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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 9764468" data-attributes="member: 6667921">I’m not sure what specifically ties this discussion to OSR games, but I do have some thoughts on dungeon crawls more broadly.The gaps I see tend to live in two places: player-facing goals (beyond the room-by-room grind) and structural remixing (ways to keep the loop fresh instead of predictable). Here are some additional vectors to make dungeon crawls more interesting:1. Altering the “door” decision point.Instead of always pushing forward, force choices about where to go and what to risk. Branching paths, locked shortcuts, or routes that require different resources (time, health, noise, money) add tension. A good “map game” makes the crawl more than just corridor roulette.2. Layering in resource pressure.Not just torches and rations. Things like corruption, noise, lingering wounds, cursed items, or dwindling light sources that affect how boldly players act. The crawl feels sharper when pressing deeper has meaningful costs.3. Non-combat encounters.Creatures you can’t fight profitably:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Negotiations (hostile but rational beings)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Beasts that are too dangerous unless cleverly distracted or appeased</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spirits bound by strange rules (force lateral thinking rather than damage rolls)</li> </ul>4. Environmental storytelling.Make the rooms mean something collectively. Clues about what’s deeper, signs of what factions are up to, or a “theme” that shifts over levels. This lets the crawl feel like discovery, not just repetition.5. Shifting dungeon state.Have the dungeon react over time: reinforcements, barricades, migrating monsters, collapsing tunnels, water rising, factions making moves. A living space means rooms don’t reset between visits.6. Goals other than “clear it.”Rescue missions, finding lore, disabling a ritual, capturing a monster alive, stealthy infiltration, or escaping with minimal conflict. Overlaying mission structure changes the tone of the crawl.7. Integrating the surface world.Make downtime and return trips part of the loop. If players know they’ll be going back to town, you can add: rival adventuring parties, dungeon commerce (bribes, mercs, guides), and NPCs who react to how they’re raiding the place.8. Shifting crawl scale.Zoom out sometimes: abstract a stretch of corridor or a “safe” area as a single roll or a progress clock. Then zoom in hard on the high-tension spots. This pacing modulation makes the crawl breathe.</blockquote>

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