When we started building Alkemion Studio, we wanted to create a tool that embodied the very best of TTRPG adventure design. Along the way, we found inspiration in a treasure trove of articles, essays, and books that explored everything from flexible campaign structures to the art of dungeon mapping. Some of these works shaped the features we built, while others deepened our understanding of what makes great adventures tick. In this post, we’re sharing a curated selection of these resources. Whether you’re looking for practical techniques, design philosophy, or just something to spark your imagination, we hope this list becomes as valuable to you as it’s been for us.
The Road to Elturel – Three-part series
The Angry GM
This series of posts dissects adventure design with a practical example: a journey from Baldur’s Gate to Elturel. Starting with foundational elements like goals, motivations, and resolutions, it expands into scene-based structures and dynamic gameplay mechanics. Along the way, it explores how to create emotionally engaging NPC-driven conflicts, balance travel challenges with resource pressures, and keep adversarial factions dynamic and reactive. By breaking down the interaction between story beats and mechanical systems, it illustrates a flexible approach to balancing narrative depth and gameplay. I consider this series an excellent reading for understanding player-focused and adaptative design.
Jason Alexander’s Node-Based Design posts
The Alexandrian
The Alexandrian’s node-based design blog series provides an in-depth guide to creating flexible and engaging TTRPG adventures. It was this series that reignited my passion for designing and running adventures after a long hiatus and directly inspired the core concepts behind Alkemion Studio. By moving away from rigid linear plots and embracing interconnected “nodes,” the series illustrates how to design adventures that empower player agency while maintaining narrative flow. The 5 Node Mystery, a simple yet powerful framework for mysteries, and the Three Clue Rule, a principle for robust game prep, are just two of the standout techniques I’ve used repeatedly. The posts are an essential for me, and provide invaluable tools to any GM’s adventure design toolkit.
Prep Tools Not Adventures
Papers and Pencils
This blog post really resonated with me as someone who’s always leaned on random tables to lighten the mental load of GMing. Nick LS Whelan makes a compelling case for prioritizing reusable tools over detailed adventure scenarios, something I’ve always believed can make GMing both easier and more creative. Drawing from years of experience, Whelan explains how tools like encounter tables, NPC generators, and faction goal schedules can help GMs respond fluidly to player choices, keeping the game dynamic and interesting. It’s a great reminder that prepping flexible resources not only helps with brainstorming but also ensures you don’t waste time on unused content.
That Four Letter Word: Prep
Save vs Total Party Kill
The author breaks down what worked and what didn’t when running Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer at a convention, and provide nice insights into adventure design and GM prep. He praises its concise, easy-to-reference layout but notes that the lack of detail in NPCs and dungeon dressing puts more on the GM. The post underscores how minimal extra effort using simple tools in preparation (such as monster trackers, pre-rolled encounters, and quick NPC notes) can significantly improve the GMing experience.
Planning a Campaign as a Series of Decisions
The Retired Adventurer
In this post, The Retired Adventurer outlines a low-prep method to structure campaigns around meaningful player decisions. Rejecting traditional plot-heavy designs, the method focuses on presenting discrete choices, generating modular world elements, and adapting to player actions. This approach not only centers player agency but also reduces prep time, allowing for flexibility and dynamic storytelling. With concrete examples and practical tips, the post describes an accessible framework for GMs seeking a more responsive style of campaign planning.
Adapting Narrative Design Patterns for Tabletop Adventure Writing
Barilleon’s Web Zone
This post explores how narrative design patterns from interactive fiction and video games can help with your adventure writing. It emphasizes creating meaningful player choices, designing consequences that change the game world, and ensuring flexibility for open-ended systems. It offers very practical insights for writing interesting adventures. Using examples like diamonds, clocks, and branch-and-bottleneck structures, it demonstrates ways to balance specificity and ambiguity while supporting GMs through all reasonable outcomes. All in all, an excellent read.
My Recipe for Starting Adventures
Spouting Lore
In this post, Spouting Lore refines the first-session procedure for Dungeon World and similar games by focusing on structured creativity and player engagement. The method begins with a compelling adventure premise (a “fantastic location + grabby activity”) and introduces tailored “hook questions” to clarify stakes, urgency, and relationships among the PCs. By using detailed setups and encouraging collaborative input, the approach tries to prevent common pitfalls like aimless world-building or narrative incoherence. This is a great guide for GMs looking for a low-prep, high-engagement method.
The Fish Tank as an Intrigue
Gnome Stew
A structured five-step method for creating open-ended intrigue adventures. Starting with events and factions, the approach relies on relationships (passive, reactive, and active) to form the backbone of the intrigue. It focuses on faction dynamics and reactive storytelling. The process is practical, adaptable, and great for preparing scenarios quickly and leaves room for player-driven outcomes. Definitely the type of approach that I wanted to support when designing Alkemion Studio.
Scripting the Game
Mike Pondsmith – R. Talsorian Games
In 1992, R. Talsorian published Dream Park: The Roleplaying Game, an RPG based on the novel series by Larry Niven and Steve Barnes. The chapter titled “Scripting the Game” introduced usage of television show scripting concepts in TTRPG adventures. It is a guide to crafting adventures using a structured approach called Beat Charts. Each adventure is divided into distinct narrative beats: Hooks to draw players in, alternating Developments and Cliffhangers to maintain engagement, and a climactic Resolution to tie the story together. It provides examples, pacing advice, and ideas for beats drawn from classic storytelling techniques. It’s a great resource for GMs that has been made freely available in R. Talsorian’s download page.
The Five-Room Dungeon
John Fourr’s roleplayingtips.com
John Fourr’s very popular concept of the 5 Room Dungeon framework. It’s a compact, flexible approach to module design that divides adventures into five key encounter types: entrance, puzzle, setback, climax, and reward. Designed for quick planning and easy integration, it’s adaptable to any genre or game system, offering a structure that combines Joseph Campbell’s mythic storytelling with practical GMing. The method is ideal for creating short, engaging sessions while providing enough flexibility to expand into campaigns. Its built-in story structure makes it a reliable tool for both beginner and experienced GMs. This format is worth exploring for its simplicity, versatility, and time-saving benefits.
Writing a Case in City of Mist TTRPG
City of Mist
This post describes an interesting framework for writing mysteries. It introduces the iceberg diagram to organize a case from its surface-level hooks to its hidden depths, ensuring a balanced mix of backstory, clues, and dynamic challenges. It emphasizes adaptability, encouraging GMs to prepare for player improvisation while providing enough structure to keep the mystery coherent. Though designed for City of Mist, the advice is broadly applicable to creating mysteries in most RPG setting.
Savage World’s Plot Points
Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Plot Point Campaigns, as featured in Savage Worlds, balance structured storytelling with player agency. They provide a big-picture backstory that unfolds through “Plot Point” adventures, interspersed with modular side quests and encounters. Designed for GMs with limited prep time, these campaigns enable dynamic world exploration with detailed settings, NPCs, and challenges. Their structure could be a great guide for building flexible campaigns, even outside Savage Worlds.
TV Shows as Plot Point Campaigns
Zadmar’s Savage Stuff
This post offers practical advice for adapting TV shows into campaigns. It examines the similarities between Savage World’s Plot Point Campaigns and TV shows, using Supernatural Season 1 as a case study. It highlights how the main storyline is advanced through essential “Plot Point Episodes,” while optional “Savage Tales” add depth and character exploration. The post also compares different approaches to Plot Point design, such as location-driven campaigns (50 Fathoms) versus campaigns driven by event and character (Necessary Evil).
KJD-IMC: Campaign and Scenario Design
KJ Davies’ In My Campaign
These posts, inspired by Justin Alexander’s work on node-based scenario design, offer great insights into campaign and scenario design. They not only expands on Alexander’s ideas but also provides multiple essays detailing practical approaches to node-based design, from creating cohesive scenarios to structuring mega-dungeons. Highlights include the “Rule of Three,” guidance on balancing player agency with predictability, and innovative methods like Sprouts-inspired graph design. I found this series to be an excellent resource for GMs seeking to refine their adventure-building techniques, and another great inspiration for Alkemion Studio.
Pointcrawl Series Index
Chris Kutalik’s The Hill Cantons
An extensive blog series exploring the pointcrawl method as a an alternative or a supplement to traditional hexcrawling. It reimagines navigation and exploration by focusing on connected points of interest, addressing challenges like scale in ruined cities, vertical space in megadungeons, and micro-navigation within hexes. With visual examples, annotated maps, and random tables for stocking ruins, this series offers actionable advice for organizing complex spaces. Whether you’re seeking to simplify wilderness exploration or add depth to ruined cities, the series provides a well thought alternative to hex-based design.
Level One Wonk: The Sandbox
Cannibal Halfling Game
This post is a comprehensive guide to running sandbox campaigns. It tackles the challenges of open-ended gameplay, highlighting the balance between GM preparation and player-driven storytelling. The post explains top-down and bottom-up worldbuilding approaches, the importance of tracking time and space, and the collaborative role of players in shaping the game. With practical advice on organizing gameplay and encouraging emergent narratives, it offers tools for creating dynamic game worlds. This post is great for GMs and players interested in the freedom and creativity of sandbox-style campaigns.
5 Tricks for Creating Brilliant Dungeon Maps From Will Doyle
DM David
This post provides key lessons from Will Doyle for designing memorable dungeon maps. It emphasizes creating dynamic and interconnected maps using features like rivers or rifts, revealing goals early to guide focus, encouraging exploration through multiple objectives, designing puzzle-like dungeons, and giving each level a distinct theme. All great practical tips to make dungeons memorable and fun. Worth reading for anyone looking to improve their dungeon design.
The Blorb Principles
idiomdrottning.org
The “Blorb” is a prep-focused playstyle, a framework for preparing and running RPGs with a focus on emergent gameplay and immersive mechanics. The blog post emphasizes prepping game entities (e.g., places, characters, items) rather than fixed plots, ensuring players’ choices genuinely affect the narrative. Key concepts include committing to prepped details (“No Paper after Seeing Rock”), structuring improvisation through “Three Tiers of Truth” (prep > rules > improv), and prioritizing diegetic mechanics tied directly to the game world. It offers practical advice for creating engaging, meaningful adventures while maintaining fairness and creativity. Worth reading for a fresh perspective on prep and play.
Bryce Lynch’s Adventure Design Tips Summarized and Explained
Into the Dark
This summary of Bryce Lynch’s adventure design principles, drawn from his reviews on Ten Foot Pole, distills the key elements of effective old-school RPG design. It covers the importance of evocative descriptions, player choice, dynamic NPCs and factions, and layouts that foster exploration without bottlenecks. Practical advice on hooks, treasure, and functionality is also included, offering concrete steps to create memorable adventures. A great resource for honing design skills.
Conceptual density (or ‘What are RPG books for, anyway?’)
Against the Wicked City
This blog post introduces the concept of “conceptual density,” emphasizing the value of RPG materials that provide a rich array of original, actionable ideas. The author critiques supplements that rely on clichés, irrelevant filler, or meaningless randomness, highlighting the importance of offering creative content that adds real value to a game. Through examples like Slumbering Ursine Dunes and Qelong, the post demonstrates how good supplements inspire GMs by presenting a high density of fresh concepts. This post is an interesting exploration of how to evaluate and use RPG books effectively, making it a worthwhile read for any GM.
Published books and essays:
The following entries are published books and essays and are not freely available online:
How to Write Adventure Modules that Don’t Suck
Goodman Games
A comprehensive anthology featuring essays from experienced game designers. It covers topics like encounter design, player interaction, narrative structure, and sensory immersion. Each essay provides actionable advice and example encounters, making it a practical and inspirational guide for novice and seasoned adventure writers. I think this is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their adventures.
Getting Off the Railroad and Onto the Island
John Arcadian in “Unframed”
In this essay John Arcadian presents Island Design Theory, a prep strategy for GMs emphasizing modularity and adaptability. Rather than a rigid, linear plot, the game is broken into “islands”, discrete elements like encounters, clues, and NPCs, that players can explore in a non-linear fashion. This method allows GMs to adapt to players’ actions dynamically while preserving narrative coherence. It’s a thoughtful approach for balancing structure and improvisation in RPGs in the same vein as Jason Alexander’s node-based design, and another inspiration in the design of Alkemion Studio.
Anatomy of Adventure
M.T. Black
Anatomy of Adventure is a reflective and practical essay on adventure design, focusing on the value of learning through pastiche, creating meaningful player choices, and leveraging constraints to fuel creativity (an approach I’m deeply convinced of). The author shows how limitations, whether they’re resource-based or structural, can lead to imaginative solutions that make adventures more unique. The book also dives into non-linear dungeon design, interactive elements, and the importance of giving players visible and impactful decisions. This essay is a great read and offers a roadmap for turning limitations into great storytelling tools.
Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering
Robin D. Laws
The “Campaign Design” and “Adventure Design” sections of Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering provide essential advice for creating memorable TTRPG experiences. “Campaign Design” contrasts on-the-fly campaigns with meticulously planned ones, weighing flexibility against consistency. It emphasizes aligning themes and genres with player preferences for maximum engagement. “Adventure Design” focuses on building clear, actionable plot hooks, structured adventures, and ensuring player actions drive the story forward. Together, these sections form a practical framework for designing adaptable and player-focused campaigns.
Sharper Adventures in Heroquest Glorantha
Robin D. Laws
Sharper Adventures in HeroQuest Glorantha is a concise guide, written by Robin D. Laws as a fundraiser for the Kraken convention in Germany. It provides a toolkit for crafting memorable adventures. It highlights the importance of defining a core activity, establishing emotional stakes, and structuring narratives with key beats like the Point of No Return and Escalation. While rooted in HeroQuest, the techniques are broadly applicable to other TTRPG systems, offering practical guidance to refine scenario design and enhance player engagement.
Adventure Crucible
Robin D. Laws
In Adventure Crucible, Robin D. Laws explores the foundations of scenario design for traditional RPGs, detailing five core structures: Dungeon, Mystery, Chain of Fights, Survival, and Intrigue. Each structure is dissected to highlight its strengths, challenges, and best practices for engaging play. Laws provides actionable advice on crafting compelling obstacles, emotional stakes, and satisfying resolutions. This essay serves as both a guide and a diagnostic tool for refining your adventures, making it an invaluable resource for GMs and designers alike.
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