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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
4e Encounter Design... Why does it or doesn't it work for you?
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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6054581" data-attributes="member: 336"><p>What you are asking for is a sort of tweaking that is almost necessary at Paragon and absolutely needed at Epic. WotC didn't do a very good job of supporting those two tiers as the power level of the characters "goes to 11" at those two tiers.</p><p></p><p>Solos need to be adjusted according to MM3 statistics and given more actions, and action denial prevention to keep them relevant, specially at those tiers. It is absolutely needed if you are deviating from the 4-5 character norm for encounters. A solo is supposed to be appropriate for 4-5 characters. If you turn that number on it's head and make it 7-9 you have to "pump up" the solo encounter to keep pace.</p><p></p><p>The best part about it in 4e is that "normalizing" a solo for that type of play is almost trivially easy to do in comparison to what you described. You can also do it either as prep work or on the fly. In addition, you can do this with multiple types of tools (hazards, traps, terrain, other monsters, or direct modification of the solo). There is no need to give him 5-6 feats, and add an inordinate amount of spells. A few additional recharge powers, adjusting recharge to "as appropriate", and a few additional encounter powers or interesting interrupts can handle most of the work. Add a few terrain powers and hazards and the combat becomes more interesting.</p><p></p><p>I've found modification of monsters to be one of the most pleasing highlights of DMing 4e. It's truly liberating to have a solid framework to build on, and complete independence to make it work without worrying about knock-on effects.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 6054581, member: 336"] What you are asking for is a sort of tweaking that is almost necessary at Paragon and absolutely needed at Epic. WotC didn't do a very good job of supporting those two tiers as the power level of the characters "goes to 11" at those two tiers. Solos need to be adjusted according to MM3 statistics and given more actions, and action denial prevention to keep them relevant, specially at those tiers. It is absolutely needed if you are deviating from the 4-5 character norm for encounters. A solo is supposed to be appropriate for 4-5 characters. If you turn that number on it's head and make it 7-9 you have to "pump up" the solo encounter to keep pace. The best part about it in 4e is that "normalizing" a solo for that type of play is almost trivially easy to do in comparison to what you described. You can also do it either as prep work or on the fly. In addition, you can do this with multiple types of tools (hazards, traps, terrain, other monsters, or direct modification of the solo). There is no need to give him 5-6 feats, and add an inordinate amount of spells. A few additional recharge powers, adjusting recharge to "as appropriate", and a few additional encounter powers or interesting interrupts can handle most of the work. Add a few terrain powers and hazards and the combat becomes more interesting. I've found modification of monsters to be one of the most pleasing highlights of DMing 4e. It's truly liberating to have a solid framework to build on, and complete independence to make it work without worrying about knock-on effects. [/QUOTE]
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4e Encounter Design... Why does it or doesn't it work for you?
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