Learn how to create a tabletop RPG adventure from scratch, including a unique 1-shot adventure idea too! Originally presented at Project Play 2014

1. quests
from
scratch

2. Mathew hoy
!
@mathewh
mathewhoy@gmail.com

3. topics

4. foundations
breaking up
exploration
let’s build!
reminders
add magic
talk it out
q&A?

5. foundation

6. My game
I’m running a multi-session, ongoing
adventure with 8 players at once.
one overarching plot timeline
all players were forced to write a
background
if they didn’t or were too vague,
they’re at my mercy (bwa-ha-ha!)

7. your game
what are you running?
A big, multi-session game like i am?
strung-together stories?
just getting into it?
no wrong answers here.

8. taking a break
Sometimes it’s fun to break up the
story with a side quest or 2
How?
go away from your main storyline in
an obvious way
slip away by running your game so
that there are always avenues for
side quests

9. breaking up

10. not hard to do
find an idea for your side quest:
One of your pc’s backstories
mentioned something you can delve into
you had a sudden rush of inspiration
on the bus ride to work
you just get a rush of inspiration and
have to figure out how to do it
watch a movie, read a book (meh…)

11. refining ideas
Begin to explore your idea and flesh
out a quick base for the story
write a paragraph that describes
“the main scene”
find some art that shows the item
from your pc’s backstory
jot down a 1-sentence elevator pitch
to describe it

12. the skeleton
Build a skeleton for the adventure by
writing three key things down:
the start
The middle
The end

13. the start
The start is how you begin the game.
this should be the only chance you
have to be 100% rigid in how the
adventure will work out.
you control every part of this phase.
make it an epic intro, about 1
paragraph in length (unless your
players like narrative)

14. the middle
the middle of your adventure should
be a series of bullet points:
the key location
some key events that will happen
the key npcs
a possible bestiary
reward loot

15. the end
DOn’t affix your end to any specific
point in time. your players will arrive
there most often in very interesting
ways.
tip: the adventure shouldn’t end.

16. exploration

17. fleshing out
flesh out the beginning, middle, and
end bullet points
for each key asset, write a
paragraph (or a stat block, or…)
tip: never go too deep

18. why do i stop you?
I keep saying not to go too deep or
invest much time in it. why?
because your players will change it.
if you need them to rescue a king and
they kill her, the rest of your story
might fall apart because dialogue or
plot devices might hinge on that npc.

19. design nimbly
if you design assets instead of the
whole story, your adventure becomes
modular.
adaptable to anything
you can ditch stuff you don’t need
this way too.

20. golden rule
no one but you knows if things
change.
new dm/gms get hung up on the story
getting away from them.
if you write in modules it won’t. all
you need to do is work out how the
pieces could go back together.

21. let’s make
an
adventure!

22. Example
a small town depends on a nearby
silver mine for its livelihood.
the mine has been taken over by earth
elementals.
pcs figure out why, stop it, return
mine to town.
that’s it

23. yeah, that’s it
that’s how i write 98% of my games. i
get an idea, jot down the start,
middle, and end, and toss in a monster
type.
rather that writing all the connective
tissue now, i flesh out each bullet.
let’s do that right now

24. the beginning
the town is called Hawklode
there are ~200 people living there
mayor is a quiet woman who has a
stutter when she gets nervous (which
she is because of the loss of $)
offer her favour as payment

25. the middle
next, i’d draw up the mine/dungeon
using something like evernote and the
pathfinder srd, record the stats for
the earth elementals
do they find any cool loot in the
mine? put it in evernote.
extra credit: why are the
elementals doing this?

26. the end
the players discover the elementals
are sentient and were at one time used
as slave labour by the town to dig out
the mine.
they dug into an anti-magic pocket that
put them into a deep sleep. now that the
pocket is dissipating, they’re waking up
and want revenge on the town.
Resolve that in town.

27. reminders

28. quick list
don’t waste time writing the
adventure absolutely
put down key points and flesh them
out separately
write them so the pcs could
approach them in any order

29. Don’t rely on pcs
don’t rely on specific pcs for and
resolutions.
If they die and you need them for a
puzzle, the whole thing can be
ruined.
pcs are like cats. herding them to a
goal is almost impossible.

30. modularity
Modular design lets you change the
entire adventure immediately if need
be.
be adaptable and relax if things “go
wrong”
ie: the pcs don’t bother to find out
that the elementals were slaves and
just destroy them.

31. add magic

32. get crafty
you can add unexpected flavour to
the adventure in a bunch of ways:
adopt the mayor’s nervous stutter
when you talk to the pcs. don’t stop.
go to a craft shop and get some
silver paint and paint some rocks
and put them on the table prior to
the session to set the mood.

33. get crafty
instead of drawing your mine out on a
battle mat, take those same rocks
and use them as key features in the
dungeon (maybe a cave-in or a central
spire in the middle of a large
chamber)
serve silver candies

34. get crafty
adopt a gravelly voice for the earth
elementals in case the pcs talk to
them.
maybe one of the pcs’ backgrounds
mentions silver. weave it into this
story in a subtle way.
ie: their parents were silver traders
who went missing. crates with the
family biz logo on them are nearby.

35. linking pcs
each session should revolve around 1
or 2 different pcs than last time
plot
loot
don’t leave anyone behind over time

36. weaving magic
drop hints to pick up on later
use lots to keep them guessing
source (or create!) artwork, maps,
props, letters, costumes, battle
terrain, soundtracks and sound
effects

37. one two skip a few
every few sessions, try to do
something completely new
eG: wagon chase

38. talk it out

39. refinement
once you’ve got your modular pieces
in place, refine them
intro the session aloud in the car
on the way to work.
narrate the entire adventure/
session as you would to the pcs
get a voice recorder if needed.

40. feedback
after each session, especially when
you do something brand new or
unique, ask the pcs what they thought.
mix up the challenges in your
adventures. you don’t always need to
fight things. consider a pulley
system puzzle in a mine or a cave in
(natural) trap to deal with.

41. q&A?

42. quests
from
scratch

43. keep in touch!
@mathewh
mathewhoy@gmail.com