Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
After a thread some time ago involving the Gank the Guard situation -- in which the PCs try to kill guards/sentries before they can shout for help -- it occurred to me that 4e has no guidelines for this kind of encounter. Which is kind of odd, given how many great guidelines 4e has. So I've been play testing it, and a simple out-of-combat set of Stealth rules that I think are pretty spiffy!
Guard Ganking: As you would probably guess, it's very hard to gank more than one standard monster during the surprise round. (Minions and goons are a different story.) Unless the whole party is ranged and/or charge focused, it's practically impossible -- even with all PCs starting the surprise round within 10 spaces of the monsters. So as a general rule, I don't suggest more than one standard guard -- unless of course you don't intend Gank the Guard to be an option.
Of course, minions and goons are easier to kill so here's what I do suggest for a 4-PC party: The guard/s should be 1) one standard monster, 2) two goons, or 3) four minions. If you're an encounter accountant, that means the guards should be worth 25% of an N-level XP budget. This gives a typical party a better than even chance of ganking the guard/s during the surprise round.
And of course in the next room, you'll want a regular encounter's worth of monsters ready to wake up and come to the guard's aid -- because even if the guard sounds the alarm, he'll probably be close to dead. (And if your players didn't bother trying to be stealthy, they deserve an extra tough encounter!)
Sneaking, TS Style: I also came up with some Stealth rules that make it a team sport, rather than "Okay, we all hang back an arbitrarily safe distance while the rogue sneaks ahead." Even unstealthy PCs will find it worthwhile to make one or two stealth checks, without fear of ruining the surprise round for everyone. Here's how it works:
Step 1: The PCs begin 40 spaces away from the guard. Archers might be content to stay put and simply initiate a surprise round from here, but some PCs will probably want to opt for option 2; sneak closer! PCs who want to get closer can move up 20 spaces (so they're now 20 spaces from the guard), and then roll a Stealth check with a +10 bonus.
Step 2: If any of the PCs fail to meet the guard's passive Perception, those PCs are no longer hidden. A surprise round is immediately triggered, during which only hidden PCs can act. If everyone beats the guard's Perception, the PCs again have the option of starting a surprise round or moving closer. This time PCs can only move 10 spaces (so they're now 10 spaces from the guard), and only get a +5 bonus.
Step 3: If any of the PCs fail, see above. Otherwise, they can opt to sneak closer. This time only move 5 spaces (so they're now 5 spaces from the guard), and they don't get a bonus.
Step 4: If any of the PCs fail...you know the drill. If any PC is ballsy enough to move even closer, he moves 5 more spaces to be adjacent to the guard, and takes a -5 penalty to his check.
I like these rules because they make sneaking more than a yes/no situation; players have meaningful decisions to make. And no decision immediately results in "Good going, Bob, you ruined the surprise round for everyone!" Players will have to think ahead to which weapon they want to use during surprise, but it affords everyone the chance of getting within reasonable distance.
So, thoughts, anecdotes, criticisms, this-is-how-I-do-its?
Guard Ganking: As you would probably guess, it's very hard to gank more than one standard monster during the surprise round. (Minions and goons are a different story.) Unless the whole party is ranged and/or charge focused, it's practically impossible -- even with all PCs starting the surprise round within 10 spaces of the monsters. So as a general rule, I don't suggest more than one standard guard -- unless of course you don't intend Gank the Guard to be an option.
Of course, minions and goons are easier to kill so here's what I do suggest for a 4-PC party: The guard/s should be 1) one standard monster, 2) two goons, or 3) four minions. If you're an encounter accountant, that means the guards should be worth 25% of an N-level XP budget. This gives a typical party a better than even chance of ganking the guard/s during the surprise round.
And of course in the next room, you'll want a regular encounter's worth of monsters ready to wake up and come to the guard's aid -- because even if the guard sounds the alarm, he'll probably be close to dead. (And if your players didn't bother trying to be stealthy, they deserve an extra tough encounter!)
Sneaking, TS Style: I also came up with some Stealth rules that make it a team sport, rather than "Okay, we all hang back an arbitrarily safe distance while the rogue sneaks ahead." Even unstealthy PCs will find it worthwhile to make one or two stealth checks, without fear of ruining the surprise round for everyone. Here's how it works:
Step 1: The PCs begin 40 spaces away from the guard. Archers might be content to stay put and simply initiate a surprise round from here, but some PCs will probably want to opt for option 2; sneak closer! PCs who want to get closer can move up 20 spaces (so they're now 20 spaces from the guard), and then roll a Stealth check with a +10 bonus.
Step 2: If any of the PCs fail to meet the guard's passive Perception, those PCs are no longer hidden. A surprise round is immediately triggered, during which only hidden PCs can act. If everyone beats the guard's Perception, the PCs again have the option of starting a surprise round or moving closer. This time PCs can only move 10 spaces (so they're now 10 spaces from the guard), and only get a +5 bonus.
Step 3: If any of the PCs fail, see above. Otherwise, they can opt to sneak closer. This time only move 5 spaces (so they're now 5 spaces from the guard), and they don't get a bonus.
Step 4: If any of the PCs fail...you know the drill. If any PC is ballsy enough to move even closer, he moves 5 more spaces to be adjacent to the guard, and takes a -5 penalty to his check.
I like these rules because they make sneaking more than a yes/no situation; players have meaningful decisions to make. And no decision immediately results in "Good going, Bob, you ruined the surprise round for everyone!" Players will have to think ahead to which weapon they want to use during surprise, but it affords everyone the chance of getting within reasonable distance.
So, thoughts, anecdotes, criticisms, this-is-how-I-do-its?