Adventure (role-playing games)

Overview

An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game which a gamemaster leads the players and their characters through. Various types of designs exist, including linear adventures, where players need to progress through each predetermined scene in turn; and non-linear adventures, where each situation can lead in multiple directions. The former is more restrictive, but is easier to manage, whereas the latter is more open-ended but more demanding for the gamemaster. A series of adventures played in succession are collectively called a campaign. Adventures meant to be played alone, without a game group, are called solo adventures.

Adventures can be created by gamemasters, but are also released by game publishers in the form of modular, supplementary books for role-playing games, sometimes combined with additional game mechanics or background information on the game's setting. Pre-written adventure modules have the advantage of being easier to run for new gamemasters, especially linear ones. Still, it is most common for groups to play adventures they have made up themselves, and even when playing published adventures, it is common for alterations to be made.