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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 7449739" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>1: Never had any players manage to get a character past level 7 (and one got to 5th/6th, a handful to 4th)...so, never been a problem. Based on how I DM and my experience doing it 'my way', I can't see it being a problem.</p><p></p><p>2: Nope. It doesn't. It never has. Didn't work in 3.x either. You should just pretend the whole "CR" thing doesn't exist. It will make your DM'ing more fun, more fluid, more exciting, and your campaign setting more believable.</p><p></p><p>3: Yes...and no. Y'see, if you are using Feats, Multiclassing, Spells from other books, hell, any "OPTIONS" from the books or additional books past PHB/MM/DMG, then you have to make adjustments to <em>everything</em>. The core game assumes these optional things/rules are NOT in play. So, as a DM, it's your job to decide how to account for it in your game/campaign.</p><p></p><p>As a sub-point to 3, the easiest way to make things more exciting is Terrain/Location stuff, and (one of the easiest) is to sort of 'mix-in-match' one monster with another. Take, say, an Orc and a...hmmm....Hill Giant. Ok, these "orcs" look more ape-like, with overly large upper bodies and huge fists; they can Throw Rocks like a Hill Giant (just use it, but maybe reduce damage...or maybe not). Now, toss these "Hill Orcs" and put them where they ambush the PC's walking through a old dry river bed that winds up between the hills they need to pass through. The Terrain/Location part, you can just make a quick "Terrain Notes" on your scrap paper there and jot down some random possibilities - "Unstable Rocks // Foot Stuck // Small Rock Slide // Snake/Scorpion/Spider Attack // Flash Flood". I usually will use a "tied initiative" method for determining if something 'weird' happens (based on the Dice number...not total). If a tie on the die comes up, one of these 'unusual things' happens; to the lower TOTAL initiative side. Random PC/monster, or I pick the most likely. </p><p></p><p>Anyway, but adding unusual aspects to Monsters and 'possibilities' for fighting in some terrain/location, it can really make a difference. Hell, just "re-skinning" a monster's looks is all you need sometimes: "You see several humanoids, about 4' tall. It is bright blue in colour with black hair. It has three eyes, in a row, above two slits for nostrils. They jab their crude javelins in your direction and make grunting noises" (then use Kobold stats). Now, mechanically, it may be 'the same', but it will FEEL different to the players. Especially if you have them acting unusual as well (like they always focus-fire, even if it makes one of them vulnerable to 'back' attacks).</p><p></p><p>4: TPK's are bad. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> With regards to "no characters ever die"....I do not know these words of which you speak. In my experience, dying is one of the best things that PC's are capable of doing. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>All joking(?) aside, change it. Try different things until you find something that works. For example, "If you hit 0hp or lower, make a Death check with a penalty equal to damage taken below 0"...if that's too much, add.... "Add your Con adjustment and Proficiency Bonus"...tweak from there. Or maybe just have an old AD&D/Hackmaster rule of if you are between 0 and -3, you are unconscious; -4 to -10 you are dying; -11 or more and you are dead; if taken from positive HP's to -4 or lower in one-hit, you are instantly killed. </p><p></p><p>5: I don't think it was meant to be a "guideline". I think it was a "in most game days, there will probably be between X and Y"...not so much a "You should have X to Y encounters per day". And besides that...ignore it. It rarely works out that way imnsho, and it doesn't need to. A normal D&D "game day" is not based on board-game turns or whatever. A "game day" doesn't follow a formula. Life is FAR to random for that to make any sort of sense. The only things you can be relatively assured of is that there is a morning, and afternoon, an evening, and a night. Other than that...anything goes. I guess what I'm trying to say is...shift your DM brain from "game mechanics mode" into "cool narrative/story/description mode". It will serve you SO much better for logical progression of your game.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Final Note: Don't knock the age-old DM skill of "winging it". The more you do it, the better you will get. The only thing I'd suggest you do if you start "winging it" alot is to REALLY REALLY REALLY <em>know your campaign world</em>! You should have notes about "Barkeep's Wife - Edneda, 48, average, grating laugh; secretly was a cortisan of a nearby kingdom's king; has brother who is a well-known assassin; is constantly complaining to the mayor about the towns lack of decent sewage handling). Will the PC's ever interact with Edneda? Maybe. Will they find out about any of her secrets or her causes? Unlikely...but you never know. And its that whole "you never know" part that you will be drawing on. This sort of "background info players will never likely discover" (applies to NPC's as well as cities, terrain locations, gods, the multiverse, oceans, etc), that is the stuff you draw on when "winging it". The more you know about the possible 'behind the scenes' stuff in your campaign, the easier and more logical your "winging" sessions will be.</p><p></p><p>^_^</p><p></p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 7449739, member: 45197"] Hiya! 1: Never had any players manage to get a character past level 7 (and one got to 5th/6th, a handful to 4th)...so, never been a problem. Based on how I DM and my experience doing it 'my way', I can't see it being a problem. 2: Nope. It doesn't. It never has. Didn't work in 3.x either. You should just pretend the whole "CR" thing doesn't exist. It will make your DM'ing more fun, more fluid, more exciting, and your campaign setting more believable. 3: Yes...and no. Y'see, if you are using Feats, Multiclassing, Spells from other books, hell, any "OPTIONS" from the books or additional books past PHB/MM/DMG, then you have to make adjustments to [I]everything[/I]. The core game assumes these optional things/rules are NOT in play. So, as a DM, it's your job to decide how to account for it in your game/campaign. As a sub-point to 3, the easiest way to make things more exciting is Terrain/Location stuff, and (one of the easiest) is to sort of 'mix-in-match' one monster with another. Take, say, an Orc and a...hmmm....Hill Giant. Ok, these "orcs" look more ape-like, with overly large upper bodies and huge fists; they can Throw Rocks like a Hill Giant (just use it, but maybe reduce damage...or maybe not). Now, toss these "Hill Orcs" and put them where they ambush the PC's walking through a old dry river bed that winds up between the hills they need to pass through. The Terrain/Location part, you can just make a quick "Terrain Notes" on your scrap paper there and jot down some random possibilities - "Unstable Rocks // Foot Stuck // Small Rock Slide // Snake/Scorpion/Spider Attack // Flash Flood". I usually will use a "tied initiative" method for determining if something 'weird' happens (based on the Dice number...not total). If a tie on the die comes up, one of these 'unusual things' happens; to the lower TOTAL initiative side. Random PC/monster, or I pick the most likely. Anyway, but adding unusual aspects to Monsters and 'possibilities' for fighting in some terrain/location, it can really make a difference. Hell, just "re-skinning" a monster's looks is all you need sometimes: "You see several humanoids, about 4' tall. It is bright blue in colour with black hair. It has three eyes, in a row, above two slits for nostrils. They jab their crude javelins in your direction and make grunting noises" (then use Kobold stats). Now, mechanically, it may be 'the same', but it will FEEL different to the players. Especially if you have them acting unusual as well (like they always focus-fire, even if it makes one of them vulnerable to 'back' attacks). 4: TPK's are bad. ;) With regards to "no characters ever die"....I do not know these words of which you speak. In my experience, dying is one of the best things that PC's are capable of doing. ;) All joking(?) aside, change it. Try different things until you find something that works. For example, "If you hit 0hp or lower, make a Death check with a penalty equal to damage taken below 0"...if that's too much, add.... "Add your Con adjustment and Proficiency Bonus"...tweak from there. Or maybe just have an old AD&D/Hackmaster rule of if you are between 0 and -3, you are unconscious; -4 to -10 you are dying; -11 or more and you are dead; if taken from positive HP's to -4 or lower in one-hit, you are instantly killed. 5: I don't think it was meant to be a "guideline". I think it was a "in most game days, there will probably be between X and Y"...not so much a "You should have X to Y encounters per day". And besides that...ignore it. It rarely works out that way imnsho, and it doesn't need to. A normal D&D "game day" is not based on board-game turns or whatever. A "game day" doesn't follow a formula. Life is FAR to random for that to make any sort of sense. The only things you can be relatively assured of is that there is a morning, and afternoon, an evening, and a night. Other than that...anything goes. I guess what I'm trying to say is...shift your DM brain from "game mechanics mode" into "cool narrative/story/description mode". It will serve you SO much better for logical progression of your game. Final Note: Don't knock the age-old DM skill of "winging it". The more you do it, the better you will get. The only thing I'd suggest you do if you start "winging it" alot is to REALLY REALLY REALLY [I]know your campaign world[/I]! You should have notes about "Barkeep's Wife - Edneda, 48, average, grating laugh; secretly was a cortisan of a nearby kingdom's king; has brother who is a well-known assassin; is constantly complaining to the mayor about the towns lack of decent sewage handling). Will the PC's ever interact with Edneda? Maybe. Will they find out about any of her secrets or her causes? Unlikely...but you never know. And its that whole "you never know" part that you will be drawing on. This sort of "background info players will never likely discover" (applies to NPC's as well as cities, terrain locations, gods, the multiverse, oceans, etc), that is the stuff you draw on when "winging it". The more you know about the possible 'behind the scenes' stuff in your campaign, the easier and more logical your "winging" sessions will be. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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