Really excellent design thread. That idea of the theme is really important. A lot of design fails that. https://twitter.com/the_strix/status/1354869283054964739

I’m often asked to write an adventure from an initial concept. And sometimes, the first vision is a very typical adventuring... but the theme is often atypical. Example: a heist or infiltration. Horror. Mass combat.

When we write, we want everything to align with the expectations the players will have. If it’s a medieval Mission Impossible... that brings clear expectations and needs to be drenched in that theme.

Or, subclass design. The features need to honor that theme, and make that theme resonate in play. Cleric of Friendship should feel completely different from Cleric of Death. Yet they often don’t use features that align enough with the concept.

Or monster design. A giant crab, we want to focus on its grabbing claws and have that be a big part of the experience. A small fast creature should feel that way, surprising us in ways a brute would not.

As the thread points out, you can develop a feel for it. The easiest way I know is to play tons of games and see what design generates that feel. Anyway, great thread!