DnD Map 2 Tiered: Easy

DnD Map Tier: Easy

What went wrong?
Due to miscommunication and my busy schedule, I did not change much of my map from the last playtest to this group one. Thus the problems were almost the same as the last map's. Again it's linear, the boss was overpowered, and the setting was the same. 

What went right?
Luckily, the problem with this map (and my previous map) was that it was fairly easy and felt "tutorial"-ish. Since I was supposed to make tier 1 (easy) map, it worked out pretty well so that I didn't have to change much about my map. I did tweak the stats of the enemies and the boss and changed the number of items given to the players. So the requirements of the easy map would be apparent in my map. 

How was the process of working on a Level Design Team?

There wasn't much we did as a team. The only things we did together was coming up with a concept for the maps. It wasn't easy. It took us a while to decide on the setting and the items. But it was fun having maps connect even if the overall flow of the story was too consistent. I wish there was more we could do as a team. 

How might you improve your map next time?
Biggest mistake made this time is not giving the time to work on this thoroughly. Luckily my group did have a general setting/story for our maps as well as items so my map did fit along with the groups. I didn't get the chance to put much of my own ideas however which was disappointing. Next time I'll be sure to time management better so I could have made this map different from the previous one. Aside from that, I still need to work on balancing the stats of the enemies as well as using distance and location more as an advantage or disadvantage in my maps. 

Were enemies appropriate to the player "level"?
Again, the boss was too difficult despite bringing down the stats. However, I thought the stats for the boss were a disadvantage and made the boss easy to kill so I gave the boss abilities such as heal and a charged attack that allowed the boss to hit both players only if the boss did not do anything its previous turn. However, it made the boss a bit difficult. On the other hand, the players died just before landing a final blow on the boss. Thus I believe the boss was suitable for this level, but a lot depends on the dice rolls as well. The other enemies were easy to defeat as expected for a "tutorial" level, 

Were there appropriate teaching mechanisms for new items?
Not really, the number of items are limited for an easy map and there weren't many items I could have added. The players did not get all the items as well, they got 2 out of the 3 that were "hidden" throughout the map. Regardless they did not need to use the items until the boss. The items did not have a big impact on gameplay, however. It did bring the boss down to low health but the item used was one that "let the player roll a 6". 

Was it obvious where players we supposed to go?
Since the map outline did not change from the last map, yes. It's linear and very straightforward (as always). I need to work on making my maps less linear. Perhaps it's best to switch to graph paper instead of using the foldable whiteboard. 

How was the overall flow?
The flow was better than last playtest surprisingly. Since it's an "easy" level map, I didn't have too many ideas flowing through my head. I also erased the theme of fighting either the aliens or guards or both and just stood with fighting against aliens. That made it easier to keep track of enemies as there was only a small handful. The boss didn't have any complex abilities as I made them easier to understand for this playtest. I also made the story easier as the group came up with it together so I didn't have to write one entirely out on my own like last playtest.