I just killed Moder on my permadeath/no portal/no map run. Its made me realize even more than my previous permadeath/no portal run that to a great extent the journey is the adventure. I mean 'Frodo and Sam took a portal to the volcano and threw the ring in the lava' is not a very satisfyng adventure. When you have portals available, you bypass most of the environmental challenges, simplify decisions and condense the game. Some people want that, but some people like me want ever increasing challenges and more epic adventures.