An off-the-cuff, ill-considered Note On Theme:

 We hear that it is good to have a theme for your dungeon. But I don't think "theme" is something that should be randomly rolled or determined by procedure. I think the  theme for a dungeon or adventure is the initial seed you have for it; it should be an intrinsic thing, not an extrnal template you apply to it. (though you may have some success with thinking of the theme you do have as a template to apply to specific places and things and situations)

The theme hsould be what has inspired you in the first place. It must come from that ineffable wellspring that is inaccessible to reason, that sheds introspection and application of rules. with any luck, if you have a good theme, it will bleed through your process.

a theme is not "goblins" or "red" or "death" or even "grief". a theme is nuanced, it has dimensions on multiple axes. it evokes and generates situations all on its own. it implies directions and relationships. 

at least, this is how i feel when i look at a "table of themes" and it looks like a flat wall of cliches to me. A pile of unfinished wood blocks. 

Don't Punish Exploration

In Exploration-focused games.... maybe don't punish  exploration and progress

it's kind of a paradox at the heart of dungeoncrawling games


Telegraph traps, and/or don’t spring them without warning

Lay off of ambushes, alarms

Don't impose penalties for merely opening doors, or players will hesitate to open new doors

• interacting with doors is often like 80% of bigger dungeons in OSR D&D 
• make it either simpler or more interesting than it usually is

Give monsters a wider variety of non hostile behaviors, default activities, and reactions

Favor slower, louder, individual monsters over quicker, sneakier, groups/swarms

• This makes it easier for players to judge the difficulty of an encounter
• Easier to see coming and prepare for, or run from
• Turns the challenge into one of outmaneuvering in the dungeon rather than a tactical combat puzzle in which you're likely to misjudge relative power levels and where the outcome is swingier
• Also big monsters are just fun. They can be more unique, and you can invest in portraying them as individuals without wasting it on something readily slain

in other words, when designing monsters:

• Quick, Sneaky, or Numerous, choose one at most
• (or)
• Slow, Conspicuous, Solitary: choose two

Challenge - yes - challenge should be there, obstacles blocking progress, but it doesn't need to be literal punishment for curiosity, and that's often what traps and encounters end up being

...how? 

how is blogger editor formatting this horrificly user unfriendly

maybe this is why i stopped blogging