dungeon crawler where you can only explore as far as you've drilled little holes to let in tiny amounts of light so it's not pitch black because seeing in the dark is better than blinding yourself with a light source

also the only fire to not give off a smell

undoubtedly! but the range on candles is very small. really, the true fantasy of dungeon crawling is a light source that illuminates 30 feet, burns for an hour, and doesn't choke/blind you with smoke

and lastly, i keep resource management in because it's interesting to me sitting behind the screen. what gear are they going to fill up their limited inventory space with? how will they use it? when are they going to turn back to safety, and at what cost? all that is a bit of the juice for me

—and eventually they just stop thinking things through. which leads to frustrating consequences. dipping out of the dungeon gives the players time to relax. even if they find it boring, then they have energy for the attention and creativity successful dungeon crawling requires. they die a lot less!

—we've tried a lot over the years and there's always some aspect that some of us find dull or dislike. we have fun despite that. also, for pacing. i have removed resource management before. i've done 100% dungeon sessions, for weeks on end. they get tired. the tension of the dungeon works on them—

the tension of "do we press on or go back" doesn't work on them. it's just a chore they have to do. even if i make them hex crawl to/from safety. even if i restock the dungeon in their absence. that's not the juice for them. so why do i keep it in? well for one, there is no perfect game—

it might depend on how real or fantastic torches are. do they illuminate castle/tavern interiors? do they burn longer than 30-60 minutes in there but only last an hour tops down in a dungeon? either way, clearly there's no smoke. you see? i try to escape it, but if always comes back to the smoke

but tonight i'm thinking about the labor/materials of torches. resinous wood, burlap or similar fabric, wire to fasten the fabric, lard/oil/pitch for fuel. how in-demand are torches? in a world where adventurers are a rare sort, would an entire party be able to load up on torches in a town/village?

divinity if you want combat, disco elysium if you want heavy roleplaying/no traditional combat. if i had to choose one, it'd be disco elysium—it's a much different experience than most crpgs. it's closest to planescape torment, but even that comparison doesn't convey how unique an experience it is