CHAINMAIL: 01.26.2024
Including - Designing for [Bleep], Dungeon Design Tips - Empty Rooms, and Duels using Player Skill.
Designing for [Bleep] - RPG Design Theories
This blog post by Monte Cook is about designing for assholes, but it goes much deeper than that. He splits off to talk about balance for a bit and he does an exceptional job of highlighting why balance can actually be restrictive, forcing the players to find the "right" option instead of the most fun option. He comes back around to what he means by "designing for assholes" and it's a conversation about "tight" rules vs "loose" rules. I'll let him explain the differences there, but as I continue to create content around D&D, specifically 5E ( see Elysium and my livestreams), I am learning more and more that my preferences lean towards loose rules. It's also probably why the OSR is so interesting to me.
Dungeon Design Tips - Empty Rooms - Ranger Lemure
If you've ever used a random dungeon generator, like the one found in the back of the 5E DMG, then you are familiar with the entry "empty room". This may seem like a waste of space if you're trying to create an exciting adventure but empty rooms shouldn't actually be empty. There are many ways to have your empty rooms still be exciting without including a monster, treasure, or some kind of trap or trick.
Duels using Player Skill - DREAMING DRAGONSLAYER
This is probably one of the most unique ideas I've read in a long time. This blog post outlines a system for PvP in your TTRPGs that uses a stopwatch. It looks so fun and I am already trying to think of some ways you could integrate it into online play.
I hope these resources inspire you! If you haven't already, the best way to stay up to date with everything hothead-related is to join the discord. See you next week!