Looking at the Temple Map, it looks like you could simply walk right into the Holocron room. There's A LOT of ways to get there, and many of them don't appear to be blocked by any means. Yet a Dark Jedi can't seem to find it?

I appear to be missing how that room is hidden...

Also, for those that have run the beginner adventure, what did you do to 'hide' the hidden parts of the temple map from the players? Simply cover them somehow, or not show players the temple map at all? I like the artistic maps, like how they will help with immersion into the setting and game; but not showing the map defeats that purpose, and covering up huge parts of it simply tells the players "cool stuff this way..."

So, the usual disclaimer about this not being an "official" answer, since I am a freelancer and not a true FFG employee, but here's my perspective on it from when I wrote the adventure:

The holocron room isn't much of a secret any more. It used to be, but the temple's in disrepair, and as you mention, it is possible to just walk right in. As noted on page 9 of the adventure:

" The three gatekeepers who managed the Dawn Temple’s systems did so from a secret chamber in which their holocrons were hooked up to an intricate interface. The chamber was hidden in natural tunnels once accessible only through a secret door in the secondary archives, but a collapsed wall near the entrance to the temple also allows access to the tunnelsystem. With only the Curator in place, the holocron chamber is completely unguarded, and it was only luck—or the will of the Force—that kept Malefax too occupied to locate it."

In more basic terms, Malefax doesn't find it because he presumably gets stopped by the PCs before he could do a thorough sweep of the grounds. Rav Naaran is a true Dark Jedi, unlike Malefax, and could easily find it. However, because he is a true Dark Jedi, and one with a history of strategic planning to boot, he wants to make sure he has all the advantages possible before he confronts the temple's security measures, many of which are completely unknown to him. Given the roots of his fall to the Dark Side lie in losing faith in his fellows and their mission of peace, he probably also assumes the security measures are much more potent, lethal, and painful than they really are, because that's how he would build them at this point, and he no longer believes in people with a higher moral purpose. So, he waits, gathers information from the minds of his thralls, and tries to figure out how best to crush his opposition in one fell swoop. When he realizes that the only real opposition to be had is the PCs, he moves in, and as you note, he is fully capable of just walking in if they don't stop him. It's even one of the available endings to the adventure!

As far as hiding the various sections of the map, I'd say that's generally going to be a thing dependent on your personal GM style and preference, and could only tell you what works for me and the players I tend to run with--I don't feel there's necessarily a right or wrong way to handle something like that.

I hope this answer is helpful to you, and if you have any other questions about the adventure, I'd be happy to answer them as best as I can. May the Force be with you (and your gaming group)!

I had to re-read the adventure a couple times to spot this, but there is a mention that the Curator was able to hide his holocron in a secret location prior to Malefax showing up. There's no mention how he pulled that trick off, but he did, thus making it impossible for Malefax to find the prize he sought beyond an empty holocron chamber.

Thanks for all the excellent advice. I must have missed both those tidbits in my read through. I plan to do some more reads before running it, though, so should have all the kinks worked out in time.

I might go with a rockfall blocking the entrance, something mister "I cant instantly find anything so I'll start smashing some stuff" simply didn't have the patience to find.

Awesome advice, all!

with regards to your other question, I laminate all of my maps and then color the hidden areas with dry erase and clear them off when exposed.

Before the laminator, I used a piece of 1/8 inch plexiglass (this also protects the maps from drinks and other accidents), but you could easily use two sheets of contact paper that are carefully stuck together to make a clear sheet. Occasionally places like Home Depot also carry rolls of plastic sheeting that also do a good job.

We used to just cover the areas with strategically cut pieces of paper, but that ended up being a pretty big hassle over all and required a degree in Origami.

Good Luck!

I did get a bit confused after my first read-through of the last encounter and spent a while studying the temple map to understand it. However after the PC's defeat Malefax, you have the option for the gatekeeper to reveal the hidden entrance to the players.

I felt at a bit of a loss after Malefax get's defeated as it is very open-ended and I wasn't sure how much to allow the players to explore the temple without encroaching on the follow up, The Lure of the Lost.

However I allowed the PC's to loot the bodies and to loot the temple for valuables worth so many credits. I also allowed the players to enter the holocron room, but left it there, allowing the players to spend xp.

This should hopefully allow us to lead on nicely into lure of the lost as they discover the rest of the holocrons are missing.

I did get a bit confused after my first read-through of the last encounter and spent a while studying the temple map to understand it. However after the PC's defeat Malefax, you have the option for the gatekeeper to reveal the hidden entrance to the players.

I felt at a bit of a loss after Malefax get's defeated as it is very open-ended and I wasn't sure how much to allow the players to explore the temple without encroaching on the follow up, The Lure of the Lost.

However I allowed the PC's to loot the bodies and to loot the temple for valuables worth so many credits. I also allowed the players to enter the holocron room, but left it there, allowing the players to spend xp.

This should hopefully allow us to lead on nicely into lure of the lost as they discover the rest of the holocrons are missing.

Based on my reading, I think that's how it was intended to be ran.

Glad to see my Q get some new answers. I'm finally about to run this adventure, so the new insights helped even more!

Tusen Takk!