Rhenny
Adventurer
We played another 3 hour playtest session last night. You can check out the game summary on my blog at community.wizards.com/rhenny/blog
Here are some new observations as DM,
5th level wizard is coming into his own.
Not using the guidelines in the rules to create encounters, just eyeballing it, I tend to always create nearly average encounters. The Ankhegs were worth about 1350 xp. I’d award about 1500 xp for the Lizard Folk encounter, and the final goblin and Drow battle was worth about 1710 xp. The night’s session was worth 4,560 total or 1,140 xp each PC.
In both of the combat encounters of this session, the PCs had the advantage because they were able to plan ahead and act first (at least with 1 or two PCs acting before the foes). This raises an interesting point. It is really hard to surprise the party when each party member has a chance to roll listen or spot checks. This is an issue I have to grapple with as a DM because when the party acts first the challenge level of the encounter is vastly diminished. Additionally, with the rogue scouting ahead stealthfully, the party gains valuable recon data to help them plan their actions. This doesn’t seem like a game problem. It is just good tactical play. On some occasions (in previous sessions), the rogue gets trapped by the foes (when they can sense movement or when the rogue fails the sneak vs. listen/spot check vs. the foes), so it seems like a fair trade off.
Now that I've DMd the new package 8 to 10 times (and played 3 times), I feel like I've hit my testing limits. I know that MDD is too powerful. I know that lower level Wizards are not as fun to play. I know that being able to use MDD for both parry and attack in one turn is too much and less strategic than chosing how to use the dice for one or the other or a combination of both. I know that initiative in combat (or surprise) really alters the challenge level of the encounter. I feel that PCs have too much of an advantage over foes (hit points, damage and AC especially). I guess I'm ready for a new playtest package.
Here are some new observations as DM,
5th level wizard is coming into his own.
Not using the guidelines in the rules to create encounters, just eyeballing it, I tend to always create nearly average encounters. The Ankhegs were worth about 1350 xp. I’d award about 1500 xp for the Lizard Folk encounter, and the final goblin and Drow battle was worth about 1710 xp. The night’s session was worth 4,560 total or 1,140 xp each PC.
In both of the combat encounters of this session, the PCs had the advantage because they were able to plan ahead and act first (at least with 1 or two PCs acting before the foes). This raises an interesting point. It is really hard to surprise the party when each party member has a chance to roll listen or spot checks. This is an issue I have to grapple with as a DM because when the party acts first the challenge level of the encounter is vastly diminished. Additionally, with the rogue scouting ahead stealthfully, the party gains valuable recon data to help them plan their actions. This doesn’t seem like a game problem. It is just good tactical play. On some occasions (in previous sessions), the rogue gets trapped by the foes (when they can sense movement or when the rogue fails the sneak vs. listen/spot check vs. the foes), so it seems like a fair trade off.
Now that I've DMd the new package 8 to 10 times (and played 3 times), I feel like I've hit my testing limits. I know that MDD is too powerful. I know that lower level Wizards are not as fun to play. I know that being able to use MDD for both parry and attack in one turn is too much and less strategic than chosing how to use the dice for one or the other or a combination of both. I know that initiative in combat (or surprise) really alters the challenge level of the encounter. I feel that PCs have too much of an advantage over foes (hit points, damage and AC especially). I guess I'm ready for a new playtest package.
