AFFRYQQ, The Primeval Dangerlands
House ITON, on cliffs in the NW of the Voidmark
Clockwise from TL:
House AMENPTAH, House NEFERARE, House DJED, House NAQAD
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Here are a few thoughts on the process of writing adventure material for others to read.
I find it is best not to imagine any particular kind of reader but to write as I please. This approach addresses the problem of how to extract an adventure from a campaign or setting without pulling up an interminable length of roots from the campaign which might be needed to give poise to or ground the adventure. The roots are cut arbitrarily with a small consideration of aesthetics and without concern that mundane matters here and there may become mysterious. In other words the adventure will contain whatever campaign material I decide to include on a whim.
It is of no consequence to me if any part of the material is used directly in another campaign. It is important that the ideas in the adventure inspire new ideas and that the weighting of the various elements (map, plot, character, awe, power & motivating forces) of the scenario have some influence as a model for others when they sit down to design adventures for their own players.
It is clear to me that the most efficient and emotionally moving means to transmit a fantastical vision is through the story. The primary reason this is not the customary means of transferring ideas from one gaming group to another is that the risk of failure is too great. Presenting ideas in this richly laden and memorable form requires a gift that few possess, and just as when a plain girl decides her face is exceedingly beautiful, persistence without the gift is embarassing for all. At the same time it should be remembered that the atomising of poetic effects or fantasy cliches to individual words and combining these words randomly is a most feeble effort at creativity and yet it has become the dominant technique for invention in gaming that I can see. Somewhere then, between the fantasy story and the complete absence of thought in juxtaposing randomised words lies an artful creative means of communication.
OK then, let me move from the high-sounding to the specific. Even setting aside the mucky deracination mentioned above, writing an adventure is a ugly process. As a DM used to presenting adventures in person to my group, it is unnatural for me to set in stone far in advance of play any region of the game world beyond the reality most immediate to the players' characters . I will explain what I mean with reference to the city-state of Zanzibar after giving a sketch of how certain I am myself of the motivations of the various powers in my campaign.
Ultra-high level - Beings Ultramontane, Demons, Gauss, Shakespeare, The Nylune (see top right of Affryqq map). As DM I consider myself never certain of their motivations and I interpret their interference in the world of men with error.
High level - The immortality seeking wizards of the five Houses of Zanzibar, The most famous explorers of Affryqq, The Marshal Princes of Napalatine. I understand their motivations and activities exactly. The world is in some way conceived locally to conform to their desires, that is, I see the world proximate to these characters through their eyes and often broader invention lags behind reflection on these characters.
Mid level - Patrons and Mentors and Arch-Foes of the player characters. Mid level is also the loftiest degree of power and influence to which players aspire. To some extent these non-player characters exist to make the world as interesting as possible for the players and so their motivations are fluid, in some sense reactive, and conform to the players' chief concerns, in the knowledge they hand down and in the adventures they consign the players to. Needless to say this is not something the players are aware of; it requires no artistry greater than attentiveness to those kinds of places and intrigues the players wish to explore and the characters they most enjoy interacting with.
Low level - The Player Characters. The campaign unfolds to us all through the eyes of the player characters and only at the pace that they move and act. The reality experienced proximate to the player characters as the game progresses becomes a true history. But beyond this immediate reality the world is fog. Consider the city of Zanzibar. This is not to be defined all at once with a distribution of tradesmen, taverns, temples, markets and a roster for the night watch. The city, a new city for the players, will be experienced one encounter at a time and explored at a walking pace. Beyond this the city is in fog. The city is not decided. The character and mood of the city become apparent to DM and players over many game sessions.
Writing an adventure is an ugly process because the artistry of adaptation and the tailored experience, which heightens the players' sense of wonder at what lies in the thick of the fog that surrounds them, can not be brought to bear. Instructing another DM in this way is like trying from earth to guide a robot around an obstacle on the moon. One must send the instructions all at once and hope for the best.
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== Preliminary ==
So far, having discarded more ideas than I remain happy with, I have decided that the players are wealthy Viking traders from the Viking settlement west of Napalatine. They are all Fighters of 3rd level. One character must put a 17 or 18 in Charisma (see here) if they are to have any hope of getting a foothold in Zanzibar. If a character puts an 17 or 18 in Intelligence (see here) there will be an opportunity for him to be apprenticed to the House of NAQAD as an Illusionist [i.i.i.] - which has nothing whatever to do with the AD&D Illusionist. The adventure will require a journey north by long ship and across the Voidmark to the House of ITON.
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So far, having discarded more ideas than I remain happy with, I have decided that the players are wealthy Viking traders from the Viking settlement west of Napalatine. They are all Fighters of 3rd level. One character must put a 17 or 18 in Charisma (see here) if they are to have any hope of getting a foothold in Zanzibar. If a character puts an 17 or 18 in Intelligence (see here) there will be an opportunity for him to be apprenticed to the House of NAQAD as an Illusionist [i.i.i.] - which has nothing whatever to do with the AD&D Illusionist. The adventure will require a journey north by long ship and across the Voidmark to the House of ITON.
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