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4e increased my DM prep time...
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<blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 5110487" data-attributes="member: 5868"><p>Is your party heavily min-maxed and invested in group tactics? Or are they a bit more casual, playing what's fun without having to be optimal?</p><p></p><p>If the former, I can definitely see an increase in prep time with 4E, because to optimally use a bunch of complementary creatures takes a lot of work to understand their tactics and figure out how they work together (plus for a given session you have to figure that out 3-4 times, compared to the PCs needing to figure it out once).</p><p></p><p>If they are a more casual group, though, you may be setting the bar too high for yourself. If the PCs aren't maxed out, you can wing it a bit more easily. Pick monsters by general role -- a couple of soldiers, an artillery, and a lurker or two, topped off with a few minions -- and don't worry about exact powers or how they mesh. Once you know how the monster role works, you have the basic tactics and battlefield positioning down, and you really don't need to be an expert in the individual powers. </p><p></p><p>Don't forget too that you can reduce prep by using modular encounters, reducing combat encounters for more RP encounters or "skill challenges" (I use quotes because I don't mean skill challenges in the 4E rulebook sense, which I haven't found to work worth beans -- I mean scenarios where the players solve a problem via a combination of RP and skill checks, whether traps, puzzles, negotiations, research, etc), and by using a session template (example: 3 combat encounters, one with a mixed group, one mook-heavy, one solo; one RP-focused negotiation; and one skill-focused problem).</p><p></p><p>Oh, and I find it smoother to not sweat exact execution of minute rules. DM's intuition goes a long way if you have experience, and you can always put the onus on knowing specific stuff back on the rules lawyer in the group (ever gaming group has one).</p><p></p><p>A little planning on how you string your basic framework together will make the prep of the individual encounters much easier once you get the rhythm down, and taking the casual approach should cut the prep further and enable you to return to "wing it" mode.</p><p></p><p>if you have super-min-maxed PCs, though ... I guess you can just be glad you aren't playing high-level 3E!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Olgar Shiverstone, post: 5110487, member: 5868"] Is your party heavily min-maxed and invested in group tactics? Or are they a bit more casual, playing what's fun without having to be optimal? If the former, I can definitely see an increase in prep time with 4E, because to optimally use a bunch of complementary creatures takes a lot of work to understand their tactics and figure out how they work together (plus for a given session you have to figure that out 3-4 times, compared to the PCs needing to figure it out once). If they are a more casual group, though, you may be setting the bar too high for yourself. If the PCs aren't maxed out, you can wing it a bit more easily. Pick monsters by general role -- a couple of soldiers, an artillery, and a lurker or two, topped off with a few minions -- and don't worry about exact powers or how they mesh. Once you know how the monster role works, you have the basic tactics and battlefield positioning down, and you really don't need to be an expert in the individual powers. Don't forget too that you can reduce prep by using modular encounters, reducing combat encounters for more RP encounters or "skill challenges" (I use quotes because I don't mean skill challenges in the 4E rulebook sense, which I haven't found to work worth beans -- I mean scenarios where the players solve a problem via a combination of RP and skill checks, whether traps, puzzles, negotiations, research, etc), and by using a session template (example: 3 combat encounters, one with a mixed group, one mook-heavy, one solo; one RP-focused negotiation; and one skill-focused problem). Oh, and I find it smoother to not sweat exact execution of minute rules. DM's intuition goes a long way if you have experience, and you can always put the onus on knowing specific stuff back on the rules lawyer in the group (ever gaming group has one). A little planning on how you string your basic framework together will make the prep of the individual encounters much easier once you get the rhythm down, and taking the casual approach should cut the prep further and enable you to return to "wing it" mode. if you have super-min-maxed PCs, though ... I guess you can just be glad you aren't playing high-level 3E! [/QUOTE]
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4e increased my DM prep time...
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