Cuckoo's Nest Wiki

Quick Tips For Good Linears

This ain't supposed to be comprehensive folks, that's what the GMs Guide is for, but here are some pointers, all from a personal perspective.

Tips on what to include in the text of the adventure

Always stat your monsters in the text. Complicated monster briefs/stats also benefit from a 'tear off' page that the monster can keep in their pocket to help them memorise it while the players approach! -- Daisy

For monster spellcasters, don't just let them miss out the middle bit of spells - it gives them a real advantage over the poor players. 'Cos we don't all know all the spells, copy and paste the spell vocals from the rules into the encounter/brief so that they know how and what to cast. -- Daisy

Try to include names for monsters, for those of us who are shit at thinking up our own! -- Daisy

Use bullet points when unfolding semi-complex ideas during an adventure. -- Mark

Leave names flexible for male/female usage, when appropriate. -- Mark

Tips on ideas

This isn't in any way a rule, but I like to give each player something 'special' for them. So if someone's got survival, make sure you write in a chance for them to track someone or something like that. It helps if you know who your players are before writing, but you can always say "Anyone with Smith knows that..." or "Anyone with Courtier knows that..." for generic adventures. -- Daisy

Players love it when their background is used, so make the most of those flaws and virtues! -- Daisy

It's easy to get carried away with a really good idea, but the players are confined by the rules of the system so make sure your big bad guy / giant magic item actually makes sense under the rules of the game. E.g. if some baddy is immune to a damage type, why? Is it from his race, an item, an innate ability? The rules are very versatile so there's no reason NOT to make your neat idea make sense using them. -- Daisy

Let the players have a victory unless there is a good reason that you want them to lose (long-term plot, for example). To clarify: write your adventure with the "expectation" of player success. Then, let them earn it. But make sure that you've left the success as probable. -- Mark

Ensure that there are consequences for player action or inaction. Allow future encounters to be tougher if players, for example, fail to spot an enemy scout. Adventures are mostly linear, but that does not mean that there are no differing outcomes due to player action. -- Mark

Never flange. Of course, we've all done it and there are times when it's unavoidable ("Everyone's dead in encounter one...") but it cheapens player achievement if you won't allow them to lose catastrophically if things ever go really badly wrong. It does take a lot more effort and care to get your statting right if you decide to abide by the consquences of what you write no matter what, but the game will be better for it. --Jude

Tips on writing 'runnable' adventures

Bear in mind that walking round the park carrying stuff is sometimes chaotic. Props are great, but don't be too ambitious about what you need to carry, and find! Also avoid relying on props that the nest doesn't currently own, unless you want to provide it yourself. -- Daisy

Keep it simple. Complex adventures (as I know from bitter experience) are more prone to catastrophe. Simple encounters, simple basic ideas, work more easily. -- Mark

Work out how many copies of the adventure you'll need in advance. Then print twice as many as you think you'll need. And bring them in clear plastic poly-pockets. --Jude

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