Ignoring the 4e DMG

[Cyronax]

I basically use the DMG for the class templates and p. 42.

But then again p. 42's DCs (and the DM screen) have been erratted.

 

[Piratecat]

Always using the "correct" encounter sizes for a challenge can quickly lead to boredom. I'm a big fan of easier and harder encounters to keep players on their toes and having fun.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Always using the "correct" encounter sizes for a challenge can quickly lead to boredom. I'm a big fan of easier and harder encounters to keep players on their toes and having fun.

It's actually kinda hard to always use the "correct" encounter sizes, because they are not really nailed that strongly down. There is a level range and several encounter templates that can be filled for the different levels, but you can exchange monsters against elites, solos or minions and all that.

Though it is not new that people sometimes let themselves feel to restrained by the encounter guidelines - the same happened in 3E.

In the end, it is all guidelines. They are not the "laws of encounter design". The encounter templates and level/XP range suggestions exist to give a baseline and an impression on what kind of monster/role combination can make sense.

Personally, I mostly go by encounter budget, though usually as a kind of sanity check. "Might this encounter be too easy or too hard?"

 

[jgerman]

Like others have pointed out, it's not redundant, it's just full of guidelines. Also like others I rarely open it at the table, it's usually used at prep time. I still think it's a good DMG.

As far as ignoring the stuff in it, I ignore a lot in it. If it doesn't fit my game out it goes, but that goes for the whole game, not just the stuff in the DMG. For instance there's no XP in my game, characters level at the rate of story. I do use the encounter balancing charts pretty heavily. The ease of balancing a game around a party is one of the major attractions of 4E for me.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Last session the 1st level PCs ran into dozens of 9th level Orc Warrior minions (and ran away). Their next encounter was with 2 1st level brute fire beetles (200 XP, well below standard 500). They seemed to have a great time.

First let me say if you guys had fun that is all that matters, and there is no right or wrong way to have fun...

however I had a bad experiance with this type of thing already...we were running a game were we were a military unite...
My warlord concept was Capt John SHeradin (Babylon 5) meets Cornal Shepard (Star gate atlantis) how ever he became cobra comander (GI JOE)... how did this happen you ask? Well the DM felt as you did...and at level 3 our first encounter was 12 orcs, 2 ogers, and a troll (No minons no monster under 7th level)...so we ran...our second combat encounter was an epic dragon...so we ran, our 3rd combat encounter was 100 orc minons with 10 ogers so we ran... then a few normal encounters, followed by the 13 (19th level each) death knights...

then he swong th other way 4 kobold minons, then 2 2nd level goblins, at 5th level we faced a white dragon wyrmling... by level 7 we were regularly faceing 1 or 2 level 3 or lower normal monster or 10+ 13th level monsters...so we crushed anything we fought...and ran (As I started yelling "Cobra retreat") from 1/2 our encounters...

It is hard to feel heroic when you NEVER face a good fight...it is eaithe rrun or a shoe in...

 

[Aramax]

I totally agree that the DMG is just for prep,but of all the ed's I find I consult
the 4e much more than I used any of the others and am EAGERLY awaiting DMG II

 

[S'mon]

It is hard to feel heroic when you NEVER face a good fight...it is eaithe rrun or a shoe in...

I agree, and I think sometimes a good hard fight, narrowly won, is a great thing.

Well I didn't bring my DMG to the game today, and it didn't seem to matter. I will continue to refer to it for advice though, both to discard and to apply.

 

[Kinneus]

I was initially disappointed by the DMG. A lot of it seemed to be a bunch of amateur pyschology on how to identify what your players want and how to avoid conflicts and stuff. I just shrugged and thought to myself, "Yeah, or you could -talk- to them."

It's only useful, in my mind, for suggested XP by level tables, rules on designing your own monsters, and wherever they thought to throw in the random rules for drowning/starving/dehydration. I sincerely hope that the DMG 2 includes more hard crunchy stuff (especially more traps, and guidelines for making your own traps). So far, I've been unimpressed.

 

[Nightson]

I sincerely hope that the DMG 2 includes more hard crunchy stuff (especially more traps, and guidelines for making your own traps).

You're in luck, "Designing Traps: Use this guide to create traps for your adventures; you’ll find plenty of examples." It'll be in chapter 2 of DMG2

 

[Kinneus]

You're in luck, "Designing Traps: Use this guide to create traps for your adventures; you’ll find plenty of examples." It'll be in chapter 2 of DMG2

Sah-weet.