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<blockquote data-quote="Ydars" data-source="post: 4660352" data-attributes="member: 62992">Let's not turn this thread into the other one as we are not talking about the same thing.&nbsp;Balance is a good thing when it makes it easier for the DM to challenge the players without killing them. &nbsp;Having said this, in true sandbox play, I do not want my megadungeon design to be completely constrained by treasure parcels and XP. Many of the solutions proposed on the other thread show how deep this problem goes.&nbsp;I don't want a megadungeon where the encounters and treasure magically change depending upon PC level. I want a place where I can site interesting encounters, that make sense, with some treasure, ahead of time, and then see how they play out when the PCs try to confront them. I want to truly reward clever play, not by making the monsters harder, but by allowing the PCs to roll monsters over essily if they are capable of doing that. I will also site monsters that are very very difficult challenges for the PCs and see how they take those on.&nbsp;In short, I want a game where player choice is King, not balance. All I am saying is, if in the course of designing my dungeon, there is a conflict between increasing player choice (and vermisilitude) and between game balance, then I will choose the former every time.&nbsp;In a more linear and plot focussed game this problem doesn't really rear its head because player choice is not such a priority. I have DMed such games and they are great fun, I just want to try this style of sandbox and it has needs that are totally incompatible with 4E's style of balance.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ydars, post: 4660352, member: 62992"] Let's not turn this thread into the other one as we are not talking about the same thing. Balance is a good thing when it makes it easier for the DM to challenge the players without killing them. Having said this, in true sandbox play, I do not want my megadungeon design to be completely constrained by treasure parcels and XP. Many of the solutions proposed on the other thread show how deep this problem goes. I don't want a megadungeon where the encounters and treasure magically change depending upon PC level. I want a place where I can site interesting encounters, that make sense, with some treasure, [B]ahead of time[/B], and then see how they play out when the PCs try to confront them. I want to truly reward clever play, not by making the monsters harder, but by allowing the PCs to roll monsters over essily if they are capable of doing that. I will also site monsters that are very very difficult challenges for the PCs and see how they take those on. In short, I want a game where player choice is King, not balance. All I am saying is, if in the course of designing my dungeon, there is a conflict between increasing player choice (and vermisilitude) and between game balance, then I will choose the former every time. In a more linear and plot focussed game this problem doesn't really rear its head because player choice is not such a priority. I have DMed such games and they are great fun, I just want to try this style of sandbox and it has needs that are totally incompatible with 4E's style of balance. [/QUOTE]

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