Request for LFR writer's guidelines [Archive] - Wizards Community

Request for LFR writer's guidelines [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bronzmonkee
12-12-07, 03:01 PM I scanned the list of threads and did not see anything matching this, so apologies if this has been brought up before.

I think that it would be a great benefit if the expected party effectiveness was spelled out in the writer's guidelines. Based on the example of Living Greyhawk, there was a significant difference between a group of 4 random, average characters and 6 cohesive, optimized characters. Either extreme, or something in between, can serve as a baseline for the campaign. Whatever the decision is, please spell it out explicitly in advance in the writer's guidelines.

My preference for the LFR campaign baseline would be 6 random, average characters, roughly matching what would be reasonably expected in a convention setting. I think that avoiding optimized characters is a good thing (TM), as it promotes character diversity. This does not preclude the possibility of "elite" modules being designed for the optimizer crowd, but the average module should target average characters. If the decision goes the other way, well, that is what the char-op boards are for :D

Thoughts?
mmockus
12-12-07, 04:10 PM 4th edition will not be ready until June, so writer's guidelines will likely not be out till after then. It is sort of hard to explain to someone how to write for a system that doesn't exist yet.
mmockus
12-12-07, 04:49 PM 4th edition will not be ready until June, so writer's guidelines will likely not be out till after then. It is sort of hard to explain to someone how to write for a system that doesn't exist yet.
MatteBlack
12-12-07, 05:21 PM More than likely, the picture become alot clearer after DDXP but, alot of the stories can be written without the game system. I'd imagine it would start with some overall story arcs and then parts of the story along the line can betackled and from the beginning first.

If the 4e goals are successful, scaling should be easy so, actually plugging in the game details should go fast and need only cater to the first few levels for awhile. Adding stats for higher APLs as the adventures are later in their lifecycle might even be a possibility. Just statting APLs 2 and 4 for fully fleshed out stories shouldn't take too long, relatively speaking.
Keith53
12-12-07, 08:08 PM I think it will be a while before you see the LFR writer's guidelines (or regional variants)--lots to do before then. I agree that the challenge level of the campaign would be very valuable for authors to know before they start writing and, at least for the NC region, it will be shared with authors. I also agree that assumptions of optimized or well-balanced home groups do not always translate well for shared-world campaigns, particularly in events where players will not come with balanced groups of PCs. Hopefully 4E will help with tools for easy adjustment -- to be determined. :-)

Keith Hoffman
LFR NC USA Co-Writing Director
Madfox11
12-14-07, 03:26 AM Besides the game mechanics you also need the setting, and that is going to take a couple of months as well. It is also a lot more important when writing adventures ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bronzmonkee 12-12-07, 03:01 PM	I scanned the list of threads and did not see anything matching this, so apologies if this has been brought up before. I think that it would be a great benefit if the expected party effectiveness was spelled out in the writer's guidelines. Based on the example of Living Greyhawk, there was a significant difference between a group of 4 random, average characters and 6 cohesive, optimized characters. Either extreme, or something in between, can serve as a baseline for the campaign. Whatever the decision is, please spell it out explicitly in advance in the writer's guidelines. My preference for the LFR campaign baseline would be 6 random, average characters, roughly matching what would be reasonably expected in a convention setting. I think that avoiding optimized characters is a good thing (TM), as it promotes character diversity. This does not preclude the possibility of "elite" modules being designed for the optimizer crowd, but the average module should target average characters. If the decision goes the other way, well, that is what the char-op boards are for :D Thoughts?
mmockus 12-12-07, 04:10 PM	4th edition will not be ready until June, so writer's guidelines will likely not be out till after then. It is sort of hard to explain to someone how to write for a system that doesn't exist yet.
mmockus 12-12-07, 04:49 PM	4th edition will not be ready until June, so writer's guidelines will likely not be out till after then. It is sort of hard to explain to someone how to write for a system that doesn't exist yet.
MatteBlack 12-12-07, 05:21 PM	More than likely, the picture become alot clearer after DDXP but, alot of the stories can be written without the game system. I'd imagine it would start with some overall story arcs and then parts of the story along the line can betackled and from the beginning first. If the 4e goals are successful, scaling should be easy so, actually plugging in the game details should go fast and need only cater to the first few levels for awhile. Adding stats for higher APLs as the adventures are later in their lifecycle might even be a possibility. Just statting APLs 2 and 4 for fully fleshed out stories shouldn't take too long, relatively speaking.
Keith53 12-12-07, 08:08 PM	I think it will be a while before you see the LFR writer's guidelines (or regional variants)--lots to do before then. I agree that the challenge level of the campaign would be very valuable for authors to know before they start writing and, at least for the NC region, it will be shared with authors. I also agree that assumptions of optimized or well-balanced home groups do not always translate well for shared-world campaigns, particularly in events where players will not come with balanced groups of PCs. Hopefully 4E will help with tools for easy adjustment -- to be determined. :-) Keith Hoffman LFR NC USA Co-Writing Director
Madfox11 12-14-07, 03:26 AM	Besides the game mechanics you also need the setting, and that is going to take a couple of months as well. It is also a lot more important when writing adventures ;)