Write Your First Adventure
Learn how to write a one-shot adventure for your favorite tabletop roleplaying game
More than 12,000 ttRPG writers just like you have written their first adventures with us
By the end of this workshop, you'll have written, produced, and published a 3,500-word adventure for your favorite ttRPG game system.
Sponsored by Chaosium
When you register, you'll receive a digital workbook to prepare for your project before getting started in the course
Write Your First Adventure has four core units that build upon one another
The first unit will help you solidify your idea and learn about some basic game and narrative design theory, such as exploring themes and determining the main "conflict" in your adventure. Then, you'll write your introduction section (with guidance!) before we move into the next stage.
✅ By the end of this section, you'll have your adventure idea selected and will have created an outline/mindmap to start fleshing out.
UNIT 1 LESSONS |
Lesson 1: Setting a Project Scope |
Lesson 2: The Call to Adventure |
Lesson 3: Designing Narrative Obstacles and Challenges |
Lesson 4: Setting and Locale |
Lesson 5: Villains and BBEGs |
Lesson 6: Creating an NPC Quest-Giver |
Lesson 7: Initiation |
Lesson 8: Writing an Introduction |
This is when you'll write the bulk of your adventure. The lessons in this unit continue to delve into some theory that will inform your decisions, and you'll write each section of your adventure with suggested (but optional!) word count milestones.
✅ By the end of this section, you'll have your adventure drafted.
UNIT 2 LESSONS |
Time to Write: Getting Ready for Part 2 |
WORD COUNT MILESTONE: 500 Words |
Lesson 9: Research for Your RuneQuest Adventure |
Lesson 10: Allies and Enemies |
WORD COUNT MILESTONE: 500 Words |
Lesson 11: Player Choice in Adventures |
Lesson 12: Incorporating Player Choice and Avoiding "Railroading" |
WORD COUNT MILESTONE: 1000 Words |
Lesson 13: Illumination |
Lesson 14: The Reward |
Lesson 15: The Underworld |
WORD COUNT MILESTONE: 1500 Words |
We'll share the basics of playtesting and some activities to self-playtest. We'll also share tips for editing, and then start the layout and production steps!
✅ By the end of this section, you'll have your self-edited and self-playtested adventure in layout and ready for polishing in part 4.
UNIT 3 LESSONS |
Time to Polish Up Your Adventure: Getting Ready for Part 3 |
Lesson 16: Editing and Proofreading |
Lesson 17: Designing for Accessibility - Part 1 |
Lesson 18: Designing for Accessibility - Part 2 |
Lesson 19: Primer to Playtesting |
Lesson 20: Layout on a Budget - Part 1 |
Lesson 21: Layout on a Budget - Part 2 |
Lesson 22: Cover Design Best Practices |
Lesson 23: Conveying Mood through Design |
This last part is all about polishing up your adventure and spending this final week making changes to your adventure. We also share some marketing and promotion tips for you to peruse when you need a break from sprucing up your adventure.
✅ By the end of this section, you'll have a finished adventure and will have completed the workshop! 🎉
UNIT 4 LESSONS |
Time to Wrap Up Your Project: Getting Ready for Part 4 |
Lesson 24: Marketing 101 |
Lesson 26: Being a Good Community Creator |
Course Wrap-Up |
Upon completing the program, you'll receive a digital certificate to add to your writing portfolio.
The lessons in the workshop begin unlocking every day as soon as you enroll! You can complete the activities on your own schedule.
In this course, all lessons are written (like blog posts/articles). Each lesson in the workshop's four units includes activities to guide your learning.
Right here on this website. Just simply pop over here to StorytellingCollective.com and log in. The course will be available in your account!
The Storytelling Collective team and instructors are all prolific, passionate ttRPG creators. We've hosted this workshop for more than 12,000 writers since we started in 2018.
Not sure if the workshop is right for you? Sign up for free to access a few lessons and dip your toe in!