Monsters

[Walking Dad]

I may be wrong, but it sounds as if you are viewing the adventure as a series of combat encounters. If that were the case I can see how it could appear boring.

I think that if you run it as an adventure which includes exploration and interaction as well as combat you may be giving the rules a better test of the range of things they are supposed to do, and find that there is more fun in the caves after all.

Cheers

But you have all this and monsters that feel more different to each other.

Or is the argument that the combat needs to be less exciting so you can value exploration and interaction more

 

[LostSoul]

I think the idea is that you actually play the game before you report on your playtest.

Anyway, the Caves of Chaos have a lot of hidden depth. It's been interesting every time I've played through them.

 

[gideonpepys]

I may be wrong, but it sounds as if you are viewing the adventure as a series of combat encounters. If that were the case I can see how it could appear boring.

I think that if you run it as an adventure which includes exploration and interaction as well as combat you may be giving the rules a better test of the range of things they are supposed to do, and find that there is more fun in the caves after all.

Cheers

My comment was about monster design, and I don't really see how that comment can be interpreted as reflecting a specific play style. But thanks for the condescension.

I'm an experienced DM with twenty-one players over three groups, all of which have been running for more than four years. I'm not trying to engage in a pissing contest by saying that, just establishing that I know how to run a campaign that involves more than just combat.

But as as DM I want the monsters to be fun to run once combat does break out. And before someone says, 'improvise' - again, I don't need to pay money for a designer to tell me to do that.

 

[Yora]

Room after room of humanoid monsters with precious little to differentiate them other than a handful of hit points.

"But it's up to the DM to differentiate them in how he describes and presents them to the players," I hear you cry. "For room after room after room after room."

As a DM I was left cold by this playtest. The prospect of running the game is not an exciting one.

Because Caves of Chaos is a terrible, terrible module. Because of exactly that. As a DM, you take the monsters and use them to make your own adventure, not to just clear out a floorplan.

 

[stevelabny]

Anyway, the Caves of Chaos have a lot of hidden depth. It's been interesting every time I've played through them.

Great, I'm probably running it in the next 48 hours.

Please tell me about some of the hidden depth and what you've enjoyed on previous playthroughs.

Specifically any memorable non-combat happenings, or strange combat interactions.

I'm looking for some ideas on things to highlight, or interactions to play up or anything to make play better than it reads.

 

[MortalPlague]

It's been said that the monsters have had very little attention cast their way for this playtest. Mike Mearls said that they were looking to make sure the characters and the rules interacted well before they went over the monster design. So I'm sure we will see some more fleshed-out monsters with interesting tricks and differences in future playtests.

That said, I run a fair bit of 4th Edition (it's my edition of choice, and monster design is a big part of that). I tried the playtest with my group, and we had a surprising amount of fun.

 

[MortalPlague]

Great, I'm probably running it in the next 48 hours.

Please tell me about some of the hidden depth and what you've enjoyed on previous playthroughs.

Specifically any memorable non-combat happenings, or strange combat interactions.

I'm looking for some ideas on things to highlight, or interactions to play up or anything to make play better than it reads.

Pay attention to the day / night cycle. The valley is quite different when the sun goes down. Even during the day, having activity in the valley makes the place live and breathe.

The way the tribes react differently to intruders can also be really interesting. If a group attacks the kobolds, it's very different from raiding the orcs or the hobgoblins.

Make sure your players know that this is the sort of module where they can get in over their heads. That sort of warning, and the living breathing nature of all the different dens inspires a different sort of play from 3rd or 4th edition modules. It also allows for some creative tactics.

Sure, Caves of Chaos is a dry read. But it plays so nicely, as long as you can stay on top of it.

 

[Arytiss]

Great, I'm probably running it in the next 48 hours.

Please tell me about some of the hidden depth and what you've enjoyed on previous playthroughs.

Specifically any memorable non-combat happenings, or strange combat interactions.

I'm looking for some ideas on things to highlight, or interactions to play up or anything to make play better than it reads.

First time I played B2 we allied with the Kobolds, and worked to establish kobold supremacy through the caves before negotiating an extremely good trade deal between the caves and the Keep on the Borderlands.

Play up how the different monster types interact, not just with the PCs, but also with the other races in the Caves.

 

[Plane Sailing]

My comment was about monster design, and I don't really see how that comment can be interpreted as reflecting a specific play style. But thanks for the condescension.
.

I was not being condescending, and I don't appreciate you tarring me with that brush. I was trying to be helpful.

If I saw you behaving that way towards someone else, you'd get moderated. Obviously I can't here as I'm personally involved, but I've got to tell you - fix the attitude, lose the chip that appears to be on your shoulder or you are very likely to end up with moderation and a ban in the future.

Just some friendly advice.

Thanks

 

[Ahnehnois]

Room after room of humanoid monsters with precious little to differentiate them other than a handful of hit points.

"But it's up to the DM to differentiate them in how he describes and presents them to the players," I hear you cry. "For room after room after room after room."

As a DM I was left cold by this playtest. The prospect of running the game is not an exciting one.

Well, you're running a published adventure, which is inherently kind of static. You're using basic monster stat blocks without being able to modify them, which is downright crippling. And the monsters themselves aren't all that great.

So I see the problem, but I wonder if the limitations of the playtest itself are the issue.