Arcadian Games
First Post
Hi folks,
I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding skills and spells that can wreck a decent encounter - those which take the challenge away. In particular, but not limited to, Hold Person and the Evokers spell sculpting abilities. While I was developing and play testing 'The City Under the Mountain' it became apparent that with a bit of luck, good or bad, depending on your perspective - a detailed and important encounter could be over in a flash - negating the challenge and fun.
For example, many encounters can feature a human opponent - often these are a good challenge for the players due to their abilities/AC etc. However, all that was needed was a simple 2nd level Hold Person and a couple of poor saving rolls (often needing 11 or 12 on a d20) by the monster and bash, bash bash - and it was all over. This seems especially possible due to the likelihood of multiple attacks, action surges and haste spells and the like.
Similarly, play testing an Evoker brought up the dangers of spell sculpting. I found that it wasn't beyond the wit of man to engage any enemy in melee whilst the Evoker blasts in one, two or even three Fireballs from a safe distance - effectively causing the unfortunate victim encounter crushing damage. All this while their party colleagues are perfectly safe. These and similar events seemed to result in rapid combat closes and a finely crafted encounter was over.
I was wondering whether any one has thoughts on these matters - are they over powerful or just part of the game? Do they reward players who practice them or make it all too easy?
Best wishes,
Mike
I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding skills and spells that can wreck a decent encounter - those which take the challenge away. In particular, but not limited to, Hold Person and the Evokers spell sculpting abilities. While I was developing and play testing 'The City Under the Mountain' it became apparent that with a bit of luck, good or bad, depending on your perspective - a detailed and important encounter could be over in a flash - negating the challenge and fun.
For example, many encounters can feature a human opponent - often these are a good challenge for the players due to their abilities/AC etc. However, all that was needed was a simple 2nd level Hold Person and a couple of poor saving rolls (often needing 11 or 12 on a d20) by the monster and bash, bash bash - and it was all over. This seems especially possible due to the likelihood of multiple attacks, action surges and haste spells and the like.
Similarly, play testing an Evoker brought up the dangers of spell sculpting. I found that it wasn't beyond the wit of man to engage any enemy in melee whilst the Evoker blasts in one, two or even three Fireballs from a safe distance - effectively causing the unfortunate victim encounter crushing damage. All this while their party colleagues are perfectly safe. These and similar events seemed to result in rapid combat closes and a finely crafted encounter was over.
I was wondering whether any one has thoughts on these matters - are they over powerful or just part of the game? Do they reward players who practice them or make it all too easy?
Best wishes,
Mike