On Scarcity

     Here's something that I, as a DM, don't quite know how to wrap my head around. It seems, however, to be a cornerstone of a particular type of play I surround myself with. I'd love to hear from other minds on it, to see if I can figure out how to make it work for me.

    The most elementary case: I don't get how to make tracking light in dungeons fun. When you run out of light, I stop being able to describe the space you're in on visual terms, and so you lose virtually all of your chances to interact with the world in a knowledgeable way. When you're out of light, your only sane option is to backtrack (so no new exploration), and you're incredibly vulnerable to ambush and punishingly difficult combat. Losing light is a fail state that grinds the game to a halt, has the potential to invite catastrophic danger, and is avoided by spending money (which could be spent on cooler things than torches) and space (which could be spent carrying more unique equipment and treasure). I don't know how to make tracking light a more interesting game than not tracking light.

    A similar case: I use Usage Dice mechanics because I don't get how to make tracking ammunition fun. Looking down at my sheet and counting the arrows until I'm unable to shoot my cool weapon (which is, of course, one of the core ways of interacting with the game), and then needing to shell out a few coins whenever I get to town just to keep using it, feels like a bummer.

    I feel like I "get" keeping characters scarce on gold, or keeping them on foot instead of giving them a caravan or an airship by default, because the problems associated therewith produce interesting gameplay that keeps the momentum up. But things like light, ammunitions, rations, etc., stultify the players instead of propelling them into interesting situations, and resources they spend avoiding this stultification aren't worth the opportunity cost.

    What am I doing wrong? How does my analysis fail? I want to experience the thrill people seem to get out of these things, but I don't know how to square the circle for myself.

    Leave a comment, if you have thoughts. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.