Somewhere in one of these threads someone suggested the idea of having restrictions on when/how players can enter the big map expansions. I'm too lazy to find the post, so I'm just going to start a thread. I'm sure someone will dig it up.
The basic gist is that characters cannot enter the big map expansions until something happens that draws them into it. Of course, how you can get into the Highlands and the Dungeon is different from how you can get into the City and the Woodlands, but I think it can still be done. Here's what I've been kicking around in my noggin the last couple of days:
- Dungeon: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Trap Door or a Dungeon Door or loses a battle with a Burrow Worm. Once you find your way in then you can freely pass in and out through the Ruins.
- Highland: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Landslide or a Highland Trail or gets teleported through the Magic Gateway.
- City: you cannot enter until your character encounters one of the NPCs on the City space on the main game board. Starting on the City space doesn't count. (That is, you must travel back to the City and encounter something before you can enter.) Also, all shops in the City map are closed at night. [As I've typed this and thought about it some more, I think a gold minimum might be better for entrance to the City. You must have at least 6 gold. (This keeps the Alchemist from running right into the City.)]
- Woodland: you cannot enter until your character lands on the Forest and rolls a 5 or a 6. (There's got to be some challenge to it, so a 4 just isn't good enough.)
There are other unusual ways of getting in, but they typically require another character to already be in the expansion to trigger a chain of card draws that would permit an outsider to come in. For example, if someone is already in the Highland and draws a Rune Gate, another character could pass through another Rune Gate to get there. Or if someone in the City draws Traveling Bazaar and Shortcut moves to the main Adventure Deck, then someone else could get in.
I've just noticed anymore that players just make a bee line right for the extra maps. I'd like to see the main game board get played a bit more, thus making it a bit more challenging to build up a character rather than running for the easy stuff. You should have to work for it.
What do you think?