Creating interesting locations

When possible, Challenges should take

T errain

place somewhere cool.

Cool encounter spaces provide potential energy—they give the players (and the A bridge over a GM!) stuff to interact with. Scatter one or chasm two interactable pieces of scenery across each zone, including dynamic terrain, sensory information, and usable objects.

Terrain

A 45° collapsed obelisk Create spaces that tell a story. Challenges often inhabit a liminal space, set between safety and danger, stable and unstable, solid and liquid, cool and hot, heights and depths. Chains hanging Exploit these contrasts. from the ceiling

Sensory information

An adventurer’s understanding of their Icy floors environment is based on the limits of their senses. By default, the Underworld is a dark and difficult place. Place further restrictions on the guild’s vision, hearing, and other A climbable idol senses to provide additional challenges.

Objects

Hanging Empty rooms are boring. Each space should chandeliers be scattered with interesting items. Set pieces can be picked up, hidden behind, or smashed through. Quaking floors

An oil slick The Crawl Phase can transition to the Challenge Phase and back organically. When there’s tension and a hostile situation does not seem resolvable with a single test of fate, call for a Challenge Phase. When the opposition is defeated, the outcome of the Challenge is clear, or the players want to retreat, transition back into the Crawl.

S ensory information

O bjects

Smoke near the room’s Hanging ceiling, choking or blinding tapestries tall characters

Fungus that extrudes choking spores, lights, or sounds when Braziers of coals bumped into

Fog near the room’s floor, Silk dressing obscuring short characters screens

A colossal ringing bell, Tables and chairs deafening all nearby

Blinding light emanating Bookshelves from a bright red ruby

The area is half-filled with Taxidermied murky water monsters

Illusory objects and creatures Fountains

Shrieking wind, preventing Weapon racks flight or missile weapons