Monsters that mark: A pain for DMs

[FadedC]

Well one other thing to keep in mind is that monsters in 4E seem to be intended to be in mixed groups. So rather then having say 6 kobold dragonshields, you'd rather have only 1-2 dragonshields and let the rest be slingers, skirmishers, wyrmshields, etc. Not only will the group have greater synergy, you will only have to keep track of 1 or 2 marks which anyone should be able to do.

Or to put it another way.....if multiple marks are annoying for you to keep track of then don't use multiple monsters who mark. You only need so many soldier type monsters anyway.

 

[AllisterH]

For the sake of their sanity, a dungeon master might wish to avoid doing so, but nothing about marking suggests that they're 'doin' it wrong' by running several creatures possessing the ability. Would it not strain credibility that, in every encounter, the timid casters outnumber--often significantly--their guardians?

Actually, having just soldiers in an encoutner seems weird. As I understand it, there are Lurkers, Skirmishers, Controllers, Artillery, Brutes AND soldiers so you probably aren't expected to have just soldiers.

Even then, the marked mechanic doesn't seem to appear in ALL soldiers. The Chuul from the MM we saw at DDXP are both Soldiers yet neither uses the marked mechanic.

As aintan mentions, the marked mechanic seems designed to protect squishies and if everyone is a hardie, it makes little sense to use it.

That said, is marking an involuntary attack? I assume a DM doesn't have to mark since if I have a soldier and a brute fighting the party, doesn't really make sense to mark in that situation.

 

[the Jester]

Well, if there's a combat with enough marking going on that it's complicated, then here's an idea- when hobgoblin A marks Bobcleric the Healer, put a white chip under both of them. When hobgoblin B marks Danwarlord the Commander, put a red chip under both of them. You get the idea. Generally, pcs will know which hobgoblin they have marked.

 

[HeinorNY]

the ultimate purpose of marks is to have the casters stay alive lol.

Yeah right! Now I remember...

 

[Zaruthustran]

What about going the other direction, putting the tokens on the monsters that mark the characters?

This is a good idea. I'd even dispense with tokens on the battlemat (it gets cluttered quickly), and put the tokens on the DM's scratch sheet / wherever the DM is tracking monster HP.

So for example, an encounter with three skeletons might look like this:

Skeleton 1: -5 -10 -12, Bob
Skeleton 2: -6
Skeleton 3: -9, ongoing 5 fire

Skeleton 1 has taken three hits, for a total of 12 damage, and has marked Bob.
Skeleton 2 has taken 6 damage.
Skeleton 3 has taken 9 damage, and is currently suffering ongoing 5 damage.

 

[The Little Raven]

I like those ideas -- what if a monster mark (at least, the kind that is caused by a successful monster attack) just prevented you from shifting next turn?

Technically, that would be entirely separate from a "mark."

Marked is a condition (like stunned, dazed, etc) which confers a -2 penalty to attack against targets other than the one that marked you. Period. All other fiddly bits (paladin's radiant damage) are the province of exception-based design and are separate from "marked."

 

[Stalker0]

Instead of the marking mechanic, a reasonable substitute might be something like:

Marked for 1 round:
target suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls.

Marked (no duration):
'target is blocked for 1 round'

Good idea. Heck, even if it was just a -1 to the attack roll it be a meaningful penalty and be a lot easier to DM. I'll keep running rules as written for now, but that might be my first houserule when I get around to making some.

 

[Pbartender]

I dunno, guys... It doesn't seem that hard. A target can only have one mark on him at a time, so you only have to pay attention to the most recent mark. Which is to say, for most enemies that mark, you only have to note who was the last one to attack a particular target:

"Okay, Ranger Rick, you're surrounded by five kobolds with short swords, scale armor and heavy shields emblazoned with dragon's head emblems. They all attack... the three directly in front of you hit... they deal five, four and seven points of damage... the one in the center has marked you."

 

[Kwalish Kid]

I'm with you pb. I really can't see this as being a problem.

 

[Incenjucar]

It's only a big deal if you're fighting paladins, who would be able to juggle marks back and forth.