In the first column by Monte Cook as he returned to the fold with WotC, he takes a look at Perception. He's on the right track, it seems, though the one sentence that I think bothers me is, "And it would be horrible if a poor die roll wrecked it all." If something needs to be found for everything to work, then either it isn't hidden or, at least, there is no roll to be made. In some instances, it is a mistake to design oneself into a corner that requires some element within an adventure to both be hidden and also be found. However, there is a school of thought that leads to adventure design as plot-driven or story-driven in such a way as to wind up in that corner on a regular basis. I'll discuss character driven versus story-driven gaming another time, though, so let's look at this problem from the design perspective of balance.
Now in an old school situation, adventurers might go back and forth to a dungeon and even particular areas of a dungeon time and time again. Things that aren't found early on can often be found on subsequent treks. New school thinking has smaller venues, generally, and they become disposable in a manner of speaking. An adventure location is often used just once and then the game/campaign moves on to other locations. Sure, sometimes a home base is used repeatedly, such as a city or town, but for the most part an adventure is run and then becomes campaign history.
This plays into the mindset of the business model that a large company or corporation simply needs to follow to exist. New products must be produced on a regular basis. For a group to enjoy one and then move on and buy another, the experience with each needs to be satisfying, things need to be found. In this model, hidden doors and treasures cannot go unfound, again, generally speaking, because there is not likely to be a future trek in the same place to have more chances to find those hidden things that were missed.
Because of this, if an adventure or campaign is story-driven and requires that certain elements need to be found, then there needs to be a classification of "faux-hidden." If design of an adventure is going to hinge on one or two elements being discovered, those elements simply need to be written up as key elements that the GM needs to be advised are "crucial." There's no need for there to be discussion of how one poor die roll can ruin the story because the designer must dictate that those crucial elements do not remain hidden. Some might cry, "Railroad!" at this, but story-driven adventures are always going to have railroady aspects to them. They don't develop organically through character so there is no way around it.
However, as I mentioned at the top, this also brings up the topic of balance. Once we begin to discuss crucial and non-crucial elements we also need to have the discussion about system balance and how it relates to the relative experiences of two game groups using the same materials. If there are multiple hidden doors or treasures (assuming the treasures are hidden on their own or beyond those hidden doors), how can any adventure run for two separate groups ensure that both groups will come out the other side with approximately the same experience and wealth? How can a two GMs be sure that if they run the same adventure one group won't find all of the goodies while the other group comes away scratching their heads over the total lack of treasure found?
In old school systems, balance issues were largely ignored. Sure, you had levels or some type of advancement but purchased adventures were often scaled in such a way that groups of characters could consist of, sometimes, markedly different levels (generically speaking) of power from one character to another. In many (most?) new school systems, balance seems vital to the enjoyment of the game such that some players will complain if they notice one character seeming to pull ahead of others in power, abilities, or wealth.
So, can a system be devised that manages to maintain some level of balance without being broken if balance between characters isn't perfect? Can the idea of balance be downplayed, not so essential (small "e") that it requires homogenization of elements within the game to the point that the flavor of a system comes off as not much more than a veneer? These questions have come up repeatedly as I have worked on Griffins & Grottos Wargame and Roleplaying System (to be released in late October 2011). In future blogs I’ll discuss some of the ways I have tried to make the system less of a slave to balance even as I attempted to include a variety of ways in which balance is seamlessly inherent. Sign up to follow this blog and I'll try to keep you interested as I write more on this and other subjects.
Lurch is a basic beer and pretzels game based on board games like chess. It uses a standard eight by eight square board and fold-up miniature figures, pawns or markers, to denote the individual units. The Basic game is simple, and there are Advanced rules to increase the complexity for seasoned players. There are also over two dozen additional scenarios to add replayability and fun to the game. An additional section explains ways to use the game within your roleplaying game as well. This game is complete and includes Basic Game Rules, Advanced Game Rules, over two dozen Alphabetized Scenarios, dozens of paper miniatures and markers.
Playouts are layouts to be printed and used at the game table during play. In this PDF, you will find a small keep. It is four stories high with a sub-level that includes storage space and cells for prisoners or beasts. Consider the staircases somewhat fudged for use with a five-foot equals one inch grid. One could claim this keep has a garrison from one dozen to three dozen guards, if one considers the beds as bunk beds and assumes that those on duty give up their beds to those who are not. The artillery is somewhat downsized from the great siege machines and meant to be akin to spear-throwers. The final two pages include a blank background and Playouts bits in case you wish to add to the keep, change a few things around, or build something of your own in the same style. This small keep is perfect as a roadside toll collector, a starter-stronghold for up and coming PCs or even as a wizard’s tower of sorts. A GM could also claim it has long since been abandoned by civilized folks and now must be scourged of evil creatures.
This series of five encounters make use of a cunning 3rd-level Kobold Barbarian and his trap-making ability in a woodland setting near three small communities. This new 18 page pdf features high-resolution Playouts (maps to be printed up for game table usage) for five separate encounter areas plus a bonus blank map with extra bits and pieces so that you can design limitless additional areas in the same style, or to expand the areas already detailed.
Can you steer your ship by the albatross? Do you dare to wear the Boar's Tusks of Goblinoid Slaying? Will casting the Shark's Feeding Frenzy on your companions save their skins? This 32 page pdf takes many real world superstitions and gives you tips on how to use them in your game. Nearly one hundred Magic Items, Spells, and Advanced Creatures are included.
Need a quick cohort, some ready-made bodyguards, or even a main villain? Will adding a few details and adjusting the gear or wealth save you time when someone shows up without a PC ready? Your time is valuable and this batch of NPCs will save you hours of busy work. Just add a tad of flavor, print one out, then plug and play away! Grab a FREE 20th-level version of the Human Fighter NPC in the Demo. The eConic Characters Human Fighter NPC is for you! (Demo is "locked" but product is not. Plus, the product is form-fillable!) 
Need a quick cohort, some ready-made miniature thugs, or even a main villain? Will adding a few details and adjusting the gear or wealth save you time when someone shows up without a PC ready? Your time is valuable and this batch of NPCs will save you hours of busy work. Just add a tad of flavor, print one out, then plug and play away! Grab a FREE 20th-level version of the Halfling Rogue NPC in the Demo. (Demo is "locked" but product is not. Plus, the product is form-fillable!) The eConic Characters - Halfling Rogue NPC is for you!
Here is the indispensable PDF of forms that will grow even more useful with time. These sheets were built with adaptability in mind while not sacrificing a compactness that makes tidy record keeping a cinch. A two-sheet solution for non-casters is the first thing to greet you. That is backed up with a single blank spell sheet that can be used for young spellcasters, multiclass characters, or on its own as a spellbook, for when a GM wants to easily hand over a captured tome treasure. All of the base spellcasting classes then have their own sheets with room to add researched spells or new ones introduced to the campaign by the GM, of his own devising or from additional sources. You'll also find summoning lists for Nature's Allies and for Monsters. Just use the sheets you need and expand your character with additional sheets as needs be. If you do not have the full version of Adobe Acrobat you can now save filled in forms with Adobe Reader 7.0 or newer! This is the best and easiest way to keep your character records.
What do a twenty year old wrecked ship and an exquisite musical instrument have in common? You will have to catch up to a certain bard to find out but there may be other old secrets that need to be dealt with before all is done! This finely crafted adventure is geared for characters up to fourth level and easily added to any campaign setting. Players will love this adventure, which will have them guessing and keep them on their toes. Packed with vivid NPCs, The Whispering Woodwind is a chase to right that which has gone terribly wrong...and there are plenty of surprises along the way.
