Sept 10, 2020
Before I try my hand at helping all of you out there write some fun adventures for your players, we should probably break down the basics of adventure modules specifically and adventures themselves more generally. I will do my best to keep these concepts neutral so you can mold them to fit whichever system you use at your table. Different systems will be covered in a later article.
My favoured system is a heavily modified Dungeons and Dragons v3.5. I am a big fan of the customization options and the ease with which you can create new classes, races and just about everything. It was not my first D&D system, that was 2.0, which had a lot of problems but still was fun... Except for THAC0... Never again. I also have spent quite a few hours in the Palladium Rifts books. Rifts has such a massive amount of expansion material and supplements though, a solid system that I do enjoy. Especially the Mech-Suit rules, love those.
I promise to try my absolute best not to focus too much on the Dungeons and Dragons style of adventure. Though, a lot of adventures in a fantasy setting do have some standard tropes. Players come into most sessions with expectations they have built up either through experience or, in the case of new players, whatever they heard from friends without the context that makes RPGs make any sense at all.
Don't think the stories you tell of the adventures at your DM's table are nearly incoherent to the non-players you tell? Click this link, because you need to. The rest of you nodding along, click it as well, good for a few laughs.
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With that preamble in the bank, let us discuss some standard terms I will use. I am coming up with this on the fly, because that's just how I write in this article format, so I will do my best not to ramble as I am known to do and am doing presently. On with the definitions:
Narrator
The narrator is presumably you, the Storyteller, DM, GM, Designated Talky Human as I sometimes call you. There are many reasons the narrator might not be you but if it comes up, I will make a note of it.
Player
The actual physical person who you know and presumably like; most likely sitting across the table from you waiting for you to answer one of a gazillion questions.
Character
A player's avatar they created to take part in the story you have created. Also known as a source of both unmitigated joy and constant irritation depending on the day and how the dice fall. Everything you need to know about the character lives on:
The Character Sheet
Usually a bunch of numbers and words that add up to that living being in your world that some weird 'other' person will control as they romp through the beautiful story you've created.
Dice
They are dice. Some are different shapes to get different randomized numbers. Common ones are d6s and d20s. I will be avoiding specific dice rolls as system rules are often vastly different and the dice rolls would never be compatible. If I need a random number generated, I will give the range and you can figure out your own details.
Villain
A bad guy. Someone who is likely evil who you will have to be in the mindset of sometimes. It's not always pleasant, I have had one player hand me his character sheet and stop playing because of what he thought his character would logically do. It happens rarely but it does happen. Just be honest with yourself and your players. If you write yourself somewhere that's too much for you, say it and be honest.
Hero
Can be used interchangeably with Character, though really does embody the good guy aesthetic that may or may not exist in your world.
NPC
A, usually, less than important character you as the storyteller use to get information out to your players. Sometimes it is someone the players like, sometimes dislike. An NPC can be crucial to the story; other NPCs can be the random bandits your "heroes" slaughter and strip for loot. It kind of depends, but in general it is a character you as storyteller play the part of to achieve some plot point or goal in your story.
Meta
Something outside the in-world portions of the adventure. This will likely only be used to denote something only the storyteller should know.
Plot
The over-riding story. Essentially the entire plan. When I use this term though, I will likely be referring to other events in the story as they relate to the current one being discussed. As in; "this will affect the plot later" or "this is plot crucial."
Flag
A Flag is a term I am borrowing from video game developers. There are points in most stories where an action or event allows another to happen. If the players open that specific door in the dungeon, the creaking sound alerts something deeper in the caves nearby who knows what that sound means. Or when they oust the despicable king, the lords of the land begin squabbling for power.
Key Item
Something the players will need in order to progress the story. What would Lord of the Rings be without The One Ring, or the Sword of Truth series without... The Sword of Truth. These items are unique and typically the very one thing that is needed. Sometimes this could refer to multiple items, like a series of gems required to activate a portal, but its usually something specific.
Options or Optional Content
These are either choices the players can make that will bypass or render useless some portions of the adventure or a part of the adventure that will not be available unless the players perform the right actions or find the right location. Usually a complex system of Flags need to be triggered before any Optional Content can be found. But if your players miss stuff, don't worry, just keep it and roll it into the next adventure, start building up a backlog of fleshed out ideas you can use on the fly. This concept will likely get an article all its own.
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This is far from a comprehensive list and because I will likely re-write this article numerous times before I'm satisfied, I will link it at the beginning of any article that has an adventure module in it; in case anyone needs a refresher. Given enough time, I am sure confident these terms will come naturally to the conversation and we can just ignore this post from then on.
Next time, we will discuss something every player at my table has participated in. A solo adventure I designed to introduce brand new players to role playing. It should easily translate through all types of games once you polish it for use at your table.
Just to tantalize you a little bit, next time will be The Orc and The Pie.
Comment below if you have some other standard terms to make people aware of. I would love this to be THE comprehensive list and all of you can help with that.
Until next time,
Eric
As always, some more links. These ones I only glanced at to make sure they were helpful, I am relying more on my own definitions, makes it easier that way. But if you want to do a little extra research, here are my suggestions.