Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What official material is considered problematic to the point where it is not balanced and presents a problem?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Prakriti" data-source="post: 6932191" data-attributes="member: 6855149"><p>I think "in that moment" is the important part here. We DMs design dungeons with certain assumptions in mind. At later levels, players get the ability to scout remotely with <em>arcane eye</em> and walk through walls with <em>stone shape</em>. Suddenly the assumptions go out the window, and we usually don't learn about it until the players do something unexpected (and often adventure-breaking). It almost becomes inevitable after a certain point, because once you add in enough factors -- such as 50-100 spells -- then the possibilities become endless. That's why designing high-level adventures is so hard. You can't account for everything, and the only way to really safeguard your dungeon is to throw in some impassible barriers that stop certain spells from functioning ("Oooold magic," as Matt Mercer would say).</p><p></p><p>As for <em>arcane eye</em>, I had a similar experience. The Wizard player actually discussed it with me beforehand, and we agreed that a scouting mission would take up way too much time. Then, as I started the session, he exclaimed, "Wait! I thought I was going to use <em>arcane eye</em> to scout ahead!" Cue 30 minutes of everyone sitting around as that one player explored half the dungeon.</p><p></p><p>Later on, I realized that I'd handled the situation incorrectly. I gave room-by-room descriptions, as I would with any dungeon exploration, as opposed to a bullet-point run-down of the dungeon layout. Here's how I <em>should</em> have done it: "Okay, here's a map of what you saw. Doors block these three passages. There's an orc here, three sitting around a table here, and an ogre sleeping behind the curtain. Halfway down this corridor, there's a trip-wire, and on the door at the end of this corridor, there's a glyph." </p><p></p><p>Suddenly 30 minutes of exploration becomes 5, and the players have what they want: an idea of what to expect, and the ability to plan accordingly.</p><p></p><p>Someone might think that <em>arcane eye</em> ruins a dungeon, and in some cases it does, but sometimes it <em>enhances</em> it. I'm reminded of an episode of <em>Acquisitions, Inc.</em> where Chris Perkins gave the group a complete map of the dungeon they were about to enter (provided by a friendly NPC or something). Rather than ruin the experience, it added to it, as the players then spent <em>hours</em> planning their assault. So, yes, utilizing <em>arcane eye</em> results in a different dynamic, but that dynamic is still a lot of fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Prakriti, post: 6932191, member: 6855149"] I think "in that moment" is the important part here. We DMs design dungeons with certain assumptions in mind. At later levels, players get the ability to scout remotely with [I]arcane eye[/I] and walk through walls with [I]stone shape[/I]. Suddenly the assumptions go out the window, and we usually don't learn about it until the players do something unexpected (and often adventure-breaking). It almost becomes inevitable after a certain point, because once you add in enough factors -- such as 50-100 spells -- then the possibilities become endless. That's why designing high-level adventures is so hard. You can't account for everything, and the only way to really safeguard your dungeon is to throw in some impassible barriers that stop certain spells from functioning ("Oooold magic," as Matt Mercer would say). As for [I]arcane eye[/I], I had a similar experience. The Wizard player actually discussed it with me beforehand, and we agreed that a scouting mission would take up way too much time. Then, as I started the session, he exclaimed, "Wait! I thought I was going to use [I]arcane eye[/I] to scout ahead!" Cue 30 minutes of everyone sitting around as that one player explored half the dungeon. Later on, I realized that I'd handled the situation incorrectly. I gave room-by-room descriptions, as I would with any dungeon exploration, as opposed to a bullet-point run-down of the dungeon layout. Here's how I [I]should[/I] have done it: "Okay, here's a map of what you saw. Doors block these three passages. There's an orc here, three sitting around a table here, and an ogre sleeping behind the curtain. Halfway down this corridor, there's a trip-wire, and on the door at the end of this corridor, there's a glyph." Suddenly 30 minutes of exploration becomes 5, and the players have what they want: an idea of what to expect, and the ability to plan accordingly. Someone might think that [I]arcane eye[/I] ruins a dungeon, and in some cases it does, but sometimes it [I]enhances[/I] it. I'm reminded of an episode of [I]Acquisitions, Inc.[/I] where Chris Perkins gave the group a complete map of the dungeon they were about to enter (provided by a friendly NPC or something). Rather than ruin the experience, it added to it, as the players then spent [I]hours[/I] planning their assault. So, yes, utilizing [I]arcane eye[/I] results in a different dynamic, but that dynamic is still a lot of fun. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What official material is considered problematic to the point where it is not balanced and presents a problem?
Top