Simple DnD Map V1 Feedback

 The players for the first playtest were Brandon, as the warrior, and James, as the mage.

The concept of my DnD map was to get the players to loot items from dead bodies that they needed in order to plant and grow a beanstalk that they, then, climb to reach the main boss and the treasure at the end. The item they were first introduced to was a seed, which I hoped would give the player the initial idea of possibly planting it. The next item the players received when playing was a watering can, which made the players decide they wanted to farm things.

The things that went right were:

• They had the idea to loot the first dead body right off the bat

• The first dead body held the seed, and that gave the players the desire to plant something instantaneously.

• The second item the players received was a watering can, which made the players desire to farm something even stronger.

• The players were confirmed about their desire to start a farm when they decided to read a plaque on the cave wall. Not only did the players want to start a farm, but that was the actual goal of the game.

• Players were able to explore without being punished for going the wrong way at first.

The things that went wrong:

• The enemy stats were too high when the players could only roll a d6, which made battle longer.

• When only one player has a magic stat, it’s harder for the players to heal.

• Even though there was no punishment for players going out of order, the flow of the game is a bit disrupted.

Ways to improve:

• The enemy stats should be lowered so they don’t have as high of an attack and defense.

• The items needed to plant the beanstalk should be more linear to discover, rather than be side routes.

• The side routes could be replaced with more areas to entice players to explore, so the player can gain items that help them with health or combat, but the items won't be needed to complete the level.

The challenge of figuring out what to do with the looted items was very good for a tutorial level, because the puzzle had a clear solution. Even without reading the plaque that would confirm the goal, the players already had the desire to plant the seed in the first place. The challenge of the enemies was a bit too difficult because the stats were too high in comparison to the stats of the players.

The critical path was sort of obvious, but the side paths were necessary in order to move on to the next floor, and they were ignored at first. However, there was no consequence to moving the main path at first, and the players understood what the goal was regardless of the path they decided to move.

The overall flow of the game was good at first. It was a little disturbed when the players had to backtrack for the rest of the items. When the players encountered their first enemies, the fight lasted longer than anticipated, which interrupted the flow of the rest of the game.

It was sort of obvious to the players where they were meant to go, as well as what they were meant to do. The players went the main route first before taking the side routes, which overall wasn’t bad, but it caused the players to backtrack a lot.

The mechanics were taught very early in the game. The players quickly learned they could loot bodies, as well as how to fight enemies. The only issue with fighting the enemies is that the stats made it too difficult at first.