Recent content by Sir Wulf

As a big Paizo fan, your criticism intrigued me. I went to Paizo's site and searched the boards for old threads using keywords like WotC, copyright, cease and desist, and PDF. While there were some very heated threads after WotC pulled their PDF files, the message from Paizo staff and most...

Edit: Some of this is redundant with the earlier post. (Sigh...) Even in 1st edition, AC 0 was not uncommon for a fighter by 4th level. To be fair, let's assume a fighter with a +1 shield and +1 Dex bonus while we're at it, for AC -2. Kobolds surround him, but only eight can attack him each...

While I've employed "minions" of one sort or another in previous games, the idea that lower-level foes aren't a genuine threat seems to be an artifact of 4th Edition mechanics. In every other edition, I've been able to challenge PCs with hordes of lower-level foes. Since the party's defenses...

I would like to thank everyone who has helped keep this discussion civil and productive. It has helped me see ways to use encounters more effectively in 4E. At risk of digressing, how much DM fiat do you allow yourselves when an encounter doesn't seem to challenge your players? When I've run...

If a 4E party at 1st level equals a 3.5 party at 3rd level... And a 4e party at 30th level equals a 3.5 party at 15th level (since they never get some of the game-disruptive uberpowers)... That suggests that: 1st level 4E = 3rd level 3E 5th level 4E = 5th level 3E 10th level 4E = 7th...

At the risk of further derailing the thread, that's similar to my conclusions when reviewing the discussion. One of my frustrations with 4e has been its failure to live up to the "increased options for non-spellcasters" claim so often repeated about it. Reflecting on who I play with, my...

I don't think that it takes four full rewrites to figure out whether a scenario has enough detail to accommodate different play styles. It just requires consideration that such styles may occur and a few lines of text to address them. As an example, if a guard room holds 12 orc guards, we've...

So far this thread has wandered between two related topics. I see the first as "How much background detail and motivation is ideal for NPCs, monsters, and villains?" Some people find such information useful for visualizing the creature's behavior and motives, while others feel it clutters...

Double post...

Just because a creature is evil, it doesn't automatically follow that it's hostile. Some creatures encountered in the Underdark may not want to fight the PCs, either because they suspect the party would massacre them or because they see advantage in the party's presence. Some nominally evil...

Rather than working out a plot ahead of time, sometimes it's best to just consider the adventure's antagonists and what they might do once the PCs interfere with their schemes. As the PCs learn of the villains' plans, the PCs can choose what they want to do about them. Interesting villains...

In the scenario, the horse had already killed several goblins. Others managed to lure it into a shed and pen it in. Frightened by the angry stallion, they didn't yet dare to face it again. While it's unlikely that Nualia would try to ride this particular horse, it's very possible that Nualia...

I was looking for an example to discuss, and this one is better than any I'd thought of. Where the NPCs are supposed to show for five rounds, then bite the dust, that's all they're equipped to do. Suppose that the PCs decided to lay seige to the stronghold of a powerful evil cult, recruiting a...

I was looking for an example to discuss, and this one is better than any I'd thought of. Where the NPCs are supposed to show for five rounds, then bite the dust, that's all they're equipped to do. Suppose that the PCs decided to lay seige to the stronghold of a powerful evil cult, recruiting...

And this is where our experiences parted company. I find that the most unusual things sometimes become relevant. Except my players frequently surprised me with their reactions to the various NPCs in Burnt Offerings. One party ended up releasing the villain's mercenary henchman, encouraging me...