A philosophy of old-school adventure design
The BRW Method is more than a style guide—it is the philosophy behind every adventure we publish.
Our goal is simple: publish adventures that Game Masters enjoy running as much as players enjoy exploring.
We believe the greatest roleplaying adventures are not stories to be followed, but worlds to be discovered.
Bear in mind that these are guidelines, not commandments. We will certainly look at submissions that bend or break these rules as long as doing so actively adds to the playability and effectiveness of the adventure.
Adventures are Places
A BRW adventure is first and foremost a place. Not a screenplay. Not a novel disguised as an adventure. A place where stories happen.
The location exists before the player characters arrive and will continue to exist after they leave.
The players determine what story emerges.
Player Choice is Paramount
Players should regularly decide:
- where to go
- whom to trust
- whether to negotiate or fight
- whether to retreat
- which objectives matter
Avoid situations where only one solution allows the adventure to continue, and whenever possible, present multiple viable approaches.
Locations Should Have Internal Logic
Every significant location should answer questions such as:
- Why was it built?
- Who lives here?
- What do they want?
- What happened recently?
- Why hasn’t someone already taken the treasure?
- What changes if the PCs interfere?
The world should make sense even if no player ever visits.
Factions are Better than Villains
Rather than a single evil mastermind, adventures should have different groups with competing interests:
- rival cults
- monster tribes
- feuding nobles
- merchant guilds
- pirates
- intelligent monsters
- explorers
The players should be able to ally with, deceive, manipulate, or destroy these groups.
Exploration Drives the Adventure
The central activity should be exploration:
- dungeon exploration
- wilderness travel
- ruined cities
- mysterious valleys
- strange demiplanes
- ancient temples
- haunted ships
Even adventures with a clear mission should reward curiosity.
Stories Should Emerge Naturally
Rather than having a series of scenes that must occur in a given order for the adventure to make sense, we prefer:
- locations
- NPCs
- motivations
- conflicts
- rumors
- treasures
The players will create the story through interacting with the various factions, encounters, and so forth.
NPCs Have Goals
NPCs should never exist merely to deliver information.
Each important NPC should have:
- an objective
- resources
- fears
- allies
- enemies
Many should continue pursuing those goals regardless of the players’ actions.
Reward Clever Play
Players should be rewarded for:
- reconnaissance
- negotiation
- planning
- trickery
- diplomacy
- retreat
- exploiting the environment
Not every obstacle should require combat.
Combat Should Matter
Combat is dangerous.
Avoid endless “wandering room” encounters; instead, encounters should have consequences:
- monsters raise alarms
- enemies retreat
- factions respond
- supplies run low
- rival adventurers move in
Secrets Create Discovery
Every major location should contain things that are:
- hidden
- forgotten
- mysterious
- optional
Players should frequently discover things they weren’t specifically looking for.
The World Exists Beyond the Adventure
Successful adventures leave room for future play:
- surviving villains
- unexplored passages
- unresolved mysteries
- rumors of deeper dangers
- political consequences
Preferred Adventure Structure
A submission should ideally contain:
- Adventure Summary (less than 1 page)
- Background
- Adventure Hooks
- Important NPCs
- Rumor Table
- Adventure Location(s)
- Wandering Encounters (where appropriate)
- Treasure
- New Monsters (if needed)
- New Magic Items (if needed)
- Appendices
Wonder Creates Memories
Players rarely remember the third room with orcs; they remember the impossible.
The haunted circus, the city that sings, the forgotten civilization, the impossible machine.
Give players something they’ve never seen before.
What We Like
- Sandboxes
- Large dungeons
- Small dungeons with multiple routes
- Ruins
- Hex crawls
- Wilderness exploration
- Urban districts with competing factions
- Weird fantasy that still feels plausible
- Sword & sorcery
- Dangerous exploration
- Memorable villains
- Interesting magic
What We Generally Avoid
- Railroad adventures
- Cut scenes
- NPCs who cannot fail
- Adventures with only one solution
- Large boxed text to be read to the players
- Long fictional narratives
- Moralizing and modern day politics
- Modern fantasy tropes that clash with an old-school feel
- Adventures that assume the PCs will win every encounter
The BRW Test
Before submitting, ask yourself these questions:
- Could the players solve this adventure in several different ways?
- Could they completely ignore the obvious objective and still have an enjoyable adventure?
- Do NPCs have believable motivations?
- Does the location feel like a real place?
- Are there meaningful choices every session?
- Could another referee easily adapt this adventure to their own campaign world?
- Would I enjoy running this adventure more than once for different groups?
If the answer to most of these is “yes,” you’re probably writing the kind of adventure BRW Games wants to publish.