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<blockquote data-quote="Slapzilla" data-source="post: 3892470" data-attributes="member: 52781">This does seem to be specifically aimed at trans-colossal monsters, which would be of limited use anyway.&nbsp; I can't tell you how many video games I've played that have had multi-tentacled parts, each with it's own special attack, that somehow protected the 'head'.&nbsp; I think this is a way to think about an encounter to represent that.&nbsp; As far as it's narrow scope, I don't get it unless you are limiting the scope yourself by seeing this as not conforming to 'canonical' rules. I think the point is that this is an exploratory discussion of the idea.&nbsp; I think a different perspective on an encounter idea is great.Each tentacle represents some part of the monster as a whole and must be dealt with individually.&nbsp; I don't think every encounter should be a carefully balanced CR because not every encounter should be a simple 'sack of hp and fangs'.&nbsp; The game becomes boring if all encounters are winnable just by killing the thing.&nbsp; You don't need dice and a few buddies for that, you just need a controller and 9 out of 10 video games.&nbsp; Making it retreat by hacking tentacles and putting an eye out is just as much saving the ship as killing the beast.&nbsp; If the ship is savable and the DM provides a challenging way to do it... what's the problem?&nbsp; If the ship is fated (by DM fiat) to sink whatever the characters do, there is no need for an action scene.A 16 acre plague of fiendish locusts with a hive mind approaches an ancient forest.&nbsp; This is probably not a killable thing but there are opportunities for player action here to drive it away, or reduce it to a killable thing.&nbsp; An 'encounter' that lasts all day and needs to be chipped down to a manageable size could provide enough individual encounters within it to bump the characters up a level.&nbsp; I've never done something like this before but now, I have another way to challenge my players.&nbsp; That's the point.&nbsp; Great idea KM.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Slapzilla, post: 3892470, member: 52781"] This does seem to be specifically aimed at trans-colossal monsters, which would be of limited use anyway. I can't tell you how many video games I've played that have had multi-tentacled parts, each with it's own special attack, that somehow protected the 'head'. I think this is a way to think about an encounter to represent that. As far as it's narrow scope, I don't get it unless you are limiting the scope yourself by seeing this as not conforming to 'canonical' rules. I think the point is that this is an exploratory discussion of the idea. I think a different perspective on an encounter idea is great. Each tentacle represents some part of the monster as a whole and must be dealt with individually. I don't think every encounter should be a carefully balanced CR because not every encounter should be a simple 'sack of hp and fangs'. The game becomes boring if all encounters are winnable just by killing the thing. You don't need dice and a few buddies for that, you just need a controller and 9 out of 10 video games. Making it retreat by hacking tentacles and putting an eye out is just as much saving the ship as killing the beast. If the ship is savable and the DM provides a challenging way to do it... what's the problem? If the ship is fated (by DM fiat) to sink whatever the characters do, there is no need for an action scene. A 16 acre plague of fiendish locusts with a hive mind approaches an ancient forest. This is probably not a killable thing but there are opportunities for player action here to drive it away, or reduce it to a killable thing. An 'encounter' that lasts all day and needs to be chipped down to a manageable size could provide enough individual encounters within it to bump the characters up a level. I've never done something like this before but now, I have another way to challenge my players. That's the point. Great idea KM. [/QUOTE]

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