A complete "random" world. Forked Thread: On the Value of Uncertainty

[Irda Ranger]

You wouldn't randomly roll to encounter Type 1 demons in a 1st level adventure, the DM still has the roll of keeping challenges withing the EL span

Just as a note, I don't "manage" EL and make sure it's fair. I give the PCs enough warning that they can decide for themselves.

For instance, if they start asking questions like "What sort of monsters are in those hills?" I can roll truly the whole MM and answer "Some shepards saw a stone giant, but it's mostly bugbears." They can then say "Hey, let's clear those out, but try to avoid the stone giant."

As others have said though, it would be major undertaking just do to the amount of work generated on the fly, but it might be an interesting way of playing.

Must less work that planning out a quest ahead of time, IME. 4E monsters and combats can really be eyeballed and run on the fly quite easily.

There are two hard parts:
1. Writing the charts in the first place. But there are lots of web resources these days.
2. Keeping track of the answers you've given to maintain consistency. I use a personal wiki for that sort of stuff.

But actually running the game is pretty easy. Plus, since you don't have to plan much ahead, you can play a game at the drop of a hat. "Hey, anyone in the mood for D&D?" "Dig it."

 

[Reynard]

You wouldn't randomly roll to encounter Type 1 demons in a 1st level adventure

Well, I would. At least, I would if it was setting apprpriate. I think it is worthwhile to design geographical areas with some range of "appropriate" levels in mind, but I don't think the DM should ever tell the players that their characters can't go in the Blasted Hills until they reach 9th level because demons live there. Tell them demons live there and if they want to check it out, more power to them (maybe their next party will find all their cool gear...) Likewise, I'll design a dragon lair in the middle of the forest without regard to the level of the party. If they try and take it out at 3rd level or 30th, it is still a "15th level" dragon (whatever that means for whatever edition you are using).

Nothing breaks versimilitude more, I think, than a constantly scaling setting.

 

[Mallus]

Nothing breaks verisimilitude more, I think, than a constantly scaling setting.

Not if you think of D&D as a simulation of serial adventure stories.

Also, wouldn't a rigorous pursuit of verisimilitude necessitate the player characters running across opponents they absolutely cannot defeat that they have no foreknowledge of? Doesn't fair warning itself potentially decrease verisimilitude?

Or are all dangers clearly marked, like the secret doors in the 1960's Batman TV show?

 

[Reynard]

Not if you think of D&D as a simulation of serial adventure stories.

I can see how one would treat a campaign that way, but I don't and have no desire to do so. Different strokes and all that.

Also, wouldn't a rigorous pursuit of verisimilitude necessitate the player characters running across opponents they absolutely cannot defeat that they have no foreknowledge of? Doesn't fair warning itself potentially decrease verisimilitude?

That's certainly a possibility. it kind of depends on what the threat is, how much the PCs know about the world (or seek to know) and what the DM considers to be "plausible" in any given situation (which is, of course, totally subjective). I tend to think that plausibility demands, for the most part, that powerful, dangerous forces are known. Not all the details, certainly, and more than likely what's known is misinformation, but if there's a dragon living in the forest that hunts the grazing lands for cattle, the dagon is going to be a known quantity. On the other hand, the hungry spirit of a dead thief whose mouldering bones have lain at the door to the vault deep within a dungeon will not be a known threat and may well result in a nasty suprise for would be tomb robbers. Point being: things, whether preplanned or an entry on a chart, exist where they should exist, not where it's most level appropriate.