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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Al'Kelhar" data-source="post: 391010" data-attributes="member: 7884">Hi (new member, old, technically-challenged DM here),Just a few observations on this thread.1.  As a DM you should know your players and their capabilities - including their buffing capabilities.  All of them can be countered, but never counter them so often or so effectively that the players feel that there's no point in having the capabilities.  That just takes the fun out of playing potent kick-ass characters.2. Buffing is less effective in circumstances where role-playing and problem-solving are necessary to obtain objectives.3.  In any encounter, bad guys should outnumber the PCs - it's impossible to focus on the High Priest at the back of the Temple of Unremitting Badness when you're surrounded by minions.4.  There is always someone bigger and badder than the PCs, and he's smarter and knows all their weaknesses (see observation 1).5.  Use character levels and templates ALOT.  For example, in my campaign (6 9th level PCs plus 7th level cohort - which is about as powerful as a "typical" party of 4 11th level characters - see Sean K Reynold's views on the advantages of bigger parties, which I have the evidence to support), the characters walk through a portal to a piece of Avernus ripped from Hell and floating in the Ethereal plane.  They don't encounter devils - they encounter fiendish minotaur barbarians, two-headed hell hounds, and the half-fiend/half-ogre mage fighter/wizard boss of the joint.  Every monster has a template, most of them have character levels.6.  Armour class is irrelevant at high levels.  If you want to make something hard to hit, make it hard to see.  Your bad guy can be unarmoured and have a low Dex, but this is irrelevant if the fighter PC keeps missing because of concealment.7.  House Rules: Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace are grossly disproportionate in power to all other 2nd level spells.  IMC they have a duration of 1/min per level - enough for one combat, but not more (who cares about Endurance?  It's easy to suck hit points from PCs...).8.  House Rules: Scrolls, potions and wands can be made, but are difficult and expensive to purchase.  Characters cannot make permanent magic items using the rules in DMG.  Characters acquire magic items through conquest or patronage only.9.  Everyone's seemed to overlook my favourite spell-buffing feat - Energy Substitution (sonic).  Half the creatures in the MM are fire-resistant, anything with a template has enregy resistances up the wazoo; almost nothing is immune or resistant to sonic attacks.Cheers AK</blockquote>

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