Treasure Is More Important Than Monsters

This article was originally published on September 4th, 2017.

One thing that I have noticed lately is that whenever folks talk about dungeon design or wilderlands stocking or whatever adventure stage they are preparing, they start with the area, then place monsters, then figure out how the monsters interact, then place traps, then place weirdness and special encounters, and only then place the treasure.  Even if a dungeon is meant to protect a great treasure, the actual placement happens at the end.

But it seems to me that the reason the characters go and face the dangers of the dungeon is to get the treasure out. One of the axioms I like to remember as both a player and as a Ref is this:

Treasure is how you win. Monsters are how you die. 

So friends, shouldn't we place the winning conditions first, and then figure out how to protect them? It's a paradigm shift that has stuck me and I will try to develop the idea further.