Sunday, April 24, 2011

With a Little Help from My Friends

Sometimes the best game adventure ideas come from your friends.

I pride myself on having lots of good adventure ideas, but sometimes my brain gets stuck in neutral and nothing comes out. Recently I've spent most of my creative energy making a series of adventures for the campaign I run for my friends, with little left over for my kids. I've rationalized this in my head by calling it "advanced planning" and "play testing" for the kids, since they'll eventually go through the same dungeons the adults are going through now. The truth, though, is that the kids' game had been a bit lackluster of late due to my lack of attention to it.

I mentioned this to my buddy Adam who plays a "treasure hunting" rogue in the game I'm running for the grown-ups. I told him they were in a city built over the ruins of an older city, but I hadn't been able to lure the kids into delving into it. He offered up some suggestions which were pure gold, and which I have already pilfered wholesale. He's the one who said maybe once upon a time there was a queen who was rumored to have the most beautiful jewels and gems in the world. He also suggested adding a mob-like boss who would blackmail the characters so they would seek the jewels for him. I added the detail about the demi-god's carcass, and suddenly the kids and I are back in business with an adventure they are quite excited about.

Thanks, Adam!

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