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A big step forward would be presenting your scenario as if you expect the GM to write directly on the pages. Create checklists that can be checked off or annotated, put checkboxes next to NPC/monster spells to indicate they've been used, present hit points with specific space for GMs to write as...

First thing I'd do if I set out to write a scenario would be to hire a graphic designer. ;)

This could definitely help, but notice how you phrased it: "think through and offer suggestions." That's what you do when you've never played a scenario before. Why should we expect or forgive scenario designers who haven't actually played their own scenarios? And if they have, why shouldn't...

All the stuff I mentioned would make scenarios easier to run. Most of what's been discussed in this thread is low-hanging fruit that's been discussed for decades. The OP asked for "any ideas" in their first post. So I provided some ideas. I agree that keyed locations should be presented in...

It's peculiar to me how often "information design" is cashed out as text formatting: bullet points, bold text, short descriptions, consistent NPC templates. I get more inspiration from ideas like: Present information in the order that will help GMs understand the scenario rather than the order...

Folks might have a better idea of what’s possible if they looked for examples beyond the two-columns of narrative text model popularized back in the AD&D days and the two-columns-but-with-bullet-points-and-spot-map-inserts style of OSR scenarios. Sometimes the answer seems to lie in graphic...

D&D is deeply balkanized within WotC. I'm pretty sure that the "VTT team" and the "D&D Beyond team" are under the same umbrella, but they are organizationally separate from the D&D Book team, i.e. the game design folks everyone here knows who makes the actual D&D content. The VTT/D&DB managers...

This is what I was pointing at, replies like this. The RFC guys clearly have some sort of inside track with WotC and are getting information as a result. They're saying that D&D and WotC are in trouble. You've probably got no inside information and are trying to read the infamously opaque tea...

You're the guy who maintains the thread analyzing D&D's Amazon rankings and concluding that D&D's sales haven't flagged in years. D&D book sales have tanked and will continue to do so in 2024.

This came in while I was typing my last response. I'll bow out.

Ah, I'm wrong on that part of it, then. RFC reports that they spent a lot of time talking to Cao and some other D&DB designer. They may have bought a ticket like everyone else, but they probably got more attention than everyone else. I stand by most of the rest of what I sad. RFC's being...

Just because they're selling more doesn't mean they aren't losing money. And I disagree that they're selling more. This is an opportunistic marriage of convenience between the D&DB team - who operate largely independent of the D&D books team - and RFC. The acquisition of D&DB blew a $140m-ish...

I feel the same way. To gloss over Roll For Combat's brand of outrage farming because you want the D&D team to succeed is shortsighted. It should be clear to everyone who paid attention during the OGL disaster that someone inside the D&D team was feeding information to Roll For Combat. Now that...

You can get a sense of the size of the team from the credits page of any recent 5e book. A lot of those credits are for artists or production folks, like the people who actually do layout for the physical books. The design team itself, the people who design the game, is probably...fifteen-ish...

I appreciate the generosity behind this, but playtesting against what, exactly? After all, if the old and new editions are meant to be compatible, then that compatibility should flow backwards from the monsters, too. The new edition's monsters should be balanced/playable/whatever against PCs...

Just what I observe.

This noble principle doesn't seem to extend to people complaining about WotC.

The game is not doing well profitably.

The guy who draws maps for D&D may know some people who work on D&D, but his claim is ludicrous on its face. How many copies of Tasha's - a single 5e book that's not a core book - do you think WotC printed? How many copies of all 4e books ever published were printed? Keep in mind that this...

They are trying to save face internally, not with the fans. Right, so why is the current D&D team trying to blame the printers more than a year in advance? Their second justification in the Polygon article is more consistent with their PR messaging: these editions are interchangeable, so it's...