Zen and the Art of Gameplay Okay, so I'm not an active scenario writer. In fact, I'm just starting my experiences using the editor fluently, and I've been studying other scenarios to base my efforts upon. Some are legitimately decent, and some leave me thinking "What the hell did they think they were doing?!" One very important aspect of any adventure/role-playing experience is gameplay. Gameplay consists of a number of important subdivisions, one of which seems severely lacking in third-party scenario design: balance. Okay, let's take a trip back through time to my MUD days. I used to be a player/immortal on several MUDs. One (which is still currently being constructed) is very good, and all the staff have spent meticulous hours keeping a decent balance of powers, making it so that nothing is too powerful, or too weak for its specific level. The rest were for power-hungry dweebs who fought creatures which gave insanely high experience, while being easy to kill. On one particular 100 level MUD, I as a level 13 dragon, managed to kill a level 71 random monster. Exile, of course, isn't a MUD, but the same basics hold true for a good MUD what does for a good scenario. For the example I'll state, I will use Erika's Legacy, an often raved-about scenario. I want to point out right now that I enjoy the scenario, and appreciate some of the clever dungeons and puzzles (esp. the Frigid Fortress). I don't want to detract from the value of the scenario itself, but I do need to point some things out about it. Number one: It's not a shining spectacular scenario. It's good. Probably a lot better than I can do myself. But here comes that balance thing. Playing for two hours, I managed to find boots which had a defense of 30, and a broadsword with 30+5 dam/bonus. To put this in perspective, Exile III's Pachtar's Plate only defended against 11+5. And the most powerful weapon in Exile III, the Black Halberd, only did 20+5, and they were both well into the game, while I received the previously mentioned items quite early in the scenario. It's not a one-time problem, either. Super-party makers and treasure troves are all-too common, producing parties much stronger than mere stats would demonstrate. In fact, the scenario editor can be a much stronger substitute for a character editor. With a character editor, you can give a party what's available, and are limited to that. With a scenario editor, one could make a weapon that would kill very strong creatures with a mere slash. And conversing with a friend on the state of third-party scenarios, he told me that once he had seen the recipe for Knowledge Brew on sale for some absurdly low price (50 gold? I can't remember.). People have lost the will to play straight, it seems. I know I was having a natural high when I beat Rentar with my quite natural party. Go back to the basics of play, when you didn't have the editors helping you out. Number two: Difficulty Levels. Maybe people have one set idea while going into scenario creation and it changes halfway through. Maybe they just have a deathwish. But scenarios seem to be consistently more difficult than their rating would let on. Erika's Legacy is a scenario pre-rated Medium. Yet soon into the scenario, in the dungeon Resourcefulness, you face a pair of creatures (Scylla and Charybdis), which are both invulnerable and have 5000 HP (just to taunt you). The only way I could make it through the dungeon was by rushing Charybdis while hasted through lava. As I passed by, he hit my characters for approximately 100 damage per hit. There's that balance issue again, only this time, its on a monster that's way too strong for his position in the game. If Scylla and Charybdis were endbosses and there were some sort of puzzle-ending to destroy them, I might understand, but they aren't even close to the end of the scenario. If I hadn't been running the scenario with a high level party, I would have been toasted. Another lesson: Make creatures with equal compatibility to the person supposedly playing it. If you were making an invulnerable monster at that point (which I would frown upon anyway), give them a reasonable damrate, like 1d4, or something of the like. Something which wouldn't utterly smite the party if they missed getting through by one square. If you want them to be damaged as they pass, make the creature stationary or uninvulnerable with a reasonable hp level, and give it the incredibly high damage rating. Don't make it a moving wall of death. Number three: The initial plot of Erika's Legacy is also lacking. In Exile I, you instantly hear about the Castle, where Micah is looking for adventurers. In Exile II, you're supposed to go to the fort commander for a mission. In Exile III, you report to Anaximander. All of these were examples of an initial lead for what the actual plot was. You weren't aware of what you were to do (with the possible exception of Exile II) right away, but you had a starting point. But with Erika's Legacy, there are no arrows to that starting point. You have to find the necessary key to the Block, without knowing anything about either beforehand. Number four: All scenarios need to have a careful game balance as well. This is one area where Erika's Legacy isn't so lacking as others. But to debate the fact that Erika's Legacy isn't a heavily puzzle-based scenario would be silly. There needs to be a careful management of puzzles mixed with hackslash. Although an entirely hackslash scenario feels lacking, an entirely puzzle scenario leaves me feeling the empty 'I want to kill something' feeling. People who are playing RPGs need some combat mixed in. You want puzzles? Play Riven. I want to bonk something on the head. Those are four (of the many) keys to an interesting scenario. Balance of equipment and monsters, Plot development, and Game balance. If someone manages to mix these well, the world is at their fingertips, as well as $500 for the scenario contest. Erika's Legacy is a good scenario, but it still has a way to go before becoming Great. In fact, of those I've played, Erika's Legacy comes closest to being a Great third-party scenario, but random encounters, and some more plot development wouldn't hurt. I hope, that people point out everything bad in my scenario to me. I know when I create a scenario, that I would want to know what people don't like, so I could improve. Don't like my opinions? Don't listen. They're just opinions, but I don't want someone in my face because theirs differs. A scenario has to be a carefully crafted work of art. Some people don't like certain forms of art. Realize this before doing anything. Still, if you want to flame me, feel free. My email is kwteach@probe.net. I'll be glad to flame back. Better yet, if you want to discuss gameplay with me, I'll feel honored. P.S. - Since the initial writing of this article, I've begun play on Nightfall. Originally, thinking it merely a knockoff of an Asimov book, I avoided it like the plague, but I've found it displays well the issues I discussed in this writing. Its by far the best third-party scenario I've played thusfar, while not being incredibly large, or difficult. Right now, if I were voting, it would be my choice for Scenario Contest winner. Jake Wallace http://exile.sandwich.net