Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Primitive Screwhead" data-source="post: 5957942" data-attributes="member: 20805">[MENTION=63]RangerWickett[/MENTION], you shouldn't worry much. Many of the WoBS epic encounters are spot on, specifically the Colossus battle. I enjoyed running that and my group enjoyed {barely} defeating it! [MENTION=63309]corwyn77[/MENTION], I am currently running Module 10 in 4e with PCs of 25th level.. I would be glad to let you know more about how it worked out for me. With the warning that I have to trim for a monthly session of only 4 hours <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />On to the OP! Epic play is definitely a different beast. I would prefer to have a single massive combat per story arc rather than the attrition run-up. This allows the PCs to go Nova.... and 4e epic monsters can be built to handle it {without hitting a Grind}.  I use the online monster builder almost as written and scale threats to the proper level. The biggest issue I have found is that the 'right' level for hit points and damage output is not the 'right' level for attack bonus. Last combat I had a BBEG who could hit the Sorcerer on a 2 or better.... which has led to a couple of things: Ways I have 'broken' the rules:Zones:[sblock]  Using 'Zone' combat, pretty much as detailed in a blog. I have posted in this forum regarding it a couple of months ago. Breaking free from the grid allowed for a more narrative approach and less of a 'pin down' scenario, while still giving the players viable choices.  I had to include an alternate rule for cover and concealment to get this to work, along with the aforementioned 'just hit' problem. In short, cover and/or concealment grant a 'miss die' to the PC {not to NPCS}. The size of this die depends on the distance from the attacker, ranging from a D10 when in melee to a D4 when a couple of zones away. Any miss die result of a 1 means a miss regardless of the attack roll. PCs gain cover by spending a minor action to duck under cover {if available} or can grant cover to another PC by attracting the BBEGs attention {move action}  End result: PCs working together, diving for cover, and doing more than just spamming powers. I wouldn't run every combat this way as 4e mechanics are strongly tied to the grid, but definitely fits some scenarios.[/sblock]Dreamscape rules {for Module 10 of the WoBS campaign}:[sblock]  PCs get 'dream points' that they can spend to attempt to change the dream. Each point spent grants a D6 to roll, altho only the top 2 results are counted. Things they PCs can do range from changing their own appearance, using an encounter power that they already used, alter the physical landscape {really hard} or alter how their powers interact.  One good example of this from last session, the sorcerer took a burst 1 power and amplified it to hit an entire zone {basically burst 5}.  A failed example, the same sorcerer attempted to be a cleric so he could 'healing word' the severely injured ranger... he had penalties since this action is very much against his character, and rolled pretty bad. So he changed in appearance to match Friar Tuck, complete with bald pate.[/sblock]Skill-enabled monsters:[sblock]  Inspired by a thread hereabouts, last session saw the team going up against swarms of Vargouilles. I worked in the story that Vargouille are usually solitary creatures that occasionally will develop a swarm around a key Vargouille that somehow holds the swarm together. The PCs had the option of just fighting the swarms normally, or they could use a move action to determine via a Nature skill check which of the flying critters is the center of the swarm {until the end of the PCs next turn} .. and then a move action of either athletics or acrobatics to maneuver into the swarm and into position to smash the key critter. If successful, the swarm would scatter leaving only a handful of minion Vargouilles around to harass the PCs. The key critter had 1/4th the hit points of the swarm itself, in this case 60. In play, this was awesomeness. The players chose to try to cut through as fast as possible, identifying the key critter and diving in. The Ranger used acrobatics and almost danced his way into the first two, then struck as a striker does.. disbanding the swarm quickly. The barbarian charged into a swarm using athletics.. basically bull-rushing his way in, and similarly slaughtered the key critter.   The Vargouille minions attached themselves to the heroic PCs, draining their hit points in a very rapid fashion. 15 hit points per attached minion and three got their fangs into the Ranger...The bard and sorcerer were busy keeping the remaining swarms at bay, and ended up killing one via straight damage.[/sblock]Amp up the danger level:[sblock]  An epic variant of the Choker had an attack that on a hit would grab and drag the PCs adjacent to the Choker. A follow-up attack that was limited to target adjacent, grabbed creatures dealt damage and forced a death save.... yes, a death save. Needless to say, after the first attack the PCs did their best to avoid being grabbed! [/sblock]And last but not least, Don't hold back![sblock]  At 24th level I ran them against the Aspect of Orcus.. as written in the Monster builder.. at the tail end of a three part encounter that was roughly an xp bundle of three level appropriate groups. Yes, some of the groups could be played against each other and/or avoided. But did they? of course not.[/sblock]The biggest advise I can give is to break the 3e encounter mentality and plan for both sides to go nova. The PCs can handle it, I usually have at least half the group bloodied and one PC on the verge of death.. but haven't been able to pull of a permanent PC death without resorting to cheating. This has to be followed up with advise for all tiers, make the scene count. Avoid the featureless plains and get into free-fall, complex mazes, and exotic settings. Get into using terrain powers and traps/hazards. Make movement count. Go 3D. Add in alternate goals like opening a chest or stopping a ritual. Have monsters retreat/flee.I look forward to reading more on this thread!</blockquote>

Verification