Well, that kind of went south. Don't think Zak Sabbath agreed with the conclusions. I suppose there is always risk in calling out someone's work in a negative way.
I don't use 1-page dungeons myself but I don't see a problem with them. I imagine they make decent short adventures on those nights in which the DM is unprepared. But of course, i prefer something with a good backstory. It kickstarts the imagination and sets the stage. YMMV
I think he confuses concision with boringness. Your dusty room with 9 rats and 3000 copper pieces could, in one line of text, easily be a cinnabar-sprinkled room with 9 quicklime ticks and 3000 gilded walnuts.
Yeah, this seems like a polemic in want of an argument. I kept waiting for the article to get to why minimalism was bad, and it never seemed to get any deeper than not being to the writer's taste.
The cottage industry in minimalism hasn't slowed down the release of complex rulesets and adventures. It's okay if there's more than one thing in the world.
Minimalism is fine for a quick evening. I don't specialize in that (obviously). I like background and detail, and "translate" the prefab pieces into my campaign. That adds fresh thought while allowing me to maintain some continuity of flavor. To each his or her own.
Well, that kind of went south. Don't think Zak Sabbath agreed with the conclusions. I suppose there is always risk in calling out someone's work in a negative way.
ReplyDeleteI don't use 1-page dungeons myself but I don't see a problem with them. I imagine they make decent short adventures on those nights in which the DM is unprepared. But of course, i prefer something with a good backstory. It kickstarts the imagination and sets the stage. YMMV
I think he confuses concision with boringness. Your dusty room with 9 rats and 3000 copper pieces could, in one line of text, easily be a cinnabar-sprinkled room with 9 quicklime ticks and 3000 gilded walnuts.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this seems like a polemic in want of an argument. I kept waiting for the article to get to why minimalism was bad, and it never seemed to get any deeper than not being to the writer's taste.
ReplyDeleteThe cottage industry in minimalism hasn't slowed down the release of complex rulesets and adventures. It's okay if there's more than one thing in the world.
Reading through the article, it sounds like someone's complaining about buying a box of cake mix because the cake doesn't have any frosting.
ReplyDeleteMinimalism is fine for a quick evening. I don't specialize in that (obviously). I like background and detail, and "translate" the prefab pieces into my campaign. That adds fresh thought while allowing me to maintain some continuity of flavor. To each his or her own.
ReplyDelete