Feed Back on SideTreks Please

[tooley1chris]

Hey ya folks,

A while back I posted two mini-modules I called SideTreks (ala Dungeon Magazine) for Magic World.

SideTrek, A Fool and His Gold

SideTrek, Malfiacs Marvelous Marvels

I've kinda got an itch to do another one and was hoping to get some feedback from those of you who downloaded the others.

Criticism welcome. What you liked/disliked. What you'd rather see.

Just don't want to work on and post more if you think I'm wasting my time.

Thanks for looking!

[Chaot]

Fool and his Gold does not seem to be there.

[tooley1chris]

Fool and his Gold does not seem to be there.

Thanks, Chaot! Fixed.

[tooley1chris]

I'm especially interested in how Chroniclers feel about my use of success levels with NPC interaction. Is this necessary to include or would you rather it left open ended for your own translation?

Oh, and the illustrations...do you like the maps, pics, I did using 3d software or just using maptools for maps is prefered?

[Chaot]

I tool a quick peek at the Marvelous Marvels one this morning.  Didn't actually have a chance to read through.  But to your questions, the maps are great.  I think the success level stuff could work well, but as is it seemed to take up a lot of precious real estate.  The layout could use some tweaking as well.  If you're interested, I wouldn't mind helping out with the layout.  I'm not professional grade, but I'm pretty decent with that stuff.

 

The characterization stuff was great and you are able to set a mood in a very small amount of space.  Granted, I've only read up to the water rune, but I think you have a nice touch of the mundane and the bizarre going on.

[tooley1chris]

How would you do the layout differently? I'm definitely interested in any way it might look better. I absolutely loved making these and want to make more. But ive no experience with actually putting modules in my mind to paper, so all criticism is welcome.

[Chaot]

It's easier if I mock something up, which I'll have to do later. I think the content is great.

[Sunwolfe]

I must say up front that I admire your industriousness, Chris. You've either got some serious powers of concentration and discipline or a lot of free time :-) While they are a bit more classic fantasy than my RPG palate prefers, they are nonetheless creative and, on first read through, look quite playable depending on party size and make up. The situations are open-ended enough that a Chronicler could run with them as far as creativity and player character interests take the game, but they also have the feel of a one-shot short that could simply add flavor to a larger story line. Well done.

 

I agree with Chaot, however, tightening up and standardizing the lay-out would not only save a lot of space but would also give your document a positive and professional polish. Don't get me wrong, it's functional and the work you put toward it may be all the effort you have time for, but it could give your Treks a look that would only serve to enhance their appeal.

 

I might also gently suggest that if you can, find a proof reader who would be willing to give you some sound feedback concerning tightening up the copy. While for the most part your grammar is sound, things like the proper use of possessives and such can really add to readability.

 

I'm not a big fan of computer mapping and imagery. In my opinion such maps take up a lot of space and the figures are a bit too static, and while I understand that many people find such things helpful and I assume the maps are for those who enjoy the use of miniatures, wouldn't your time be better spent creatively on the scenarios while leaving the road-scapes to the Chronicler to describe?  Just a thought.

 

Regardless, hats off to you, mate! Thanks for all your work, time and effort. Keep it up!

[tooley1chris]

Doesn't EVERYONE use miniatures? LOL. Just kidding. I personally use a TV to project my maps on for my players. I feel it helps with tactics and visualizing the scene. (And I enjoy making them)

I appreciate the response. That's good useful feedback. Thank you.

Could you give me an example as far as tightening up and standardizing the lay-out? I'm really interested in how I could make it more professional looking. I went through and read some old school mods prior to starting this and tried to mimic parts of their layouts I liked.Maybe I should take another look....

[Hexelis]

I downloaded both, I plan on running them sometime in the near future.

[tooley1chris]

Cool Hex! Hate the thought of making these and nobody uses them!

[tooley1chris]

Started work on another side-trek today. It involves a surprise from my MM2 including goblins. No spoilers. LOL

I wen thru and re-read some old school modules but can't figure out how to stream line it more and still include all the Information I want. Also, I really don't know any grammar majors so you'll have to put up with errors. Sorry..Accepting volunteers!

Honestly, this one is gonna end up being a bit more than just a mini-mod, I think... 1 day of work and it's pretty involved and more complex than planned. We'll see. Should be fun!

Still waiting for MW creators to offer me a triple digit salary Job. LOL.

Practice practice practice.

[nclarke]

Typical triple figure salary for an RPG writer USD1.11 :-(

[tooley1chris]

Typical triple figure salary for an RPG writer USD1.11 :-(

Is this AFTER taxes?

[Baron]

Better to publish generic, license-less pdfs on your own, then rake in the big bucks. Mwahaha.

[tooley1chris]

Who am I to argue with an Overlord Baron?

[Chaot]

Could you give me an example as far as tightening up and standardizing the lay-out? I'm really interested in how I could make it more professional looking. I went through and read some old school mods prior to starting this and tried to mimic parts of their layouts I liked.Maybe I should take another look....

 

Been very busy, but I needed to procrastinate on a project so I did a little mock up.  Nothing anywhere complete.

 

 

 

The text page that I posted still needs a lot of work.  I posted anyway because the text is justified and plays a little with fonts.  Also, take a look at this segment from Lost City.

 

 

It's a style thing, but Lost City definitely goes for sparsity of scene description.  When I use these fantastic side treks you've put together, I'm going to be riffing on the interactions rather than reading them.

 

Keep up the great work!  I haven't had a chance to read you new one but I'm looking forward to it.

[Chaot]

Oh, also note that while I tried to slave my examples to old D&D modules, you might want to look towards different formats. One that I really like is how they wrote up material in the MERPS supplements. Whatever does it best for you. Don't feel tied to a format that you don't like.