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<blockquote data-quote="Balesir" data-source="post: 5671938" data-attributes="member: 27160">Hmm, [MENTION=82106]AbdulAlhazred[/MENTION], I think I am seeing a little of what you are driving at, but, really, what did that &quot;strategizing and preparation&quot; in AD&amp;D amount to?&nbsp; Prepping a spell load is about the only regular feature that springs to mind.&nbsp; Buying a few consumables might have factored in, too - but you can still do that in 4E.&nbsp; Scouting is always useful - if it's feasible - especially for a seriously over-level encounter.As for the &quot;mere tactics&quot; you dismiss, they are a major source of fun in 4E!&nbsp; They are really why I don't really &quot;get&quot; those moaning that &quot;combat is too long&quot;.&nbsp; Grindy combat (where all but At Wills are used up so it's just a slog to grind the enemy down) can occasionally be an issue - but good early tactics can make that a rare thing, indeed.&nbsp; A two hour combat that's boring is a problem, sure - but ours stay engaging up to three hours or so (tending to be longer than average, perhaps, since there are seven players, plus me, the DM).About the only thing I am thinking 4E needs in this area right now is a new &quot;encounter class&quot;.&nbsp; This would be 3+ levels below the PCs in total xp &quot;budget&quot;, often largely minions, and giving no xp at all.&nbsp; It could be used for:1) consequences of individual failures in Skill Challenges,2) 'wandering monsters' to impress a sense of time pressure in some instances, and3) set-piece flavour to add context to exposition.Other than that, I don't think monsters/combat encounters really need more attention.&nbsp; Non-combat, on the other hand...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Balesir, post: 5671938, member: 27160"] Hmm, [MENTION=82106]AbdulAlhazred[/MENTION], I think I am seeing a little of what you are driving at, but, really, what did that "strategizing and preparation" in AD&D amount to? Prepping a spell load is about the only regular feature that springs to mind. Buying a few consumables might have factored in, too - but you can still do that in 4E. Scouting is always useful - if it's feasible - especially for a seriously over-level encounter. As for the "mere tactics" you dismiss, they are a major source of fun in 4E! They are really why I don't really "get" those moaning that "combat is too long". Grindy combat (where all but At Wills are used up so it's just a slog to grind the enemy down) can occasionally be an issue - but good early tactics can make that a rare thing, indeed. A two hour combat that's boring is a problem, sure - but ours stay engaging up to three hours or so (tending to be longer than average, perhaps, since there are seven players, plus me, the DM). About the only thing I am thinking 4E needs in this area right now is a new "encounter class". This would be 3+ levels below the PCs in total xp "budget", often largely minions, and giving no xp at all. It could be used for: 1) consequences of individual failures in Skill Challenges, 2) 'wandering monsters' to impress a sense of time pressure in some instances, and 3) set-piece flavour to add context to exposition. Other than that, I don't think monsters/combat encounters really need more attention. Non-combat, on the other hand... [/QUOTE]

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