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General Tabletop Discussion
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Wandering Monsters - yea or nay?
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<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 5473045" data-attributes="member: 3586"><p>One of my main points of interest in wandering monsters are they are one of the few functions in D&D that directly relate (in their main incarnation) to time in a scale that is used during exploration.</p><p></p><p>Yes, there are a few spells that last 1 hour/level or 10 minutes/level, but in the main those spells tend to last "all day" or "one combat" with only a few levels where speed of exploration is a factor. (Once you reach 4e, the spells are removed from such durations, although rituals may fill that role.)</p><p></p><p>There's much more interest in the time spent in exploration in AD&D and - especially - Moldvay Basic D&D, with the turn structure. You can explore *this much* in a turn (or more if you're not mapping). You have a chance of a wandering monster every X turns... that provides time pressure on the heroes.</p><p></p><p>Resting, likewise. The time you spend resting in or near the dungeon is time where wandering monsters can find you, with a corresponding loss of resources.</p><p></p><p>Do you spend an additional 10-30 minutes searching a chamber and risking the advent of wandering monsters? Without wandering monsters, you lose that element of time and risk management. </p><p></p><p>This is not to say that wandering monsters should be used in all adventures and in all areas of those adventures; there are certainly times when they don't make sense at all! However, I really like what they bring to the table and I fear it's something that's lacking in many modern adventure designs.</p><p></p><p>Cheers!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 5473045, member: 3586"] One of my main points of interest in wandering monsters are they are one of the few functions in D&D that directly relate (in their main incarnation) to time in a scale that is used during exploration. Yes, there are a few spells that last 1 hour/level or 10 minutes/level, but in the main those spells tend to last "all day" or "one combat" with only a few levels where speed of exploration is a factor. (Once you reach 4e, the spells are removed from such durations, although rituals may fill that role.) There's much more interest in the time spent in exploration in AD&D and - especially - Moldvay Basic D&D, with the turn structure. You can explore *this much* in a turn (or more if you're not mapping). You have a chance of a wandering monster every X turns... that provides time pressure on the heroes. Resting, likewise. The time you spend resting in or near the dungeon is time where wandering monsters can find you, with a corresponding loss of resources. Do you spend an additional 10-30 minutes searching a chamber and risking the advent of wandering monsters? Without wandering monsters, you lose that element of time and risk management. This is not to say that wandering monsters should be used in all adventures and in all areas of those adventures; there are certainly times when they don't make sense at all! However, I really like what they bring to the table and I fear it's something that's lacking in many modern adventure designs. Cheers! [/QUOTE]
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