D&D 4E 4E combat and non-combat timing

[Dracorat]

I think perhaps one of the greatest joys of D&D is that you can get down to the point of the nitty gritty - focusing on combat and how to do combat effectively, and when it's over, you realize that it's a small part of an integral bigger picture.

No other gaming systems marries the two so effectively.

 

[Omnifarious Grey]

Yes, I could make the guards low-level pushovers or even minions. But not all the guards can be minions (if nothing else, it would make the life of the wizard way too easy).

Ok, so here is my idea in this case:


Make all the guards minions but increase their defenses. This will make them be harder to defeat but not within a small amount of time.

At the same time, if a player (wizard) goes to make an attack that could blast or burst to wipe minions consider if it would make enough noise to alert other guards. For example, would a Scorching Burst or Fireball alert other guards due to sound or light? If so, let the players know that they could be discovered if they use such flashy attacks in the open.


This should both eliminate the time it would take to dispatch guards, make the encounters still be viable, hamper the need for powers that may wipe an encounter without ramifications, and allow for more tactical choices to infiltrate without being noticed.


My two cents.