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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 7411567" data-attributes="member: 2629">The game works really well with a mix of encounters.&nbsp; In each, the monsters should act per *their* character if you want to maximize the uniqueness of each combat.&nbsp; What is the difference between a gnoll war party and an orc war party?&nbsp; A few hp, agression vs rampage ... so a few minor mechanical differences that really won't have much impact.... leaving you with 2 groups that are a sack of hps. But if you give them different racial tactics, they suddenly 'feel' very different.&nbsp; A group of gnolls that hunt like hyenas - circling an enemy and then attacking all at once... trying to pick off the weakest and pull them off to kill them ... versus orcs that flood in like a wave crashing down on the party, attacking fiercly without rhyme or reason... living rage!&nbsp; The optimal strategy for each of these groups is likely very similar, but having them come at the battle with their own story based strategy gives you different experiences.And you don't need to make a battle deadly to make it interesting or difficult.&nbsp; If you have 30 goblins sprinting away in different directions and one of them has the secret scroll, your PCs are going to have to figure out how to stop as many of them as possible to get that scroll back.&nbsp; That takes strategy and quick thinking.&nbsp; Even though the PCs are unlikely to be attacked, much less threatened, this can be a great combat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 7411567, member: 2629"] The game works really well with a mix of encounters. In each, the monsters should act per *their* character if you want to maximize the uniqueness of each combat. What is the difference between a gnoll war party and an orc war party? A few hp, agression vs rampage ... so a few minor mechanical differences that really won't have much impact.... leaving you with 2 groups that are a sack of hps. But if you give them different racial tactics, they suddenly 'feel' very different. A group of gnolls that hunt like hyenas - circling an enemy and then attacking all at once... trying to pick off the weakest and pull them off to kill them ... versus orcs that flood in like a wave crashing down on the party, attacking fiercly without rhyme or reason... living rage! The optimal strategy for each of these groups is likely very similar, but having them come at the battle with their own story based strategy gives you different experiences. And you don't need to make a battle deadly to make it interesting or difficult. If you have 30 goblins sprinting away in different directions and one of them has the secret scroll, your PCs are going to have to figure out how to stop as many of them as possible to get that scroll back. That takes strategy and quick thinking. Even though the PCs are unlikely to be attacked, much less threatened, this can be a great combat. [/QUOTE]

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