Incredible resource for Novice or the Intermediate GM! What I like most is the book starts with lists of the many different types of rooms that you may have in a dungeon/adventure then goes out of it's way to define and make what they are clear (differences between their counter parts very helpful with the many crypts) and provides easy to look at yet simple illustrations as examples.
From there, the book lays out the various types of traps-to the mundane or magical(overall very comprehensive), their purpose that gets overlooked in the dice rolls and the psychology of their intended use. And to go the extra mile, the book lists examples from other d&d adventure classics to prove their point, many from Gygax himself, which is a brilliant touch- I would reccommend that the reader go out of their way to list their own examples that come to mind also.
The book then covers the differences not just between the many traps, but tricks, tools, and dilemmas and the many variations how they can differ and work in tandem together. While also using an in depth topic on how to convey the trap without spoiling it or reducing it to a cheap dice roll or worse yet, an uncalled for TPK. The author states that consequences can be harsh but never unfair or out of reach and I agree, this topic can be hard for the novice GM and takes experience and he handles the topic very well. And to conclude the author compiles a huge list of things that could be used to become not what they seem.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read, reading this inspired me to think of situations on the fly or reminisce..But after playing and DMing for a total of 6 or 7 years most of this was mostly stuff I knew and agreed on or disagreed with due to personal taste. Personally I found the Author's introduction and certain parts on agency of D&D verbose to my liking and the final category covering the items was a redundant choice. Page 149 seems to be randomly blank? maybe this makes more sense in the printed version since I have the PDF... Which would bring me to the final gripe, this book when not on sale is a little too expensive IMHO even though it is well made.
So, who is this book for? I feel like this book would be best for the new GM who likely wants to run old school games or have modern games have a more weighted in choice or want a dangerous crawler or megadungeon and wants insight before they begin? or the person who wants to build that really cool trap but never started yet. Id recommend buying the soft cover for the price point and this book would pair nicely with the Dungeon Alphabet by Goodman Games for added inspiration.
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