Greetings all!
This thread contains postings that offer individual mini-adventures, essentially "modules" in PDF format, that players and GMs may enjoy running, either individually or as part of a larger campaign within their own game's storyline. We offer these for free, and are even eventually willing to post mini-adventures created by others as long as we have the chance to edit and approve them as necessary before they are posted. Any offered adventures can be sent as editable Word document attachments in a private message to me (Scott Jones) on this forum. All such mini-adventures are intended as free distribution, purely for the enjoyment of our forum members and their players, and are not meant for sale. We will begin with all the mini-adventures we run as demos at the various conventions we attend, and hope to continue adding to these every few months.
The earliest of these introductory adventures have been designed to use the pre-generated characters presented in the Welcome Booklet. A GM may allow players to use their own characters but would have to either adjust the adventure to fit those characters, or make sure they were still able to fulfill the various roles required by the story (there may have to be a seer, an honor guard, a healer, etc.). Later mini-adventures may be created using entirely different pre-generated characters (or none at all). Adventures using new pre-generated characters should include these characters as part of the post.
These adventures are intended to introduce players to the world of SHARD, and to expand the fiction of our world for its fans. They're presented as an overview meant to give players a taste of the setting and expose them to some of the central themes and ideas of Dárdünah. These “mini-modules” introduce the players to the culture, travel, magic, and martial arts action of the setting.
Parts of the following adventures will be presented in italicized green sections. These sections can be read or summarized to the players, although it is recommended that players be allowed to interrupt any such narration to ask questions or even to interact with any NPCs that might be present. The sooner you can get the players interacting and roleplaying the better.
A Note on Presentation
These adventures will use some concepts and terms commonly found in screenplays. The different parts of larger adventures would be presented in “acts.” An act is defined as a major section of the adventure. Usually there are three acts: beginning, middle, and end (also be called an “opening,” a “build-up,” and a “climax”). Each act will be further divided into a number of “scenes.” A scene is defined as an encounter that takes place in a specific location with specific characters. Each scene should also have it’s opening, build-up, and climax. Since most of these adventures will be small ones, meant to be played in merely a few hours, they will constitute a single act in most cases (the beginning of the journey), and will include only those scenes used for the opening of the story as a whole.
Because of the nature of interactive storytelling, it’s important to keep in mind that the scenes presented in each act are not necessarily linear. Since there is no way to predict what players will attempt to do, scenes must remain flexible. GMs should reshuffle, omit, or create as many scenes as they need to conclude the adventure in a satisfactory way. The most important thing is for the players to feel like the stars of the show. Their words must carry the most weight, their actions be the most decisive, and ultimately their efforts should be what drives the adventure’s conclusion.
And finally, every scene will have a “cast of characters” detailed within that scene. These are the NPCs, creatures, and other beings that will feature prominently in the scene. As with the scenes themselves, GMs should feel free to ignore or create as many NPCs as they need to conclude the scene in a satisfactory way.
Here are some tips and techniques to use when running a scene:
1. Every scene should contain drama and advance the story in some way. Even if the scene is intended to allow players a chance to get to know more about NPCs or each other, the scene should ultimately be dramatic and help advance the plot. If the scene bogs down with conversations that don’t really seem to be relevant to the characters or plot, take that time to reveal a clue or introduce a plot event (such as the sudden appearance of an NPC) in order to keep the action moving and maintain interest in the overall story. Encourage players to interact with each other, of course, but monitor those conversations to make sure they don’t devolve into kibitzing (unless you enjoy that sort of thing).
2. Use the technique of “cutting” to improve the flow of your scenarios. Screenwriters have an adage about scenes: get in late, get out early. Essentially this means that you should “cut to” a new scene in the middle of the action. Don’t waste time having characters walk into a new setting and exchange pleasantries if it serves no purpose. Cut right to a heated argument or a tense interrogation at a point where the players can naturally pick up the scene. Likewise, once an encounter is no longer dramatic, don’t bother to have the characters say their good-byes and shuffle out of the room. Just cut right to the next scene that you feel is most appropriate, again, right in the thick of the drama of that new scene.
3. Use “intercutting” as another valuable tool. This technique helps keep all the players engaged in the story even when their characters are not present in the scene being played. Think of some of your favorite action movies. They use this technique quite effectively. Let’s say two of your players are engaged in an exciting aerial battle, while another two are engaged in a siege outside a castle’s walls, and a final player is engaged in a deadly duel deep inside the castle’s dungeon (or in the Dream Realm, while performing a magic ritual). Intercutting between all those scenes keeps the action moving for all the players and keeps everyone engaged because they want to see how their scene will be resolved (as opposed to waiting around for another player’s scene to end).
4. Don’t be afraid to cut away from a scene at an incredibly dramatic moment. This is called a “cliff hanger” and it can be quite effective. As a player duels his mortal enemy in the dungeon, cut away at the moment when his enemy seems to get the upper hand and lunges in for the killing blow! The player will want to throttle you, of course, but that’s a good thing. Cut from that scene to the scene of his comrades (the other players) fighting their way down to the dungeon to aid their friend before he’s skewered by his mortal enemy. This technique can be very effective in creating drama and increasing the players’ enjoyment of the game.
5. Think of scenes as a series of peaks and valleys. Although the techniques detailed above help create dynamic, entertaining scenes, GMs should be careful to give players a chance to “catch their breaths” from time to time. If the players have just had two or three action-filled scenes in a row, try and give them a scene where they have a chance to talk about the events they’ve experienced and wind down. These “quiet” scenes should still advance the story and feature drama, however. Drama, after all, can be created by conversations between player characters, especially if they’re star-crossed lovers, or professional rivals, or even estranged family members. Scenes featuring such conversations can create some incredibly interesting roleplaying moments. GMs should encourage those moments.
Above all else, have fun with these mini-adventures, share them with your friends, and feel free to create your own and share them with us as you expand your own campaign.
Enjoy!
Scottie and Aaron
This thread contains postings that offer individual mini-adventures, essentially "modules" in PDF format, that players and GMs may enjoy running, either individually or as part of a larger campaign within their own game's storyline. We offer these for free, and are even eventually willing to post mini-adventures created by others as long as we have the chance to edit and approve them as necessary before they are posted. Any offered adventures can be sent as editable Word document attachments in a private message to me (Scott Jones) on this forum. All such mini-adventures are intended as free distribution, purely for the enjoyment of our forum members and their players, and are not meant for sale. We will begin with all the mini-adventures we run as demos at the various conventions we attend, and hope to continue adding to these every few months.
The earliest of these introductory adventures have been designed to use the pre-generated characters presented in the Welcome Booklet. A GM may allow players to use their own characters but would have to either adjust the adventure to fit those characters, or make sure they were still able to fulfill the various roles required by the story (there may have to be a seer, an honor guard, a healer, etc.). Later mini-adventures may be created using entirely different pre-generated characters (or none at all). Adventures using new pre-generated characters should include these characters as part of the post.
These adventures are intended to introduce players to the world of SHARD, and to expand the fiction of our world for its fans. They're presented as an overview meant to give players a taste of the setting and expose them to some of the central themes and ideas of Dárdünah. These “mini-modules” introduce the players to the culture, travel, magic, and martial arts action of the setting.
Parts of the following adventures will be presented in italicized green sections. These sections can be read or summarized to the players, although it is recommended that players be allowed to interrupt any such narration to ask questions or even to interact with any NPCs that might be present. The sooner you can get the players interacting and roleplaying the better.
A Note on Presentation
These adventures will use some concepts and terms commonly found in screenplays. The different parts of larger adventures would be presented in “acts.” An act is defined as a major section of the adventure. Usually there are three acts: beginning, middle, and end (also be called an “opening,” a “build-up,” and a “climax”). Each act will be further divided into a number of “scenes.” A scene is defined as an encounter that takes place in a specific location with specific characters. Each scene should also have it’s opening, build-up, and climax. Since most of these adventures will be small ones, meant to be played in merely a few hours, they will constitute a single act in most cases (the beginning of the journey), and will include only those scenes used for the opening of the story as a whole.
Because of the nature of interactive storytelling, it’s important to keep in mind that the scenes presented in each act are not necessarily linear. Since there is no way to predict what players will attempt to do, scenes must remain flexible. GMs should reshuffle, omit, or create as many scenes as they need to conclude the adventure in a satisfactory way. The most important thing is for the players to feel like the stars of the show. Their words must carry the most weight, their actions be the most decisive, and ultimately their efforts should be what drives the adventure’s conclusion.
And finally, every scene will have a “cast of characters” detailed within that scene. These are the NPCs, creatures, and other beings that will feature prominently in the scene. As with the scenes themselves, GMs should feel free to ignore or create as many NPCs as they need to conclude the scene in a satisfactory way.
Here are some tips and techniques to use when running a scene:
1. Every scene should contain drama and advance the story in some way. Even if the scene is intended to allow players a chance to get to know more about NPCs or each other, the scene should ultimately be dramatic and help advance the plot. If the scene bogs down with conversations that don’t really seem to be relevant to the characters or plot, take that time to reveal a clue or introduce a plot event (such as the sudden appearance of an NPC) in order to keep the action moving and maintain interest in the overall story. Encourage players to interact with each other, of course, but monitor those conversations to make sure they don’t devolve into kibitzing (unless you enjoy that sort of thing).
2. Use the technique of “cutting” to improve the flow of your scenarios. Screenwriters have an adage about scenes: get in late, get out early. Essentially this means that you should “cut to” a new scene in the middle of the action. Don’t waste time having characters walk into a new setting and exchange pleasantries if it serves no purpose. Cut right to a heated argument or a tense interrogation at a point where the players can naturally pick up the scene. Likewise, once an encounter is no longer dramatic, don’t bother to have the characters say their good-byes and shuffle out of the room. Just cut right to the next scene that you feel is most appropriate, again, right in the thick of the drama of that new scene.
3. Use “intercutting” as another valuable tool. This technique helps keep all the players engaged in the story even when their characters are not present in the scene being played. Think of some of your favorite action movies. They use this technique quite effectively. Let’s say two of your players are engaged in an exciting aerial battle, while another two are engaged in a siege outside a castle’s walls, and a final player is engaged in a deadly duel deep inside the castle’s dungeon (or in the Dream Realm, while performing a magic ritual). Intercutting between all those scenes keeps the action moving for all the players and keeps everyone engaged because they want to see how their scene will be resolved (as opposed to waiting around for another player’s scene to end).
4. Don’t be afraid to cut away from a scene at an incredibly dramatic moment. This is called a “cliff hanger” and it can be quite effective. As a player duels his mortal enemy in the dungeon, cut away at the moment when his enemy seems to get the upper hand and lunges in for the killing blow! The player will want to throttle you, of course, but that’s a good thing. Cut from that scene to the scene of his comrades (the other players) fighting their way down to the dungeon to aid their friend before he’s skewered by his mortal enemy. This technique can be very effective in creating drama and increasing the players’ enjoyment of the game.
5. Think of scenes as a series of peaks and valleys. Although the techniques detailed above help create dynamic, entertaining scenes, GMs should be careful to give players a chance to “catch their breaths” from time to time. If the players have just had two or three action-filled scenes in a row, try and give them a scene where they have a chance to talk about the events they’ve experienced and wind down. These “quiet” scenes should still advance the story and feature drama, however. Drama, after all, can be created by conversations between player characters, especially if they’re star-crossed lovers, or professional rivals, or even estranged family members. Scenes featuring such conversations can create some incredibly interesting roleplaying moments. GMs should encourage those moments.
Above all else, have fun with these mini-adventures, share them with your friends, and feel free to create your own and share them with us as you expand your own campaign.
Enjoy!
Scottie and Aaron
