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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mark Hope" data-source="post: 9375761" data-attributes="member: 27051">Totally. And this is as it should be. How dull it would be if we all thought the same thing <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=":)" />I think there's a lot to be said for leaning into the concept of a Ravenloft game, and that includes not only the gothic trappings and genre assumptions but also the more structured nature of the narrative. I think it's complicated as well by the fact that the concept of "railroad" is so unpopular and is almost exclusively derogatory - but there's no reason a structured narrative can't produce an incredibly satisfying gaming experience. As you say, something that is blatantly a railroad nevertheless results in a solid evening of entertainment. You have to know what your players will lean into, I think, and what works for one group won't work for another. Again, as it should be.Azalin has been one of the highlights of that adventure when I have run it. Stumbling across an unexpected lich always grabs the attention, I feel. There are so many other moving parts, though, that it's a real challenge to run and the players have to really want to run with the narrative. I first encountered it as a player and found it deeply alarming. Never managed to get it to sing as DM, though.Also, there are several copies on ebay right now, some unpunched, for what seems like reasonable money for a product of that vintage. And some of the DMs Guild reprints too, but they're not as cool.The editing thing is a really valid point. And especially if you're running something that's more structured, you need all the pieces to be correctly labelled. There's some of this in Gryphon Hill, actually, where some of the maps are missing compass directions and you have to hunt through the text to find where north is <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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