Im in Arizona, so im definitely using 190 proof Everclear. I haven't made it in 12 years and realize that the usual is Hawiian Punch and Citrus, but we're also making Summer Brew at this party, so we have the Citrus covered.
Theres so much more clues you can leave in a dungeon when you factor in thermal imaging versus basically what amounts to "night vision goggles." A great example is in Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh when the players enter the basement. The pirates hiding down there have their cooking spit in a fireplace that is up against the wall where the secret door to the meat of the dungeon is hidden behind. This causes the party, with a drow in tail, to walk down the stairs and immediately know that theres is, or was, something hot behind the wall. This made them all search the wall and almost immediately move on to the next section.
My players remarked on just how god damn cool this is, especially when looking into a dark room and hearing undead, but not seeing them and NOPEing the fuck out of there.
I've been great at finding time to move things about the dungeon with things that are very close to the player, but a really hard time doing so on a "broader environment" scale with factions and motivations etc etc. I don't know how to make the world outside the dungeon move or when I get the time to prep such a thing. How have any of you handled it in the past?