Creating a special adventure: Terrain and all

Way back when, I submitted a blurb for a half-formed idea to Derek at Conglomeration Gaming HQ. Now you might be wondering "JP, why would you send something you did not really know what to do?"

A-ha! My young padawan, allow me to provide you some insight into the crazy world of writing and organized play management...

I am the lucky owner and leader of a campaign whose main draw is that players get to decide where things go. While I do have some idea on where things are going, I never know too far in advance. But that is not new...

Adrift on the Sea of Fate, the Conglomeration special is... well... special! I had a basic idea/gimmick with a very loose plot idea. Aka: "I would like to have an adventure where the players can pick any of our iconics OR bring their own characters and explore something together." Generic? Then I had a few things I wanted to add to it: monsters, twists, surprises. But nothing that was clear or set in stone.

I kicked the can around, going through a bunch of stories I felt were just too boring or repetitive, things I wrote before and that did not excite me very much. For a special, it has to kick some major butt and be exciting. If I can't be excited about it myself... then how will others like it?

The final clincher came as I was reading an old adventure (inspired by something I read in an old issue of the French magazine "Casus Belli"). Somehow that adventure hit every point I wanted and provided me with a framework. Awesome. So I began to write more ideas and develop the plot.

It should come as no surprise that some of the highlights of the CB adventure were ripped out in favor of other elements (remember my original list?). And the adventure was born, for real.

But it would not be a special without... well something special! Having two girl scouts at home, there were many, and I mean A LOT, of GS cookie boxes in the garage. So I wondered... What could I do with them? 1+1= Awesome! A few hours of gluing, drawing, and painting my right hand (I'm left-handed) and now I had a true special...

I spent this past Sunday writing and filling out all the rooms in the dungeons with combat, traps, and non-combat encounters.

I learned a few things:
- I was able to build this all for less than 5$ (and most of that was a 4$ gray primer can)
- Sharpies do not like primer-soaked paper
- Paint is great on primer-soaked paper
- Painting stuff is fun (yes, I know)

The result is an interesting story, mixed with a massive tower that should provide good (or nightmarish) memories to all those involved.

I am glad to say that I was able to provide something that could be meaningful to all three settings, while providing the political scheming so common in every FOE products.

So there you go... Another FOE special ready to roll out into production.

Oh yes, this one will be played only once (and count)... at Conglomeration this coming weekend in Louisville, KY. Come on by for a full weekend of FOE action. The adventure may see repeat performance, but those will not be counted for plot advancement.