What would you have done?

[Mad Hamish]

Hindsight is always 20/20!

Our party consisted of...
...a gnome brutal strength rogue.
...a human two-weapon fighting ranger.
...a polearm-welding elf fighter.
...a polearm-wielding dragonborn polearm paladin.

Then suddenly the ooze split into two oozes, somehow trapping every one of us against the wall! We did everything we could think to do, but it was to no avail. The oozes were just too tough.

What might you have done differently?

It depends a bit on what you have available.
It might well be worth eating an OA to get a ranged attack on a rat which is probably a minion so if you can take it out you can get a bullrush and open up some maneuvering space.

 

[Cadfan]

I not only split the ochre jelly into two halves with the full bloodied value of hit points, I split it again when the new jelly reached its new bloodied value. Splitting the jelly was too much fun to stop after just once.

And the PCs don't know that the hit points refreshed. They don't know what the total hit points are at all, remember? They just know that beating up on the jelly makes it split a lot.

 

[LostSoul]

I would have tried this:

I step into the ooze, trying to hold back enough of it so that my allies can squeeze around in the small space I've opened up.

I'd hope that was okay with the DM. I'd suggest a Str vs. Fort check, taking an OA either way; on success, I move into one of its squares and other PCs can move through my squares (still taking OAs, though).

 

[doctorhook]

I wouldn't have retreated forward.

Looking at this situation, you decided to run away from a threat that was able to hurt you, and in doing so you ran forward into unknown territory.

Retreating Forward = Bad Tactics.

The pain you felt afterwards is simply you learning the lesson of that very true statement. Encounters tend to get harder as you go deeper, not easier.

This is the same point that first came to my mind as I read this situation.

 

[Chen_93]

I not only split the ochre jelly into two halves with the full bloodied value of hit points, I split it again when the new jelly reached its new bloodied value. Splitting the jelly was too much fun to stop after just once.

Uh seeing as the Jelly's bloodied value doesn't change after it splits, this is really just blatant cheating unless you had someone healing the jellies (and that the split ability wasn't an encounter one, don't have my MM here to check).

 

[ExploderWizard]

This ambush is specifically set up to show how limiting and restrictive the rules really are. Many logical, heroic, risky, and just darned fun solutions are thrown out because of two little words that sum up what 4E (and 3E to some extent) are all about: YOU CAN'T.

Player1: "I wanna try and leap through this corner to get by. I have 18 DEX and am trained in acrobatics."

DM: " You can't"

Player 2: " I wanna plow through the ooze with a mighty rush and try and bodysplash that rat back there. I have a 20 STR and I am trained in athletics "

DM: "You can't"

Give me Basic D&D for this scenario and there suddenly become a TON of options because the rules don't go to great lengths to stifle creativity and imagination.

 

[Ravingdork]

This ambush is specifically set up to show how limiting and restrictive the rules really are. Many logical, heroic, risky, and just darned fun solutions are thrown out because of two little words that sum up what 4E (and 3E to some extent) are all about: YOU CAN'T.

Player1: "I wanna try and leap through this corner to get by. I have 18 DEX and am trained in acrobatics."

DM: " You can't"

Player 2: " I wanna plow through the ooze with a mighty rush and try and bodysplash that rat back there. I have a 20 STR and I am trained in athletics "

DM: "You can't"

Give me Basic D&D for this scenario and there suddendly become a TON of options because the rules don't go to great lengths to stifle creativity and imagination.

There ARE tons of options in 4E, it's just that people get so caught up on the new power system they don't even realize that there ARE other options. They get distracted by what's on their character sheet (or power cards) and end up having the same feelings you do, which is a shame since the system really is unbelieveably modular and open to new tricks.

I think it was said best by some of the early 4E supporters: "4E reads horrible, but plays great."

 

[Cadfan]

Uh seeing as the Jelly's bloodied value doesn't change after it splits, this is really just blatant cheating unless you had someone healing the jellies (and that the split ability wasn't an encounter one, don't have my MM here to check).

1. The DM doing it isn't "blatant cheating."

2. I regularly grant monsters new powers or abilities, or delete ones they already have. Its one of the best ways to adjust the power level of an encounter on the fly. I don't do it to monsters the PCs already know, but I'll happily do it to a one-time monster like an ochre jelly. My players were rocking the encounter, but were really freaked out by the ochre jelly's ability to split into smaller pieces when harmed. It made sense to continue the fight rather than to stop while there was still fun to be had.

3. Re: bloodied value. Forum post /= legal document.

 

[LostSoul]

This ambush is specifically set up to show how limiting and restrictive the rules really are. Many logical, heroic, risky, and just darned fun solutions are thrown out because of two little words that sum up what 4E (and 3E to some extent) are all about: YOU CAN'T.

Do you care to point out where it says "You can't" in the game?

Because I'm not convinced.

"Your presence as the Dungeon Master is what makes D&D such a great game. You make it possible for the players to try anything they can imagine. That means it's your job to resolve unusual actions when the players try them."

DMG, pg 42.

 

[Obryn]

This ambush is specifically set up to show how limiting and restrictive the rules really are. Many logical, heroic, risky, and just darned fun solutions are thrown out because of two little words that sum up what 4E (and 3E to some extent) are all about: YOU CAN'T.

Player1: "I wanna try and leap through this corner to get by. I have 18 DEX and am trained in acrobatics."

DM: " You can't"

Player 2: " I wanna plow through the ooze with a mighty rush and try and bodysplash that rat back there. I have a 20 STR and I am trained in athletics "

DM: "You can't"

Give me Basic D&D for this scenario and there suddenly become a TON of options because the rules don't go to great lengths to stifle creativity and imagination.

You know what's funny, though? Although all the combat rules and whatnot definitely read very strictly, the 4e DMG repeats over and over again that the game is best when people are trying crazy stunts like this. And, to say "yes" unless there's a pressing reason not to.

I think it's poor DMing (in 3e, 4e, or any other edition) to be too strict about the grid. If the DM isn't improvising, combat loses a lot of its luster. Players and DM alike should take time to remember that the battle grid is a representation of people & monsters moving around; not a series of 5x5x5 cubes moving over large-scale graph paper.

So no, 4e is certainly not about "you can't" unless your DM is being crazy. (And, incidentally, playing against the guidelines the 4e DMG spells out.)

-O