Just a quick query guys, I’ve managed to acquire a copy of DW and i’m slightly infatuated – i’m just wondered with its emphasis on freeform storytelling how it works with pre-written modules?
Im specifically interested in running a old school TSR module and wondered how DW will hold up? Any tips or words of advice?
Deconstruct the adventure and use the compelling or iconic pieces as ingredients to feed back into the fiction during play. Keep the map in whole or use bits and pieces of it that are interesting set pieces. Pull out a couple people or situations, items or monsters. You’ll keep the tone and trappings but ditch the fixed sequence.
Check out Adventure Conversion on page 383
By the nature of its design, it doesn’t mesh super well with the really linear adventures. Fortunately, the old TSR modules tend to not be this. DW works especially well with any adventure that has no metaplot at all, where it’s just “here’s a series of loosely-linked dungeons and setpieces,” which allows you to give the players the run of those places.
Focus on locations and situations, not plot, and it will be fine. Attempting to impose a fixed storyline will be strongly resisted by the rules of the game during play.
You can also come up with a couple of loose fronts (or just ideas for them) for the first session and flesh them out as you go.
I’m running The Keep on the Borderlands this way and so far it’s been working fine.
Running a random dungeon module without any of the plot and a general “well shit, I guess someone left a dungeon here, do what you will” mentality should work.
Would love to see The Keep on the Borderlands given a DW treatment. Eric Nieudan
I’ve run modules with DW/AW. They work fine, just don’t let an insistence on the published material ruin your player’s fun. Say what your prep demands is also a GM principle.
William Nichols I have notes, most of them in English. Let me look through the whole thing and I’ll post them somewhere. Be warned though, I moved the timeline 30 years forward and introduced some non-fantasy elements 🙂
I ran expedition Barrier peaks and my group had a blast! it fits well with OSR based modules and most things pre third edition.
I pretty much only run published modules, usually because I’m pressed for time or am just drawing a blank for adventure seeds. They work just fine, and usually come with a map that you can use in pieces or whole cloth.
Marshall Miller has the right of it. You go through the module and boil it down to its essential or compelling elements. What’s the cool part of that module? The big thing that made you want to run it in the first place? Strip that out, turn it into a Danger, decide on a Impending Doom for it, then make some Grim Portents. The rest should spin out from that.
why don’t you let players create the adventure seeds? Ask questions and build on the answers.
I personally think you shouldn’t be playing DW if you want to rely on modules. One of the earliest suggestions in the GM chapter is to come with as little planning as possible. If you have more than a few loose concepts in mind you are really missing out on what makes GMing DW so much fun.
It wouldn’t have a conversion chapter if they never wanted you to play modules. Besides who runs modules word for word? I plan on running Ravenloft but its mainly Strahd and the atmosphere I plan to keep.