Adventure (role-playing games)

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Polyhedral dice on the reference paperwork for a role-playing game adventure Soldiers escape to magical world through role-playing game 111015-A-IX584-551 (cropped).jpg
Polyhedral dice on the reference paperwork for a role-playing game adventure

An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters [lower-alpha 1] for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including linear adventures, where players move between scenes in a predetermined order; non-linear adventures, where scenes can go in multiple directions; and solo adventures, which are played alone, without a game group.

Contents

Overview

An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game which a gamemaster [lower-alpha 1] leads the players and their characters through. Various types of designs exist, including linear adventures, where players need to progress through each predetermined scene in turn; and non-linear adventures, where each situation can lead in multiple directions. The former is more restrictive, but is easier to manage, whereas the latter is more open-ended but more demanding for the gamemaster. A series of adventures played in succession are collectively called a campaign. [2] Adventures meant to be played alone, without a game group, are called solo adventures. [3]

Adventures can be created by gamemasters, but are also released by game publishers in the form of modular, supplementary books for role-playing games, sometimes combined with additional game mechanics or background information on the game's setting. [2] [4] Pre-written adventure modules have the advantage of being easier to run for new gamemasters, [5] especially linear ones. [2] Still, it is most common for groups to play adventures they have made up themselves, and even when playing published adventures, it is common for alterations to be made. [6]

"Dungeon crawl"-style adventures for combat-intensive games such as Dungeons & Dragons may allow or require large amounts of combat and little or no interaction with other characters outside of combat; storytelling-focused such as the World of Darkness series may focus on character interaction and provide little opportunity for combat.[ citation needed ]

History

Published adventure modules began in 1975 with Dave Arneson's The Temple of the Frog, released for the Dungeons & Dragons setting Blackmoore, [7] and have since then become commonplace in the role-playing game industry; White Wolf Publishing, a major role-playing game publisher in the 1990s and 2000s, stood out by rarely publishing adventure modules, preferring to let gamemasters construct their own adventures. [4] [8] Solo adventures rose in popularity in 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic preventing people from playing role-playing games together in person. [3]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 The role of the person leading the game is variously called the "gamemaster", "storyteller", or "dungeon master" in different role-playing games. [1]

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References

  1. ↑ Allison, Peter Ray (2020-02-06). "Shedding light on World of Darkness, the gothic-punk universe of RPG Vampire: The Masquerade". Dicebreaker . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  2. 1 2 3 "Glossaire" [Glossary]. Casus Belli Hors Série (in French). No. 25, Manuel Pratique du Jeu de Rôle. Excelsior Publications. May 1999. p. 6.
  3. 1 2 "New Solo Adventure Released for Call of Cthulhu". Tabletop Gaming. Warners Group Publications. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  4. 1 2 Baker, Eric T. (August 2000). "Games". Realms of Fantasy . No. 6. Sovereign Media. pp. 74–79.
  5. ↑ Heller, Emily (2019-02-21). "A beginner's guide to playing Dungeons and Dragons". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  6. ↑ Beatie, Scott (2007-10-01). "Voicing the Shadow—Rule-playing and Roleplaying in Wraith: The Oblivion". Law, Culture and the Humanities . 3 (3): 477–492. doi:10.1177/1743872107081432.
  7. ↑ Appelcline, Shannon (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '70s (2nd ed.). Evil Hat Productions. pp. 19–20. ISBN   978-1-61317-075-5.
  8. ↑ Appelcline, Shannon (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '90s (2nd ed.). Evil Hat Productions. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-613170-84-7.
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