On Modules, Sandboxes, and Western Marches

Epic Adventure

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I remember opening up “Keep on the Borderlands” the first module I ever ran. It came in the D&D Basic Set and I thought it was very cool. The players started out in a keep, a perfect base of operations. It had a tavern, a blacksmith, a provisioner, and a chapel. Everything a growing adventuring party needs. From there the players would travel to the Caves of Chaos and explore underground lairs of beasts an monsters. You know, the dungeons of dungeons and dragons.

To be fair I don’t really remember much about those first games I ran. I remember the feeling of running them and how much fun I had, but I don’t remember the details.

As a game master I quickly moved away from the Modules and started doing my own thing. I would read modules, but then always felt like I had a better idea. So, I tended to do my own thing.

Fast forward several years and I was playing more GURPS. Steve Jackson’s Generic Universal Roleplaying System. That system was well known for its source books that help you world build, but had few written modules. That was perfect for me.

After decades of making up my own adventures I decided that I wanted to run some of those talked about modules and, being a huge fan of Traveller decided our groups next game would be Pirates of Drinax (listen to our series The Anatomy of a Campaign for details on that one).

I hated it.

Ok, I didn’t hate the idea or setting, but as a game master I hated being tied to the books, trying to make incidents and events happen that I was unfamiliar with, no matter how much reading I did. And of course, with every player question I found myself diving into the books and spending far to much time trying to find the answers.

I should have learned my lesson.

But I didn’t. After Pirates I decided to take on an even bigger challenge with Masks of Nyarlathotep.

And 30 episodes in, I am having a miserable time (please don’t tell my players that)

Personally, I like to make it up as I go.

But that’s just my opinion. Some people love pre-written modules. Other’s prefer sandbox worlds and settings and still others enjoy the Western Marches style…oh, is that a new one for you. Don’t worry we will cover that.

In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about the type of campaigns. What’s good, What’s bad, and why?