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General Tabletop Discussion
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Handling Monster Information
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<blockquote data-quote="kugelkj" data-source="post: 5040861" data-attributes="member: 84988"><p>This seems like a fine system if it works for your group, but to my mind, this mechanic would add another layer of time-sucking to an already bogged down combat system (and my players have fun with the meta-game):</p><p></p><p>1) DM has to take time out to tell the player what they found out from the roll </p><p>2) the player then has to figure out how to use that information</p><p>3) then the player has to impress on the others s/he knows what actions their characters should take</p><p></p><p>The point of monster knowledge checks are to speed up the encounter by giving the players an edge when it comes to devising optimal strategies and tactics (eliminating the trial and error)</p><p></p><p>I like to give out as much information as possible and let my players discuss/share strategies for a minute or two, but I put a cap on the amount of time that can be spent discussing (if they want to discuss at all, often they go "huh... my initiative is... XX"). This allows my players the opportunity to coordinate their actions, choose optimal targets and identify good powers to use or stay away from using on certain monsters. But also keeps combat moving by getting it all out of the way ahead of time.</p><p></p><p>Additionally, I use a few house rules that speed up combat:</p><p></p><p>1) when a player succeeds on the easy DC of a monster knowledge check I throw in a the monsters relative level </p><p>2) when a player succeeds on the hard DC of a monster knowledge check I throw in the mobs lowest defense (AC, fort, ref, will: but not the number)</p><p>3)if a players modified attack roll hits a defense exactly, I tell them so (this is really just a time saver that lets my players do the math themselves)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="kugelkj, post: 5040861, member: 84988"] This seems like a fine system if it works for your group, but to my mind, this mechanic would add another layer of time-sucking to an already bogged down combat system (and my players have fun with the meta-game): 1) DM has to take time out to tell the player what they found out from the roll 2) the player then has to figure out how to use that information 3) then the player has to impress on the others s/he knows what actions their characters should take The point of monster knowledge checks are to speed up the encounter by giving the players an edge when it comes to devising optimal strategies and tactics (eliminating the trial and error) I like to give out as much information as possible and let my players discuss/share strategies for a minute or two, but I put a cap on the amount of time that can be spent discussing (if they want to discuss at all, often they go "huh... my initiative is... XX"). This allows my players the opportunity to coordinate their actions, choose optimal targets and identify good powers to use or stay away from using on certain monsters. But also keeps combat moving by getting it all out of the way ahead of time. Additionally, I use a few house rules that speed up combat: 1) when a player succeeds on the easy DC of a monster knowledge check I throw in a the monsters relative level 2) when a player succeeds on the hard DC of a monster knowledge check I throw in the mobs lowest defense (AC, fort, ref, will: but not the number) 3)if a players modified attack roll hits a defense exactly, I tell them so (this is really just a time saver that lets my players do the math themselves) [/QUOTE]
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