Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7065155" data-attributes="member: 6696971">My only thought here is that if you want the assassination attempt to be very difficult to foil, don't rely on subordination of the basic resolution mechanics to do so.Just use the fundamental machinery of 4e to make it so.  Ensure the player's and the system both have the agency they're supposed to have.The mechanical question you're asking isn't so much one of encounter balance (the PCs will almost surely defeat the bad guys, especially if they're spending action economy on defeating NPCs).  It is "how do I make assassination prevention difficult while ensuring both player/system agency and an engaging tactical situation?"  4e has great system tech for this:1)  Make the NPC an up-leveled Minion.2)  Give the NPC an encounter power that ups their resiliency (such as Immediate Interrupt +6 to defenses UeoYNT).3)  Give the NPC an At-Will power vs Will that lets them shift and prevents them from being attacked by the target UEoYNT.4)  Give the NPC a Move Action At-Will that lets them shift.5)  Make the NPC's guardians Minion Soldiers with the ability to (a) Mark and (b) eat an attack (thus killing them) for the NPC while adjacent.Then you can throw a HUGE Encounter Budget at the combat as the bad guys try to kill the NPC, the NPC tries to survive, and the NPC guardians try to protect the NPC.  Meanwhile the PCs try to hinder/kill the bad guys and protect the NPC.I've done this sort of things several times.  I lay the mechanics bare to the players so they understand the inherent danger of the situation and vulnerability of the NPC (therefore the impetus to use positioning, their control effects, and Immediate Actions to prevent death the Minion).  I give the players the opportunity to play the NPC/guardians if they wish or I've brought in a neutral 3rd party to play that NPC crew.  Therefore, I play the HUGE Encounter Budget bad guys to the hilt, the neutral 3rd party plays the NPCs, the players play their PCs.EDIT - I think Up-leveled Minion with the ability to get out of trouble and an Encounter Power that lets them buff their defenses hugely UEoYNT does the trick for "tough gladiator that can withstand punishment."  While at the same time, the inherent vulnerability due to Minion status would transfer the urgency and desperation of the situation to the players (which is what you want).</blockquote>

Verification