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<blockquote data-quote="Noumenon" data-source="post: 4497317" data-attributes="member: 70102">Like for example, if I want to give the PCs &quot;a tough fight to batter their way into the dungeon door,&quot; I don't want a brute monster like the ettin.&nbsp; I want a soldier that will give me a long combat.&nbsp; Yet if I go looking in the MM for &quot;monsters with high AC, high to-hit but low damage&quot; -- ie, soldiers -- they're not sorted like that.&nbsp; Or if I want a run-and-gun kind of encounter, I just look for Skirmishers.For this encounter, with a brute and a controller, instead of a frontal assault I am looking for more of a &quot;setup first, then kill&quot; encounter (pouring out the bag of centipedes takes a round, for one thing).&nbsp; So the kind of monster I need to add is a Lurker.&nbsp; The centipedes might help set the lurker up, too.&nbsp; Hellcat, Invisible Stalker... how about a Medusa?&nbsp; The Fort save ability is something that would only hit every couple of rounds, that would make it a Lurker.&nbsp; Also its ability to appear like a prisoner for a few rounds would help.&nbsp; Of course I'll give it centipedes for hair instead of snakes.I think Voadam helped me &quot;get&quot; how you use roles to design an encounter.&nbsp; If I just had a controller-based combat with wizards, then for variety I would make the ettin encounter an assault.&nbsp; I'd make the centipedes into minions and emphasize the striker nature of the ettin with Power Attack or a high crit weapon (maybe a glaive to reach over the centipede minions).&nbsp; For an extra monster there I'd use a skirmisher because there'd be no one to protect the artillery.&nbsp; Maybe a will-o-wisp.Or I could use both the ettin and the centipedes to protect some artillery.&nbsp; I guess I'd have to make up a humanoid archer or wizard.&nbsp; That's almost three different encounter designs with one basic concept.&nbsp; I think the roles concept is really useful the way you guys are using it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Noumenon, post: 4497317, member: 70102"] Like for example, if I want to give the PCs "a tough fight to batter their way into the dungeon door," I don't want a brute monster like the ettin. I want a soldier that will give me a long combat. Yet if I go looking in the MM for "monsters with high AC, high to-hit but low damage" -- ie, soldiers -- they're not sorted like that. Or if I want a run-and-gun kind of encounter, I just look for Skirmishers. For this encounter, with a brute and a controller, instead of a frontal assault I am looking for more of a "setup first, then kill" encounter (pouring out the bag of centipedes takes a round, for one thing). So the kind of monster I need to add is a Lurker. The centipedes might help set the lurker up, too. Hellcat, Invisible Stalker... how about a Medusa? The Fort save ability is something that would only hit every couple of rounds, that would make it a Lurker. Also its ability to appear like a prisoner for a few rounds would help. Of course I'll give it centipedes for hair instead of snakes. I think Voadam helped me "get" how you use roles to design an encounter. If I just had a controller-based combat with wizards, then for variety I would make the ettin encounter an assault. I'd make the centipedes into minions and emphasize the striker nature of the ettin with Power Attack or a high crit weapon (maybe a glaive to reach over the centipede minions). For an extra monster there I'd use a skirmisher because there'd be no one to protect the artillery. Maybe a will-o-wisp. Or I could use both the ettin and the centipedes to protect some artillery. I guess I'd have to make up a humanoid archer or wizard. That's almost three different encounter designs with one basic concept. I think the roles concept is really useful the way you guys are using it. [/QUOTE]

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