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Yeah, probably not the best way to communicate clues or info that needs to be known. It probably does work best with a somewhat open-ended campaign where something the players get unexpectedly interested in can blossom. I think mystery can be still useful as an avenue or added texture to a...

The answer for my players has always been a good mystery. All my most successful lore deliveries have been because something was hinted at and framed as a mystery that the players could actively pursue and uncover. Not necessarily a straightforward "whodunnit", but stuff like "what happen to...

Yeah fair enough! I was thinking particularly of the Random Encounters section w.r.t. to the DMG (compared even to the 2014 counterpart). The mini adventures are nice enough, though maybe with variable on the fly pluginability.

I do think a few styles of play that seem prominent these days are legitimately pretty hard to DM for. There is a lot of discussion about crafting story beats and managing character arcs for each of your players and building perfectly balanced set piece fights that give everyone a spotlight and...

I don't know if I'd go this hard in every dungeon. But I think in this case 1) there's time pressure (random encounters, factions manuevering, party is possibly sneaking around) so the choice to search an area is a tradeoff and spends a precious resource, and 2) The party won't really have a...

Seems like Rooms 2 and 3 are the lowest parts (except for the secret room at 30), the surrounding "horseshoe" is elevated relative to the center

I dunno, I wish! It seems like there's a lot more going on in a small space than most dungeons you see (just going by the map, ignoring the excellent stocking). I mean, how many dungeons these days have a secret door to room ration of 2:3?

Secret areas, and secret doors (possibly between known areas, but enhancing manueverability). Jennell Jaquays' Borshak's Lair, I'm counting 21 secret doors in 30 rooms: (apparently, her first dungeon, made in her dorm room in 1974...I guess some people just get it right away)

One other impression I've gotten is that at somepoint in the history of dungeon design, the default grid size went from 10 feet to 5 feet (presumably for game reasons), and that maps didn't always adapt, so that something that in an old school map would be a standard 10 foot hallway became a...

A lot of the things that are often brought up as good aspects of dungeon maps are things that I think are great about 90% of the time, whatever the context (though size/sense sometimes restricts the inclusion of all), provided I'm running something bigger than a simple lair: Multiple...

The OD&D variant Seven Voyages of Zylarthen suggests using dominoes to lay out a room ( removing them after the PCs have left), up to the PCs to map if they want. No idea how well it works in practice (current game is remote), but the tactile and aesthetic appeal is enormous. Best of both worlds...

As just another magic type/class, I don't feel strongly. I'm kind of enamored with the idea of it being an ability you might have based on on rolling really high on your stats, a la AD&D. Not something you choose, but something fate chooses. I also like the idea of it operating in a system...

Like many things in ttrpgs, I think the metric for "is x good" or "should I x" is does it create fun or interesting choices. A tell is one way of presenting an interesting choice with a trap: there might be some player skill in recognizing the tell (so, a choice to interact), choices on whether...

Yeah - I absolutely want my players doing all of the above. I want them with ties to the world as they grow in power and I want them influencing the world on a big scale. When the big bad comes knocking, I want there to be things besides their lives I can credibly threaten and I want there to be...

All great options! But I'd also want there to be the option of repairing a wrecked ship (for money), or taking out a ruinous high interest loan to acquire a ship at an earlier level than I'd expect. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages, all (including getting the treasure...

Yeah a magic shop that you just walk buy downtown is kind of demystifying. A wizard with a particular item that maybe he will part with for a price, or a shady dealer with a few magical artifacts with a negligible chance of being exactly what a player wants might work. But I think there are a...

I admit to liking a bit of domain play and proper war gaming in D&D sometimes but I think I basically agree with this. But I don't see big ticket items as antithetical to high adventure, but complementary. The intent is not for players to be pouring over spreadsheets, but rather to be thinking...

This is something I (aspire to) solve in the opposite way. I want to give treasure more meaning by providing increasingly impactful things to spend money on. I want PCs spending boatloads on ships, strongholds, magical research, powerful spell casting, crafting items, sage advice, hirelings and...