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<blockquote data-quote="Kzach" data-source="post: 5108190" data-attributes="member: 56189"><p>On the matter of combat encounters, there are some very interesting scenarios in the AP's and modules. But again, they're interesting solely to be interesting, rather than being an organic part of the campaign. They stand out as being disconnected from the whole and very much, "Look what we did here, isn't this cool?!" Yes, it's cool, but it's also in isolation from everything else, so it really loses it's appeal when the players walk into a mushroom cavern with a bridge over it and have absolutely no reason to engage the mushroom creatures.</p><p></p><p>Why were the mushroom creatures there? What was their purpose aside from making falling off the ledge more dangerous? The PC's have no reason to interact with them, so an interesting encounter is turned into a boring one since the PC's just walk over the bridge and ignore them.</p><p></p><p>I could say that about a lot of the encounters. They're interesting to be interesting, rather than being interesting because they're a part of something that pushes the plot forward in any way, shape, or form. If the PC's have no reason to react or interact with all these 'interesting' elements, then they're pointless additions. Instead of deleting them, however, they should be included as a part of the plot.</p><p></p><p>A good for instance is an encounter in War of the Burning Sky, The Scouring of Gate Pass. Spoiler warning for anyone playing in it <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>In this encounter, the PC's have been harassed at every turn and are inches away from getting out of the city after three gruelling days of trials and tribulations. They're disguised as city guards and being accompanied by a city guard captain and eight city guards who are trying to sneak them out of the city before the Inquisitors arrive. A bunch of pillagers make a ruckus up ahead and the captain splits his eight guards into two groups and they run off after the thieves with the captain telling the group to stay put.</p><p></p><p>Now the group hear some noises and shouts for help and see magical lights coming from a magic shop. People in the street are noticing and calling for the 'guards' to do something. Now the PC's are put on the spot. All of a sudden the players are put into a situation where they could lose their one chance to escape the city if they're exposed as false guards.</p><p></p><p>Immediately this situation is exciting, interesting and engaging. It's not just another encounter in a string of encounters. It's forcing the players to make decisions.</p><p></p><p>On top of that, once they engage the thieves in the shop, they realise that the leader is a friend of a friend who helped them out earlier. Now what do they do? If they kill him, they'll make an enemy out of a former ally. If they let him go, the crowd will see through their disguise, or call real guards to deal with the problem.</p><p></p><p>This just upped the ante and made the entire encounter wholly relevant to everything that had happened before and forced the players to deal with the consequences of their actions. It's not just a random encounter, it moves the story forward in an interesting and engaging manner that will have future ramifications and an immediate impact on the story. I've never felt that with any of the AP's or modules.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kzach, post: 5108190, member: 56189"] On the matter of combat encounters, there are some very interesting scenarios in the AP's and modules. But again, they're interesting solely to be interesting, rather than being an organic part of the campaign. They stand out as being disconnected from the whole and very much, "Look what we did here, isn't this cool?!" Yes, it's cool, but it's also in isolation from everything else, so it really loses it's appeal when the players walk into a mushroom cavern with a bridge over it and have absolutely no reason to engage the mushroom creatures. Why were the mushroom creatures there? What was their purpose aside from making falling off the ledge more dangerous? The PC's have no reason to interact with them, so an interesting encounter is turned into a boring one since the PC's just walk over the bridge and ignore them. I could say that about a lot of the encounters. They're interesting to be interesting, rather than being interesting because they're a part of something that pushes the plot forward in any way, shape, or form. If the PC's have no reason to react or interact with all these 'interesting' elements, then they're pointless additions. Instead of deleting them, however, they should be included as a part of the plot. A good for instance is an encounter in War of the Burning Sky, The Scouring of Gate Pass. Spoiler warning for anyone playing in it :) In this encounter, the PC's have been harassed at every turn and are inches away from getting out of the city after three gruelling days of trials and tribulations. They're disguised as city guards and being accompanied by a city guard captain and eight city guards who are trying to sneak them out of the city before the Inquisitors arrive. A bunch of pillagers make a ruckus up ahead and the captain splits his eight guards into two groups and they run off after the thieves with the captain telling the group to stay put. Now the group hear some noises and shouts for help and see magical lights coming from a magic shop. People in the street are noticing and calling for the 'guards' to do something. Now the PC's are put on the spot. All of a sudden the players are put into a situation where they could lose their one chance to escape the city if they're exposed as false guards. Immediately this situation is exciting, interesting and engaging. It's not just another encounter in a string of encounters. It's forcing the players to make decisions. On top of that, once they engage the thieves in the shop, they realise that the leader is a friend of a friend who helped them out earlier. Now what do they do? If they kill him, they'll make an enemy out of a former ally. If they let him go, the crowd will see through their disguise, or call real guards to deal with the problem. This just upped the ante and made the entire encounter wholly relevant to everything that had happened before and forced the players to deal with the consequences of their actions. It's not just a random encounter, it moves the story forward in an interesting and engaging manner that will have future ramifications and an immediate impact on the story. I've never felt that with any of the AP's or modules. [/QUOTE]
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