How's my 'Room Key'?

[Beoric]

Thank you for these articles, very interesting stuff!
I think i will change it to 'Latch lid' it's more accurate and i love the fact that it's a mechanical device the party can discover if they look closely.

I think Courtney's work on agency in gaming is the best on the 'net, especially when it comes to traps. He used to have a lot more on his site but kind of blew it up a year ago. He also have a great PDF on the subject which used to be on DTRPG but isn't any more. I sent him a note asking if it is available anywhere else.

 

[RoeeAV]

font-size down

I will try to see how it looks with different fonts and a smaller size.
Right now, the font size is a 9, which is fairly small in a 100% scale.
My concern that anything small then that will be unusable.

 

[RoeeAV]

I sent him a note

I hope he will accept.
I'm reading through his Blog right now and it has a lot of top-notch materials.
I especially loved his 'On Set Design' post.

 

[Guy Fullerton]

To be honest i did not do the math... Eventually i decided to remove the ceiling height from the room key and trust on the 'Suspension of disbelief' of the GM and the player. Am i wrong in doing so?

Removing the ceiling height is better than an "impossible" 12 ft height.

Don't get me wrong — D&D dungeons absolutely can have space distortion areas, but ought to note them explicitly, so the referee can make them interact with various spells (even as mundane as detect magic), magic negation effects, etc. But it sounds like you don't want space distortion here.

If it were my dungeon, I'd explicitly note the ~25 ft ceiling height (possibly on the map). This detail is just as important (from a clue/danger standpoint) as the sulfurous smell, rusty hinges, etc.

 

[Beoric]

I especially loved his 'On Set Design' post.

Interesting. I actually don't like his key format, and was actually thinking about that when I was talking about how I don't like exclusively point form keys.

 

[RoeeAV]

I'd explicitly note the ~25 ft ceiling height (possibly on the map).

Architecturally wise, i don't know if 25ft is a height that can give the arrowslits a good coverage of the room.

Partially this dungeon is based on a real place and a real firefight that i participated in.
Originally it was a civilian home that was densely close to other civilian homes (so you could not take it from the air) and the Terrorists have used it as a snipers nest. They knew we would come so they've converted the house to be easily defensible. At the 2nd floor they've broken the floor in a location where a hole would pop straight into the first floor (from the ceiling), exactly in front of entrance points. And they've blocked all the windows with concrete.

Let's just say that clearing that house, was not a good day.

 

[Malrex]

Interesting. I actually don't like his key format, and was actually thinking about that when I was talking about how I don't like exclusively point form keys.

Is it short and to the point?...yes...but it's really dry to me. Those are the type of notes I write for myself when DMing...I'm able to look at them and basically follow the example with the ghouls. I've already pictured what's going on in my mind because I prepped and just need a few notes to remind myself what's up. I think some people could look at what he did, pick it up no problem and run with it....but I'm lazy.

If I didn't create it and just reading that and trying to run it at the table, it's hit or miss for me...it's too dry. It does not spur my creative juices at all. There is some decent treasure explanations...but I would prefer the ghouls doing something...chomping on some bones or whatever. I'm totally a lazy DM though...and I dont understand his bolding sequence. I can see how it could work--and not trying to bag on it as I think its just different DM styles, but for my tastes, its too sparse if I had purchased it.

 

[RoeeAV]

Is it short and to the point?...yes...but it's really dry to me.

I agree with you about the description being Dry.

Personally i love a good description that uses just enough signifiers that will kick my creative thinking and will enable me to select the proper mechanics that i think would create an interesting possibility space and a dialogue with the players.

If the Room Key has a great juicy descriptive text that's too long and/or has no Signifiers, that will require me as GM to read the whole thing and create the Signifiers by myself before the session.

Good Signifiers makes it a lot easier to remember what the Room is all about and take creative decisions while in play.

 

[Beoric]

Is it short and to the point?...yes...but it's really dry to me. Those are the type of notes I write for myself when DMing...I'm able to look at them and basically follow the example with the ghouls. I've already pictured what's going on in my mind because I prepped and just need a few notes to remind myself what's up. I think some people could look at what he did, pick it up no problem and run with it....but I'm lazy.

If I didn't create it and just reading that and trying to run it at the table, it's hit or miss for me...it's too dry. It does not spur my creative juices at all. There is some decent treasure explanations...but I would prefer the ghouls doing something...chomping on some bones or whatever. I'm totally a lazy DM though...and I dont understand his bolding sequence. I can see how it could work--and not trying to bag on it as I think its just different DM styles, but for my tastes, its too sparse if I had purchased it.

Yeah, minimalistic point form is like reading someone else's notes from a lecture, without having attended the lecture; its more work for me to assemble it into something coherent. Which is why I was suggesting that, if you are going to use point form notes, they need to be accompanied by something more fulsome.

 

[Beoric]

I hope he will accept.
I'm reading through his Blog right now and it has a lot of top-notch materials.
I especially loved his 'On Set Design' post.

I spoke to Courtney, here is his response:

I'm currently finishing up Artifices, Deceptions & Dilemmas which is basically that, super enhanced and in book form. The posts will be returning soon as the sections on the book get completed. ... [It] will be out by the end of February and in print whenever the print gods can work with the mail gods to get me a proof (current target is likely may/June, mail and Covid is outside my control)

 

[RoeeAV]

I spoke to Courtney

Sounds amazing I'd buy that book for sure, when it'll come out.