Information Design and Friction at the Table
I was thinking about information design after my review of The Concealed Abbey of the Dragonfly Horde. I missed a possibly crucial detail about a dungeon wide effect, the Buzzing, because it wasn't in any of the room keys.
I can lay the issue for this at my feet. The dungeon was only 2 full sheets of letter paper or 4 pages on the screen. Did the mini-dungeon template of the Arcane Library let the adventure down by making a key portion of the dungeon easily missed? Maybe? I would have appreciated a * on each room entry so that I might be reminded that the Buzzing exists.
I really like a module that I can read through once and trust to guide me at the table. I'm not making notes. I'm not doodling a flow chart. I expect the thing I buy to communicate how the adventure works and be an effective play object. Constantly flipping around is something I'd prefer is reduced to a minimum.
This is my thesis when I review a module: does what is written provide the GM support during play allowing a full play experience. To me, one of the most fun of running a module is embodying the characters, intuiting the small details of a room and responding to the players. I don't want to spend too much time understanding a room or what is happening in the dungeon.
I'm reminded of my experience reading Shrine of the Jaguar Princess, a Silver Ennie winning adventure. I was extremely frustrated on my read through of this adventure due to how it conveyed information, namely the route from the first floor to the second. The path is pretty bad, but the way it is conveyed is absolutely wild and I can't believe I've never seen anyone comment on it.
To ascend(?) to the the second floor the characters must complete the following tasks
- Survive to room 8 and push a button on a monolith, opening a door to room 1
- Proceed to room 1 and pick up the Talisman of Ascension, which is glowing
- Return to room 3, wear the Talisman and clamber into a coffin (with your friends)
- Be teleported to room 13 and the rest of the dungeon.
How does the GM figure this out? By reading the item description for the Talisman of Ascension on page 53 of this 56 page book. It is the only place this information exists. The information is missing from the adventure summary. The room keys for room 1, 3, 8 and 13 do not include it either. It's not even hinted at.
- Room 1 doesn't mention the location of this hidden item.
- Room 3 doesn't mention the purpose of the sarcophagus in this room and in fact doesn't describe it at all beyond a brief mention in the "read aloud" text.
- Room 8 reveals the Talisman of Ascension, but doesn't describe the Talisman.
- The map doesn't note any connection between rooms 3 and 13
The Talisman of Ascension is a key. It serves no other purpose in the game. Why is it treated like a magic item? Why is the route to the second level of the dungeon so obfuscated? I feel this is very poor adventure writing. As a GM, I need to know how the players move around the space. I was reading this on the couch, flipping back and forth trying to understand. This is the ideal situation for understanding a module and I struggled.
This limits the solutions to "find the second floor" to this one path. You can't find a hollow statue in room 1 and smash it open. There's no clue about the sarcophagus in room 3 like it being enchanted.
At least, none of that exists in the adventure as written. You could do these things but the GM needs to figure this out before hand and then plan additional content. Ideally by telegraphing this information through clues (this statue has an odd, hairline crack!).
The way this is written is boring, arbitrary and poorly conveyed.