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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 5984093" data-attributes="member: 6696971">As nothing but a full time DM for the entirety of my gaming career, this is my favorite pillar.&nbsp; Predictably, given its early, bare-bones iteration, the playtest material that we were given does not give us much to induce&nbsp; tension and control pacing through leveraging mechanical device.&nbsp; Regarding the Exploration pillar, as much as anything in 5e, I would like:- to be able to induce tension and control pacing through a set of very clear, unified mechanical sub-systems that represent the various challenges/adversity within this pillar. - for the unified mechanical sub-systems to be intuitive and user-friendly (little book-keeping/accounting), but impactful.&nbsp; - for the sub-systems to not be circumventable completely by way of spells (the way HP mechanics have been historically circumvented via some spells).&nbsp; As I have said before in many-a-threads, this is my (and most/all others) primary source of angst toward teleportation and other Exploration Pillar circumventing spells.&nbsp; - a &quot;page 42&quot; list of damage expressions/status effects/tracks that I can use to create my own non-sentient, exploration pillar threats.&nbsp; To this same end, good, clear DM advice and examples are of necessity.- a strong set of clear, thoroughly navigated (for players newer to this style of play) narrative mechanics for scene-framing (Skill Challenges or a derivative thereof) climactic events within the Exploration Pillar.&nbsp; Again, several examples within the DMG (and perhaps an accompanying set of video tools) are of necessity.- considerable DM advice on how to leverage these mechanical sub-systems to their best effect (toward the end of creating tension, horror, anxiety, excitement within players).- considerable DM advice on how to build genre-relevant adversity/trials within the exploration pillar.- my PCs to have their own shticks whereby they can each meaningfully contribute to the exploration pillar and never be excluded by the overwhelming repertoire of another class (be they fighter, wizard, rogue, what-have-you).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 5984093, member: 6696971"] As nothing but a full time DM for the entirety of my gaming career, this is my favorite pillar. Predictably, given its early, bare-bones iteration, the playtest material that we were given does not give us much to induce tension and control pacing through leveraging mechanical device. Regarding the Exploration pillar, as much as anything in 5e, I would like: - to be able to induce tension and control pacing through a set of very clear, unified mechanical sub-systems that represent the various challenges/adversity within this pillar. - for the unified mechanical sub-systems to be intuitive and user-friendly (little book-keeping/accounting), but impactful. - for the sub-systems to not be circumventable completely by way of spells (the way HP mechanics have been historically circumvented via some spells). As I have said before in many-a-threads, this is my (and most/all others) primary source of angst toward teleportation and other Exploration Pillar circumventing spells. - a "page 42" list of damage expressions/status effects/tracks that I can use to create my own non-sentient, exploration pillar threats. To this same end, good, clear DM advice and examples are of necessity. - a strong set of clear, thoroughly navigated (for players newer to this style of play) narrative mechanics for scene-framing (Skill Challenges or a derivative thereof) climactic events within the Exploration Pillar. Again, several examples within the DMG (and perhaps an accompanying set of video tools) are of necessity. - considerable DM advice on how to leverage these mechanical sub-systems to their best effect (toward the end of creating tension, horror, anxiety, excitement within players). - considerable DM advice on how to build genre-relevant adversity/trials within the exploration pillar. - my PCs to have their own shticks whereby they can each meaningfully contribute to the exploration pillar and never be excluded by the overwhelming repertoire of another class (be they fighter, wizard, rogue, what-have-you). [/QUOTE]

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