How to run a 4th Edition Campaign When You're Used to 3rd Edition?

[MadMaxim]

I was wondering if anyone had some tips on running 4th edition campaigns and what the major differences could be considered? I've run plenty of campaigns using 3.5th edition material and got used to the way the mechanics worked and designed everything with the rules in mind (yes, I'm a bit of a rules-lawyer), but with 4th edition everything seems to be more or less independent of the rules unless you turn it into some sort of encounter, be it a combat encounter or a skill challenge. I just have a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the new design ideas.

Usually, I run a very loose game but I have all the major NPCs statted out whether they're the big bad evil guy or just some friendly NPCs the PCs run into. I usually begin with picturing my BBEG and stat him/her/it to the level that I see the PCs finishing the campaign around, like say 18th level, and then I roll the story backwards until I end up with the 1st-level badguys that the PCs are going to meet. While I'm doing that I choose the general areas that the PCs are mostly likely to travel through, like the deserts of Mulhorand in Forgotten Realms and what they're most likely to encounter in that environment. I have a basic idea about what skill checks or saves I'm going to call for in the different environments and so on.

What I basically have problems with are how to take things like the 4th edition hazards and obstacles into account without having very detailed encounter maps? How do you wing encounters without screwing the PCs over completely? How do the rest of you plan for campaigns in 4th edition compared to 3rd edition? How do you handle treasure compared to 3rd edition? I just have a feeling that my usual way of doing it just isn't the smartest way to make use of the mechanics of 4th edition, and I really want to make use of them in the best possible way. Thanks in advance!

 

[Rhenny]

I was in the same boat you were in a few years ago. Here are some tips.

1) Do not compare 3.5 to 4 or 4 to 3.5. Think of them as different games. It is so much easier to develop encounters, dangers, challenges if you think all 4e and do not try to translate from 3.5.

2) One of the best ways to plan encounters and to "wing it" is to set up waves of attack. This way you can judge the strength of the PCs and challenge them appropriately. For example, In one room/area, they may be attacked by 4 minions and 1 soldier and a leader/controller. Then as the battle goes on...if you think it is too easy...have a 2nd wave of creatures join the fray. Perhaps a mini-boss or two more soldiers, etc. hear the noise and respond.

3) Think more about terrain. In every combat situation or challenge set up interesting terrain. Since movement is much more important in 4e (shift, move, etc.) having pits, cliffs, ledges, lava pools, acid pools, bridges, scaffolds, columns, etc. really adds to combat choices especially for powers that cause movement.

4) The element of 4e I like the most is The Skill Challenge. Study that and use it to help your story. Lots of roleplaying situations can be turned into skill challenges. The best part of this is that the players will gain xp for roleplaying/doing the skill challenge. In 3.5 I found that my players hated roleplaying or figuring out other ways to get through challenges because they didn't feel like they were being rewarded for it. (This may have been my fault in part, but prior D&D rules never really encouraged xp for non-combat encounters). Also, combine skill challenges with combat. This builds tension and adds to the choices pcs must make.

I hope this helps a bit. Enjoy!

 

[Aenghus]

In 4e monsters are treated differently to PCs. The same monster could have different stats based on it's power relative to the PCs and it's function to the encounter, though it doesn't have to. A monster like an ogre could transit from a solo at low level to an elite, then a standard monster, then a minion. This is to make it easier for the referee to run adventures, by limiting the info he needs to run a combat encounter.

4e encounters tend to have more monsters in them, but their range of complexity is much smaller than in 3e.

Manoeuver is more important in 4e, and encounter areas tend to be bigger -this applies to both individual rooms sizes and the size of the encounter map as a whole. Typically, a 4e encounter is like two or three smaller 3e encounters.
It is more difficult to improvise maps and terrain, but as it's easier to come up with monsters for encounters, there is time to come up with some ideas for interesting terrain.

I think skill challenges are a good idea, but generic ones are difficult to design. Customising them to your party can be a good move. The standard skill challenge can discourage those without obviously relevant skills from contributing. A variant where the party needs one or more successes each time period, and not reaching this target counts as a failure for the challenge (ie skill failures don't count as challenge failures) is good for encouraging everyone to contribute in a time-sensitive challenge.

 

[Zaphling]

The major difference between 3.5 and 4e is that 3e can be played without a battle grid, which is not the usual play in 4e. Here is a link on how to play 4e without a battle grid. It is very fun and needs good DM describing. Because how do you play with battle grids if the encounter is underwater or flying?

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[lostingeneral]

There are plenty of ways to represent three-dimensional combat. I've seen people use "stacked" battle maps to represent different levels. Personally, we have little disks that are put under the bases of miniatures to represent how high or low they are in battle.

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

The major difference between 3.5 and 4e is that 3e can be played without a battle grid, which is not the usual play in 4e. Here is a link on how to play 4e without a battle grid. It is very fun and needs good DM describing. Because how do you play with battle grids if the encounter is underwater or flying?

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I cant think of one time I ever saw 3.x played without a grid map. Whether it be at a store playing or at large conventions.

 

[MadMaxim]

Thanks, Neechen.

1) Trust me, I'm really trying not to compare the two because the similarities are only superficial and I know, but still, I can't help it because some of it is still familiar territory. I'm really trying to wrap my head around the design idea.

2) Great idea, I'll try doing that.

3) Yeah, I was thinking about it, but I'm wondering how you can make good encounter maps if you're winging it? Don't they usually require a high degree of planning to get right?

4) Yeah, I guess I just have to try to make some skill challenges to see how they work because I'd really like to get the hang of them and all the other 4th edition mechanics.

 

[malraux]

The other big difference between 3e and 4e is party resource management. In 3e, resources tended to drop off linearly and challenging the party assumed a higher degree of attrition (ie, the party having a chance to rest right before the boss would make a huge difference). In 4e, resources are more like a gently sloping plateau at least until the party run out of surges, at which point things get really tough. Additionally, 4e parties cannot nova as 3e parties did. That is, a 3e party fighting 2 encounters at once was much more survivable than a 4e party doing the same.

 

[pneumatik]

3) Yeah, I was thinking about it, but I'm wondering how you can make good encounter maps if you're winging it? Don't they usually require a high degree of planning to get right?

You can probably get away with just one interesting piece of terrain In each fight. Over the ling run it mag end up feeling a little formulaic if every fight is in an open plain with one interesting thing in it, but as long as you also include more complex encounters you should be fine. DMG2 also has suggested encounter area sizes and distances that should help with the basics.

 

[Rhenny]

MadMaxim,

After a while it becomes easier to just draw out a map or encounter area on the fly, but I like to have a few encounter possibilities pre-made to drop into any situation. That helps in a pinch.

Also, I find that with 4e I tend to use more outdoor areas (wilderness, mountain roads, mountain cliffs, river areas, large caves or caverns, etc)and city streets/alley ways than I used in my older campaigns. As a result of all this, my games/campaign have less dungeon delves or traditional dungeon crawls. I can't tell if it because of the game mechanics or just the new psychology of movement oriented combat. If I have a few two to four room/encounter areas, I throw them in to the campaign as necessary, but basically it is all stitched together by travel encounters in wilderness or city areas.

Again, I hope that helps.