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D&D Older Editions
4e Compared to Trad D&D; What You Lose, What You Gain
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<blockquote data-quote="Nagol" data-source="post: 7527114" data-attributes="member: 23935"><p>[MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] gave a good answer, but I thought I'd chime in a bit.</p><p></p><p>You can use random encounters, but each type of edition (OSR-2e being one type, 3e+5e being a second, and 4e a third) sets up mechanics to incent the players differently.</p><p></p><p>The first type of game, the players are incented to see random encounters as a negative -- such encounters are worth little experience and offer almost no treasure. The players are incented to move through the dangerous environment quickly, confront their target, and retreat to safety. There are few encounter recharging mechanics and any expenditure of resources is hard to replace in the field. Each encounter has a non-trivial chance of consuming some resources (a 6 hp loss is teeth-clenching when your 10th level MU/Thief has a 29 hp maximum). The incentive for clear targets and smooth play became obvious quickly to any group that wanted to succeed.</p><p></p><p>The second type, the players are incented to see the encounters as mixed -- such encounters offer experience and are typically weaker than keyed encounters, but offer little treasure. The players are incented to juggle competing desires of acquisition vs. xp gain. There are a few encounter recharging mechanics and expenditure of some resources are hard to replace in the field, but a few "unnecessary" encounters generally isn't a big deal ( a 12 hp loss isn't a huge deal when your 10th level Wizard has 75 hp). The incentive to try to trigger extra encounters once the main goal was achieved to maximise gain from the outing was obvious especially if one or more of the party members was *this* close to levelling.</p><p></p><p>The third type, the players are offered no real incentive or disincentive and random encounters are effectively a small aspect of the environment. Triggering an encounter is unlikely to cost non-encounter recharging resources and may trigger a milestone event for the group that is helpful. Few resources aren't encounter recharging and easily replaced in the field. Any losses are likely inconsequential for the participants.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nagol, post: 7527114, member: 23935"] [MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] gave a good answer, but I thought I'd chime in a bit. You can use random encounters, but each type of edition (OSR-2e being one type, 3e+5e being a second, and 4e a third) sets up mechanics to incent the players differently. The first type of game, the players are incented to see random encounters as a negative -- such encounters are worth little experience and offer almost no treasure. The players are incented to move through the dangerous environment quickly, confront their target, and retreat to safety. There are few encounter recharging mechanics and any expenditure of resources is hard to replace in the field. Each encounter has a non-trivial chance of consuming some resources (a 6 hp loss is teeth-clenching when your 10th level MU/Thief has a 29 hp maximum). The incentive for clear targets and smooth play became obvious quickly to any group that wanted to succeed. The second type, the players are incented to see the encounters as mixed -- such encounters offer experience and are typically weaker than keyed encounters, but offer little treasure. The players are incented to juggle competing desires of acquisition vs. xp gain. There are a few encounter recharging mechanics and expenditure of some resources are hard to replace in the field, but a few "unnecessary" encounters generally isn't a big deal ( a 12 hp loss isn't a huge deal when your 10th level Wizard has 75 hp). The incentive to try to trigger extra encounters once the main goal was achieved to maximise gain from the outing was obvious especially if one or more of the party members was *this* close to levelling. The third type, the players are offered no real incentive or disincentive and random encounters are effectively a small aspect of the environment. Triggering an encounter is unlikely to cost non-encounter recharging resources and may trigger a milestone event for the group that is helpful. Few resources aren't encounter recharging and easily replaced in the field. Any losses are likely inconsequential for the participants. [/QUOTE]
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