For writing longer modules, there comes a point when you need to switch from Outline to something more like a Basean flow-chart (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayesian_probability). Writing such a module still comes with the difficulty of requiring more possible solutions or work-arounds, the longer the story goes. Even following the new AL guidelines of a level gained for every 2 hours of table play, we're talking 11 sessions (22 hours) for a party to achieve level 11 and be near the end of the module. The number of decisions a party can make, which can throw the story completely off the written rails, increases with every session. In the case of the adventure we’re going to create together, let’s set some guidelines. We need it to be playable in 4 hours, because we’re going to design it for a standard convention slot. (Designing adventures for organized play campaigns also brings this limitation to your design.) This means I need to be very deliberate in the number of encounters, where they take place, and how much time each should take to resolve at the table. (If you are writing an adventure for a home group with no time limit, you might not need to do this, but it is good practice to set some limits anyway to focus your design. You can always remove the limits if necessary.) An introduction is generally a very brief description of what the adventure contains, and what parameters the adventure was designed under. The introduction lets the reader know information about the length and scope, where the adventure is set, what the tone of the adventure might be, what character levels the adventure supports, and any other relevant information a DM might want to know in a cursory read of the adventure.

Years later, I’m now older (and still foolish)—but I’m less foolish about the power and utility of outlines and planning. The lesson I’ve learned over the years, slowly and often painfully, is that although I wasn’t actively creating outlines before I started writing, I was passively outlining as I wrote, usually at the expense of many drafts of a project—and far too many wasted words. I thought I was saving time by not planning ahead, by not creating an outline, but I actually was wasting so much time haphazardly and inefficiently doing the work of outlining without even realizing I was doing an outline.As you ponder function, though, think not only about the length, but about the scope of the adventure as well. Does the adventure take place in one general location, a couple, or several? If more than one, what is the distance between the encounter locations? Will travel be involved? Will characters need to provide their own means of travel, and will that travel be dangerous? Or if the whole adventure takes place in just one location, like a dungeon, is this going to be a simple tale of breaking down the door and defeating the evil warlord, or is there going to be a more involved storyline? The scope of the adventure likely influences the length of the adventure, or vice versa. Prepare to adjust the length to be manageable within the scope, or prepare to change the scope to match the length. SnobgoblinEU made the observation that in their experience it's better to evolve the story as the party progresses. Authors such as Michael Shae (Sly Flourish) and others have made the point of DM's falling into the trap of writing too far ahead, and the frustrations that can come when the party doesn't follow the DM's carefully planned-out story, and/or the material they feel they have to throw away as the party isn't going to use it (which can be reduced by recycling material, but that's another thread). For the adventure I plan to write over the course of this series of articles, this is my working introduction. It can obviously change if my design takes me in a different direction, but I can use it as my guiding star as I start my design: What you are talking about is not a Danish phenomenon. Many American DMs (and others I know from all over the world) run their games with a more improvisational style. And that is perfectly fine. But I am focusing in my articles on a more formal style of adventure design, with an eye toward creating adventures that you might want to publish, so you have no idea who your players might be and what their desires might be. I hope that improvisational DMs can still take some pointers from these articles, but I am definitely not focused in that direction.

We’ll discuss the design of encounters—and the use of the three pillars of play in D&D—in later articles, so for now I’ll just leave you with this: use your outlining time to get the general flow of your encounters, and stay attuned not only to what happens during the adventure, but how it happens. You probably want to vary the types of encounters to make sure that you don’t leave the DM trying to run the same type of encounter (combat, roleplaying, exploration, puzzles, etc.) over and over and over again. Items currently discounted by other promotions are also not eligible for additional discounts via discount codes.

Form, Let Me Introduce Function

Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands) may take longer to reach you. As you envision DMs running your adventure, consider what might be helpful or fun if it was represented visually in a handout for the players. Puzzles that have moving pieces or that are highly detailed can benefit from a handout. More importantly, providing handouts of letters or journals or other things the characters find can deepen the player’s experience, and also take some of the workload off the DM. High-falutin’ ideas aside, common sense dictates that adventures written for yourself to DM for only your home group in 6 hours will be different than one to be played in two hours at a convention and run by DMs you know, which will itself be designed differently than a 12-hour adventure that you are writing for publication in a hardcover book. Ponder the function, then you are ready to start outlining the form. I have noticed a distinct shift in the modules coming from WOTC. Descent into Avernus is a wonderful example. [Warning some spoilers] Being an adventure designed to progress PC's from level 1 to level 11, and transitioning across five major chapters (particularly chapter 3: Avernus, which could of used some sub-division), you have a choice as a module author/DM. Do I try to continuously branch out the major possibilities a party might go within the frame of the story, perhaps expecting the DM running things to ad hoc the elements I didn't write about; vs. railroading the story and removing player agency (which is one of my disappointments with Descent into Avernus).