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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Beginning of the End" data-source="post: 5187335" data-attributes="member: 55271">The real problem seems to be an inability to convince you that we're not looking at the underlying design philosophy behind both the stat blocks and the combat-happy WotC modules.I'm saying that you have a stuffy nose and a nasty cough because you have the flu. You're saying, "I don't see how a stuffy nose could possibly be giving me a nasty cough!"But since you want to talk about stat blocks...Ignoring the flawed premise that monsters never do anything in the game outside of combat, there are still at least three flaws in Noonan's logic:(1) It assumes tactical inflexibility. It assumes that the monster should always do the exact same thing no matter what the PCs do. By saying "they'll only be around for 5 rounds so they should only have 5 rounds worth of stuff to do", you are concluding that they should never have multiple options (which would allow them to respond to a variety of situations).(2) It assumes monsters will never be re-used. Because if they were going to be re-used, it might be valuable to have some variety between those encounters.(3) It assumes that multiple versions of the same monster will never appear in the same combat. Monsters only last 5 rounds and nothing they do outside of those 5 rounds matters? Even if we accept the premise, if we have an encounter with 5 of those monsters at the same time and each of them survives an average of 5 rounds, then that stat block actually needs to fill up 25 rounds worth of actions.There are lots of reasons why combat in 4th Edition has gotten the "grind" level, but one of the problems are the shallow, bland, inflexible stat blocks.Seriously? No offense, but you might want to try reading the thread before posting to it. Start with Post #1. The quote in question is literally the entire basis for the thread.It's not just an issue of space: The Delve Format (and, to a large extent, the entire design of 4th Edition) is about the "perfectly balanced tactical encounter". This quest for "perfect balance" inherently limits interactivity and minimizes player impact on a strategic level.What Noonan said: "Until the moment they interact with the PCs,       they’re in a state of  stasis. And five rounds later, they’re done."I'm not sure what you think is being misrepresented here. The NPCs don't do anything until the PCs see them, as soon as the PCs see them combat will start, and "five rounds later, they're done".I just got done telling you that the problem is the underlying design premise that NPCs don't do anything outside of combat, but you're still trying to distract the issue by talking about stat block methodology.It's probably a good thing that nobody is making that claim. Lemme know when you want to stop beating that pack of strawmen to death and have an actual conversation.</blockquote>

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