Dr.Rotwang, you must make known your secret recipe of making adventures in 4 easy steps!!
Find it here (http://xbowvsbuddha.blogspot.com/2006/10/adventure-funnel.html).
RPGpundit
Man, is this thing really that cool? It gets linked now and then...
The technique is cool and the presentation is awesome. It ought to be linked a lot.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Man, is this thing really that cool?
Yes!
Damn. Too good to keep to myself, too small to sell.
I will go the Tesla route on this one, only, umn, without the earthquake machine.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Man, is this thing really that cool?
Yes.
All it really amounts to is a method for ordering one's thoughts in coming up with an adventure, it should be seen as really basic GMing advice, but its very well put, and I think strangely a lot of people didn't realize how to modularize adventure-creation in that way before.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPunditAll it really amounts to is a method for ordering one's thoughts in coming up with an adventure, it should be seen as really basic GMing advice, but its very well put, and I think strangely a lot of people didn't realize how to modularize adventure-creation in that way before.
Good methods of ordering your thoughts for game prep are a hot damn commodity.
Wow, this is really really cool.
Interestingly I'm finding that I have difficulty coming up with obstacles. Which at least tells me where the frustration comes from when I work on adventure ideas.
This is as much an analysis tool for writer's block as much as anything else. Hmm.
Redfox -- if you're butting heads with obstacle choices, man, seriously -- just write stuff down. Anything. Whatever. I don't care ifit fits or not. It'll end up jarring you loose, and you might end up with some interesting, memorable encounters built out of weird ideas.
Hey, really nice, Doc.
Goal: Steal the cool pink tie...
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Redfox -- if you're butting heads with obstacle choices, man, seriously -- just write stuff down. Anything. Whatever. I don't care ifit fits or not. It'll end up jarring you loose, and you might end up with some interesting, memorable encounters built out of weird ideas.
For Bleach so far I've got:
GOAL: Recover the missing shinigami*.
OBSTACLES:
* Ishida shows up looking for a fight**.
* The shinigami are kept underwater.
* Animals attack.
* The shinigami are being puppeteered.
*shinigami = death gods. In Bleach they're basically ghost samurai.
**Ishida = a character from the show. A Quincy. Quincy are exorcists that use arcane archery. They were wiped out by the shinigami years ago, so Ishida's got a bit of a vendetta against 'em.
Quote from: SunBoyHey, really nice, Doc.
Goal: Steal the cool pink tie...
OBSTACLES:- Dr Rotwang! drives really fast in his customized Lamborghini
- Erik Estrada, henchman for Dr. R!
- Phoebe Cates will not allow it -- too loyal to her lost love
- Martha Quinn, too
Yea, but I would still do it for this...
REWARDS: Carmen Electra, Jennifer Garner and Kirsten Dunst fall in love with the character with the cool tie.
Red Fox: You need to drill down on 'animals attack'. Are they gorillas? Sharks? Robots shaped like dinosaurs?
Quote from: jrientsRed Fox: You need to drill down on 'animals attack'. Are they gorillas? Sharks? Robots shaped like dinosaurs?
I was thinking ordinary neighborhood animals. Stray cats, birds, rats, dogs, etc.
Adventure Funnel= fan-fucking-tastic :emot-rock:
Quote from: RedFoxI was thinking ordinary neighborhood animals. Stray cats, birds, rats, dogs, etc.
Are they ill-tempered?
Quote from: jrientsAre they ill-tempered?
Well that would go into the details section.
I was thinking they'd be possessed. The bad guy being a mod soul or something that can puppeteer.
This is probably a retarded question, but when listing obstacles, should you be keeping possible story elements or the details in mind when listing them, of just plop down the first 4 or 5 things that come to mind, random though they may be?
I'm trying to come up with a scenario for a superhero game and got stuck after 2 obstacles. :(
Quote from: MegamanfanThis is probably a retarded question, but when listing obstacles, should you be keeping possible story elements or the details in mind when listing them, of just plop down the first 4 or 5 things that come to mind, random though they may be?
I'm trying to come up with a scenario for a superhero game and got stuck after 2 obstacles. :(
basically it goes like this:
Goal --> Obstacles-->Details-->Rewards
What you come up with in each section influences the rest done hill from it.
So to anwer the question, I suggest that you just list a bunch of things that could prevent the PC from accomplishing the goal or make it harder, the based on those Obstacles fill in some of the details.
Quote from: MegamanfanThis is probably a retarded question, but when listing obstacles, should you be keeping possible story elements or the details in mind when listing them, of just plop down the first 4 or 5 things that come to mind, random though they may be?
A little of both. And no, it's not a retarded question. What are you, an idiot?*
Yeah, you write down your story elements AND the random stuff. If you dont have story-specific stuff, then, you know, just whatever.
The whole point is to put the ideas down on paper, and to
let them come out. It's brainstorming, that's all it is. It's just manageable and accelerated -- little chunks, right there in front of you.
Start with your two obstacles and then come up with whatever else might stop the PCs from getting their goal on, just like Mcrow said. Allow yourself to surprise yourself with the way you integrate random ideas.
And if you're looking at 10 obstacles and 5 of 'em are stuff like "Can't get donuts -- shop is closed"...well, hang on to 'em. They're fodder for another day.
*Dude, I am totally joking so hard.
Just caught the blog post.
Yum, dude.
Yum.
:steak: + :oreo: + :hibachi: = The Adventure Funnel
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!A little of both. And no, it's not a retarded question. What are you, an idiot?*
Yeah, you write down your story elements AND the random stuff. If you dont have story-specific stuff, then, you know, just whatever.
The whole point is to put the ideas down on paper, and to let them come out. It's brainstorming, that's all it is. It's just manageable and accelerated -- little chunks, right there in front of you.
Start with your two obstacles and then come up with whatever else might stop the PCs from getting their goal on, just like Mcrow said. Allow yourself to surprise yourself with the way you integrate random ideas.
And if you're looking at 10 obstacles and 5 of 'em are stuff like "Can't get donuts -- shop is closed"...well, hang on to 'em. They're fodder for another day.
*Dude, I am totally joking so hard.
So if your goal is "rescue missing death gods" it's totally okay to write down random stuff like, "The colour isn't right"? And then try and make it work in Details?
Quote from: RedFoxSo if your goal is "rescue missing death gods" it's totally okay to write down random stuff like, "The colour isn't right"? And then try and make it work in Details?
Sure. It's not so much what you write down as
what you do with it.Okay, so, you can't rescue missing death gods because the color isn't right. The color of what? Color of the key? Oh, so you got the blue key but you need the red key. Key to what? The portal beyond which they are trapped? Yeah, that's good. The portal needs a red key to open it.
And so on. Brainstorming! And even if you
can't make something out of "the color is wrong", maybe something you come up with while you're trying will engender another idea entirely.
REIMDALL -- I am glad you liked it. Yes, I am Morimotorrific.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Sure. It's not so much what you write down as what you do with it.
Okay, so, you can't rescue missing death gods because the color isn't right. The color of what? Color of the key? Oh, so you got the blue key but you need the red key. Key to what? The portal beyond which they are trapped? Yeah, that's good. The portal needs a red key to open it.
And so on. Brainstorming! And even if you can't make something out of "the color is wrong", maybe something you come up with while you're trying will engender another idea entirely.
Oh.
Well.
In that case... BRILLIANT! :D
Quote from: RPGPunditDr.Rotwang, you must make known your secret recipe of making adventures in 4 easy steps!!
Find it here (http://xbowvsbuddha.blogspot.com/2006/10/adventure-funnel.html).
RPGpundit
Dr. Rotwang, this is too fucking cool.
Yes, I have to agree that it is very damn cool.
The doctor and Jeff Rients are probably my two largest influences in gaming right now. :)
I'm glad it's helping people who are, you know, actually gaming.