MODULEs: story vs dungeon
0.
TIME is a LINE.
This is a cognitive metaphor. It shows one of the ways we think of time. There's evidence for this in everyday language:
- It took me a long time to write this.
- I'll see you shortly.
- You've got your life ahead of you.
We think of time as a line because we experience events in sequence.
1.
A story is a segment.
Because we experience events in sequence, when we recall such events, we assign a beginning and an endpoint. Bisect, and find the middle point.
Narratology studies story structure. Syd Field's three-act model is perhaps most widely known. Of course, there are other. For example, many jokes are little two-act stories - setup and punchline.
Nevertheless, the point is: the act of telling/recalling a story imposes a sequential structure onto experience.
Story is inevitable.
2.
If a dungeon is linear, the story that emerges out of it is predictable. Different groups will end up with somewhat similar stories.
Conversely, if a dungeon layout is non-linear (i.e., it includes sidetracks, branches, different enterances and/or loops), different delves will naturally produce different story-sequences.
Note that, so far, I'm not advocating for one layout over the other. I'm merely describing the relationship between layout and story. Space and time.
3.
OOP is not concerned with prepping story.
Mainly because it's really hard.
Here's the argument:
- Prepping a linear story takes the same effort as prepping a linear dungeon.
- Prepping multiple possible stories takes much more effort than prepping a non-linear dungeon.
- In fact, prepping a non-linear dungeon doesn't take much more effort than prepping a linear dungeon.
4.
A MODULE is not a story, but should facilitate one.
ACT I by proxy:
- When making a module, include the ingredients that kick-start the adventure, usually rumours and hooks.
- A strong start could also work, because it requires minimal prep.
Let Act II emerge as players interact with the dungeon. If that leads to a climactic moment in ACT III, great. But if everything goes well for the players (in an OSR context), often there shouldn't be a big boss battle. Just a natural denouement:
"Here's our treasure. We survived. We made it".
A default (and satisfactory, to me at least) ACT III.