To Guide Your Way...

A Compass to find your way?

Lots of adventures start very simply; but they can quickly become the centerpiece of a player's whole gaming life! A Game Master (DM, Storyteller, etc.) can quickly go from an easy paced adventure to nearly drowning under the weight of pressure to create a "great game" for their players! So what do you do when things become so exciting that they are suddenly VERY serious? Where do you go?

Modules are always a great way to go. Nearly every game system has them, and they are a time tested way to "fix the holes" in any game...trust me, I've used them for decades now!

That is why I love to create modules to use even if I don't think I will need them...yes, create your own modules! Any idea you have can become a module. They don't have to be epic page turners, but you should always put your ideas down and flesh them out a bit. You can always tweak them in the future if you need them. If you already don't have time to create your own, then I recommend looking around the internet (Amazon.com has LOADS from any game system you can think of, and so does Ebay). For only a few dollars, you can find just about anything you need.

Some of my favorites are:

KEEP ON THE BORDERLANDS

Even if you aren't playing Dungeons and Dragons, you can use the material here for almost any Medieval-Fantasy game system. Simply plug it into your game, and you have something ready to go! This one works BEST when you AREN'T playing Dungeons and Dragons because your players may have never heard of it, or (at worst) they will have no idea what the statistics for the various monsters are since you can make them what you want for other systems.

THE SECRET OF BONE HILL

Another awesome module is The Secret of Bone Hill! This one has it all: a town, a wilderness, a great dungeon! This can easily be placed in any game with any rules. Much like Keep on the Borderlands, this module is well worth the investment!

THE ISLE OF DREAD

If you need to buy yourself some time...THIS is the module for you! The Isle of Dread only requires that you get your characters on a ship! A horrible storm later and BAM, you have them right where you want them! Ancient Civilization, Check. Dungeons, Check. Dinosaurs, Check. Much needed time for you to work on other things for your campaign, CHECK! Yes, The Isle of Dread is perfect for the Game Master who is in desperate need of time to get things figured out in other places for his game. I saved this one for last because it is one of my all time favorites! Perfectly adaptable to any game that has statistics for dinosaurs, you are good to go...and on top of that, even if your system doesn't have dinosaurs, there is no way you can lose with a "Land of the Lost" style of adventure. Heck, you don't even have to put your players on a Ship! You can just replace all the water surrounding The Isle of Dread with impassable mountains (or in a gigantic cavern!) and you can have them stumble into an amazing adventure that they get to leave when you are ready for them to. Don't worry about them getting frustrated by being railroaded...this module is awesome, and you can let them out any time you want with a passing ship or tunnel out.

Modules are a great resource to help you guide your way through the troubles of being a Game Master. Use them, you will thank yourself for the investment and time reading them.