Theme and Feeling

Think about the emotional and thematic touchstones you want to hit during play. Good games elicit strong emotions, and planning for them can give an emotional arc to an adventure in addition to the narrative arc. Consider what you want players to feel as they play. Is it triumph? Dread? Sadness? Optimism? None of these will be the only emotions to come out, but they'll inform how you build the settings and NPCs. Adventure Recipes gives steps to effectively implement theme and feeling.