Quasiwizard

Understand how challenges and rewards interact with room layout. A deathtrap in a chokepoint of the dungeon makes dealing with the trap necessary for progress. Is this a crucial obstacle or a permanent hindrance? Loops allow the party to approach a challenge from a different angle. What might be in the room that needs a new perspective? Branches allow interchangeable exploration of rooms. Should the room contents be interchangeable? Interconnectivity promotes exploration and keeps players hooked. Locks and keys (not necessarily literal) are enticing as they show you rooms, implicitly or explicitly. What might be worth locking up? NPCs may give information about the dungeon - what information might be smart to give? Fragmented items gives hints to another part. What is so dangerous it needed breaking? Secrets are tweaked by their degree of concealment, but hints don't give answers. A gap in a map suggests a hidden room, but only suggests. When should a gap hide a secret? Knowing the...

 "Before the game begins it is not only necessary to select a role, but it is also necessary to determine what stance the character will take - Law, Neutrality, or Chaos." (Book I)    What stance will your character take? Law, Neutrality, or Chaos? What kind of question is that?   Alignment. Its common uses: player prescription for character morality descriptor of a character's personality Trap mechanics (e.g. Nightwick Abbey) Language choice Its issues too limited of a moral descriptor too abstract/interpretable can be meta-gamed by objecting of what "REALLY" is lawful or something not actually descriptive of anything concrete My proposal Have a setting with clear opposing organizational sides, and only describe alignment in terms of the organizations In Times that Fry Men's Souls , describe the characters as British- or American-aligned or neutral In Nightwick Abbey, make it clear you're working to reclaim the abbey to its original purpose, simply loot...

 This could be a fun holiday tradition, the 12 hexes of Christmas. That would be fun. That's not exactly what I did, but you are free to your own interpretations.   I sat down and wrote 12 hexes with pen and paper. Here they are, all typed up. For use with Troika! or Vaults of Vaarn, or for anything you like. 1-6 are in one column, 7-12 in the next. I might do more. This is incomplete, a game of fill in the blank, and you get to place the blanks where you think they go.   1. A pocket of forest holds the same amount of life as the miles of desert surrounding it. There are signs of past civilization - abandoned homes and fire pits. A large sinkhole contains a giant blind porcupine and a heavy chest. The chest contains an egg-sized lump of priceless metal - recognizable only by a blacksmith or machinist of high skill. 2. The desert slopes down into a canyon of a rushing river. Traveling along the riverbed invites attacks from the local raiders and bandits. Signs of scuffles ...