There has been some talk about turns (4 per condition, torches burning, one test is a turn, etc.) and there has been talk about maps (with Thor showing some of those cool caving maps, and the talk about one-page dungeon).
What i am curious about, as i try to move to running this thing with the bits we have now, what is an appropriate map complexity/resolution?
Let me illustrate my question through the Keep on the Borderlands module. Would the map of the Caves be simplified into one room ‘goblin warren’, or small number, and likewise for all other bits on the map, or would it be kept at this level of detail?
Of course, we can leave it to the GM, but i’d appreciate some guidance here.
Edit: It occurs to me, that I may be making things too difficult here. The instruction is: “Until the GM calls for a test, the players’ collective job is to describe their characters’ actions. Tell the GM and your fellow players what your character says, pokes, sniffs and tastes.”
So perhaps this (hard) linking of ‘rooms’ to ‘turns’ is wrong, or at least, not-productive. We have the Let it Ride principle to make sure that ‘warren of tunnels’ is only treated once in the ongoing story. If, for some reason, goblins have snuck back into some place visited before, we could always declare that a twist if we want. The indication of cartography as ‘go there without problem, if test passed’, should also help.
So basically, the rate at which you acquire conditions is based on your need to do tests (it is Dungeon phase after all). Your map-making (and possible placement of many detailed encounters beforehand) informs that process, but isn’t hard-linked. Am I going about this the right way? (If I am, please let me know. That will probably spawn a follow-up question, namely ‘what is a good way to convert old D&D modules to Torchbearer?’, but that question should wait until there’s some experience running Torchbearer proper.)