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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 4743502" data-attributes="member: 12731">@KarinsDad:Not sure I see how your replies are directly targeted towards my quote...?First off, let me make it absolutely sure that, yes, it's me and not the game that is causing the difficult encounters, in that I don't accept easy fights you need to have for mechanical reasons (rather than for story or drama reasons).You talk about an "endgame". Not sure this means you accept there is to be an endgame stipulated by the mechanics, but if so, that means you accept "the time before the endgame".I don't. To me, "the time before the endgame" means "the time where your players aren't in danger and where fights can't generate excitement".Why have a game where the players could put their PCs on autopilot and go watch television for the first two fights, only returning later when low resources are making the game actually interesting? (And returning to choose to rest for the day, but that's a different issue)You say "The concept of making every encounter tough in order to challenge players and avoid the easy grind is a flawed concept."Not sure what to make of this. Are you saying "the easy grind" is inevitable? Or even desirable? But... I'm guessing I'm only misinterpreting you, so please feel free to expand on this further.My point is that "easy fights" should be something selected by the story, the drama, the GM.And not something the players have control over. Allowing the PCs to select themselves whether a fight should be an easy one (because they expend resources) or a hard one (because they don't) is the real flawed concept, if you ask me.Because this leads to players choosing only easy encounters, and then resting for the day, when they no longer can make encounters easy.Arguing the DM should force the party to continuing on just to get to the juicy hard encounters where things get interesting only makes me shake my head in bewilderment: why then not make the game allow encounters to be hard in the first place, even if this restricts player freedom in how they spend their resources?Back to you, KarinsDad. You say "both are grinds" but I'm afraid I've lost you there.Hopefully we can agree grinds are to be avoided. A game that enforces grinds is a bad game that we do not want to play, right?But I fail to see how having few exciting fights can be labeled a grind. In fact, I would have thought this to be the opposite of the grind!My problem, if you remember, isn't that I can choose to have fewer more difficult fights. It is how the game allows the players to bunk up so many healing surge triggers even these encounters become non-threatening!I can see how you drew that conclusion, but let me assure you this is not the case.Why then are my players resting when they run out of resources?Because of two things:1) pressing on at zero or low surges is felt to be foolish - almost suicidal. Our impression of the game is that it completely fails in making running out of surges a nice tension-builder for making this decision. The difference in power and satying power between a character with and without surges is simply too great for my players to find it exciting or heroic to press on without them - it's considered simply stupid.I'm sure you can see how a group of players can arrive at a group conclusion where they all agree "when we run out of surges, that's it. Even if it means failing the mission".2) by allowing a party to take Healing Words as daily powers. When you run out of your normal dailies you feel weary, but you don't feel completely out. Pressing on is a real prospect, and it makes for an interesting decision. (But as my replies to other posters show, this isn't the same for everybody).Daily heals changes all that. Now you have dailies you can't live without.</blockquote>

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