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<blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 4614168" data-attributes="member: 3146">For my part, at least, this is most definitely NOT a desire for published adventures. It is a desire for information about the non-combat abilities of various monsters.Published adventures work fairly well but they have a definite play style. You go to room A2, listen at the door, kick it open, and find the evil NPC in the middle of a ritual. It is all there, all written down, and the story is entirely the responsibility of the DM. What is the ritual? What can be done to stop it? What happens if the PCs fail? Etc.On the other hand, some players prefer a freer style of play. Rather than being handed a mission by an NPC that says &quot;Orcus is gating in balors; go to dungeon A and retrieve Mcguffin B to stop his fiendish plot&quot;, they would rather conduct their own investigations and come up with their own plan. And they want to be responsible for warding their plans from the bad guys too. Is Orcus going to have his minions scry on them to determine their plans? Ward their base against scrying. (And then counterattack, kill the minions and take worthwhile scrying rituals off their corpses so that they are no longer stuck with the crap that was in the PHB). In this style of play, the contest between the PCs and the NPCs explicitly includes much more than is present in the individual combat encounter--their divinations, wards, plans, and what they can do if left unchecked. You cannot play that kind of a game without information on a creature's non-combat abilities. Published modules can be used for this style of play, but they are for shortening the prep time when the PCs plans call on them to go in a particular direction rather than for determining the story itself.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Elder-Basilisk, post: 4614168, member: 3146"] For my part, at least, this is most definitely NOT a desire for published adventures. It is a desire for information about the non-combat abilities of various monsters. Published adventures work fairly well but they have a definite play style. You go to room A2, listen at the door, kick it open, and find the evil NPC in the middle of a ritual. It is all there, all written down, and the story is entirely the responsibility of the DM. What is the ritual? What can be done to stop it? What happens if the PCs fail? Etc. On the other hand, some players prefer a freer style of play. Rather than being handed a mission by an NPC that says "Orcus is gating in balors; go to dungeon A and retrieve Mcguffin B to stop his fiendish plot", they would rather conduct their own investigations and come up with their own plan. And they want to be responsible for warding their plans from the bad guys too. Is Orcus going to have his minions scry on them to determine their plans? Ward their base against scrying. (And then counterattack, kill the minions and take worthwhile scrying rituals off their corpses so that they are no longer stuck with the crap that was in the PHB). In this style of play, the contest between the PCs and the NPCs explicitly includes much more than is present in the individual combat encounter--their divinations, wards, plans, and what they can do if left unchecked. You cannot play that kind of a game without information on a creature's non-combat abilities. Published modules can be used for this style of play, but they are for shortening the prep time when the PCs plans call on them to go in a particular direction rather than for determining the story itself. [/QUOTE]

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