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<blockquote data-quote="AngryPurpleCyclops" data-source="post: 4703065" data-attributes="member: 82732"><p>It's a fine line between play balance issues and making the game so homogeneous at all levels that it loses it's flavor.&nbsp; The developers do a pretty solid job of skirting this by making the encounters varied n-2 to n+4 range (where n = party level) and inside that range they also vary the components of a encounter with the experience budget and a range of monsters that are level appropriate (pc level -4 to +7 though +7 monsters are very very dangerous).&nbsp; Additional texture is added to the system by using monster roles, soldiers are more dangerous in that their defenses are higher (though I would say it's a design flaw that more soldiers don't have at least one sub par non ac defense).&nbsp; Mixing various level monsters, with various roles in one encounter is how you get very flavorful encounters.&nbsp; We fought two gricks and a grell Sunday night and it tested our 4 level 5 pc's fully.&nbsp; The varied strengths of those creatures coupled with interesting terrain made a great encounter.&nbsp; Pick 1 or 2 monsters when building an encounter, throw in some underlings and some good terrain and the DM is the one who is preventing the game from being a flavorless exercise in flipping coins.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="AngryPurpleCyclops, post: 4703065, member: 82732"] It's a fine line between play balance issues and making the game so homogeneous at all levels that it loses it's flavor. The developers do a pretty solid job of skirting this by making the encounters varied n-2 to n+4 range (where n = party level) and inside that range they also vary the components of a encounter with the experience budget and a range of monsters that are level appropriate (pc level -4 to +7 though +7 monsters are very very dangerous). Additional texture is added to the system by using monster roles, soldiers are more dangerous in that their defenses are higher (though I would say it's a design flaw that more soldiers don't have at least one sub par non ac defense). Mixing various level monsters, with various roles in one encounter is how you get very flavorful encounters. We fought two gricks and a grell Sunday night and it tested our 4 level 5 pc's fully. The varied strengths of those creatures coupled with interesting terrain made a great encounter. Pick 1 or 2 monsters when building an encounter, throw in some underlings and some good terrain and the DM is the one who is preventing the game from being a flavorless exercise in flipping coins. [/QUOTE]

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