Will Doyle
Explorer
As we get further into paragon, I'm noticing that my monsters feel less and less effective. Nowadays an encounter that's two levels above the party feels about the same as an equal-levelled encounter back in heroic.
And this is with me:
As I see it, the problem isn't just down to the maths. As we go up in level, monsters fall behind on power synergies and power variety. After all, players get more powers as they go up in levels, but monsters don't.
Of course, if they did, they'd be a pain to manage. But, in thinking about this problem, I came up with the idea for group templates. Basically, they're a small set of focussed powers that all monsters in the group can use: typically a trait that applies to all of them, plus a number of triggered powers. In terms of DM-management, they're no more complex than adding a single, new monster to the encounter.
I'm going to try the rules out in my game tomorrow, but I thought I'd post them here in advance. For now, I've modelled them around the encounter templates in the DMG (Double Line, Commander and Troops, etc). There's also a group template for solos, which - although that's a contradiction in terms - is intended to give them some extra bite.
And this is with me:
- Adding +10 damage to all pre-MM3 monsters
- Frequently chaining two encounters into one
- Having two cursed party members - if one takes damage, the other gets stung for half.
As I see it, the problem isn't just down to the maths. As we go up in level, monsters fall behind on power synergies and power variety. After all, players get more powers as they go up in levels, but monsters don't.
Of course, if they did, they'd be a pain to manage. But, in thinking about this problem, I came up with the idea for group templates. Basically, they're a small set of focussed powers that all monsters in the group can use: typically a trait that applies to all of them, plus a number of triggered powers. In terms of DM-management, they're no more complex than adding a single, new monster to the encounter.
I'm going to try the rules out in my game tomorrow, but I thought I'd post them here in advance. For now, I've modelled them around the encounter templates in the DMG (Double Line, Commander and Troops, etc). There's also a group template for solos, which - although that's a contradiction in terms - is intended to give them some extra bite.
