Writing Adventure Modules 2

Yesterday I talked mostly about content in an adventure module.  Today I want to focus a bit more on balance. 

It's important to me to not overwhelm players by putting them into a non-winnable situation.  At the same time, the players and PC's need to face challenges that they might not overcome if they are not using all of their wits and resource.

I want to pay attention to the balance of capbility and threat in a game.  Not just based on a one to one ratio of monster level vs PC level, but in how many PC's to number of monsters or other threats as well.

I personally will be focusing on adventures geared for 1 to 4 PC's.  Most adventure modules I see are typically targeted for four to eight PC's.

I DM for my three kids.  They are still getting into the whole Role Playing part of Role Playing Games.  I notice that when I let them try  to take two PC's into a game, they become overwhelmed and become chess board generals instead of "becoming" their Player Characters.

If I let them focus on only one PC though, the pre-published adventure modules are written with many more PC's to be in the game and if I don't do some serious modifications, they will get slaughtered and don't have much fun.

If I am going to heavily modify some other game,  I figure I might as well write my own adventures with 1 to 4 players in mind from the start. 

So, as you see me write in this space about adventure modules I have written and published, keep in mind that they are written for 1 to 4 players instead of larger groups.