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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 6786897" data-attributes="member: 29398">Agreed on both counts...excellent article, but not suitable for every table.The bigger trick is to find a way to both a) not telegraph the actual encounters by doing something different as DM (putting out a map, suddenly asking for more info, etc.) and b) keep things moving.The map part is easy - when in explore mode in a typical dungeon I describe what they see and the players make a map of it either on the chalkboard or on paper or (usually) both; and the minis are arranged in whatever marching order they're using at the time.  If things get to combat mode then once the players realize this I take a moment and bang out the encounter area on the chalkboard, the minis then go there.The explore part can be made easy too: you just get the players to give you a standard operating procedure for exploring (how careful they are, how much searching they're doing and for what, what their marching order will be, and so on) then assume they're using that until and unless someone says different or something happens.Outdoor travel is different.  Here unless there's something interesting I'll just bang off a bit of description* and get them where they're going...I'll ask for a marching order but with the full awareness of all involved that it might not always be perfectly adhered to, and if there's a random encounter we'll roll to see who might be where.  If something interesting does come up e.g. the statue example in the OP I-as-DM am fully aware the party might see it as more significant than it really is and turn a passing bit of scenery into an evening's red herring; I'm fine with this as long as the players are.  Also, over the years I've had numerous overland travel sessions go sideways when the party has either met a wandering dragon or seen one in the distance, and dropped everything they were otherwise doing in favour of spending days of game time (and hours of session time) searching for its lair and loot.* - and might not even bother with this if it's a route they've taken before.Where I fail is when the party wants to explore a city or town; particularly if they split up to do so (which in a theoretically safe town makes some sense).  Unless I've detailed out everything about said city (a ve-ery rare occurrence) I'm left winging it, and while I can wing dungeons and wilderness stuff most of the time without too many headaches I'm not much good at winging cities.  The in-play results are often less than brilliant, which is on me largely because (particularly if it's a place they likely won't go to again, or not very often) I don't have the patience to fully flesh out entire cities.Regarding empty space in a dungeon or castle: it's important to have some.  One oft-repeated flaw in canned module design (from all editions) is that too many disconnected monsters or party foes are crammed too close together, meaning that logically quite a few of them would have killed and eaten each other long before the party shows up. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  The obvious answer is to spread them out, and leave some empty spaces in between.  If the dungeon occupants are all minions or pets of the same boss then (usually) no problem, but even here empty space can be useful...if for no other reason than to get the party wondering what it's used for when it's full. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Lan-"sometimes a red herring will draw the party like a magnet but they'll do everything they can to miss the actual adventure"-efan</blockquote>

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