Neuroglyph
First Post
It happens all the time in books and movies, regardless of genre, whether its fantasy or science fiction or thriller. The well-trained and stealthy hero sneaks up behind a guard, and takes him out with a single blow. Then proceeds on to complete the quest or mission, sometimes getting away without anyone knowing he was there. 
Admittedly, most of the time getting in is the easy part, but because we’re all suckers for a good chase scene, the hero always seems to trip an alarm or get spotted on the way out, and all hell breaks loose. But then that’s what makes for a great scene!
In the realm of fantasy gaming, however, stealthy scenarios never seem to work out like they do in books and movies. The rules are generally not designed for that one-shot stealth kill of a guard in most games – although 4E makes a fair attempt by having minions as a monster option. But honestly, would you surround your palace full of royal treasure with minions?
Apparently, the writers over at Emerald Press have been thinking it’s high time for a decent set of rules to add stealth style encounters to D&D 4E – without falling back using minions or repetitive skill challenges! In their recently released Break & Enter (Book I: Stealth Encounters), Emerald Press offers an XPANDED rules system for creating a new type of encounter for adventurers who doing things a bit sneaky instead of the head-on frontal assault!
Break & Enter (Book I: Stealth Encounters)
Production Quality
The production quality of Break & Enter Book I: Stealth Encounters is very good, with sharp writing presented in a pleasing and logical format, and a publishing style of lay-out which is easy to read. The format for the PDF is landscape, which makes it fit very nicely onto a computer screen or tablet, and as it mainly uses three colors – black, white, and blood red – everywhere except the illustrations, the ebook could be printed quite easily in grayscale to have a hardcopy at the gamin table, as needed. Admittedly, it won’t be the most ink-friendly printing, as there are thick 2”-wide decorative sidebars on every page, which will take a bit of a toll on the black ink cartridge.
The PDF comes with both a table of contents and adobe bookmarks, which make navigation through the ebook a breeze. The bookmarks are very complete and refer the reader to both main chapters, as well as important sub-sections, throughout the ebook.
The illustrations in Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters are frankly excellent, and really add a lot to the quality of the read overall. The full color maps are also very well done, and can be printed out and used at the gaming table as tiles. And I have to mention one innovation on the maps which I thought was brilliant, and will make printing maps a lot easier – the map markings are capable of being toggled on and off! So with them on, the map shows the standard markings for creature and trap locations, zones, and other important DM information, and with one click, all those marks go away, leaving just a map tile! I definitely like to see new innovations in PDFs like that, and it certainly enhances the quality of the ebook.
The Stealth Encounter
The basic stealth encounter is really a hybrid of a tactical combat encounter and a skill challenge, but designed to reward player-characters for operating in a sneaky manner.
The author wrote a series of blogs last month detailing some of the mechanics of the stealth encounter, which you can take a look at here on the Emerald Press site.
The rules variant is actually quite smart – monsters in a stealth encounter which are unaware (new condition) of the heroes are assigned a lower hit point value until the alarm is sounded and they spot the adventurers. This lower hit point value allows even tough monsters to be taken down quickly by stealth and a standard attack, even an At-Will, for most heroes regardless of Level. Of course, if the heroes are spotted, the monsters revert to their normal hit point value, and the stealth encounter simply turns into a standard combat encounter!
While most of these concepts are discussed in the author’s blogs, the rules are given more detailed information and explanation in the Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters ebook. In addition, there is more explanation on building these encounters, and for converting existing monsters into guardians – one of the elements of a stealth encounter.
I really loved the way the author presented the material on creating a stealth encounter, and how easily they can be converted from a standard combat encounter should the heroes decide to approach by stealth. The various components of the stealth encounter – called trials – are clearly defined, and the author goes into details with instructions for creating new trials consisting of alarms, barriers, guardians, and snares. Monsters of all kinds can be transformed into guardians, and have slightly different stats in this role than they do as part of a combat encounter.
There was clearly some careful consideration of other elements to making a stealth encounter, such as what constitutes an alertness range, and how the heroes elevation above the guardians, the ambient noise in the area, and the tactical use of reflections all effect the outcome of the encounter. Other considerations such as the restricted movement speed while stealthed, using terrain and surroundings for best effect, as well as the use of multiple skill checks instead of attack rolls make a stealth encounter very much like a combat encounter, but with a different emphasis on the method of reaching victory.
The only downside I see to the use of stealth encounter is what happens in a mixed party of stealthy and non-stealthy characters. Non-stealthy characters, like heavily armored paladins, fighters, and clerics, are going to find very little to do during an encounter of this kind, other than staying out of sight while the sneaky heroes do the work. For parties with stealth as a commonly trained skill, these encounters should prove to be a welcome change from the standard combat encounter, or a hum-drum skill challenge to simulate sneaking around.
The Bonus Material
The author of Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters made sure to make it possible for Dungeon Masters to get not only a crash course in running stealth encounters, but also provided a whole lot of ready-to-use trials to be used in building them as well. There are a half dozen or more of each of the four types of trials, of varying levels, as well as helpful sidebar tips for their use, and upgrading themto higher difficulty levels by using them in certain combinations or scenarios.
Besides the guardians, which are based upon npcs and monsters, the other trials are an interesting mixture of magical and mundane traps and obstructions, although most of the alarm trials are quite magical in nature. I was a bit surprised that simple mundane alarms like a pressure-plate activated gong or a tripwire to a blowhorn were not included. But then again, DMs can certainly add more mundane effects for magic poor campaigns as needed.
The sample stealth encounters provided by the author at the end of the ebook are very complete, and are presented in a format easily recognizable to 4E DMs. There is one heroic tier stealth encounter, a Level 5 called The Ruined Tower, which has the heroes looking for a way to neutralize an eladrin watchtower to avoid detection. The remaining three encounters are set for the Paragon Tier (and maybe early Epic Tier), with stealth encounters of Level 11, 16, and 19 respectively. As mentioned previously, the maps are incredibly well designed, and the toggling effect for the markings make them very useful at the gaming table.
Overall Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)
Conclusions
There is certainly a lot to like about Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters, as it goes a long way to offer a cohesive set of rules for handling stealthy and clandestine adventures in a fantasy role-playing game. It is a crunch-heavy piece of work, but I really like that the author figured out an elegant solution to creating scenarios evocative CoD:Black Ops or Assassin’s Creed, and all without having to break the 4E ruleset to do it. While these rules might not work for all adventuring parties, stealth encounters offer a really great alternative to the standard hack-and-slash of combat, but without reverting to a dull old skill challenge.
Although the price for the PDF is a bit steep, for DMs looking to spice up their adventures with something that combines the speed of a skill challenge with the visceral thrill of a combat encounter, then Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters is well worth consideration for the D&D 4E “toolbox” of encounter building.
So until next Review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Author’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the product from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
Admittedly, most of the time getting in is the easy part, but because we’re all suckers for a good chase scene, the hero always seems to trip an alarm or get spotted on the way out, and all hell breaks loose. But then that’s what makes for a great scene!In the realm of fantasy gaming, however, stealthy scenarios never seem to work out like they do in books and movies. The rules are generally not designed for that one-shot stealth kill of a guard in most games – although 4E makes a fair attempt by having minions as a monster option. But honestly, would you surround your palace full of royal treasure with minions?
Apparently, the writers over at Emerald Press have been thinking it’s high time for a decent set of rules to add stealth style encounters to D&D 4E – without falling back using minions or repetitive skill challenges! In their recently released Break & Enter (Book I: Stealth Encounters), Emerald Press offers an XPANDED rules system for creating a new type of encounter for adventurers who doing things a bit sneaky instead of the head-on frontal assault!
Break & Enter (Book I: Stealth Encounters)
- Designer: Todd Crapper
- Illustrators: Shaman’s Stockart (cover) / Thomas Floyd, Andy Hepworth, Jonathan Hodgson, Kieron O’Gorman, Shaman’s Stockart (interior)
- Publisher: Emerald Press
- Year: 2011
- Media: PDF (62 pages)
- Cost: $9.95 (from RPGNow.com)
Production Quality
The production quality of Break & Enter Book I: Stealth Encounters is very good, with sharp writing presented in a pleasing and logical format, and a publishing style of lay-out which is easy to read. The format for the PDF is landscape, which makes it fit very nicely onto a computer screen or tablet, and as it mainly uses three colors – black, white, and blood red – everywhere except the illustrations, the ebook could be printed quite easily in grayscale to have a hardcopy at the gamin table, as needed. Admittedly, it won’t be the most ink-friendly printing, as there are thick 2”-wide decorative sidebars on every page, which will take a bit of a toll on the black ink cartridge.
The PDF comes with both a table of contents and adobe bookmarks, which make navigation through the ebook a breeze. The bookmarks are very complete and refer the reader to both main chapters, as well as important sub-sections, throughout the ebook.
The illustrations in Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters are frankly excellent, and really add a lot to the quality of the read overall. The full color maps are also very well done, and can be printed out and used at the gaming table as tiles. And I have to mention one innovation on the maps which I thought was brilliant, and will make printing maps a lot easier – the map markings are capable of being toggled on and off! So with them on, the map shows the standard markings for creature and trap locations, zones, and other important DM information, and with one click, all those marks go away, leaving just a map tile! I definitely like to see new innovations in PDFs like that, and it certainly enhances the quality of the ebook.
The Stealth Encounter
The basic stealth encounter is really a hybrid of a tactical combat encounter and a skill challenge, but designed to reward player-characters for operating in a sneaky manner.
The author wrote a series of blogs last month detailing some of the mechanics of the stealth encounter, which you can take a look at here on the Emerald Press site.The rules variant is actually quite smart – monsters in a stealth encounter which are unaware (new condition) of the heroes are assigned a lower hit point value until the alarm is sounded and they spot the adventurers. This lower hit point value allows even tough monsters to be taken down quickly by stealth and a standard attack, even an At-Will, for most heroes regardless of Level. Of course, if the heroes are spotted, the monsters revert to their normal hit point value, and the stealth encounter simply turns into a standard combat encounter!
While most of these concepts are discussed in the author’s blogs, the rules are given more detailed information and explanation in the Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters ebook. In addition, there is more explanation on building these encounters, and for converting existing monsters into guardians – one of the elements of a stealth encounter.
I really loved the way the author presented the material on creating a stealth encounter, and how easily they can be converted from a standard combat encounter should the heroes decide to approach by stealth. The various components of the stealth encounter – called trials – are clearly defined, and the author goes into details with instructions for creating new trials consisting of alarms, barriers, guardians, and snares. Monsters of all kinds can be transformed into guardians, and have slightly different stats in this role than they do as part of a combat encounter.
There was clearly some careful consideration of other elements to making a stealth encounter, such as what constitutes an alertness range, and how the heroes elevation above the guardians, the ambient noise in the area, and the tactical use of reflections all effect the outcome of the encounter. Other considerations such as the restricted movement speed while stealthed, using terrain and surroundings for best effect, as well as the use of multiple skill checks instead of attack rolls make a stealth encounter very much like a combat encounter, but with a different emphasis on the method of reaching victory.
The only downside I see to the use of stealth encounter is what happens in a mixed party of stealthy and non-stealthy characters. Non-stealthy characters, like heavily armored paladins, fighters, and clerics, are going to find very little to do during an encounter of this kind, other than staying out of sight while the sneaky heroes do the work. For parties with stealth as a commonly trained skill, these encounters should prove to be a welcome change from the standard combat encounter, or a hum-drum skill challenge to simulate sneaking around.
The Bonus Material
The author of Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters made sure to make it possible for Dungeon Masters to get not only a crash course in running stealth encounters, but also provided a whole lot of ready-to-use trials to be used in building them as well. There are a half dozen or more of each of the four types of trials, of varying levels, as well as helpful sidebar tips for their use, and upgrading themto higher difficulty levels by using them in certain combinations or scenarios.
Besides the guardians, which are based upon npcs and monsters, the other trials are an interesting mixture of magical and mundane traps and obstructions, although most of the alarm trials are quite magical in nature. I was a bit surprised that simple mundane alarms like a pressure-plate activated gong or a tripwire to a blowhorn were not included. But then again, DMs can certainly add more mundane effects for magic poor campaigns as needed.
The sample stealth encounters provided by the author at the end of the ebook are very complete, and are presented in a format easily recognizable to 4E DMs. There is one heroic tier stealth encounter, a Level 5 called The Ruined Tower, which has the heroes looking for a way to neutralize an eladrin watchtower to avoid detection. The remaining three encounters are set for the Paragon Tier (and maybe early Epic Tier), with stealth encounters of Level 11, 16, and 19 respectively. As mentioned previously, the maps are incredibly well designed, and the toggling effect for the markings make them very useful at the gaming table.
Overall Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)
Conclusions
There is certainly a lot to like about Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters, as it goes a long way to offer a cohesive set of rules for handling stealthy and clandestine adventures in a fantasy role-playing game. It is a crunch-heavy piece of work, but I really like that the author figured out an elegant solution to creating scenarios evocative CoD:Black Ops or Assassin’s Creed, and all without having to break the 4E ruleset to do it. While these rules might not work for all adventuring parties, stealth encounters offer a really great alternative to the standard hack-and-slash of combat, but without reverting to a dull old skill challenge.
Although the price for the PDF is a bit steep, for DMs looking to spice up their adventures with something that combines the speed of a skill challenge with the visceral thrill of a combat encounter, then Break & Enter: Stealth Encounters is well worth consideration for the D&D 4E “toolbox” of encounter building.
So until next Review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Author’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the product from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
- Presentation: 3.75
- - Design: 3.5
- - Illustrations: 4
- Content: 3.5
- - Crunch: 4
- - Fluff: 3
- Value: 2.5
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