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<blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 5290922" data-attributes="member: 2011"><p>I think giving out the actual defense numbers of the monsters is a terrible idea.</p><p></p><p>Part of the mystery and fun of the game is trying to figure out which power a player should use on a given monster in a given situation. If the DM hands out the defenses, the players automatically know which ones hit the easiest. Why bother having players? The DM should just run the entire encounter himself. Note: there is nothing wrong with knowing that a 24 hit AC once a PC manages to roll a 24. But telling the PCs at the start of combat that the foe has AC 22 is not ok.</p><p></p><p>Another issue here is that you are also handing out bonus +2 by other PCs to the higher skilled PC. That's about as powerful as handing out multiple free Aid Anothers by the other skilled PCs. Aid Another for a skill check is a standard action and you plan to hand it out as a free action automatically.</p><p></p><p>Just because something sounds cool doesn't mean the DM should do it.</p><p></p><p>You should think of ideas to challenge your players, not spoon feed them.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As a side note, players who want to should attempt knowledge skill checks. They are within their rights to do so in the game.</p><p></p><p>But, most players (for the most part) could care less as seen by the fact that very few of them do it here on the boards. As a player, I just want to do my thing and I really don't want monster powers and weaknesses hints from the DM. Another player is perfectly within his rights to want hints and the normal monster knowledge checks give him that capability. But for those players who want to only use monster knowledge checks in dire circumstances and don't really want clues dropping like candy every encounter, the DM really shouldn't automatically force it on them since some players like to try to figure out things on their own and also like to be surprised. The game isn't as much fun if the DM hands out too much information to the point that there is no mystery or anything to discover by the PCs trying things out. And making monster knowledge checks even more potent than core rules is a way to suck the fun out of a game. IMO.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="KarinsDad, post: 5290922, member: 2011"] I think giving out the actual defense numbers of the monsters is a terrible idea. Part of the mystery and fun of the game is trying to figure out which power a player should use on a given monster in a given situation. If the DM hands out the defenses, the players automatically know which ones hit the easiest. Why bother having players? The DM should just run the entire encounter himself. Note: there is nothing wrong with knowing that a 24 hit AC once a PC manages to roll a 24. But telling the PCs at the start of combat that the foe has AC 22 is not ok. Another issue here is that you are also handing out bonus +2 by other PCs to the higher skilled PC. That's about as powerful as handing out multiple free Aid Anothers by the other skilled PCs. Aid Another for a skill check is a standard action and you plan to hand it out as a free action automatically. Just because something sounds cool doesn't mean the DM should do it. You should think of ideas to challenge your players, not spoon feed them. As a side note, players who want to should attempt knowledge skill checks. They are within their rights to do so in the game. But, most players (for the most part) could care less as seen by the fact that very few of them do it here on the boards. As a player, I just want to do my thing and I really don't want monster powers and weaknesses hints from the DM. Another player is perfectly within his rights to want hints and the normal monster knowledge checks give him that capability. But for those players who want to only use monster knowledge checks in dire circumstances and don't really want clues dropping like candy every encounter, the DM really shouldn't automatically force it on them since some players like to try to figure out things on their own and also like to be surprised. The game isn't as much fun if the DM hands out too much information to the point that there is no mystery or anything to discover by the PCs trying things out. And making monster knowledge checks even more potent than core rules is a way to suck the fun out of a game. IMO. [/QUOTE]
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