I'm looking for a word to describe a certain type of adventure. I'm hoping you folks can help.

Lately I've seen a couple of products that are different than the norm. The two in particular describe a graveyard and a garden and they make few assumptions about how the DM is going to use the adventure or how the players will approach it. The closest common thing I can compare it to are some of the old MERP supplements that gave you a fortress and then described it in several time periods and suggested adventures in those periods. But these are more limited in scope than the MERP ones.

"Here's the garden. Here's people that come visit. Here's who's live in the garden. Here's the fortress in the middle of the garden. Here's the people who live in the fortress. Here's how hey treat each other. Here's how they interact with the gard and with visitors." Then several options are offered to put the product in to play. 'Go get some herbs.' or 'You're captured and part of the slave crew that works in the garden!' or 'You're part of an embassy to the garden!.' and so on.

I don't know what to call these types of products. Sandboxy? That seems wrong. A setting? That word means a larger area in my mind. Free-form or Open Play? That's seems very generic. These are almost like a town or village supplement (a good one anyway ... ) Here's this little mini-world/ecosystem and here's some suggestions for getting the characters involved in it."

Thoughts?

(DF31 - Garden of the Hag Queen. Obelisk of Forgotten Memories. Both of these get close.)

Modules.

You plug them into your (ideally sandbox) setting for people to play with.

Quote from: The Butcher;641827Modules.

You plug them into your (ideally sandbox) setting for people to play with.

This is the correct answer, AFAIC.

What you're describing is what I consider 'the norm', which I guess reflects the kind of things I purchase more than anything.

I call them 'supplements' (as in 'setting supplements') or 'scenarios', although thinking on it now it seems like that word should apply to something with a stronger event component rather than just a location. One of the most classic examples I can think of is the Ars Magica Mythic Places, which is described as a 'supplement' by the publisher.

The term 'module' implies D&D rather specifically, I think. I'm not aware of any other game system using the term, but feel free to correct me. I guess it works if that's the system you're using.

Supplement and module are in general use. They are used generically to apply to just about every adventure-thingy published. I could work to reclaim the words but that's going to be a MAJOR uphill battle.

I'm not even sure I'm describing the things correctly.

What The Butcher wrote. Module. This is used synonymously for adventure, but early TSR magazines also write about "city modules", while Judges Guild supplements have "benevolent/malevolent character modules" with the idea they will be used in a plug and play way.

'Modules' is the classic TSR Hobbies term.

'Sites' is another term of some standing.

Yes, if it's confusing, adventure site has potential.

Actually, I have written a few of these, not because they are the best I could come up with, but because they are pretty versatile and useful. My submission in the last issue of Fight On!, for example, is a small adventure site.

I concur with module. The entire Scourge of the Demon Wolf can be considered a module although unlike most modules I separated it into two sections. The first one with the adventure and a setting supplement that describe the locales in considerable detail. Both could have been standalone product but like the Majestic Wilderlands I decided it to make a two for one product.

Dungeon Starter or Adventure Starter?
For example:
Dying Garden
The Shallow Sea
=

How bout "micro-setting?"  To be fit into a DM's "macro-setting."  

Isn't this a "location-based {adventure,module}"?

If not, I guess there's something in your description I'm not catching.

Quote from: Naburimannu;642479Isn't this a "location-based {adventure,module}"?

If not, I guess there's something in your description I'm not catching.

Yeah, that's the one. There were a few Grognardia blogs (I think) about location based modules and how they differed from other set-ups such as a straight up dungeon or a quest type scenario.

Quote from: bryce0lynch;641823I'm looking for a word to describe a certain type of adventure. I'm hoping you folks can help.

Lately I've seen a couple of products that are different than the norm. The two in particular describe a graveyard and a garden and they make few assumptions about how the DM is going to use the adventure or how the players will approach it. The closest common thing I can compare it to are some of the old MERP supplements that gave you a fortress and then described it in several time periods and suggested adventures in those periods. But these are more limited in scope than the MERP ones.

"Here's the garden. Here's people that come visit. Here's who's live in the garden. Here's the fortress in the middle of the garden. Here's the people who live in the fortress. Here's how hey treat each other. Here's how they interact with the gard and with visitors." Then several options are offered to put the product in to play. 'Go get some herbs.' or 'You're captured and part of the slave crew that works in the garden!' or 'You're part of an embassy to the garden!.' and so on.

I don't know what to call these types of products. Sandboxy? That seems wrong. A setting? That word means a larger area in my mind. Free-form or Open Play? That's seems very generic. These are almost like a town or village supplement (a good one anyway ... ) Here's this little mini-world/ecosystem and here's some suggestions for getting the characters involved in it."

Thoughts?

(DF31 - Garden of the Hag Queen. Obelisk of Forgotten Memories. Both of these get close.)

A micro-setting?