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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8261807" data-attributes="member: 6801845">That's why I don't rely on preplanned dungeons crawls and am always willing to run a session that's largely improv.  I identify factions, important motivations of those factions and sketch out some basics of who's who. I also have a list of appropriate random names.  I regularly sketch out an extra encounter or two and may make cosmetic changes to encounters to make them fit a new story arc. Some of my most memorable games have been ones that went totally off the rails.But to address your specific: the hidden door would not be the only way into the tomb, just the best way.  If they have to find the secret door, an informant will have told them exactly where to look for it.  If there is a chance to miss the secret door then there will be another way in, it will just be more dangerous (even if I have to improvise some traps and encounters).  That, to me is failing forward.But it's also interesting if they fail to find the Eye of Argon.  What does it mean to the overall campaign?  Does it mean they now have no way of defending their home base and must scramble to evacuate everyone before it's too late?  Are they being pursued by the monsters that you had set up as guardians?  Can they set up a diversion to slow down the oncoming horde the Eye was supposed to stop?  Do we pivot from a dungeon crawl to a race against time?  Do they have enough pull to convince the leaders of impending doom, or do they need to risk themselves to find evidence?  Even if the DM isn't ready to do that, there's always the PCs being trapped somehow and instead of fighting to get to the Eye they are now fighting to escape.  That option does require cosmetic changes but it can sometimes be done by simply changing a bit of set dressing and tone.I understand that some DMs won't be comfortable with that kind of pivot.  If that's the case then bey all means use the fall forward with success at some sort of cost or don't put that kind of obstacle in the way.  I'm just firmly in the camp that there will never be a guarantee of success any more than an antagonist is guaranteed to escape.Side note:  pivots are generally easier for me when playing in person because then I don't have to have pre-planned maps.</blockquote>

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