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I seem to have misread the title of the thread as "random encounters" instead of "wandering monsters"... and I don't really feel like a well-written encounter table is truly random. True, there's die-rolling involved, and the timing is going to be unpredictable, but those encounters exist for a...

Well I can't seem to find a hazard that seems to fit my needs... I might just go with a one-off attack (the Salamanders manage to release a cloud of hot ash to cover their ambush?), something like +15 attack, 2d8+11 and slide 4 squares (as the character is staggering around and choking) on a...

I wasn't talking about charts, though. I meant that under ideal circumstances (the kind that, IME, don't actually occur) players would react to the game world as if they might encounter whatever is appropriate / logical for the situation they find themselves in, without the need to resort to a...

OnlineDM: The monsters where either re-fluffed or merely updated, so their resistances and vulnerabilities are largely as listed. The PCs where basically aware of what they where getting into (this is the first of 4 wings they will be exploring), and have rounded up a cache of potions (fruit...

I was deliberately trying to make a "no go" zone in the middle of the room. I guess they really are more of a hazard, I'll admit to being a bit iffy on the difference. Also the PCs have a few items that would strip one or more monsters of their resistances. Vent 7 only has a 1 in 6 chance of...

I think that, ideally, you would never actually have a random encounter, but the players would always act like it was a real possibility.

So, my players please stay out, etc., etc. I got some very useful advice on a monster I posted here a few weeks back, so I figured I'd try posting up a full encounter and see if I could get some more hints & tips... The party is 13th level, and includes an Ardent, a Fighter, a Swordmage, a...

Personally I really like the paperbacks, I can actually get them to and from games without nearly as much hassle as trying to manhandle the big paperbacks. But I'm kind of with you on the counters - I bought MV1 in large part for the counters (I've generally avoided buying additional monster...

Well, let me turn that question around: Is having any player(s) sitting out for any length of time worth the "attempt at simulation" that results from their characters being dropped to zero hit points or even killed? IMO it's not all about the PCs doing cool stuff. Or, if it is, you don't need...

Amusingly (for me, at least) shipboard scenarios where the first thing that had come to my mind when you described your situation. But anything that keeps the players busy for longer than a combat can do this. IMO it's more interesting when the players have a real choice - if you have enough...

There's some limit on what the PCs will / can do (or should be, I think?) in a given situation. From a strictly RP standpoint, "My Guy's A Righteous Paladin" shouldn't be punching random old ladies on the street. "My Guy's A Learned Wizard" is going to try to find ways to make use of the stuff...

What I was replying to was the "you can't bluff your way up a mountain" comment. When I write up a combat encounter, the players might choose to avoid it, and that's ok, but they fight their way through most of the ones I come up with. It's kind of a base expectation that D&D has combats, and if...

Right, so if the PCs are heavily invested in bluff, to the detriment of their athletics then they won't engage the challenge of trying to climb a mountain. They'll either move on to things that they can bluff or else it's "OK, we make a bunch of athletics checks and fail, what happens?"

I'd love this, because it's the option that seems most likely to exist at the intersection of "actually happens" and "causes me no pain", but it wouldn't be ideal. I love the concept of the pdf format, I've bought tons of pdf products, and they are absolutely brilliant in some situations...

ebay is a harsh mistress. (as, apparently, is the experience system...)

Well, just personal preference I guess, but I'd kind of like to see WotC stop "crossing the streams" in this way. Calling it Neverwinter makes it less appealing / interesting / useful to me, and I don't really want to drop $40 on a few themes. The article states that they're looking for the best...

The pity, to me, is that skill challenges are an awesome concept, but I just can't see any actual benefit to applying the rules. Piratecat's examples brought me back around to being hopeful of skill challenges (as such) again (at that point). However, none of the players I game with are willing...

Good points. I'm never really sure when to apply the higher damage expressions. I also think I've been mucking things up by using the monster builder to re-level monsters - damage and defenses seem to be all over the place. But I kind of expect that all attacks shouldn't just do a fixed average...

Even with the minor-action claw? Should I be rating average damage strictly on a per-power basis? Because I've tended to try and factor in multiple attacks, situational bonuses, etc.