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Message: <blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 4417983" data-attributes="member: 12377">First, this sounds totally awesome.  I am really looking forward to it.Suggestions:Maximize utility.  One of the themes of 4e is to make life easy on the DM by allowing him to throw together adventures quickly.  I love this and it's why I think this project is such a good idea.  Here are some ways to help maximize utility:1.  Don't include monsters.  An encounter setup that relies upon the presence of certain monsters (giants, kobolds, a carrion crawler, or whatever) limits its usefulness to encounters with those monsters.  You might make exceptions for certain terrain-oriented monsters like oozes or ropers, but I think it's better to phrase such things as brief suggestions than integral parts of the backdrop.2.  Printable sheets.  I want each backdrop to fit on exactly 1 page, or maybe a 2-page spread for something elaborate or which has a map (such as a deathtrap room, a room full of special teleporters, etc.), or a half-page column for something that really isn't that complicated (like the rope bridge, or a column on "strong winds" or something).This also gives you an idea of the amount of info and level of detail that I am looking for.  A quick rule about how far characters move when they fall and roll down a hill is nice, but only in the context of an encounter with hilly terrain ("Location 5:  Canyon Ambush").  A massive six-page historical treatise on the proper defense of a castle gatehouse is right out.Also if you are shooting for a 32-page product (for example), that gives us somewhere around 16 one-page backdrops and 6 two-page spreads (and 4 pages of title, contents, etc).3.  Variable backdrops.  An "Ice Canyon Ambush" backdrop is fine, but better is a "Canyon Ambush" with a little section on how it would be different if the canyon were made of ice, or if it had a bog along the bottom or a forest along the top, or whatever.  This allows me to use the backdrop in more situations.  Other variations might include advice on how to include multiple backdrops (maybe there's a rope bridge over the canyon?) or how different sorts of monsters utilize the terrain.4.  Some backdrops should be typical, others creative.  "Canyon Ambush" is pretty much a staple of fantasy and I'm sure I can use that one.  But if you can come up with a few really wild, out-there backdrops, that's handy too.  Maybe you can come up with a clever way to do "Hall of Mirrors," for example -- it won't be used in too many adventures, but when it is, it will be awesome.5.  Anticipate player actions.  Encounter elements are only relevant when they are interacted with so the meat of the backdrop should focus on what happens when the players do X.  For example, start with things like a description of the thing, illumination and Perception checks, then do difficult and challenging terrain, then any other features that characters can manipulate.  The way that 4e adventures describe "Features of the Area" is pretty useful to me as the DM.  For the backdrops, I think you should go out of your way to cover all the crazy stuff players do, from climbing things to knocking them down to lighting the whole place on fire.  It's best if any DCs you provide are simply Easy, Medium, Hard, so that they can scale with level.Well, you probably have enough on your mind so I'll stop there.  Keep us posted with your progress on this!  I really love it when people do my DM prep work for me.  ;} -- 77IM</blockquote>

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