I prefer to write my own adventures. I just have the hardest time making published modules work. Because I am still DMing for my kids, now over a year into gaming, I try to take what they are interested in into consideration when I make a new adventure.
They have really been getting into The Hobbit and LotR lately, having seen the movies and read the books recently. Now they tell me they want a game set in Middle Earth. I can do that. Maybe not exactly the way they expect it, but hey, can't just make it all easy now.
I've actually done it before, not for my kids, but back then about twenty years ago. I have set some rules for writing the adventure though.
- It takes place after the Lord of the Rings storyline concludes.
- Characters from the books cannot be PC's. They can only be NPC's and all of them may likely never be seen, depending on how far after I place the adventure in the timeline.
- In storyline terms, this is the 4th Age of Middle Earth and is the Age of Man. Races other than human are not common and are either long gone or so well hidden to be thought to be legends.
- Pretty much all AD&D 1E/OSRIC rules applies. New Age, new magic, etc... It works for me.
- The adventure will be mission oriented, not just a wander around and see what's what thing.
I was thinking of doing something similar. Making the Keep on the Borderlands an Osgilliath of sorts and the Caves of Chaos either (depending on when I set it in ME) the last outpost of Mordor or an initial incursion from Mordor. I'm DMing for my kids and my buddy and his kids. I DM for my kids sporadically but my buddy hasn't played since college. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI kinda think I want to include Mordor too. A place like that still has to have an evil shadow over it ya know. I just don't want to let them down because there is no way I will include Sauron.
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