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4E combat and non-combat timing
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<blockquote data-quote="Obryn" data-source="post: 4607018" data-attributes="member: 11821"><p>If you're using a solo, they just won't go down quickly. That's built in to the game design... I also don't think a solo captain of the guard is necessarily reasonable... Heck, I don't even know that they should be Elite. Just make them a level or two higher than the rest of the guards, add in some Leadership ability, and it'll distinguish him just fine.</p><p></p><p>If you have a design goal in mind for this scenario (as in, "I want to make this encounter easy enough that the PCs could take care of it quickly with good planning"), you have a number of tools in 4e's DMing toolbox to make it work. In 3e, you would make it so the guards all had low hit dice and make it a low EL fight. In 4e, you have that option, still, and a few others.</p><p></p><p>For one thing, I don't think there's much difficulty in a group of 5 characters taking out two guards of their level or less. I'd be surprised if it took more than three rounds. The PCs can just use a few Encounter abilities and it'll be done very quickly.</p><p></p><p>If it's important that there are a lot of easily-dispatched guards, go ahead and make them several levels lower than the PCs. Alternately, make them minions. It'll work just fine.</p><p></p><p>Heck; there's nothing preventing you from treating guards differently depending on how the PCs approach them - if they plan well, the guards are minions. If they just charge in, the guards <em>aren't</em> minions. "Minion" is nothing more than a rules construct; it has no objective reality in the imagined D&D world.</p><p></p><p>-O</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Obryn, post: 4607018, member: 11821"] If you're using a solo, they just won't go down quickly. That's built in to the game design... I also don't think a solo captain of the guard is necessarily reasonable... Heck, I don't even know that they should be Elite. Just make them a level or two higher than the rest of the guards, add in some Leadership ability, and it'll distinguish him just fine. If you have a design goal in mind for this scenario (as in, "I want to make this encounter easy enough that the PCs could take care of it quickly with good planning"), you have a number of tools in 4e's DMing toolbox to make it work. In 3e, you would make it so the guards all had low hit dice and make it a low EL fight. In 4e, you have that option, still, and a few others. For one thing, I don't think there's much difficulty in a group of 5 characters taking out two guards of their level or less. I'd be surprised if it took more than three rounds. The PCs can just use a few Encounter abilities and it'll be done very quickly. If it's important that there are a lot of easily-dispatched guards, go ahead and make them several levels lower than the PCs. Alternately, make them minions. It'll work just fine. Heck; there's nothing preventing you from treating guards differently depending on how the PCs approach them - if they plan well, the guards are minions. If they just charge in, the guards [I]aren't[/I] minions. "Minion" is nothing more than a rules construct; it has no objective reality in the imagined D&D world. -O [/QUOTE]
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