Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Collected Encounter Design Tips
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="AngryMojo" data-source="post: 5278961" data-attributes="member: 83096"><p>So, 4th edition has been out for over two years now, and with Essentials on the horizon and a horde of new players about to enter the game (hopefully), I believe the experienced DM's of EnWorld should pool their resources to compile a list of simple encounter building tips to help out DM's new to 4e. I don't mean the general guidelines listed in the DMG or DMG2, I'm talking about nuances in the system that may not be readily apparent. Monsters to avoid in large numbers, monster types to avoid at certain levels above and below PC level, distilled points from Stalker0's guide to anti-grind, that kind of thing.</p><p></p><p>Feel free to post a suggestion, then have people critique and discuss. I'll maintain this first post to be a compiled list of edited and streamlined tips.</p><p></p><p><strong>Know your own processing limits.</strong> There are DMs who can keep track of multiple abilities and conditions, conditional advantages and disadvantages, and triggered abilities. There are those who can only keep track of a few. To complicate matters, some DMs find it easy to track certain types of abilities and conditions and harder to track others (as a personal example, I find it easy to track resistance, but I often forget to apply regeneration, even when it's written right next to the hit point entry on the stat card I'm looking at). Try to discover your own strengths and limits as soon as possible.</p><p></p><p><strong>Avoid using multiple monsters that cause status effects that reduce player damage output or actions.</strong> Examples include the Dazed, Stunned and Weakened conditions, as well as the Insubstantial or Regeneration properties. One or two monsters with these abilities are alright and can make for interesting and challenging encounters, but avoid many more than two</p><p></p><p><strong>Vary the monsters.</strong></p><p>1. Unless you are dealing with a massive hoard, try to individualize monsters. Even if on the table you have numbers to track them, a single simple feature makes a huge difference... Especially when you really need solid narration in 4th to keep combat interesting. Little-G gnolls A, B, C are more boring than the crazy eyed, missing eartip, broken fang Big-G Gnolls you could be fighting. </p><p></p><p><strong>Allow players to know about interactive terrain.</strong> Special terrain, such as magical circles, altars with auras, or vines you can swing on are no fun if they just sit there the entire encounter and nobody takes advantage of them. The moment a monster uses the terrain, or a player makes a quick Perception check as a minor action or with his passive value, tell them what the terrain does. Even a simple +2 to attack rolls will make people fight over that aura.</p><p></p><p><strong>From Treasuretables.org</strong></p><p>A simple equation</p><p><strong>Challenge (combat, social, puzzle or other) + unique element (memorable NPC, fighting on a rope bridge, etc.) + a way to advance even if the party fails (although perhaps with penalties) = a successful encounter.</strong></p><p></p><p>And here’s a brief example encounter:</p><p>A band of orcs (the challenge, combat) + the fight takes place in small boats on a rushing river (the unique element) + the orcs will take the PCs prisoner if the party loses (a way to advance despite failure, but with consequences).</p><p></p><p>By including only a single challenge and single unique element that defines the encounter, you’re keeping prep time and on-the-fly bookkeeping to a minimum, and keeping the focus on what makes the encounter fun (everything is within your players’ flashlight beam).</p><p></p><p>By making sure the PCs can move on even if they fail (partially or completely), you’re preventing the encounter from being a roadblock to keeping the adventure moving. And when you’re bleary-eyed from prepping for your next session, having a formula to glance at might just come in handy.</p><p>There are lots of other ways to build encounters, but this simple approach will work for most groups and most RPGs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AngryMojo, post: 5278961, member: 83096"] So, 4th edition has been out for over two years now, and with Essentials on the horizon and a horde of new players about to enter the game (hopefully), I believe the experienced DM's of EnWorld should pool their resources to compile a list of simple encounter building tips to help out DM's new to 4e. I don't mean the general guidelines listed in the DMG or DMG2, I'm talking about nuances in the system that may not be readily apparent. Monsters to avoid in large numbers, monster types to avoid at certain levels above and below PC level, distilled points from Stalker0's guide to anti-grind, that kind of thing. Feel free to post a suggestion, then have people critique and discuss. I'll maintain this first post to be a compiled list of edited and streamlined tips. [b]Know your own processing limits.[/b] There are DMs who can keep track of multiple abilities and conditions, conditional advantages and disadvantages, and triggered abilities. There are those who can only keep track of a few. To complicate matters, some DMs find it easy to track certain types of abilities and conditions and harder to track others (as a personal example, I find it easy to track resistance, but I often forget to apply regeneration, even when it's written right next to the hit point entry on the stat card I'm looking at). Try to discover your own strengths and limits as soon as possible. [b]Avoid using multiple monsters that cause status effects that reduce player damage output or actions.[/b] Examples include the Dazed, Stunned and Weakened conditions, as well as the Insubstantial or Regeneration properties. One or two monsters with these abilities are alright and can make for interesting and challenging encounters, but avoid many more than two [b]Vary the monsters.[/b] 1. Unless you are dealing with a massive hoard, try to individualize monsters. Even if on the table you have numbers to track them, a single simple feature makes a huge difference... Especially when you really need solid narration in 4th to keep combat interesting. Little-G gnolls A, B, C are more boring than the crazy eyed, missing eartip, broken fang Big-G Gnolls you could be fighting. [b]Allow players to know about interactive terrain.[/b] Special terrain, such as magical circles, altars with auras, or vines you can swing on are no fun if they just sit there the entire encounter and nobody takes advantage of them. The moment a monster uses the terrain, or a player makes a quick Perception check as a minor action or with his passive value, tell them what the terrain does. Even a simple +2 to attack rolls will make people fight over that aura. [b]From Treasuretables.org[/b] A simple equation [b]Challenge (combat, social, puzzle or other) + unique element (memorable NPC, fighting on a rope bridge, etc.) + a way to advance even if the party fails (although perhaps with penalties) = a successful encounter.[/b] And here’s a brief example encounter: A band of orcs (the challenge, combat) + the fight takes place in small boats on a rushing river (the unique element) + the orcs will take the PCs prisoner if the party loses (a way to advance despite failure, but with consequences). By including only a single challenge and single unique element that defines the encounter, you’re keeping prep time and on-the-fly bookkeeping to a minimum, and keeping the focus on what makes the encounter fun (everything is within your players’ flashlight beam). By making sure the PCs can move on even if they fail (partially or completely), you’re preventing the encounter from being a roadblock to keeping the adventure moving. And when you’re bleary-eyed from prepping for your next session, having a formula to glance at might just come in handy. There are lots of other ways to build encounters, but this simple approach will work for most groups and most RPGs. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Collected Encounter Design Tips
Top