RPG Adventure Creation Made Easy

We just don't have time for amazingly complex rules in our roleplaying games anymore. I'm not talking about we, as in society. I mean we, as in AnSR Games. We want to play, not fiddle with the parts to play the game. To that end, we've been working on how to streamline how to make adventures for RPGs so we can get to the story faster. A few variations on this will appear in our upcoming RPG releases, but for now, we wanted to let you in on our thoughts. If you use it, let us know.

Parts of an Adventure

All RPG adventures are stories. All stories have the same parts.

• A beginning status quo that introduces the Player Characters (PCs)
• An inciting incident that disrupts the status quo. This is usually the problem that the PCs should be solving during the adventure.
• A middle part of the story where the PCs work towards solving the problem.
• An ending of the story where PCs resolve the problem.
• A post-ending portion where a new status quo is established. 

Aside from these basics, there is also more intricate parts of a story like sub-plots, seemingly random events, and tangential things that occur to show character strengths and weaknesses. Knowing all this, then, it is a quick jump to making a story using these components. There is a philosophical idea, though, that you have to keep in mind to keep it easy.

Concentrate on the What, Not the How

At the core of great stories are the characters. At the core of really fun games are player choices having an impact on the game. If you add these together, then the core of a good, fun role-playing game is a game where the player's characters make choices that matter. So, what can the characters impact in a story? Well, they cannot make the status quo or inciting incident. It is not as much fun if they know the ending of the story. It becomes bland if they determine all the challenges that must be overcome. So, what is left is the "how". How a character overcomes the challenges that lead to the probable ending in the story is where you, the Game Master, must relinquish control and allow the players to do.

For example, there is a story where the PCs must find a magic sword to save the day. They have found out that the sword is in a cave. Inside the cave is a monster that guards the sword. The PCs found the cave, and see the sword and the monster. The very next question a GM should ask is: "what do you do?" From there, the PCs describe how they overcome the monster. Maybe they fight it. Maybe they barter with it. Maybe they sneak past it. How they do this should be up to them. If they fail their attempts, the GM describes the reactions. If they succeed, they get the sword. The GM set up the what, the PCs figured out the how. That's key.

Making the Adventure... Quickly

Getting back to the creation part, you now have everything you need. Now, you just need to write it down. Here's the things to write down for your adventure in a simple manner that you can use for any adventure you want to run.

• Status Quo: Write down the current state of the world in one or two sentences. Maybe include how the PCs are in this Status Quo.
  
• Inciting Incident: Write down what happens to disrupt the world the PCs live in. Who is doing what that the PCs must stop, correct, etc.
• Probable Ending: This is how the story is likely to end if the PCs have their way and succeed.
• Key Steps: There are some very clear "what"s that the PCs must do to get to the probable ending. List 4 key things that have to happen to get there. Remember, leave the "how" to the players.
• Optional Events: If there are any cool things that you want to include to help flesh out characters, the world at large, or an NPC that you just love, add in a possible thing that could happen at some point in the story so you don't forget it.
• Ranked Story Details: List obstacles or facts about the story and rank them from 1 (not that impactful) to 5 (very impactful). You can use these obstacles and generic rankings during the game when the PCs encounter them.

That's it. If you write those things down, you have the skeleton of your story ready to play. The only thing to add are the game parts that would flesh out the ranked story details. For example, if you have a monster listed, then go to your game manual of monsters and copy that creature's information down or, better yet, bookmark it.

Example RPG Adventure

Below is an example of a fantasy adventure made using this process. Feel free to try and run it and use it as a template for your own adventures.

• Status Quo: The city of Morentai has a temple that guards the magical Helm of Kell. The Helm is fabled to bring great power, and is the centerpiece of a festival that the PCs are at.
• Inciting Incident: While at the festival, a warband of Lizard people scramble into town and steal the Helm. The people of Morentai emplore the PCs to help recover the Helm.
• Probable Ending: The PCs find the Helm and return it Morentai.
• Key Steps:
  • Find out that the Lizard men took the Helm to an old wizard's tower in the forest.
    
  • Arrive at the wizard's tower in the forest.
  • Get into the wizard's tower.
  • Find the Helm and get it out of the tower and away form the wizard.
• Optional Events:
  • One of the PCs gets a vision of how the Helm will cause a terrible catastrophe in the land.
  • the wizard that stole the Helm is an old acquaintance of the PCs.
• Ranked Story Details:
  • 1 - The Lizard men are not going back to the swamp where they live
    
  • 3 - Wolves scrounge the forest for easy prey.
  • 3 - Lizard men will fight anyone they catch chasing them.
    
  • 4 - The wizard's tower has no noticeable entrance.
  • 2 - The wizard's tower is a maze inside.
  • 4 - The wizard in the tower does not want to give up the helm.
  • 5 - The wizard's magic is greater with the Helm in possession.

Start the adventure with the PCs at the festival and let them guide you to how they get the Helm back and returned to the village. Enjoy the adventure, and look for some more codified adventure creation rules in upcoming RPGs.