Some of the most fun I have away from the gaming table and all my friends comes from making up new adventures. There is a myth that homebrewing adventure scenarios (for Dungeons and Dragons, Call of Cthulu, etc.) can be challenging, but it can be quite the opposite and fun! Here's how I do it.
Every TTRPG adventure requires three key elements:
1) a group of heroes for the players to embody
2) a quest or goal for the heroes to strive for
3) villains, monsters, and obstacles to challenge the heroes
First, define who your heroes are. Are the player characters mercenaries for hire? Or maybe they are ordinary people flung into needing to investigate a crime. Whatever the case, knowing who the characters are can give you ideas for goals and quests. Also, it will help you to create appropriate encounters later on.
Secondly, ask yourself what quest or goal the heroes are trying to accomplish. Does the mercenary group get hired to protect a trade caravan? Does the group of investigators have to solve a murder mystery? The goal can be just about anything, but it should be something you think your group will have fun with. If you're drawing a blank, try asking your group.
Thirdly, pick out some appropriate villains, monsters, and or obstacles for some encounters. The number of encounters is flexible, but try to give your players a healthy mixture of social, exploration, and combat encounters. Maybe the mercenary group has to reroute the caravan around an unexpected road blockage only to get ambushed by bandits in the wilderness. Or, the investigators must interact with a cranky librarian to let them into the reserved books room to get the next clue. The type of encounters will largely be determined by what genre you are running. If the investigation game is in the lane of an Agatha Christie novel, fighting a horrible alien monstrosity may not fit. However, if it is more like a Lovecraft story, now you're onto something.
I haven't talked about where the adventure takes place. It should become clear once you define who your characters are, their goals, and what encounters stand in their way. The mercenary adventure takes place on the road between towns. Is it a jungle road or an icy mountain pass? The investigators start at the crime scene but end with a confrontation on the outskirts of town. What events and clues lead them there? You decide! That's the fun of it!
If you get stuck coming up with an idea, flip through your RPG books. Inspiration can come from a piece of art, an entry in a random table, or a bespoke line of text in a paragraph. You'll be surprised at how the mind combines ideas, and you'll be rolling dice with your friends in no time!
Guest Author: Josh G., Dungeon and Game Master, TTRPG Writer
