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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 7726850" data-attributes="member: 6775031"><p>That much is apparent, so I'll try to explain it all again using different words.</p><p></p><p>Imagine the game world. As the DM, you have approximate knowledge of everything in that world, and you can discern details about specific areas if you think about them. You know where all of the cities are, and which nations are moving against which other nations. You may not know off the top of your head whether someone will be selling an enchanted canoe on Market Street in Baldur's Gate at 7am next Sunday, but you have the ability to figure that out if you think about it for a little while, and you may <em>need</em> to figure it out if a PC goes there at that time and wants to buy an enchanted canoe. If such a person exists, then you also know exactly what their name is, and what they look like. You have to know these things, in case the player asks. You know <em>everything</em> about the world, because you <em>need</em> to know everything in order to do your job (to play the NPCs, and adjudicate uncertainty in resolving actions).</p><p></p><p>Now, imagine how many level 13 encounters are in that world. How many rooms in all of the world contain allied creatures that might potentially be hostile to the PCs, and would offer that level of challenge if they came across the party? This is information which you possess, as the DM. You have to be able to determine what's in any given room, in case a player asks. An approximation is fine for the purposes of this example.</p><p></p><p>My guess is that there aren't many rooms which contain hostile level 13 encounters, as a percentage of total rooms within the game world. The concentration may be somewhat higher if you examine a region where frost giants live, or if you only look at a specific demi-plane, but the baseline likelihood if you just enter a room at random is probably less than one percent. It's hard to imagine what a world would look like if level 13 encounters were commonplace, especially if level 12 and level 14 encounters were equally as common.</p><p></p><p>There are two ways that the party might come across a level 13 encounter: 1) They could chance across one of those locations, in the course of their adventures; 2) You could decide that the next location they visit will contain the enemies you want them to fight, regardless of what would have been in that location if they hadn't visited.</p><p></p><p>The first option is unlikely, but not out of the question, especially if the PCs are engaged in a quest which takes them near those previously-mentioned regions of higher concentrations. If four frost giants constitute a level 13 encounter, and the PCs accept a quest to find out what happened to the last Elven emissary to the frost giants, then it's probable that they may find themselves in a room with four hostile frost giants at some point during their quest. They may also find themselves in a room with one angry frost giant, or with a hundred.</p><p></p><p>The second option is illegal. You are not allowed to decide that. It is a violation of the rules of the game, and a violation of your obligation to the players. Your job as DM is to play the NPCs, and resolve uncertainty in action resolution. Allowing a level 13 encounter to be <em>wherever</em> the PCs happen to show up is a violation of that first task. The NPCs <em>can't</em> decide to be there, based on information that they <em>don't</em> know (that the PCs will be there, or that the PCs are controlled by players in the real world who would be entertained by the combat). That is a <em>textbook</em> example of illegal meta-gaming, in exactly the same way as if a PC stocks up on alchemist's fire because the player saw your notes and became aware that trolls were in the area. When you force an encounter in such a manner, you damage the integrity of the game in exactly the same way.</p><p>We're not talking about backgammon or chess. We're talking about role-playing games. If you invite a friend to play a role-playing game, but then you play your characters as though they were chess pieces, then your friend has every reason to be annoyed at you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 7726850, member: 6775031"] That much is apparent, so I'll try to explain it all again using different words. Imagine the game world. As the DM, you have approximate knowledge of everything in that world, and you can discern details about specific areas if you think about them. You know where all of the cities are, and which nations are moving against which other nations. You may not know off the top of your head whether someone will be selling an enchanted canoe on Market Street in Baldur's Gate at 7am next Sunday, but you have the ability to figure that out if you think about it for a little while, and you may [I]need[/I] to figure it out if a PC goes there at that time and wants to buy an enchanted canoe. If such a person exists, then you also know exactly what their name is, and what they look like. You have to know these things, in case the player asks. You know [I]everything[/I] about the world, because you [I]need[/I] to know everything in order to do your job (to play the NPCs, and adjudicate uncertainty in resolving actions). Now, imagine how many level 13 encounters are in that world. How many rooms in all of the world contain allied creatures that might potentially be hostile to the PCs, and would offer that level of challenge if they came across the party? This is information which you possess, as the DM. You have to be able to determine what's in any given room, in case a player asks. An approximation is fine for the purposes of this example. My guess is that there aren't many rooms which contain hostile level 13 encounters, as a percentage of total rooms within the game world. The concentration may be somewhat higher if you examine a region where frost giants live, or if you only look at a specific demi-plane, but the baseline likelihood if you just enter a room at random is probably less than one percent. It's hard to imagine what a world would look like if level 13 encounters were commonplace, especially if level 12 and level 14 encounters were equally as common. There are two ways that the party might come across a level 13 encounter: 1) They could chance across one of those locations, in the course of their adventures; 2) You could decide that the next location they visit will contain the enemies you want them to fight, regardless of what would have been in that location if they hadn't visited. The first option is unlikely, but not out of the question, especially if the PCs are engaged in a quest which takes them near those previously-mentioned regions of higher concentrations. If four frost giants constitute a level 13 encounter, and the PCs accept a quest to find out what happened to the last Elven emissary to the frost giants, then it's probable that they may find themselves in a room with four hostile frost giants at some point during their quest. They may also find themselves in a room with one angry frost giant, or with a hundred. The second option is illegal. You are not allowed to decide that. It is a violation of the rules of the game, and a violation of your obligation to the players. Your job as DM is to play the NPCs, and resolve uncertainty in action resolution. Allowing a level 13 encounter to be [I]wherever[/I] the PCs happen to show up is a violation of that first task. The NPCs [I]can't[/I] decide to be there, based on information that they [I]don't[/I] know (that the PCs will be there, or that the PCs are controlled by players in the real world who would be entertained by the combat). That is a [I]textbook[/I] example of illegal meta-gaming, in exactly the same way as if a PC stocks up on alchemist's fire because the player saw your notes and became aware that trolls were in the area. When you force an encounter in such a manner, you damage the integrity of the game in exactly the same way. We're not talking about backgammon or chess. We're talking about role-playing games. If you invite a friend to play a role-playing game, but then you play your characters as though they were chess pieces, then your friend has every reason to be annoyed at you. [/QUOTE]
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