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5e: the demystification of monsters?
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<blockquote data-quote="DogBackward" data-source="post: 6026297" data-attributes="member: 50642"><p>People still seem to be stuck in the newish, 4e style mindset of "One equal-level monster per PC". That's not how classic gaming works, and it's not how most epic adventure fantasy works. D&D has drifted further and further into expectations of 50/50 fights and building set-piece encounters, which I think is a problem.</p><p></p><p>You won't be fighting one ogre at tenth level. You won't be fighting 3 ogres at tenth level. It's possible you won't even be fighting ten ogres at tenth level. One of my absolute favorite things about bounded accuracy and the way 5e's basic math is shaping up is the concept of scale.</p><p></p><p>At tenth level, you're fighting a bloody <em>army</em> of ogres. Ten-thousand ogres besieging the castle? Great, send the five 10th level PC's to hold the eastern wall. Or send them as a strike force into the heart of the ogre army, to take out the ogre-mage general and his two-dozen bodyguards.</p><p></p><p>I love that this sort of thing can happen again. That you can use tons of low-level enemies (not two or three, <em>tons</em>) against a high level group, and still have a chance of the group having some trouble. And the simplicity of "mook" monsters means you can even do it with a minimum of fuss.</p><p></p><p>We're <em>finally</em> getting back to the days where we can tell amazing, epic stories of the small band of brave warriors who stood strong against an <em>army</em>. And not a half-assed, "Despite the thousands of monsters around you, only five of them (all equal to your level) have engaged you specifically." army, a real army that doesn't have to engage you in one-on-one, Hollywood-ninja-style mini-fights. When the PC's take the field, all eyes turn to them, and everyone knows that these five valorous souls alone will turn the tide of battle.</p><p></p><p>And I love that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DogBackward, post: 6026297, member: 50642"] People still seem to be stuck in the newish, 4e style mindset of "One equal-level monster per PC". That's not how classic gaming works, and it's not how most epic adventure fantasy works. D&D has drifted further and further into expectations of 50/50 fights and building set-piece encounters, which I think is a problem. You won't be fighting one ogre at tenth level. You won't be fighting 3 ogres at tenth level. It's possible you won't even be fighting ten ogres at tenth level. One of my absolute favorite things about bounded accuracy and the way 5e's basic math is shaping up is the concept of scale. At tenth level, you're fighting a bloody [i]army[/i] of ogres. Ten-thousand ogres besieging the castle? Great, send the five 10th level PC's to hold the eastern wall. Or send them as a strike force into the heart of the ogre army, to take out the ogre-mage general and his two-dozen bodyguards. I love that this sort of thing can happen again. That you can use tons of low-level enemies (not two or three, [i]tons[/i]) against a high level group, and still have a chance of the group having some trouble. And the simplicity of "mook" monsters means you can even do it with a minimum of fuss. We're [i]finally[/i] getting back to the days where we can tell amazing, epic stories of the small band of brave warriors who stood strong against an [i]army[/i]. And not a half-assed, "Despite the thousands of monsters around you, only five of them (all equal to your level) have engaged you specifically." army, a real army that doesn't have to engage you in one-on-one, Hollywood-ninja-style mini-fights. When the PC's take the field, all eyes turn to them, and everyone knows that these five valorous souls alone will turn the tide of battle. And I love that. [/QUOTE]
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