to center your adventure around. There are four major paths of game play: Travel, Talk, Combat, and Puzzle. Every adventure has a little bit of each, but it helps to choose one path to focus on. When in doubt, what do the players want to do? Get somewhere, Talk with someone, Search the room, or pick a fight?

Each path lends itself to a certain mode of play. A classic dungeon crawl lends itself to exploring ancient ruins and fighting its inhabitants, with minimal diplomacy put a good chance of puzzles. The typical wilderness adventure is strongly focused on traveling from pace to place, often in search of a specific person, place, or thing. It’s about equal on the interaction and combat pillars, since sandbox settings give characters a lot of leeway on whether or not they want to fight or parley. An intrigue adventure puts diplomacy front-and-center, with most of the major conflicts being resolved through role play and not “roll-play.” Combat often takes place when negotiations get too hot or assassins arrive in the night.

MAKE A PLAN

You have two big ideas floating in your head: where the fun is and the angle of approach. Now it’s time to draft this baby. Let’s assume that your adventure can be finished in a single game session. If you want to tell a story with your adventure (as opposed to simulating reality, which doesn’t abide by any rules of storytelling), consider using the classic three-act structure as a framework.

Act I is setup. Jot down any plot hooks that will draw your players into this week’s adventure and the NPCs they’ll meet early on.  Act I establishes the important characters, places, and objects of an adventure and why the PCs should care.

Act II is the beginning of the adventure. In a dungeon crawl, it may be the first half of the dungeon itself, or maybe the journey to the dungeon. In a mystery adventure, it’s investigating the crime, grilling suspects, and gathering clues. If you do anything in the middle of an adventure, make sure you build tension, so that it all can be released in Act III.

Act III is the climax and resolution of the adventure. In order to talk about it better, let’s talk about the Five Room Dungeon. The concept is easy; most dungeons in published adventures are designed to be explored over the course of multiple sessions, but a five-room dungeon can be completed in the course of a single game. The five rooms follow this simple pattern:

Entrance and Guardian. The PCs have to figure out how to get inside.

Puzzle or Role playing Challenge. After fighting or sneaking their way in, the PCs now have to change gears and use their smarts or charm to progress.

Trick or Setback. Whether it’s a spiked pit trap or a monster with a specific weakness, something happens that catches the PCs off-guard or otherwise makes them re-evaluate their strategy.

Climax, Big Battle, or Conflict. The grand finale! If the PCs have been hunting a dragon, this is its lair. If they’re negotiating a prisoner’s release, this is the courtroom scene.

Reward, Revelation, Plot Twist. This is the completion and the sequel hook. Sure, the PCs found the golden idol they were searching for, but the ruby eye that grants wishes is missing! And left behind is the taunting note of the treasure hunter who got there first…

Notice how these five rooms cover both Acts II and III. Rooms 1 through 3 are Act II, building tension and danger, which then reaches a climax in room 4 and is resolved in room 5. This simple framework is so broadly applicable that it can even be used for adventures that have nothing to do with a dungeon, instead becoming a sort of flowchart of locations, events, or even relationships. if you create branching paths between points of interest, your players will have choices that let them meaningfully interact with the game world.

FILL YOUR ADVENTURE

This is the home stretch. You’ve already molded your concept into a working adventure, now you just need to put some meat on those bones by filling your adventure with traps, terrain, and monsters. When creating encounters, think about more than the experience points and encounter balance (though those are important). Think about how the terrain can create a more interesting scenario than two Goblins in a large, open field. Exciting terrain could be as simple as increasing the elevation every few feet, or it could be as fantastical as an upside-down waterfall with bizarre gravity that sucks all nearby creatures into it.

BE PREPARED TO THROW IT ALL AWAY

Our final word: no plan ever survives contact with the PCs. Run your adventure with confidence and excitement, but don’t get too attached. Remember that you can change anything on the fly if the PCs haven’t seen it; none of it exists to your players until you say it does!

Bonus 

here is a random plant from the Mazith Plant Handbook 

 His and hers grass

This grass grows in patches some will be blue some will be pink if a pregnant women that is with in first trimester eats a hand full of this grass depending on the color will change the sex of the unborn children to match, blue for boy and pink for girl.

Tools you may need:

Sanity and Roll playing games

Sanity And Roll playing Games 

As a Game master it is often fun to have a little crazy added in to the game session. We all know that it can make for great game play to have the players interact with a NPC that's just not all there upstairs. What about allowing a or even forcing player character to play a crazy person? Have you ever thought wow if I had just gone though what the players went though I would need to see a shrink! Well for situations like that for my game sessions I implemented a stat called sanity or San for short.  

I have written this information using the Mazith RPG rule system because I believe it to be one of the easiest to convert over to what ever game system you play. The way I choose to use it is, that all players start with a 10 San.

Explaining Sanity to new players:

 You do not roll your Sanity it always starts at 10 and is one of the stats that you cannot take skills in to increase. Your GM will only ask you to roll a Sanity Check after your character has survived an extreme situation such as resurrection and divine intervention. Using these two examples if your character were killed by a falling tree and was brought back to life but failed the Sanity Check, your character would lose 1 point of Sanity forever, and from now on may have a fear of trees or something else depending on what your GM says . Using the other example of a divine intervention, if you’re Sanity Check was successful, your character would now know that they were on the right track in life, and would now have the mindset of a religious extremist, and receive +1 point of sanity.

Dealing with Sanity:

If a character sees or experiences a traumatic moment, you as the GM may want to have the player make a sanity check. Player rolls 2D20 and adds the total of the two dice. If the result is higher than the characters sanity stat then the check is failed and it is up to the RM to determine if the sanity stat should go down a point or up. It is more rare for a sanity to go up than down from 10. Here is a two list of reasons a Gm might tell a player to roll a sanity check. (NOTE this list in only to give you an idea and in no way represents the only times to make a sanity check.)

List of reasons to check to see if stat goes down:

            1.     Barely serving a burning building

            2.     Being the only survivor of a massacre

            3.     Seeing a demon or angel

            4.     Best friend/ loved one dies before your eyes

 

List of reasons to check to see if stat goes up:

1.     Dying and coming back

2.     Seeing your god

3.     See a miracle (100% DI answered)

4.     Brain washing or cult like event

If the sanity goes down you have some negative effects that take place to the character.

         

 

                                       Phobias

 Again this is set up for the Mazith game system simply change anything that does not fit for the game system you use.  For D&D or Pathfinder just drop the Morale stat and lower the charisma negative's till them seem right for your house rules.  

Sanity                         -from                - from                   # of         

Scores                         morale             charisma            phobias

                                               

                                                         

1	-10	-6	9
2	-9	-5	8
3	-7	-4	7
4	-5	-3	6
5	-3	-3	5
6	-1	-2	4
7	0	-1	3
8	0	-1	2
9	0	0	1
10	0	0	0
11 +	0	+1	Righteous complex

Handing out phobias:

If one of your players gains a phobia you can decide weather it is based off the situation if the player almost drowns and you decide to make them role a sanity check and they fail you could give them a phobia of water or if you just want to be random about it or can’t think of a phobia that fits use, the charts below.  

Phobia class table (1d100) 

1-10 animal

11-30 medical

31-40 miscellaneous

41-55 positional

56-60 sexual

61-90 social

91-100 weather (natural)

Phobias table for animal phobias

1 acrophobia = mites

2-4 aelurophobia = cats

5-10 agrizophobia= wild animals

11-12 alektorphobia = chickens

13-15 apiphobia= bees

16-20 arachnophobia= spiders

21 bacillophobia= microorganisms

22 bacteriophbia- bacteria

23-24 batrachophobia=frogs

25 blennophiba = slimes

26-28 botanophobia= plants

29-32 bogyphobia=boggy man

33-37 bug phobia= bugs

38-41 demon phobia=demons

42-50 doraphobia= animal skins

51 equinophobia= horses

52-53 featherphoiba= feathers

54 cynophobia= dogs

55-59 helminthophobia= worms

60-63 herpetophobia= lizards

64-65 icthophobia= fish

66 isopterophobia= termites

67-71 murophobia= rats

72-74 musiphobia= mice

75 myrmcophobia= ants

76-80 ophidiophobia= snakes

81-82 ornithophobia= birds

83 ostraconopobia= shellfish

84-85 paraistophobia= parasites

86-88 phasmaphobia=ghosts

89 phthirophobia= lice

90 spheksophobia=wasps

91 taeniophobia= tape worms

92-93 taasophobia= bulls

94-100 zoophobia= animals

Medical Phobia (1d100)

1-2 aerophobia= airborne diseases

3-4 albuminurophobia= kidney diseases

5 amychophobia= scratches

6-8 anginophobia= heart problems (angina)

9 asthenophobia= fainting/weakness

10 belanophobia=needles

11 chaetophophia=hair disease

12 cnicoiphobia= stings

13 copraustasophobia= constipation

14 coprphobia= feces

15 dementopobia= insanity

16-17 dentophobia= dentists

18-19 dermatopathobia= skin disease

20 diaberophobia=diabetes

21 diplpiaphobia=double vision

22 dipsopobia= drinking (alcohol)

23 dysomrphophobia= being deformed

24 dystychiphobia=accidents

25 emetophobia= vomiting

26 epistaxiophobia= nose bleeds

27 genuphobia= knees

28 gerontophobia= growing old

29 gerontophobia= aging

30-31 dinophobia=dizziness

32 helminthophobia= worm infections

33 hematophobia= blood

34 hormephobia= shock

35 hydrorgynophobia= mercurial medicine

36 hudrophobophobia= rabies

37 hylephobia= epilepsy

38 hypnophobia= sleep

39 iatrophbia= doctors

40 illyngophobia= vertigo

41-43 iophobia= poisions

44-46 leprophobia= leprosy

47-48 luiphobia= syphilis

49 lyssophobia= become insane

50 meningitophobia= brain disease

51 misopobia= contamination with dirt

52-53 monopathophobia= a specific disease

54 molysopobia= infection

55 nosmapobia= illness

56-58 neopharmaphobia= new drugs

59 nosocomephibia= hospitals

60 obesophobin= gaining weight

61 odonephobin= teeth

62 odynephobia= pain

63 ommatophobia= eyes

64 patrioiphbia= heredity

65 peladophobia= bald people

67-68 permatophobia= skin lesions

69 photalyiaphobia= eye pain

70 phtisiophobia= tuberculosis

71 pnigphobia= being smothered

72 proctophobia= rectal disease

73 psycgioibia=mind

74 pyrexecophobia= fever

75 radiophbia= radiation

76 rhadophobia= being beeten with a rod

77 rhytiphobia= wrinkles

78 scabiopobia= itching

79 scatophobia= fecal matter

80 tetanophobia= lock jaw

81 thahatophobia=death

82 tomophoblia= surgery

83 toxocophobia= being poisoned

84-93 traumatopobia= injury

94-96 trichinophobia= trichinosis (caused by eating pork)

97-98 trichophobia= hair

99-100 trypnophobia= needles

Miscellaneous Phobias (3d100)

1-9 acarophobia= small objects

10-12 acerophobia= sourness

13-14 acousticophobia= noise

15-20 aichurophobia= pointed objects and knifes

21-22 algophobia= pain

23-25 allumphobia= garlic

26-27 amathophobia= dust

28-30 amnesiophobia= amnesia

31-33 anthophobia= flowers

34-40 apeorophobia= ifginity

41-44 atachibutyrophobia= peanut butter sticking to top of mouth

45-47 atazphobia= chaos

48-50 autophobia= self

51-52 ballistophobia= missles

53-55 bolshaphobia= communismm

56-58 carnephobia= meat

59-60 catoptrophobia= mirrors

61-63 cherophobia= being happy

64-66 chrematophobia= money

67-69 chromatophobia= certain colors

70-72 chronophobia= time

73-75 clinophobia= beds

76-77 cnidophobia= strings

78-80 dendrophobia= trees

81-83 didaskaleinophobia= right handed things

84-86 dikephobiea= justice

87-88 clenthrophobia= freedom

89-90 erythrophobia= red things

91-92 geliophobia= laughter

93-95 geniophobia= chains

96-98 genmaphobia= taste

99-100 graphophobia= writing

101-105 hadephobia= hell

106-109 haigophobia= religious objects

110-114 harpazophobia= being robed

115-117 hedonophobia= pleasure

118-120 hellanophobia= science

121-124 hematophobia= sight of blood

125-127 heresyphobia= challenges to dog man

128-129 homitophobia= sermons

130-132 iatrophobia= doctors

133-135 ideophobia=ideas

136-137 iophobia= rust

138-140 kalnophobia= changes

141-142 kenespobia= motion

143-146 kleptophobia= stealing

147-148 kopophobia= exhaustion

149-152 lachanophobia= vegetables

153-154 leukophobia= white things

155-157 ligyrophobia= noise

158-159 linohophobia= string

160-162 litiyaphobia= lawsuits

163-165 logophobia= words

166-180 magophobia= magic

181-185 mechanophobia= machinery

186-187 megalophobia= big things

188-189 melophobia= music

190-191 metalophbia= metal

192-194 methyphobia= alcohol

195-196 metrophobia= poetry

197-198 mnemophobia= memories

199-200 myrophobia= dirt

201-202 myxophobia= slime

203-205 necrophbia= dead bodies

206-208 nelopobia= glass

209-210 neophobia= new things

211-214 noverlaphoba= step mothers

215-216 numerophobia= numbers

217-218 oenophobia= wine

219-220 olfactophobia= certain smells

221-225 oneirophobia= dreams

226-227 osmophobia= smells

228-230 ouranophobia= heaven

231 painphobia= everything

232-234 papryophobia= paper

235-237 pactriphobia= heredity

238-243 pedaphobia= sinning

244 pedaphobia= jumping

245 pediaphobia= dolls

246 pediophobia= children

247-248 pentheraphobia= mother in law

249-250 phasmaphobia= ghost

251 phobophobia=fears

252 phonophobia= echoes

253 phronemophobia= thinking

254-255 placophobia= tombstones

256 poinephobia= punishment

257-258 polticophobia= politicians

259 polphobia= punishment

260 ponophobia= several things

261 porphyrophobia= purple things

262 porophobia= drinking (water, ect.)

263 potpphobia= progress

264 pteronophobia= feathers

265 satanoophobia= evil gods

266-267 seelophobia= robbers

268-269 scotomaphobia= blind spots

270 selaphobia= flashing lights

271 siderophobia= rotting matter

272-273 sinistrophobia= left handed things

274 sitophobia= certain foods

275 sophophobia= learning

276 sybolophobia= symbolism

278 symmeterophobia= symmetry

279 sygenesophobia= relatives

280 tacophobia= speed

281-282 taphophobia= graves/buried alive

283-284 technophobia= technology

285-286 teletophobia= religious ceremonies

287 testophobia= test

288 textophobia= certain fabrics

289-290 thelolgicophbia= theology

291-296 theophobia= gods

297 tridecaphobia= numbers

298-299 tytannophobia= tyrants

300 vitricophobia= step fathers

Positional Phobias (1d100)

1-3 acrophobia= heights

4-6 aeroacrophobia= open high places

7-8 aginaphobia= narrow places

9-11 agiophobia= streets

12-13 amaxophibia= moving vehicles

14-16 anablepophobia= looking up at high places

17-20 atephobia= ruins, dungeons

21-22 aviatophobia= flying

23-25 basiphobia= walking

26-28 batophobia= passing a tall structure

29-32 bathophobia= depths

33-38 claustropobia= confound spaces

39-40 cenophobia= empty rooms

41-42 cieithrophobia= being locked in

43-44 climacophobia= stairs

45-47 coimetrophobia= cemeteries

48-49 cremnophobia= cliffs

50-51 domatophobia= being in a house

52-55 dromophobia= crossing the street

56-60 ecclesiophobia= churches

61-63 ecopobia= home surroundings

64-68 eremophobia= being yourself

69-72 gephyrophobia= bridges

73-76 hodophobia= travel

77-84 hypsiphobia= heights

85-87 koimoniphobia= rooms

88-93 lygophobia= gloomy places

94-95 nostrophobia= retiring home

96 oikophobia= home surroundings

97 theutophobia= theaters

98-99 topophobia= specific places

100 tropophobia= moving to a new home

Female Sexual Phobias (1d100)

1-3 agaraphobia= sexual abuse

4-6 algophobia= sexual pain

7-12 androphobia= men

13-14 annptophibia= being single

15-17 aphenphobia= physical contact

18-22 coitophobia= sex

23-24 coitus more ferasum= doggy style sex

25-29 coitus oralis= oral sex

30-35 cypridophobia= venerial diseases

36-38 dysparennia= painful vaginal sex

39-41 esodophobia= virginity

42-44 gamophobia= marriage

45-47 gymnophobia= naked bodies

48-50 hedonophobia= pleasure

51 heterophobia= heterosexuals

52-57 homophobia= homosexuals

58-60 ithyphallophobia= erect penises

61-63 maleusiophobia= child birth

64-65 malaxophobia= flirting

66-67 medectophobia= contour of penis through clothing

68-69 menophobia= menstruation

70-74 merinthophobia= being bound

75-77 necrophobia= sex with the dead

78-79 oneirogmophobia= wet dreams

80-82 paraphobia= sexual perversions

83-84 phallophobia= male geniatallia

85-87 primeisodophobia= losing one's virginity

88-90 proctophobia= rectal intercourse

91 sasmassophobia= fore play

92-93 seophobia= opposite sex

94 spermophobia= semen

95-96 teratophiobia= bearing a monster

97-100 virgivitipobia= rape

Male Sexual Phobias (1d100)

1-3 agrophobia= sexual abuse

4-6 algophobia= sexual pain

7-9 agmophobia= marriage

10-11 anuprophobia= being single

12-14 aphenophobia= physical contact

15-17 coitophobia= sex

18-20 coitus oralis= oral sex

21-23 cypriophobia= prostitutes

24-25 cypridophobia= vererial disease

26-28 esacuphobia= ejaculation

29-31 esodophobia= virginity

32-37 eurotophobia= female genetalia

38-39 gymnophobia= naked bodies

40-44 gynophobia= women

45-48 hedonophobia= pleasure

49-53 malaxophobia= flirting

54-59 medomalacophobia= losing an erection

60-62 merinthophobia= being bound

63-67 necrophobia= sex with the dead

68-71 oneirogmophobia= wet dreams

72-76 paraphobia= sexual perversions

77-80 parenthenophobia= young girls, usually virgins

81-85 penis captivas= having penis held tightly by vagina

86-89 primeisodophobia= losing ones virginity

90-92 proctophobia= rectal intercourse

93-95 sharmassophobia= fore play

96-97 sexophobia= opposite sex

98-100 venustaphobia= beautiful women

Social Phobias (1d100)

1 ablutophobia= bathing

2 agorophobia= public places

3 allodoxaphobia= other's opinions

4 amschopobia= being scratched

5 ankylophobia= immobility

6 anthrophobia= people

7 anuptapobia= staying single

8 aphephobia= being touched

9 arrheophobia= man kind

10 atelophobia=  imperfection

11 autodysomophobia= having a body odor

12 automysophobia= being dirty

13 basiphobia= walking

14 basistasiphobia= standing upright

15 bromidrosiphobia= body odors

16 catapedaphobia= jumping

17 catagelphobia= ridicule

18 catertrophobia= mirrors

19 cathisophobia= sitting

20 chaetophobia= hair

21 chorophobia= dancing

22 cilophobia= food

23 clithrophobia= being enclosed

24 copsophobia= bowel movement

25 deidophobia= desisions

26 defeccalgesiophobia= painful, violent bowel movements

27 demophobia= crowds

28 dromophobia= crossing the streets

29 dysmorphophobia=deformity

30 dystychiphobia= accidents

31 deipnophobia= dinner conversation

32 dishabillophobia= disrobing in public

33 enissophobia= sin

34 stemophobia= solitude

35 ergophobia= work

36 erythrophobia= blushing

37 euphobia= hearing good news

38 gelophobia= laughing

39 graphophobia= hand writing

40-41 hamatophobia= error

42 hypengyophobia= resonsibility

43 hypnophobia= hypsnsis

44 isolophobia= solitude

45 kakorrhaphiophobia= failure

46 katagelophobia= ridicule

47 kathisophobia= sitting down

48 kleptophobia= stealing

49 koinoniphobia= rooms full of people

50 kyptophobia= stooping

51 laliphobia= talking/studdering

52 lelphobia= jealousy

53 macrophobia= long waits

54 mythophobia= lying

55 nyetophobia= nights

56-57 ochlophobia= crowds

58 ophthalmophobia= being stared at

59 optophobia= opening ones eyes

60 orthophobia= propriety

61 osphteusuiogibia= body orders

62 peraliphobia= neglect of duty

63 peccatiphobia= wrong doing

64 peladophobia= bald people

65 penaphobia= poverty

66 phagiophobia= eating

67-68 phalaerophobia= being bald

60-70 philemaphobia= kissing

71 philphobia= love

72-74 pholophobia= being alone

75 pogonophobia= beards

76-77 psellismophobia= stuttering

78-79 sclerophobia= thieves

80 scolionophobia= going to school

81-83 scopophobia= being looked at

84-86 sociophobia= society

87-90 stage fright= performance

91 stasiphobia= standing

92-93 teratopobia=deformed people

94 tremophobia= trembling

95 vestiphobia= wearing clothes

96-100 xenophobia= non-humans, foreigners

Weather Phobias (1d100) 

1-2 achuluophobia= darkness

3-4 aerophobia= drafts and air

5-6 acrophobia= swallowing air

7-8 anemophobia= cyclones

9-10 antlophobia= floods

11-12 astraphobia= lighting

13-14 auroraphobia= auroral lights

15-16 brontophobia= thunder

17-18 burophobia= gravity

19-20 cenophobia= barren ground

21-22 chionophobia= snow

23-24 cometophobia= comets

25-26 cryophobia= cold temperatures

27-28 cymophobia= waves

29-30 dendrophobia= trees

31-32 dinophobia= whirlpools

33-34 electrophobia= electricity

35-36 esophobia= dawn

37-38 frigophobia= cold things

39-40 heliophobia= sun lights

41-42 homichlophobia= fog

43-44 hydrophobia= water

45-46 hygrophobia= dampness, humidity, mists

47-48 hylophobia= forest

49-50 keraunophobia= lighting and thunder

51-52 kymphobia= waves

53-54 lilapsophobia= huricanes

55-56 limonphobia= lakes

57-60 meterphobia= meteors

61-62 mephophobia= clouds

63-64 ombrophbia= rain

65-66 pagophobia= frost and ice

67-68 photophobia= glaring light

69-70 photophobia= lights

71-72 potamophobia= rivers

73-74 potomophobia= sheets of water

75-77 psychrophobia= being cold

78-79 pyrophobia= fire

80-83 sciaphobia= shadows

84-87 scotophobia= darkness

88-89 selenophobia= moons

90-91 siderophobia= stars in the sky

92-94 thalassophobia= seas

95-97 thermophobia= hot temperatures

98-100 zerophobia= dryness