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<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 390742" data-attributes="member: 1106">Well, nostalgic window dressing like blue maps is just that....window dressing.I think that the thing which some oldschool modules did well that has been abandoned to an extent is providing an environment to explore, rather than focusing purely on a plot with a predetermined beginning and end.Create hexmapped wilderness thick with interesting locations and encounters, and a village with lots of little patches of potential adventure and NPC subplots, and you may well out-oldschool the oldschool modules.As far as dungeons go, an emphasis on fun rather over making (eco)logical sense is a must, although with a modicum of thought it's possible to manage both.&nbsp; As an example, the Dungeon magazine adventure Gorgoldand's Gauntlet sets up a premise which makes the presence of puzzles and riddles make logical sense.&nbsp; To that I'd add, no empty rooms, no timewasting areas which PCs explore and then wonder why they bothered, and no boring &quot;cabinet contents&quot; style dungeons with barracks and bedrooms and 2cp in the closet.&nbsp; It may help to think like a movie director - would play in would this room end up edited out as too boring?&nbsp; Also, don't overuse fights - there should be more to dungeoneering than rolling for initiative.Of course, a lot of oldschool (and newschool) modules fit the &quot;cabinet contents&quot; or fight after fight after fight description, but not all that was oldschool was good, just as not all that is newschool is either...perhaps a &quot;Ye Learned From Mistakes Both New Ande Olde Module&quot; is a better descriptor, but not half as catchy as your title.My 10 cents...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rounser, post: 390742, member: 1106"] Well, nostalgic window dressing like blue maps is just that....window dressing. I think that the thing which some oldschool modules did well that has been abandoned to an extent is providing an environment to explore, rather than focusing purely on a plot with a predetermined beginning and end. Create hexmapped wilderness thick with interesting locations and encounters, and a village with lots of little patches of potential adventure and NPC subplots, and you may well out-oldschool the oldschool modules. As far as dungeons go, an emphasis on fun rather over making (eco)logical sense is a must, although with a modicum of thought it's possible to manage both. As an example, the Dungeon magazine adventure Gorgoldand's Gauntlet sets up a premise which makes the presence of puzzles and riddles make logical sense. To that I'd add, no empty rooms, no timewasting areas which PCs explore and then wonder why they bothered, and no boring "cabinet contents" style dungeons with barracks and bedrooms and 2cp in the closet. It may help to think like a movie director - would play in would this room end up edited out as too boring? Also, don't overuse fights - there should be more to dungeoneering than rolling for initiative. Of course, a lot of oldschool (and newschool) modules fit the "cabinet contents" or fight after fight after fight description, but not all that was oldschool was good, just as not all that is newschool is either...perhaps a "Ye Learned From Mistakes Both New Ande Olde Module" is a better descriptor, but not half as catchy as your title. My 10 cents... [/QUOTE]

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