Evil Mastermind
@evilmastermind.bsky.social
Occasional TTRPG designer. Secondary author of The Dungeon World Guide. I have Opinions on tabletop gaming. https://evil-mastermind.itch.io/
The Days of Future Past t-shirt is a great touch.
December 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
The Days of Future Past t-shirt is a great touch.
Villains United is a great on-ramp to Gail's phenomenal Secret Six.
December 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Villains United is a great on-ramp to Gail's phenomenal Secret Six.
"Don't you hate how, when you make something, you have to go back and make changes and adjust and refine things? Wouldn't you rather just 'get it right' the first time?"
December 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
"Don't you hate how, when you make something, you have to go back and make changes and adjust and refine things? Wouldn't you rather just 'get it right' the first time?"
If I may add one more: "Don't Make Me Think!" by Steve Krug is a great book about usability and interface design. It's about web and (now) mobile design, but the ideas in there can apply to anything you make that someone else needs to use.
December 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
If I may add one more: "Don't Make Me Think!" by Steve Krug is a great book about usability and interface design. It's about web and (now) mobile design, but the ideas in there can apply to anything you make that someone else needs to use.
I fell like I need to noodle on this idea some more (and keep reading HMTW) but I might be onto something here.
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I fell like I need to noodle on this idea some more (and keep reading HMTW) but I might be onto something here.
Of course there's also the question of "what's the overall goal of the dungeon?" Would there be something valuable in one room that can only be reached via a lot of map manipulation and room-based puzzles? It the whole mechanism designed to keep something in? Is it just an experiment gone awry?
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Of course there's also the question of "what's the overall goal of the dungeon?" Would there be something valuable in one room that can only be reached via a lot of map manipulation and room-based puzzles? It the whole mechanism designed to keep something in? Is it just an experiment gone awry?
In terms of the "smallest dungeon" aspect, a 3x3 grid would have 8 rooms, while 4x4 would have 15. The real trick, I think, would having those rooms work well around the idea of being standalone and also how they'd work with adjacent rooms as things shuffle around.
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
In terms of the "smallest dungeon" aspect, a 3x3 grid would have 8 rooms, while 4x4 would have 15. The real trick, I think, would having those rooms work well around the idea of being standalone and also how they'd work with adjacent rooms as things shuffle around.
You could work the movement into the meatgrinder system very easily, too. If anything that'd make it more dynamic than, say, just giving the players a control mechanism.
Also imagine the "a-ha!" moment when the players realize they'll need to slice up their map to be able to follow the changes.
Also imagine the "a-ha!" moment when the players realize they'll need to slice up their map to be able to follow the changes.
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
You could work the movement into the meatgrinder system very easily, too. If anything that'd make it more dynamic than, say, just giving the players a control mechanism.
Also imagine the "a-ha!" moment when the players realize they'll need to slice up their map to be able to follow the changes.
Also imagine the "a-ha!" moment when the players realize they'll need to slice up their map to be able to follow the changes.
The first draft of the idea in my head is the dungeon as a sort of sliding tile puzzle, like one of those 4x4 tile things where you have to get the numbers in order, but instead it's just rooms moving around each other, opening and closing pathways or creating weird room combinations.
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The first draft of the idea in my head is the dungeon as a sort of sliding tile puzzle, like one of those 4x4 tile things where you have to get the numbers in order, but instead it's just rooms moving around each other, opening and closing pathways or creating weird room combinations.
You're supposed to be in the dungeon for a long time, so you need to manage your loot sources, healing, and wear and tear on your gear.
Which is cool and good, but it doesn't really work alongside the idea of, say, a five-room dungeon.
Then it hit me: what about a dungeon where the rooms move?
Which is cool and good, but it doesn't really work alongside the idea of, say, a five-room dungeon.
Then it hit me: what about a dungeon where the rooms move?
December 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
You're supposed to be in the dungeon for a long time, so you need to manage your loot sources, healing, and wear and tear on your gear.
Which is cool and good, but it doesn't really work alongside the idea of, say, a five-room dungeon.
Then it hit me: what about a dungeon where the rooms move?
Which is cool and good, but it doesn't really work alongside the idea of, say, a five-room dungeon.
Then it hit me: what about a dungeon where the rooms move?