Jennifer Clarke Wilkes on Paragon level Playtesting

[Scholar & Brutalman]

Jennifer Clarke Wilkes has a post up on her Gleemax blog about her playtest. It's short so I'll quote it all here, since some people don't have DDI accounts:

So I decided to push my at-home playtest group up to the next level of the D&D experience. We've been playing pretty steadily for the last little while and have become reasonably familiar with the new game. I decided to bump the PC levels up to 12th and see how it felt to take on a bigger challenge.

The party consisted of five characters: a tiefling warlock (infernal, naturally), a halfling rogue, a dwarf fighter (polearm specialist and opportunity attack monster), a human cleric, and an eladrin wizard. I put them up against a Large black dragon in a murky grotto. Then we had at it.

Obviously I can't say a lot about mechanical details, but the black dragon has a schtick that is truly dangerous--keeping the PCs on the defensive a lot of the time. It was able to hold out for seven rounds against an entire party and caused them to use up pretty well all their limited resources. Its ability to respond immediately to PC actions was a nasty surprise as well for those used to earlier-edition dragons.

I'm looking forward to more paragon-level play at our office playtest group next week. I wonder what Chris will throw at us...

I note the Fighter is described as an "opportunity attack monster".

 

[Intrope]

It was able to hold out for seven rounds against an entire party and caused them to use up pretty well all their limited resources.

This sounds like support of my less-damage-per-round theory--7 rounds is pretty long for most of my mid-to-high level, one opponent battles.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I note the Fighter is described as an "opportunity attack monster".

Hmmm. Sounds like some form of attack-of-opportunity (with a new name) is in. I'm curious how it's "easier to remember" though, since that was one of the comments at GenCon (paraphrase: "Too bad they're playing 3E - look how they keep forgetting to take their AOO's!").

Also, I know this is just me, but the idea of "Dwarven polearm specialist" strains my brain somehow. You need a wide grip to handle polearms, and dwarves don't really have that ... but that's hardly germane to this topic.

"Its ability to respond immediately to PC actions" ... Sounds like Dragons make a lot of use of "Immediate Action Attacks", or something to that effect. I wonder if thats how "opportunity attacks" work too.

"all their limited resources" ... meaning their per-day big booms??

 

[Wolfspider]

Infernal. Naturally.

 

[Irda Ranger]

This sounds like support of my less-damage-per-round theory--7 rounds is pretty long for most of my mid-to-high level, one opponent battles.

But this was a dragon.

1. We know that 4E combat is designed for a 1:1 or greater ratio. Goblin attacks at 4:1 ratios have been described as "survivable."
2. But some monsters are elite, meaning they count as 2 monsters of their same level.
3. Dragons don't usually appear in groups of 4, or even pairs.

Ergo, I suspect that dragons have been designed to be "As tough as any four (non-elite) monsters of the same level."

OFFICIAL PREDICTION
MM1 PC-to-Monster Ratios:
Normal 1:1
Elite 1:2
Dragon 1:4

 

[Irda Ranger]

Infernal. Naturally.

Everyone plays with the shiny the first time.

 

[RangerWickett]

I admit, I'm really curious to hear about the higher-level abilities for 4th edition. I'm playing a Conan game now, and if it's not possible in the newfangled 4e for a PC to yank an enemy off his feet, snap his ribcage, and then use his limp ragdoll body as a human shield for a round, before throwing the man into the chests of two oncoming warriors to knock them down, then disarming a third foe and then using his own sword to cleave off his arm, which he then uses an improvised club, I'll be a little disappointed.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

OFFICIAL PREDICTION
MM1 PC-to-Monster Ratios:
Normal 1:1
Elite 1:2
Dragon 1:4

1 PC to every 4 dragons, and 1 PC to every goblin? Methinks you've got your ratios backwards.

 

[el-remmen]

7 rounds is pretty long for most of my mid-to-high level, one opponent battles.

If I had a battle against a dragon last only 7 rounds without the cause being some amazing luck (or bad luck) on one, either or both sides, I'd be disappointed! :\

 

[Doug McCrae]

Dragon 1:4

Five is the assumed party size in 4e.