Up for ceiling, down for floor? Pretty simple logic there.
I agree that this is a reasonable way to look at Area 7, but it seems to me like the kind of interpretation that's a a lot easier to come up with in retrospect than during play.
I'm trying to put myself in the position of a player who isn't reading along with the module during the game. I've been teleported into an empty room. There are no exits, but it's not immediately apparent that I did something wrong to get here. (after all, the poor bastards who jumped into the GGD are dead, I'm ahead of them) I don't have any idea where I am in relation to Area 5. Above? Below? North? West? Am I on the same level of the dungeon?
So how do I know that up toward the ceiling is going to be better than down toward the floor? After all, there's already been one collapsing ceiling trap. For all I know "up" will cause the ceiling to crash down on me while "down" will open a passage in the floor.
Obviously, spells like Augury might help me. Good dungeoneering like that exhibited by the players in the thread Gentlegamer linked to will save me if I screw up. But is there any way to figure out that up is the right way to go without resorting to (a) dumb luck or (b) magic?
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