Tabletop Game Adventure Making

Making an adventure for this game requires the player to come up with a quest to start.

A good beginning or ending is important, though the middle part is even more so. It is the part the players spend the most time in and will be the part they actually play. The middle part can contain any number of things.

* The **Map** is the area players play their adventure/contest in.
* Non-player characters or NPCs: These can be used as obstacles, help, or decoration.
* Monsters: To fight and challenge players.
* Situations in which players must use some sort of ability to get though. There also needs to be the possibility of gaining materials. They don't need to be planned too far ahead as long as players can get some somewhere.
* Consider **Starting Gear**. You may have to change things depending on what they players choose to start as. For example, it may be hard for an Alchemist to suddenly happen upon bottles in a ruin. You can either let it slide and let them craft potions without worrying about bottles or give them some way to restock. This goes for any situation with any player. Sometimes you gotta choose how to make the game still work for the players who are in it depending on choices they make. If they happen to make bad ones you can make it harder on them at that time.

Your adventure could be as complicated as you want it to be, as long as the players will be able to play it. Remember that complicated games don't have to be complicated to play.

Lets take a look at some of the things a beginning may need. Remember these are just tips, not rules. ours can be differnt if you have a good way to do it.

* A good beginning that gets players into the game is recommended: Depending on the type of quest, it may be a good idea to get the players a reason to play the quest, whether it be together or split apart. Most adventures have players playing together OR working together towards some sort of goal. If they split up they should have some reason to work together.
* A good beginning sets up the quest or story. Even if the story comes in later, this is the start of the adventure.
* Remember that this is the first part players are going to be playing, so they need some interest in playing to the rest of it. You can do this multiple ways, but there are two I can mention. Make it entertaining enough that they will want to keep playing, or make clear that the rest will be more interesting.

What makes a good middle?

* Give the players something to do. If you don't, they will get bored and want to quit.
* At least give the players an illusion of choice. Sometimes they want to go off and do things, so expect that they may want to do that every so often, You are making an adventure and some people want to explore. Be mindful of what kind of people you will have playing it.
* Make sure the story is still around somewhere. Like make sure it doesn't get lost and forgotten. The story could be a destination, or it could be happening! If you just want them to adventure in your thing, then that could be the story.
* Challenging can be fair. If people feel like they are being bullied or picked on they will not be happy playing your thing. If you want to include that extra secret super hard boss let them know what they are getting into before they do.
* You can help the players a little but still make it hard. Some games offer unlimited continues and still get known as the hardest thing ever made. Make sure players will be able to beat your challenges. Like giving them all the tools they need.
* Conveyance is a thing in game design. It's about letting the players know what to do. You can tell them, or you can be sneaky and hint it. It could be a puzzle where they need to figure out what to do, then you can keep the hints until they need them. People can be smarter than they think sometimes.

What makes a good ending? That's a hard thing to answer but I may offer a few ideas:

* It may tie up loose ends. The story doesn't have to end everything if you plan another adventure, but it does end the chapter you are having them play.
* It needs to feel satisfying. If players feel like they accomplished something then that is a good goal to go towards.