Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="trentonjoe" data-source="post: 6342586" data-attributes="member: 304">It was interesting.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; It definitely made combat decisions more tactical.&nbsp; As a DM, I made some suboptimal choices for the monsters attack actions.&nbsp;&nbsp; In a most effective way, I should have had the not buffed monsters protecting the casters a little better.For the intelligent monsters, I'll do that in the future.&nbsp;&nbsp; I think if I always do that, combats will become predictable though.&nbsp;&nbsp; I will try to mix and match those strategies in the future.The first enemy had an offensive spell up (sword became flaming) so the group had to decide who was going to engage her.&nbsp;&nbsp; It was interesting.&nbsp;&nbsp; In the future, I&nbsp; can see them developing a battle plan for those situations.The second enemy had a defensive spell (blur) up.&nbsp; &nbsp; They took a different approach to this one.I can totally see them trying to swarm anyone with a noticeably active spell going.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The challenge I think they will face going forward is how to best handle situations when PLAN A and B don't work.I am thinking about making an Orc Shaman or something that can make a melee attack as a reaction when it's concentration in broken and devising other quirks to keep things different.In a nut shell, I think it throws another wrinkle into combat.&nbsp; I do think that the wrinkle has the opportunity to be a constant (like Attacks of Opportunity used to be) and that is the job of the DM to design combats that don't always rely on the concentration rule.&nbsp; To answer your question, it didn't HINDER the challenge, drama or fun and certainly HELPED in the necessity of a new level of decision making.&nbsp; &nbsp; Right now the rules are still shiny and new so everything still has the &quot;new car smell&quot;, my hope is that the concentration checks don't become a boring constant.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="trentonjoe, post: 6342586, member: 304"] It was interesting. It definitely made combat decisions more tactical. As a DM, I made some suboptimal choices for the monsters attack actions. In a most effective way, I should have had the not buffed monsters protecting the casters a little better. For the intelligent monsters, I'll do that in the future. I think if I always do that, combats will become predictable though. I will try to mix and match those strategies in the future. The first enemy had an offensive spell up (sword became flaming) so the group had to decide who was going to engage her. It was interesting. In the future, I can see them developing a battle plan for those situations. The second enemy had a defensive spell (blur) up. They took a different approach to this one. I can totally see them trying to swarm anyone with a noticeably active spell going. The challenge I think they will face going forward is how to best handle situations when PLAN A and B don't work. I am thinking about making an Orc Shaman or something that can make a melee attack as a reaction when it's concentration in broken and devising other quirks to keep things different. In a nut shell, I think it throws another wrinkle into combat. I do think that the wrinkle has the opportunity to be a constant (like Attacks of Opportunity used to be) and that is the job of the DM to design combats that don't always rely on the concentration rule. To answer your question, it didn't HINDER the challenge, drama or fun and certainly HELPED in the necessity of a new level of decision making. Right now the rules are still shiny and new so everything still has the "new car smell", my hope is that the concentration checks don't become a boring constant. [/QUOTE]

Verification