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4e increased my DM prep time...
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<blockquote data-quote="Nightson" data-source="post: 5111382" data-attributes="member: 61515"><p>So here's what I do when entirely winging it in fourth edition (as in off the map entirely) which happens with alarming frequency in my game.</p><p></p><p>First I try to avoid combat, it's the hardest thing to wing. Desriptions of empty rooms, traps, NPC interaction and skill checks I can all handle without breaking a sweat.</p><p></p><p>But the party wants to stab someone anyway. First I determine if it's really a challenge worthy of getting played out through combat. They want to kill the informer in a small room, okay, I narrate them killing him, they want to pick a fight with the town guards, well I guess we're fighting.</p><p></p><p>I tell everyone to take five, get up use the bathroom, refill drinks, etc. Just five minutes for prep is a wonder. And given my group at least a five minute break tend to turn into a ten minute one pretty easily.</p><p></p><p>First I do the monsters. Generally I have the description of the monsters and I just need stats. I have access to the monster builder and the compendium which makes things easier. </p><p></p><p>First I look to find the actual monsters, I generally search in the monster builder. If I find the right flavor and the right role I need within four or so level of the level I want I just modify it to the right level and save it with a tag, aka "Gragoyle (banana)", this will let me quickly tab between all the monsters in the encounter by putting banana into the search field. After it's over I'll delete the modified creature.</p><p></p><p>If a standard monster is a fairly simple one I'll be more willing to delevel or uplevel it more significantly.</p><p></p><p>What roles I want is usually a function of flavor. Do the monsters strike me as more damaging? (Brutes, Artillery, Skirmishers) Tough? (Brutes and Soldiers) Sneaky? (Skirmishers and Lurkers). </p><p></p><p>So if I didn't find a monster with the right flavor, level and role I go for the reflavor. I sort based on level and role in the character builder. I tab through all the different statblocks, when I find one that seems interesting or synergizes well I tag it, add a quick modification if it needs it (replace a goblin racial power with a centaur one for example). If I don't have time I either just ignore the racial ability or reflavor it as well. Goblin tactics could be skittery nature of the cantaur's horse half and the increased nonbipedal mobility it brings.</p><p></p><p>So I've got my monsters, generally three or so different types with two or four also occuring. One type I tend to shy away from when doing something on the fly, I like to really think about those to make sure they'll make for a fun and interesting combat. Four different types is already pushing the limit of what my poor brain can handle keeping track of. </p><p></p><p>So with the monsters in hand I make the map. Generally I've described the area already so I'm constrained by that. If I think of some interesting terrain to stick in that's great, if I can't then oh well. </p><p></p><p>Then I grab treasure. I actually don't use the parcel system so this is harder for me. If you're using the parcel system I'd decide which each one is ahead of time and be ready to just drop one or two in. I myself just grab a handful of gold, one or two art objects and a magic item.</p><p></p><p>And now I've got a full combat encounter. If there's some problem that arises from making the encounter real quick I try to handle it on the down low, generally by fudging hp values or pretending something was a recharge power.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nightson, post: 5111382, member: 61515"] So here's what I do when entirely winging it in fourth edition (as in off the map entirely) which happens with alarming frequency in my game. First I try to avoid combat, it's the hardest thing to wing. Desriptions of empty rooms, traps, NPC interaction and skill checks I can all handle without breaking a sweat. But the party wants to stab someone anyway. First I determine if it's really a challenge worthy of getting played out through combat. They want to kill the informer in a small room, okay, I narrate them killing him, they want to pick a fight with the town guards, well I guess we're fighting. I tell everyone to take five, get up use the bathroom, refill drinks, etc. Just five minutes for prep is a wonder. And given my group at least a five minute break tend to turn into a ten minute one pretty easily. First I do the monsters. Generally I have the description of the monsters and I just need stats. I have access to the monster builder and the compendium which makes things easier. First I look to find the actual monsters, I generally search in the monster builder. If I find the right flavor and the right role I need within four or so level of the level I want I just modify it to the right level and save it with a tag, aka "Gragoyle (banana)", this will let me quickly tab between all the monsters in the encounter by putting banana into the search field. After it's over I'll delete the modified creature. If a standard monster is a fairly simple one I'll be more willing to delevel or uplevel it more significantly. What roles I want is usually a function of flavor. Do the monsters strike me as more damaging? (Brutes, Artillery, Skirmishers) Tough? (Brutes and Soldiers) Sneaky? (Skirmishers and Lurkers). So if I didn't find a monster with the right flavor, level and role I go for the reflavor. I sort based on level and role in the character builder. I tab through all the different statblocks, when I find one that seems interesting or synergizes well I tag it, add a quick modification if it needs it (replace a goblin racial power with a centaur one for example). If I don't have time I either just ignore the racial ability or reflavor it as well. Goblin tactics could be skittery nature of the cantaur's horse half and the increased nonbipedal mobility it brings. So I've got my monsters, generally three or so different types with two or four also occuring. One type I tend to shy away from when doing something on the fly, I like to really think about those to make sure they'll make for a fun and interesting combat. Four different types is already pushing the limit of what my poor brain can handle keeping track of. So with the monsters in hand I make the map. Generally I've described the area already so I'm constrained by that. If I think of some interesting terrain to stick in that's great, if I can't then oh well. Then I grab treasure. I actually don't use the parcel system so this is harder for me. If you're using the parcel system I'd decide which each one is ahead of time and be ready to just drop one or two in. I myself just grab a handful of gold, one or two art objects and a magic item. And now I've got a full combat encounter. If there's some problem that arises from making the encounter real quick I try to handle it on the down low, generally by fudging hp values or pretending something was a recharge power. [/QUOTE]
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