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<blockquote data-quote="BiggusGeekus" data-source="post: 3616629" data-attributes="member: 1014">Hussar, you really hit it with tactics.&nbsp;&nbsp; One thing I've noticed adventures not using too much of is&nbsp; &quot;crowd control&quot; monsters.&nbsp; Hold, sleep, fear.&nbsp; Those kinds of things.&nbsp; Zap the guys with the low WILL save and beat the snot out of the PC spellcasters.&nbsp; Target the cleric and the wizard.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, this is not terribly fun.&nbsp; Another issue is that D&amp;D CR is based on combat.&nbsp; Lets take a troll and give him a level of expert.&nbsp; &nbsp; CR 7 or thereabouts, a little confusing because NPC levels count one less than PC levels, but let's call our troll CR 8.&nbsp;&nbsp; As a combat encounter, this is reasonably solid. Though why a DM would make a troll with all those skill points only to use him as cannon fodder is a mystery.Now as a roleplay encounter things get weird.&nbsp; Let's say our troll has skill ranks in Perform (musical theater) and Knowledge (broadway hits).&nbsp; The troll will not hand over an item the PCs need for a quest until they help the troll put on a performance of The Music Man for the troll's true love.&nbsp; How exactly do we rate this encounter?&nbsp; What level is it appropriate for?&nbsp; As Hussar noted, what if the party is made up of four bards?&nbsp; What if the party has no bards at all?&nbsp; Do we let the PCs make a Perform skill check and call it a day?&nbsp; If they fail the skill check, how are they supposed to get the quest item without killing the troll?&nbsp; Because if they end up killing the troll, the DM may as well have made it a combat encounter.A tricky thing to evaluate.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BiggusGeekus, post: 3616629, member: 1014"] Hussar, you really hit it with tactics. One thing I've noticed adventures not using too much of is "crowd control" monsters. Hold, sleep, fear. Those kinds of things. Zap the guys with the low WILL save and beat the snot out of the PC spellcasters. Target the cleric and the wizard. However, this is not terribly fun. Another issue is that D&D CR is based on combat. Lets take a troll and give him a level of expert. CR 7 or thereabouts, a little confusing because NPC levels count one less than PC levels, but let's call our troll CR 8. As a combat encounter, this is reasonably solid. Though why a DM would make a troll with all those skill points only to use him as cannon fodder is a mystery. Now as a roleplay encounter things get weird. Let's say our troll has skill ranks in Perform (musical theater) and Knowledge (broadway hits). The troll will not hand over an item the PCs need for a quest until they help the troll put on a performance of [i]The Music Man[/i] for the troll's true love. How exactly do we rate this encounter? What level is it appropriate for? As Hussar noted, what if the party is made up of four bards? What if the party has no bards at all? Do we let the PCs make a Perform skill check and call it a day? If they fail the skill check, how are they supposed to get the quest item without killing the troll? Because if they end up killing the troll, the DM may as well have made it a combat encounter. A tricky thing to evaluate. [/QUOTE]

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