Libramarian
Adventurer
I may post some more thoughts on the broader concept later, but to start:
Anybody explicitly balance only certain plot-relevant encounters to party level? I.e. most encounters are in a status quo sandbox, not adjusted to party level, but main storyline encounters (or adventuring days/small dungeons) are re-balanced to provide a dramatically-tough-but-doable challenge for the party whenever they progress to them (or when the DM decides to introduce them as "bangs"). This would seem to be one step towards reconciling the most appealing aspects of both styles in one campaign. The sandboxing would replace the "filler" that all APs have, and the condensed storyline would give the sandbox a narrative rhythm.
For verisimilitude you could say that the BBEG is spying on the PCs and beefing up their defenses appropriately, or something like that.
It would be sort of like the inverse of milestone leveling -- instead of leveling the party as it feels appropriate for the story (which totally neuters sandboxing, at least as I understand it), you 'level' the story as it feels appropriate for the party. Anybody recognize that as their go-to campaign structure?
Anybody explicitly balance only certain plot-relevant encounters to party level? I.e. most encounters are in a status quo sandbox, not adjusted to party level, but main storyline encounters (or adventuring days/small dungeons) are re-balanced to provide a dramatically-tough-but-doable challenge for the party whenever they progress to them (or when the DM decides to introduce them as "bangs"). This would seem to be one step towards reconciling the most appealing aspects of both styles in one campaign. The sandboxing would replace the "filler" that all APs have, and the condensed storyline would give the sandbox a narrative rhythm.
For verisimilitude you could say that the BBEG is spying on the PCs and beefing up their defenses appropriately, or something like that.
It would be sort of like the inverse of milestone leveling -- instead of leveling the party as it feels appropriate for the story (which totally neuters sandboxing, at least as I understand it), you 'level' the story as it feels appropriate for the party. Anybody recognize that as their go-to campaign structure?
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