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The secrets of winging it
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<blockquote data-quote="Beckett" data-source="post: 2903838" data-attributes="member: 781"><p>Monte Cook had a method for estimating in one of his Dungeoncraft articles- sounds kind of like what you have.</p><p></p><p>When I was running Temple of Elemental Evil, I was doing a lot of conversion on the fly. Not quite the same as winging it, since I had something to work from, but I couldn't use the stats as presented; when was the last time you saw a 0 level bandit in 3E? So, the bandits became Warrior 1- BAB 1, say +2 for str, +1 for weapon focus, max hp 12 with toughness, AC 18 for chain mail, dex and shield. Fighter leaders were assumed to have a masterwork weapon, and were pretty similar on feats- weapon focus, weapon specialization, power attack, and so on. I'd have a book open to a class table, and I could eyeball saves.</p><p></p><p>Again, not quite what you're looking for, and not useful in every situation. I guess it is a good representation of how I do up generic bad guys in most situations, where they all come out as clones of each other. I do like your idea for wiggle room- it'd mean I'd have to keep track of which NPC has which bonuses a little better, but it also adds some variety.</p><p></p><p>Spellcasters, I use much less frequently. For important NPCs, I'll take a moment and scribble out a partial spell list. For less important, I glance at how many spells they should have, and they cast basic spells that I know the effects of; Generio the Wizard is much more likely to be casting Magic Missile or Fireball than that really neat spell I saw in the Spell Compendium.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Beckett, post: 2903838, member: 781"] Monte Cook had a method for estimating in one of his Dungeoncraft articles- sounds kind of like what you have. When I was running Temple of Elemental Evil, I was doing a lot of conversion on the fly. Not quite the same as winging it, since I had something to work from, but I couldn't use the stats as presented; when was the last time you saw a 0 level bandit in 3E? So, the bandits became Warrior 1- BAB 1, say +2 for str, +1 for weapon focus, max hp 12 with toughness, AC 18 for chain mail, dex and shield. Fighter leaders were assumed to have a masterwork weapon, and were pretty similar on feats- weapon focus, weapon specialization, power attack, and so on. I'd have a book open to a class table, and I could eyeball saves. Again, not quite what you're looking for, and not useful in every situation. I guess it is a good representation of how I do up generic bad guys in most situations, where they all come out as clones of each other. I do like your idea for wiggle room- it'd mean I'd have to keep track of which NPC has which bonuses a little better, but it also adds some variety. Spellcasters, I use much less frequently. For important NPCs, I'll take a moment and scribble out a partial spell list. For less important, I glance at how many spells they should have, and they cast basic spells that I know the effects of; Generio the Wizard is much more likely to be casting Magic Missile or Fireball than that really neat spell I saw in the Spell Compendium. [/QUOTE]
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