D&D 4E 4e Special Ability PER Encounter stinks...

[reanjr]

2 hour encounter? I don't think so.

Provide me an example, or I call shenanigans.

Most "long encounters" are easily and obviously broken up, and I fully expect the DMG to give a general rule of thumb for encounters -> time

I am not sure if the 2 hour figure is game time or play time, but either way I have had many encounters that go over that number.

Game time example: chase scene through city

Play time example: too numerous to count, 3e battles took freaking forever...

 

[Green Knight]

I still rather deal with specific timeframes. :\

I wouldn't. All it'd result in is needlessly complicating the game, and requiring a lot of book keeping. I don't want to keep track for the 50 or 100 rounds it'd take if an ability automatically refreshes after 5 or 10 minutes. It's a lot easier to just say at the end of a fight "I'm taking a minute to refresh my Per Encounter abilities". Simple. As for non-combat encounters, you use the abilities, you take out whatever time you need to to refresh them, and you use them, again. How hard is that?

 

[Stone Dog]

If instead I just wanted to grant 1 minute of prep time to the players between waves of a single encounter, then it isn't a new encounter.

This has potential.

We'll have to see how 4e handles this. Right now we can have endless arguments about Balin's Tomb being either one or two encounters depending on how you handle the cave troll showing up.

edit- Now that I think about it, I'd have it be all one encounter. You KNOW the cave troll is coming (they have a cave troll) and the rest of the goblins are probably under the minions rule so your per encounter abilities are probably going to be on hold till the big guy shows up.

 

[F4NBOY]

Is there any example of a 4E "per encounter" mechanic so we can take a better look at and judge it?
Or are we just making assumptions based on nothing?

Because I can see lots of mechanics that are effectively "per encounter" without being technically PER ENCOUNTER and thus not hurting our thrist for "verosimilitude"....
SWSE force power for example. Iron Heroes tokens too.

I believe 4e per encounter abilities will work pretty much like those, so "per encounter" abilities ROCK!

 

[Stone Dog]

F4NBOY, we are all just guessing here. No evidence except from SWSE and Iron Heroes and the latter one only because Mike Mearls worked on it.

 

[Kaffis]

Fighting a Great Wyrm Red Dragon.

You've been in a round-by-round combat for 1200 rounds? How many years of weekly playing sessions did this encounter take?

 

[Alaric_Prympax]

I see a lot of people saying that 'per encounter' abilities recharge with a moment of down time. But what if there is no down time, no time to 'catch your breath'. I'm thinking this:

The party enters combat fights for a 3 to 4 rounds using their 'per encounter' abilities. They are extremely unlucky and have to retreat and are no longer in sight of their opponents. They run away from their combat. While they are running back the way they came; without stopping, no rest, no breather, they run into another group of baddies and enter combat with these guys. While that combat is going on the group they were running from catchs up and joins in the fun of combating the party. Having had no time to rest, are the party's 'per encounter' abilities reset with the second group of baddies? Do they reset when the first group shows up for the fun because that first group has to roll initiative when they enter this combat? Is this two encounters? Three? Or just one long encounter?

How about that first group, do their abilities reset? They might have taken a moment to 'rest' before persuing the party.

I will admit I do not have Bo9S nor SWSE.

 

[Gloombunny]

I don't have SWSE, but in Bo9S, the abilities would not recharge, because they didn't spend five minutes resting.

Though note that each Bo9S class has an alternative mechanic for regaining its maneuvers mid-fight, such as spending a full-round action concentrating. I think SWSE has something where you can recharge some of your force powers if you roll a natural 20 on something or other. It's too early to say whether or not 4e will have anything like that, but there may well be some way to get back your per-encounter stuff without ending the encounter. Then again, maybe not. Maybe a long-lasting battle where the opposition keeps getting reinforcements will be a very dangerous situation to be in. I see nothing wrong with that!

 

[AllisterH]

I see a lot of people saying that 'per encounter' abilities recharge with a moment of down time. But what if there is no down time, no time to 'catch your breath'. I'm thinking this:

The party enters combat fights for a 3 to 4 rounds using their 'per encounter' abilities. They are extremely unlucky and have to retreat and are no longer in sight of their opponents. They run away from their combat. While they are running back the way they came; without stopping, no rest, no breather, they run into another group of baddies and enter combat with these guys. While that combat is going on the group they were running from catchs up and joins in the fun of combating the party. Having had no time to rest, are the party's 'per encounter' abilities reset with the second group of baddies? Do they reset when the first group shows up for the fun because that first group has to roll initiative when they enter this combat? Is this two encounters? Three? Or just one long encounter?

How about that first group, do their abilities reset? They might have taken a moment to 'rest' before persuing the party.

I will admit I do not have Bo9S nor SWSE.

In such a scenario, the party would be, as they say, "up the creek without a paddle".

This situation though, would be similar to the current "Iron Man" adventure. You know, the adventure where the PCs don't have time to rest and HAVE to go/continure even though they only have 50% or less of their resources/capacity/output.

Cool style of adventure but used sparingly. Note: even in the above scenario, the Bo9S adepts can recover their manoeuvers depending on their class. The crusader recovers automatically while the warblade and swordsage have to use a round to refocus.

 

[Mephistopheles]

In such a scenario, the party would be, as they say, "up the creek without a paddle".

I think instead it would be where the party pulls out their X/day ability paddles.