It is less constraining to create an adventure without attempting to make it such as the explanation for it will suit virtually all campaigns. That is a no-no these days, and an author is castigated for not treating GMs as unimaginative and non-creative clods whose hand must be held at all times. Rather akin to how some think players’ characters must be coddled in regards to perils in adventuring. —Gary Gygax on EnWorld, March 2007.
If anything describes the old-school approach to commercial adventure (and setting) design, that does.
