DriveThruRPG.com
Browse Categories
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II $3.00
Average Rating:4.1 / 5
Ratings Reviews Total
2 4
0 2
2 0
0 0
1 0
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Click to view
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 01/21/2019 03:21:40

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The second of Venger’s advice-pdfs on the art of adventure-writing clocks in at 18 pages,1 page front cover,1 page kort’thalis glyph, 1 page editorial, leaving us with 15 pages of content, though it should be noted that there are no less than 4 truly stunning full-page b/w-artworks inside. (Plus a half-page one.)

The original Adventure Writing Like a Fucking Boss pdf, ultimately, at least for me, turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, as it focused on adventure writing for a group, and did not even briefly talk about the aspects of, you know, commercial adventure writing and the ins and outs there, so let’s see if this fares better!

We are off to a promising start, where Venger outlines his personal 3-month writing process, and then proceeds to note an overview of the module – her, I’d like to note that most customers, me included, actually do prefer getting a synopsis to contextualize the adventure, so yeah, his notion of providing an overview may be noted as not exactly required, and he is right in that insertion, but it’s definitely something that’s preferred by most folks out there.

We next move towards the importance of artwork and the importance of a map and when to include them. Personally, I’d like to add that a key-less, unlabeled map, sans secret doors etc., particularly in the age of VTTs, is a big draw. Include one, if at all possible! Venger’s discussion of artwork, particularly cover art (and interior art) also is wise. Folks will want nice artwork, and his suggestions for art-distrubtion make sense. I also like how he explicitly notes that there are multiple styles, and that full-color artwork doesn’t always trump b/w-artwork – a fact that this book perfectly illustrates with its lavish artworks. In a hilarious “teaching by showing moment”, he has a sentence in an atrocious font in the middle of the page, stating that the module should, you know, use a proper font that’s easy to read. As someone who has actually gotten migraines from having to stare for hours on end on a sucky font that is hard on the eyes, I found myself thinking: “Yes! This x1000!”

His discussion on finding a balance between being overtly descriptive and being bland, the daring to leave gaps for further adventuring, also rang true. I also liked that he clearly states that you don’t want just an outline – other folks will run it, so you need to abstract what you know and provide a more detailed adventure than some GM-notes. I genuinely did not expect to see this piece of advice, as Venger is very fond of evocative adventure outlines, but yeah – big kudos for abstracting author-bias here!

The next page then deals with the ingredients of your adventure – you should offer an evocative location, and the pdf does note that the PCs should have means to chew the scenery, interact and gain benefits…but balance that with not handing things out too easily. The insertion of complications also helps here. I’d also like to affirm that we don’t need a full curriculum vitae for every NPC. Unless it’s relevant for the plot, the GM doesn’t need to have spelled out that a certain NPC is lactose intolerant, when specific NPCs have their bowel-movements, etc. Crucial details to set them apart help, but don’t go overboard.

This piece of advice also ties in with a truly helpful observation: Monsters should have something to do. An ogre in a barrel-filled room? Boring. An ogre in a drunken rage, barricaded behind barrels, throwing them at PCs? Now that is interesting! Adverbs and adverbials are your friends, even in brief encounter-lines. This aspect, mechanically, also ties in with GM agency, something that you should definitely account for. The pdf also provides notes on (optional, obviously!) twist endings, so you don’t end up Shyamalan-ing your module. We all know at this point that Venger’s fond of random encounter tables, and so am I – his advice here is something that I’d second – though I’d note another aspect that the pdf doesn’t mention. Random encounters can be used to ground a module in a semblance of realism and plausibility. Many classic-style adventures do that, focusing on a few bandits and humanoids, perhaps some animals and vermin – this can end up being boring if the module doesn’t offer much more exciting this, but if you need to contrast the regular landscape from the dimension-tearing hellscape that this meteorite impact created, well, then a deliberately mundane random encounter table, contrasted by a full-blown bonkers and weird one, can really help distinguish components.

The pdf also provides a few notes on encounter design – if the encounter’s barely worthy of a footnote, describe over it. Don’t let mighty heroes (and their players) waste their time with crappy low-level foes…unless they are still a threat and part of a war of attrition before the big bad guy, but then again, they’ll be mid-level foes then…but that is my addition to the advice provided. Conversely, advice for which encounters to maximize and tweak is also noted. (Nice aside: A little box features a great twist that will make many a GM better for having read it…no, not going to spoil it here…)

4 general, different types of ending scenario are presented as well, and some bullet points to determine what should and shouldn’t be included in NPC-introduction are rather helpful. The formatting of stuff that is obvious, and stuff that is hidden, as noted in the advice provided for room description, is nice. If the module has a map, you won’t need dimensions – if it doesn’t, be sure to note them! Otherwise, the GMs and players will be stumbling through an abstract blob of a dungeon, and not in a good way. The pdf also notes that not all trailer-like first ideas can, in the end,c arry a whole adventure – and that linear dungeons are boring as all hell.

Venger came up with a good phrase here: “Needs more tentacles” – this doesn’t refer to tentacles per se, but is a call to be exceptional, to add this one twist to make it dark, make it weird, make it memorable. Similarly, his notion of creating images that stick “like Golden Honey” is something that can I can subscribe to; while a flawed freshman offering, Venger’s very first module, “Liberation of the Demon Slayer” may have a couple of weakpoints…but it’s not boring. In fact, many of his adventures have at least this one resounding, great imagery that just…sticks. The means by which a greater whole and moods can be conveyed is also highlighted here.

The pdf also, another pleasant surprise, actually deals with rules required for an adventure – that you should not rewrite game-rules, but that you well should provide new ones if required. The potential importance of factions and how to make them compelling is similarly discussed.

And then, the supplement provides advice that really helped ole’ me. How to be funny. I am not funny. I suck at writing funny or cute. I do horrific, dark and disturbing rather well, but that’s about it – the advice provided here is definitely appreciated. Aesthetic concerns, like how to present vital information, makes sense and quite a few folks should take a look here. He also notes that getting excited about writing something’s a good sign…and vice versa. We also, once more, have a serious and helpful checklist that should help authors avoiding railroading players.

And finally, the pdf talks about reviewers and roughly categorizes them in three categories, which somewhat mirrors my experiences. I certainly hope that I’d be classified as a neutral reviewer, i.e. someone who talks about the good and bad of a product. I’d also like to state that his advice on finding a reviewer that understands your design is appreciated – and his warning that one has to acknowledge that nothing’s perfect would make my job infinitely easier. If I had a dime for every time someone take criticism of a supplement as a direct attack and responded with vitriol…

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no typos or the like. Layout is gorgeous, as we’ve come to expect from Kort’thalis Publishing – veins and splotches lighten the pages without diverting attention from the text. The b/w-artworks, with a Conan/Red Sonja piece, warriors and a slightly suggestive (but perfectly PG 13) one, as well as that of a female being dragged, unconscious, into the maw of a monster, while a hero jumps down, axe ready, are pretty damn kickass; certainly beyond what you’d expect from such an inexpensive file. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience and also features a second, more printer-friendly version.

Venger’s second advice-booklet on the art of adventure-writing turned out to be an impressive surprise for me. This little booklet compiles a ton of genuinely helpful and clearly put pieces of advice that really help you start making great adventures. While it is, by necessity of scope and by being system neutral, not an all-encompassing advice pdf that can get into the details of the respective systems, but it’d be unfair to expect this.

What we do have here, is a little gem of a checklist, quite frankly the opposite in utility when compared to the first pdf. Much to my pleasant surprise, Venger has succeeded in extrapolating much of his own aesthetic bias, which only shines through where it belongs – in examples, in the way in which he illustrates his points. We’re left with a surprising amount of wisdom and plain good guidance for new adventure-writers, particularly considering the brevity of this pdf. This is much more useful than many comparable books, stripped of superfluous meanderings, and, and that is important to note for Venger’s writing, it is genuinely well-structured. It doesn’t jump back and forth and provides a vivid and helpful guideline for writing modules that is, as a final plus, also surprisingly fun to read. All in all, this can be considered to be a resounding success, well worthy of 5 stars + seal of approval…and if this represents his accumulated knowledge, consider me very excited about his current project Cha’alt!

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Hal G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/12/2018 17:02:36

If you are looking for some mysterious secrets of writing role play adventures book, this might not be for you. This is a walk through of the obvious. As you go through and read it, for the most part you will be saying, "ok, yeah, I knew that... ok, that makes sense..." But that doesnt make the book less valuable. Sometimes between the giants, and the super star mutilators and the brain eating Gugermongers its really easy to get lost in your ideas and the next thing you know you either arn't putting anything out, or the stuff you are putting kind of sucks. Sometimes you need Captain Obvious to say "Hey, remember ice is cold...". Thats what this book does. You can see from the first couple of pages that are previewed, Venger talks aout things like his three month formula... month one, jot down notes and ideas, month two, get a draft together and month three, polish it up. That's not NASA... but its damn good common sense. He talks about things you might not know about, he offeres suggestions on where to invest time and creativity, where to put details, where to leave details out. And its all coming from a guy who has been around the block a few times, an actual guy who writes adventures like a fucking boss....

I plan on writing my own game books. I am using Adventure Writing Line A Fucking Boss II to help keep me grounded and motivatied. At 18 pages I can leaf through and reread the whole thing in about an hour. That should be good enough to keep me focused or bring me back on task. I'd higly recommend this book to anyone writing anything.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Kevin S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/30/2018 22:42:46

Just like the other products in what I call his "Like a Fucking Boss" product line, AWLAFB2 is easy to read, gets you straight to the point without wasting your time, and is chock full of gorgeous artwork that just inspires you to grab your notebook, graph paper and pen and start brainstorming ideas to torture your friends at your next session.

Currently at a mere $4 on RPGnow, this book is 18 pages with an awe inspiring cover, 5 kick ass whole page artworks and 1 sexy half page art piece. All the PDFs in this line are offered in both the full color version and a tree hugging printer friendly version. The layout is excellent, so the large art pieces and the text work very well despite a heavy water colored (or are these blood stains...?) whole page background art. Overall, the layout, color choices, and art are similar to part 1 (which was already very professional appearing), but it's looking even tighter. Apparently Venger is becoming even more of an expert in his desktop publishing skills.

The text is laid out in 28 small sections with far ranging bits of advice. Each section is typically 3 to 5 paragraphs with a heading that is usually self descriptive like "Interior Art" or "Introducing NPCs" but sometimes something more catchy that forces you to read further like "Let Them Eat Cake", "Hat Rack Descriptions", and "Needs More Tentacles".

The writing style (and art choice) is typical Venger Satanis. Occasional edgy and humorous topics and language along with awesome old school art, some of which is NSFW but all of it is awesome. Included are bits of wisdom spread throughout in easy to comprehend examples that get right to the heart of the matter. Kinda like one of the common themes in the entire book. Your responsibility (as a writer of adventures) is to get to the point so that the reader can get most of what they need without getting bogged down, while at the same time injecting the seeds necessary to allow the reader to expand in the direction they need in real time at the gaming table.

So. if this sounds at all interesting, then just pick it up and read it. You'll learn something, or at least be inspired. I promise.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Justin I. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/30/2018 12:56:49

Venger has a new advice pdf with his Adventure Writing Like a Boss II. The pdf isn't so much a sequel as a logical progression to the first. You can read my review of that pdf here. The second pdf in the series focuses publishing adventures.

The book is laid out in typical Kort'thalis Publishing style. There's a vein, textured background version and a vein-free printer friendly version. The artwork is evocative, sexy, and sinewy. The writing itself is direct and entertaining. The text has many subheadings, which Venger uses to discuss various aspects of adventure writing. While many topics are discussed some I found particularly useful in regards to publishing were the ones that talked about artwork, leaving openings for gm's, and reviews. Seriously these are topics that all new publishers need to think about. Of course the adventure writing advice itself is phenomenal too. Venger's good at what he does.

If you're thinking about taking a stab at publishing and (like me) you're still relatively new, then you should definitely pick this one up.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/28/2018 01:04:37

"This is the much-anticipated sequel to best seller Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss. Part II has even more advice for the amateur and professional author - secrets which only a select few are even aware. Or maybe it just seems that way because I keep seeing the same mistakes over and over and over again. " this book to go on an actual adventure not a book about adventure publishing! Sorry, I had to get that off my chest folks. The cover art by Lucas Graciano is very well done but has little to do with the contents of Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II. The interior art by Bojan Sucevic & David Miller range from decent to sheer Lovecraftian but mostly seem to match the cover in a Sword & Sorcery motif. The artwork is good & solid reflecting the author's vision. This book focuses on many of the author's own experiences in the rpg publishing industry from behind the keyboard. Venger has written it in a no nonsense style that hits the high notes & some of the low notes of the behind the industry stuff. The author takes his experiences in stereo style instruction to rpg & adventure design that takes a step by step process approach. On the whole its a very straight forward book that has Venger's usual wit & weirdness throw in without a constant running bit of sleaze. Sure there's some T&A after all this is Venger but this is one of his more down to Earth books and that doesn't mean boring. The artwork & layout here is solid and well done by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design. The advise here is well rounded and I have to mention Venger's stance on rail roading in adventures; "If you can apply any of the following to something you've written, take it behind the woodshed and shoot it between the eyes. A The PCs have to do… A The PCs can't rescue… A The PCs always fail at… A The PCs never… A There's no way the PCs can… A The PCs will… Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, "the PCs have to offer the bounty hunters a substantial reward if they want to hire them for this job." That's fine because "hire" is specific, but not the only way to get things done. Maybe a PC tries to seduce one of the bounty hunters or blackmails him into tracking down their prey. However, if you write "the PCs have to get into a fight with the bounty hunters in order for them to get captured by Ambassador Kehaan," that's just wrong."

All too often I've seen this exact sort of theme that runs through many old school & even modern OSR products. Don't rail road because its only going to harm the product & Venger continues with this approach. The book is simple & directly down to Earth without being preachy that was one of the short falls I found in many White Wolf products. This one avoids the preachy & pretentious voice. In other words the book does a good job of laying out its voices for writing, publishing, & advise without talking down to its audience. For years I've been telling Venger that he's a good writer & he doesn't need the sleaze gimmick to engage his reading audience. Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II proves that fact in spades & lays the gauntlet on the table for writing more books of this quality. But is Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II a good book? Well, yes for the person whose looking to get into the garage band end of table top rpg's such as the OSR scene.

Are there problems with Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II? Well yes & no, because their small but the book in some ways states the obvious but then if your experienced with small time rpg table top publishing why are you reading Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II?

This book takes the beginning author & walks him or her through the entire behind the scenes aspects of rpg publishing from inception to completion in only twenty four pages with the author's insights, commentary, & humor take on the rpg business. Its actually a pretty solid read for a book with more then slightly ridiculous title. Here everyone needs a hook to grab the buyer's attention and its held. The book's title assures that die hard Venger Satanis fans will be grabbing this book. I'd give this one a four out of five. Grab Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II if you want a no holds bar tour of the rpg publishing world with out breaking the bank!

Eric Fabiaschi Sword & Stitchery blog Want More Original OSR Content? Then subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II
Publisher: Kortthalis Publishing
by Thomas A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/26/2018 18:57:21

This is the latest in a series of rpg advice books all titled Like a Fucking Boss. Don't let the name and OMG Bad Ass style fool you. Venger Satanis is the real deal and this book offers excellent adventure writing advice, even if you don't like 70's sleaze or cthulhu cults. The first Adventure Writing book focused more on the adventure side, this one focuses more on the writing side. It offers solid practical advice on writing and publishing an RPG book, as well as what to write, how to write it, and what will be most helpful for your target audience of game masters. If you have aspirations of publishing your own material, this is a great resource.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 1 to 6 (of 6 reviews) Result Pages:  1 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items
 Gift Certificates